Ecology

• Different levels of organisation

  Individual- single member of species

  Population- individuals of same species in same area at same time

  Community- multiple populations living and interacting in the same area

  Ecosystem- interaction between a community and the non living parts of the environment
• Suggest the importance of interdependence and competition in a community

  Interdependence describes how a community can depend on each other or organism for vital services.

  The importance of interdependence and competition is that if there is a removal or addition to species it could greatly affect the population of species as it changes the number or prey and predators
• suggest the factors for which organisms are competing in a given habbitat

  plants- light, space, water and minerals in soil

  animals- mates, space, water and food
• suggest how organisms are adapted to the conditions in which they live

  some organisms can be adapted to live in extreme conditions or in arctic places below temperature conditions

  An extremophile is an organism that lives in an extreme environment.
• what is meant by stable communities

  where all biotic and abiotic factors are stable

  population size stays constant

  if lost it is difficult to replace them
• what is meant by an ecosystem 


  an ecosystem is the interaction of a community of living organisms ( biotic) with the non-living ( abiotic) parts of their environment
• factors that can affect a community ( Abiotic)

  • light intensity
  • temperature
  • soil and pH mineral content
  • wind intensity and direction
  • carbon dioxide levels for plants
  • oxygen levels for aquatic animals
• how does light intensity affect in a given community?

  1. light intensity is required for photosynthesis ( if light is dim or bright it can affect how fast plant grows)
  2. if there is no light plants wont be able to grow which can affect many organisms as they provide shelter and sources
• how does temperature affect in a community?

  temperature can affect the rate of photosynthesis

  if temperature of an environment changes then this could cause the distribution of species to change
• how does the soil pH and mineral content affect a community

  affects the rate of decay and therefore how fast minerals return to soil

  many plants cannot grow on soil that is too acidic or alkaline

  different species of plants thrive in different nutrient concentration levels

  if a plants pH soil is too acidic or alkaline it wont be able to grow.
• how does wind intensity and direction affect in a given community

  • wind affects the the rate of transpiration ( movement of water and mineral ions to leaves)
  • transpiration affects temperature of plants and the rate of photosynthesis because it transports water and mineral ions to the leaves
  • strong winds blowing inland from the sea can cause plants to lose water
• how does carbon dioxide levels for plants affect a community

  CO2 affects the rate of photosynthesis

  affects the distribution or organisms as some thrive in high CO2 environments

  the rate of photosynthesis affects the plants growth, any primary consumer wont be able eat plants, if plants wont grow
• how does oxygen levels for aquatic animals affect a community?

  most fish need high concentration levels of oxygen in order to survive

  dissolved oxygen in water can fall on hot days which is harmful for aquatic animals such as fish
• examples of stable communities

  rainforests

  oak woodlands

  coral reefs
• what is a biotic factor?

  living things that can affect a community
• what are the biotic factors that can affect a community

  availability of food

  new predators arriving

  new pathogens

  species outcompeting another
• how does availability of food affect a community?

  animals depend on each other and if the availability of primary consumers fall the number of organisms in a community will also fall

  more food makes organisms breed more successfully and the population can increase in numbers
• how the arrival of new predators affects a community

  the arrival of new predators can affect the population of preys leading predators to stay hungry

  can affect an existing predator as they can compete for the same prey
• how do pathogens affect a community?

  if infectious disease emerges and then spreads it can wipe out a population of species
• how does species outcompeting with another affect a community?

  if species are outcompeted then its population can fall so much that numbers are no longer sufficient to breed and the species may become extinct
• The following terms are all names that represent groups of organisms

  • community
  • population
  • ecosystem
  • Biosphere

  The largest group of these is Biosphere

  place the remaining in descending order


  what is the order?

  A) Ecosystem

  B) community

  C) population

  
• with other snakes ( the same species)

  identify the organism in figure 1 that the snake will compete Intraspecifically with

  
• apart from food, in a pond ecosystem like that in figure 1, state one resource that the small fish and the trout may compete for?

  oxygen

  space
• in the pond ecosystem shown in figure 1, the heron is referred to as a predator

  define a predator

  A predator is an animal that kills and eat another animal
• biotic or abiotic?

  list factors if they're biotic or abiotic

  A) soil pH

  B) New predators

  C) moisture levels

  D) wind speed

  E) competion

  F) parasites

  
• what types of adaptations do organisms have to survive?

  structural- body shape or structure

  functional- body functions of an organism

  behavioural- related to an organisms lifestyle or behaviour
• how is this camel adapted for its environment

  adapted to the hot and dry conditions of a desert

  camels have humps on their back which stores fat ( thermal insulator) (structural)

  allows heat loss from other parts of the body

  reduces water loss from sweating

  metabolic reactions can be used to produce water from the fat

  thick coat on the upper surface of their bodies- insulates the top from the heat of the sun ( reduces water loss from sweating)

  long eyelashes to keep them from the dust out of their eyes.

  
• how is a kangaroo rat adapted to its environment

  kangaroo rats are nocturnal ( active at night)

  avoid the heat of the day time

  during day time they live in burrows which protects them from predators and keeps them cool

  this a behavioural adaptation.

  
• Jerboa is a small dessert animal

  The jerboa is adapted for survival in the desert. The jerboa spends the daytime in its underground burrow. The jerboa only leaves its burrow to look for food during the night

  Describe how these adaptations help the jerboa to survive in the desert.

  it will protect the jerboa from predators

  avoid heat during the day

  will sweat less

  the jerboa will keep cool

  loses less water

  
• how is this arctic fox adapted to its environment

  it has very thick fur

  provides insulation which reduces heat loss

  has fur on the soles of the feet- reduces heat loss to the ice and the snow

  has small ears- reduces the surface area of the fox and reducing heat loss

  arctic fox coat provides effective camouflage which helps the arctic fox to hunt for its prey

  
• how are cactus adapted to its environment

  small leaves that reduces water loss

  spines help the cacti from animals

  they have extensive and shallow roots - allows the cactus to catch as much water as possible after rainfall

  can store water in their stem - can survive many months without rain

  
• define extremophiles

  extremophiles are organisms that live in extreme environments. With high temperature and pressures.