Populations and Ecosystems

• What is ecology the study of?

  The inter-relationships between organisms and their environment.
• What are ecosystems?

  Dynamic systems made up of a community and all the non-living factors of its environment.
• What is a population?

  A group of individuals of one species that occupy the same habitat at the same time.
• What is the carrying capacity of a population?

  The maximum number of individuals that an environment can sustainably support.
• What reasons can cause the size of a population to vary?

  Abiotic factors, competition, and predation.
• What is a community?

  All the populations of different species living and interacting in a particular place at the same time.
• What is a habitat?

  The place where an organism normally lives and is characterised by physical conditions and other organisms present.
• What is a microhabitats?

  A smaller unit with its own microclimate, within a habitat.
• What is a niche?

  A description of how an organic fits into the environment.