Ecology Flashcards
(30 cards)
Ecology
It is the study of plants, animals and their environment, and the relationship between them
The environment
The environment is everything that surrounds an animal or plant (for example air, water, rocks and soil
Habitat
The habitat is the place where a plant or animal lives
Community
Each habitat has its own community of organisms. Community is all the different populations that live in the habitat. E.g. hedgehogs,snails, foxes and primroses belong to the woodland habitat
Interdependence
Interdependence is how organisms depend on each other for their survival. E.g. Buttercups depend on bees (for food), bees need buttercups for pollination)
Ecosystem
All the plants and animals in an area interacting with each other and their environment. E.g. desert, tropical rainforest, grasslands, seashore.
Biome
An ecosystem that extends over a very large area is called a biome. E.g. rainforest.
Biosphere
All of the Earth’s ecosystems together form one large ecosystem known as the biosphere.
Producer
Plants that make their own food e.g. grass, dandelion, nettles
Consumer
Animals that get their food by eating plants or other animals e.g. herbivore, carnivore
Herbivore
An animal that eats plants only e.g. rabbit, sheep, slug, snail
Carnivore
An animal that eats other animals only e.g. Fox, hawk, ladybird
Omnivore
An animal that eats both plants and animals e.g. badger, thrush, blackbird, humans
Decomposer
Organisms that feed on dead plants and animals e.g. earthworms, bacteria, fungi. (Decomposers are very important as the break down dead things and release lots of minerals into the soil)
Food chain
A food chain shows how one organism eats another and so on. Food chains must start with green plants
Feeding levels
The position of an organism in the food chain is called its feeding level
Amounts of energy
The amount of energy gets less and less as you go along the food chain
Food web
A food web is two or more interconnected food chains
Competition
Competition occurs when two or more organisms seek a resource that is limited
Plants
Plants compete for light, water, minerals and space
Adaptations
Adaptations are features that give an organism a better chance of surviving in their habitat
Dandelion Adaptation
The dandelion has a long root which means it reaches below the short root of grass to get water. Dandelions are able to compete for space because they are able to spread their seeds in the wind.
Hedgehog Adaptation
Hedgehogs have an excellent sense of smell to make them good at finding food. Hedgehogs have spikes to fight off predators. Hedgehogs have a colour which makes them camouflaged so predators can’t find them easily
Abiotic factors
Abiotic fibres are non living. E.g. weather(temperature, light intensity, rainfall, wind), soil and type of landscape
