7.4.1 Communities

• Difference between populations & communities is that communities have different species
• Community → all populations of different species in the same area at the same time
• Ecosystem → a community and the non-living components of a environment; dynamic and of different sizes; (eg rainforest or desert)
• Niche → an organism’s role within the ecosystem. Each species occupies its own niche which is influenced by abiotic and biotic factors
• Biotic Factors → impact of interactions between organisms eg predation
• Abiotic Factors → non-living factors in an ecosystem eg weather
• Carrying Capacity → the maximum population size an ecosystem can support
• Ecosystems are dynamic systems.