competition

• habitat


  the place where an organism lives
• population


  all the organisms of one species living in a habitat
• community


  the populations of different species living in a habitat
• abiotic factors

  non living factors of the environment
• biotic factors

  living factors of the environment
• ecosystem

  interaction of a community of living organisms with the non living parts of the environment
• • organisms need materials from their environment and other organisms to survive and reproduce
  • plants compete for light and space, and water and mineral ions from the soil
  • animals compete for space, food, water and mates
  • organisms compete with other species and members of their own species
• • in a community, each species depends on other species for things like food, shelter, pollination and seed dispersal
  • this is interdependence
• • in stable communities, all species and environmental factors are in balance so the population sizes are fairly constant
  • stable communities include ancient oak woodlands and tropical rainforests