AQA GCSE Biology Triple Ecology

• An ecosystem is the interaction between a community of living organisms and their environment
• A community consists of two or more populations of organisms
• Producers are plants or algae that photosynthesize, converting energy from the sun into glucose to feed the rest of the food chain
• Consumers are animals above the producers
• Primary consumers are the first level above producers, followed by secondary consumers
• Predators are animals that hunt and kill others, while prey are animals that are hunted and killed
• The top animal in the feeding relationship is called the apex predator
• Decomposers are bacteria and fungi that break down dead organisms in a process called decomposition
• Decomposers play a vital role in recycling matter in the ecosystem
• In a healthy ecosystem, the numbers of predators and prey remain fairly constant
• Predator-prey cycles show characteristic repeating patterns
• Sampling is used to estimate the number of organisms in a population
• Random sampling involves placing quadrats at random coordinates
• Systematic sampling is used if there is a trend or pattern across the habitat
• Mean, median, and mode are different types of averages used in science
• The carbon cycle shows how atoms of carbon exist within different compounds at different times
• The water cycle involves processes like evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and transpiration
• The main factors affecting the distribution of plants are light, temperature, water availability, soil type, nutrient levels, altitude, and competition
• Light is important because it provides energy to make food through photosynthesis.
• Temperature affects plant growth by controlling enzyme activity and metabolic rate.