Communities and Ecosystem

• What is a key concept in ecology regarding organisms?

  All organisms have relationships with each other.
• What determines the abundance and distribution of organisms in an ecosystem?

  Biotic and abiotic factors
• Why do animals and plants have adaptations?

  To compete for resources
• What is an ecosystem?

  • Living organisms in a specific area
  • Non-living components of the environment
• What is a community in ecological terms?

  • All organisms living in a habitat
  • Includes both plants and animals
• What is a population in ecology?

  All members of a single species in an area
• What is a species?

  A type of organism that can interbreed
• What are the levels of organization within an ecosystem?

  1. Organisms
  2. Populations
  3. Communities
  4. Ecosystems
• What are producers in an ecosystem?

  Plants and algae that photosynthesize
• What are primary consumers?

  Herbivores that eat producers
• What are secondary consumers?

  Carnivores that eat primary consumers
• What are tertiary consumers?

  Carnivores that eat secondary consumers
• What is interdependence in an ecosystem?

  • All organisms depend on each other
  • Changes in one population affect others
• What happens to the rabbit population if foxes are killed?

  Rabbit population would increase
• What is a food chain?

  A sequence of feeding relationships
• What is the consequence of small changes in ecosystems?

  They can have large, unpredictable effects
• What is competition in ecosystems?

  • Organisms compete for resources
  • Can be interspecific or intraspecific
• What do plants and algae compete for?

  Light, space, water, and minerals
• What do animals compete for in ecosystems?

  Food, mates, and territory
• What is a stable community?

  • Populations remain constant over time
  • Healthy balance with the environment
• What happens to populations in a stable community?

  They remain relatively constant
• What is the relationship between grass, rabbits, and foxes in a stable ecosystem?

  They maintain a healthy balance