Adaptations and Ecosystems

• A food chain is a diagram which shows what an organism eats.
• An arrow (→) shows that the transfer of energy between organisms.
• herbivore

  animals that eat plants
• carnivore

  animals that only eats meat
• producer

  organisms that can make its own food; absorbs energy from the Sun.
• consumer

  organisms that eats another organism to survive
• Energy is lost to the surroundings as heat energy and through excretion of waste product.
• food web

  many food chains linked together
• interdependence

  all species live in ecosystems composed of communities of animals, plants and other organisms that are dependent on each other and are adapted to particular conditions
• How are animals and plants dependent on each other within a community?

  • O2 from plants
  • Plants need nutrients from animal droppings
  • Animals eat plants
  • Animals use plant and animal materials to make shelter
• Ecosystem

  The interaction of all organisms in their habitat
• Population

  The number of organisms of the same type in an area
• Interdependence

  Organisms that depend on others for their survival
• Species

  Group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring
• Habitat

  Place where organisms live
• Pests

  Animals and insects that eat and damage plants
• Pesticides

  Chemical toxins (poisons) that can kill pests
• Bioaccumulation

  When toxins (harmful chemicals) build up in organisms along the food chain
• ecosystem

  interaction between animals, plants and their habitats in a specific location
• Animals and plants have to compete for limited resources. The best adapted animals or plants will win and survive.
• Adaptations

  special features that living organisms have to help them survive in a particular environment (even in extreme conditions)
• Some adaptations might help an organism to:

  • avoid being eaten
  • hide/camouflage from a predator or from its prey that they want to catch
  • to control temperature
  • to reduce water loss
• Organisms are endangered when they are at risk of becoming extinct.
• extinction

  animals or plants that have lost all members of their species (locally or globally)
• Fossils are:

  • remains of animals or plants
  • found in rocks
  • lived thousands or millions of years ago