Interactions within ecosystems

• conservation means using only the amount of earths resource that we need to save the future resources for future needs
• fossil fuels are non renewable because it takes millions of years to form them from dead plants and animals buried under layers of rock and mud.
• a habitat is where an organism lives
• every habitat has a environment . an environment can be distinguished by its physical factors
• biotic factors are living things which affect the survival of another species
• predators kill their prey for food
• abiotic factors are non-living things which affect the survival of another species
• temperature , light , minerals , water , mineral and ph level are examples of physical factors
• the biome is the largest community of plants and animals that live together in one area
• ecosystems have different levels of organisation from smallest to biggest they are : population , community , ecosystem , biosphere
• community - all populations of organisms living in an area at the same time
• population - all individuals of the same species living in an area at the same time
• Physical factors can be measured using probes and data loggers
• There are many advantages of data loggers such as 1)able to take readings over a long period of time . 2) able to take multiple readings in a short time .3) able to show data in the form of a graph for easier interpretation of trend .
• since cold desserts have a extreme cold weather the plants that have shallow root system mature quickly can survive in long periods of darkness
• plants in the cold dessert live in the first layer of soil that is free from ice
• adaptive traits are qualities or characteristics of animals that help it to suit better with the environment survive longer and reproduce
• two types of adaptive traits structural and behavioural
• Structural adaptations is the physical characteristic of an organism that helps in survive in the environment / habitat
• Adaptive trait is the behavioural characteristic of an organism that helps in survival in the environment/habitat
• structural adaptation examples : camouflage, spines on cactus, feathers on birds , fur on mammals, shells on turtles, fins on fish, leaves on trees, roots on plants, wings on insects, eyes on animals
• behavioural adaptation example : migration, hibernation, burrowing, nest building, mating rituals, predator avoidance, hunting techniques, communication signals, territoriality, social structure, parental care, learning ability, tool use, cooperation, aggression, altruism, mimicry, camouflage, crypsis, warning colours, bioluminescence, symbiosis, mutualism, parasitism, commensalism, competition, co-evolution, speciation, evolutionary arms race.
• behavioural adaptations are the patterns or behaviour of an organism that helps it survive in the environment
• physical factors of an environment shape the adaptive traits of an organisms
• a ecosystem is the interaction Within a community and between a community and its physical environment involves the flow of energy and nutrients
• a community is made up of different populations of plants and animals living together in a particular environment, and interacting with one another
• organisms of the same kind living together in a particular area form a population
• a organism is adapted to the environment it lives in
• balanced and maintained interrelationships between organisms make a stable ecosystem
• changes in environment or removal of any organism may lead to the disrupt of the ecosystem and an organism species declining or going extinct
• food web are one or more food chains interconnected . food webs show a overall picture of how organisms are involved in the transfer of energy and nutrients in a ecosystem
• food chain shows the feeding relationship between organism
• producers are always at the start of the food chain because they are the only organisms that make food by using light from the sun
• flow of energy occurs with flow of nutrients
• photosynthesis and respiration are involved in the flow of nutrients and energy