Ecology

• Population

  Total number of organisms of the same species in the same area
• Community

  Group of 2 or more populations of different species living in the same area
• Ecosystem

  Interaction of a community of living organisms with the non living parts of their environment
• Competition

  Contest between organisms within a community for resources
• Interdependence

  When species in a community depend on others for resources and shelter
• What do animals often compete for

  Food, mates, territory
• What do plants often compete for

  Light, space, water, mineral ions
• What is an abiotic factor


  Non-living factor that can affect a community
• Abiotic factors that can affect a community

  1. Carbon dioxide levels
  2. Light intensity
  3. Moisture levels
  4. Temperature
• What is a biotic factor

  Living factor that can affect a community
• Biotic factors that can affect a community

  1. Food
  2. New predators
  3. New pathogens
  4. Competition
• What is a stable community

  When all species and environmental factors are in balance
• How do adaptations help an organism

  Enable the organism to survive in the conditions it lives in
• What are 3 types of adaptations

  Structural, behavioral, functional
• Extremophile

  An organism that lives in a very extreme condition
• What makes an environment extreme

  1. Very high or low temps
  2. Extreme pressures
  3. High salt concentrations
• Producer

  Organism that makes its own food
• Food chain

  Representation of the feeding relationships within a community
• Consumer

  Organism that eats other organisms for food
• Herbivore

  Organism that only eats producers
• Predator

  Organism that kills and eats other organisms
• Prey organism

  Organism that is killed and eaten by another organism
• Apex predator

  Carnivore with no predators
• Water cycle

  Process that provides fresh water for plants and animals on land before draining into seas and rivers
• What is the carbon cycle

  Process that returns carbon from the organism to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide
• Biodiversity

  Variety of all the different species of organisms on earth
• Advantage of high biodiversity

  Ensures stability of ecosystems by reducing the dependence of one species on another
• How are we trying to maintain biodiversity

  Breeding programs

  Protection of rare habitats

  Recycling recources