B4 Community level systems Flashcards
What are ecosystems?
-Communities of organisms (biotic) interacting with the abiotic factors of their environment.
-Lots of different materials are cycled through an ecosystem.
What is a community?
All of the populations of different species that are living in a habitat together.
What is a population?
All the individuals from one species living in a habitat.
What is the difference between biotic and abiotic?
Biotic means living and abiotic means non-living.
What abiotic factors affect communities?
-Light intensity.
-Temperature.
-Moisture levels.
-Soil PH.
-Soil mineral levels.
-Direction and intensity of wind.
How does light intensity affect a community?
-Light is required for photosynthesis and the rate of photosynthesis impacts the rate of a plant’s growth.
-Plants can be food sources / shelter for many organisms.
How does temperature affect a community?
-Impacts rate of photosynthesis.
-Animals and plants have optimum temperatures.
How do moisture levels affect a community?
Plants and animals need water to survive.
How does soil PH affect a community?
Different plants will grow best in different soil acidities.
Why do soil mineral levels affect a community?
Plants require lots of mineral ions to grow healthily.
Why do wind direction and intensity affect a community?
Wind speed affects rates of transpiration and photosynthesis in plants.
What biotic factors affect communities?
-Food availability.
-New predators.
-New pathogens.
-Competition.
Why does food ability affect a community?
Organisms require food to survive and reproduce therefore populations thrive when there is a high food availability.
Why do new predators affect a community?
Not enough prey for the predators to feed on without wiping out a whole prey population therefore new predators disrupt balance in communities.
Why do new pathogens affect a community?
Populations have no immunity / resistance to new diseases which can lead to increased deaths unless resistance evolves.
