eco-systems Flashcards
(27 cards)
what does the term habitat mean
where plants/animals live
what does the term population mean
a group of organisms of one sepecies living in a habitat
what does the term community mean
populations of different species living in a habitat
what does the term ecosytem mean
the interaction of a community of a living organisms and abiotic factors
what do plants compete for
- light
- space
- mineral ions
- water
what do animals compete for
- food
- water
- territory
- mates
whats intraspecific competion
competion between 2 individuals of the same species
whats interspecific competion
competion between 2 individuals of different species
what are abiotic factors?
what are biotic factors?
ABIOTIC - non living factors in an ecosystem
BIOTIC - living factors in an ecosystem
give examples of abiotic factors
- light intensity
- temperature
- water
- soil & mineral content
give examples of biotic factors which affect communitys
- new predators
- new pathogens
- ## avialbilty for food
what can a change in abiotic/biotic factor lead to?
lead to an inc/dec in the size of population or community.
what are trophic levels
feeding stages within a food chain
level 1 = plants and algae
what are producers?
organisms that make their own food - from sunlight
level 2 = herbivores
what are primary producers?
only eat plats/alage etc
level 3 = carnivores
what are secondary producers?
eat herbivores
level 4 = carnivores
what are tertiary consumers?
eat other carnivores
level 5 = carnivores
what are apex predators?
have no other predators
what is biomass?
mass of organic material that makes up a living organism
what is lost as you go up a food chain/trophic levels?
meaning the higher you go up..
- loss of energy
- there is less energy / les biomass
name 3 things that cause a loss in biomass:
- absorbed material is lost as waste e.g water, urea
- not all material is absorbed
- LARGE amount of glucose are used in repsiration
what is a food web
a network of food chains showing the relationship/links between organisms
what is interdependence?
within a community each species depend on each other to survive
explain the interpendence between predators and prey?
if the population of prey increases the preadators increases & prey decreases = predator decrease