ecosystems

• What is an ecosystem?

  interaction between a community of living organisms and their environment
• What is an enviroment?

  consists of all the conditions that surround any living organism - both the other living things and the non-living things or physical surroundings
• What is a population?

  all the organisms of the same or closely-related species in an area
• Whats an ecosystem?

  two or more populations of organisms (usually many more) in their environment
• Whats a habitat?

  the place where an organism lives
• Whats a community?

  two or more populations of organisms
• Primary consumers are herbivores, which eat producers.
• Producers are plants and algae, which photosynthesise
• Secondary consumers are carnivores, which eat primary consumers.
• Tertiary consumers are also carnivores. They eat secondary consumers.
• What is an abiotic factor?

  something that isnt living
• What are some abiotic factors that affect distribution of organisms?

  1. Light intensity
  2. Temperature
  3. Moisture levels
  4. Solid pH content
• What are biotic factors?

  things that are living
• What are some biotic factors that affect distribution of organisms?

  1. New predators
  2. Availability of food
  3. New pathogens
  4. Competition
• What is the competition in animals?

  1. Food
  2. Mates
  3. Territory
• What is a parasite?

  An organism that lives in another organism such as humans.
• What is parasitism?

  Parasitism is a non-mutual relationship between species where the parasite benefits at the expense of the host.
• What is mutualism?

  Mutualism is a relationship between two organisms of different species in which each individual benefits from the activity of the other.
• What are 2 examples of mutualism?

  1. bee and flower
  2. blue triggerfish and cleanser wrasse
• What is interdependence?

  when organisms in an ecosystem are dependent upon each other for survival.
• What are decomposers?

  An organism which eats dead organisms, fallen leaves, animal droppings, etc, and breaks them down into simpler materials.
• What are the steps to measure population size in a habitat?

  1. Choose an area on the school field
  2. Map the area and lay a numbered grid
  3. Use random numbers to place the first quadrat
  4. Count the number of different plant species (species richness)
  5. Repeat the process 14 times with different random numbers
  6. Repeat for an area with infrequently cut grass
  7. Compare results by calculating a mean for each location
• What is a species?

  A type of organism that is the basic unit of classification. Individuals of different species are not able to interbreed successfully.
• Photosynthesis->Carbon dioxide->Glucose

  Respiration->Glucose->Carbon dioxide

  Combustion (burning)->Fuel->Carbon dioxide

  
• Water cycle

  
• Nitrogen cycle

  
• Production of portable water