Term 1 Science ecosystems

• Ecosystems – Biotic and abiotic factors combing to form a living community. E.g. rain forest, desert, coral reefs, mountains 
• Biotic factors – All living things including humans and plants are made of chemical elements including oxygen, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen 
• Abiotic factors – all the non-living things in the environment. 
• Population – a population is the number of organisms of the same species living in a habitat 
• Community – all the living things (organisms) that inhabit an ecosystem  
• Habitat – the area where an organism lives
• Predation (predator prey relationships) - a relationship between two organisms where one organism kills and eats the other. 
• Competition – relationship between organisms that are trying to use the same limited resource. In extreme cases it can cause extinction. E.g. Lions and cheetahs fight for antelope
• Fossil fuels - an unrenewable source of energy that is formed within the Earth's crust from biological remains  
• Greenhouse effect – when co2 and other gasses in the atmosphere trap heat, keeping the Earth warm 
• Abiotic examples:

  • Sun
  • Air
  • Water
  • Soil
  • Rocks
• Biotic Factors

  • Plants
  • Trees
  • Humans
  • Deer
  • Fish
• Symbiosis: A relationship between two organisms that live in close association with each other.
• Symbiosis types: Mutualism, Commensalism, Parasitism
• Parasitic – relationship between two organisms, where one organism lives on or in the other and feeds on it. E.g. Fleas, Ticks, Headlice 
• Mutualism – A relationship between two organisms living closely together, where each benefits the other. E.g. Flowers and bees, Oxpecker and zebras (picks parasites of Zebras) 
• Commensalism – A relationship between two organisms where one benefits and the other is unharmed. E.g. Birds nesting in trees, Tree frogs living in plants as protection 
• Types of fossil fuels 

  • Oil 
  • Natural gas 
  • Coal  
• Carbon is found in  

  • Atmosphere 
  • Vegetation 
  • Soil 
  • Rocks 
  • Ocean  
• Fossil fuels are used for cars (oil), Cooking and heating (natural gas), Generating electricity (coal) 
• Enhanced greenhouse effect 

  • Burning fossil fuels leads to carbon being released into the atmosphere; causing the enhanced greenhouse effect 
  • Leads to increased temperature causing an increase in extreme weather events such as heat waves, drought and cyclones 
  • Effects the ecosystem as it results in the death of animals and plants 
• Coral bleaching 

  • Bleaching fossil fuels lead to carbon being released into the atmosphere 
  • Carbon in the atmosphere dissolves into the oceans; causing coral bleaching 
  • As coral reefs have the largest amount of living species, coral bleaching cases a loss of food and habitat for many aquatic species. 
• Air pollution 

  • Burning fossils fuels leads to dust/sediment particles being released into the atmosphere 
  • This is known as air pollution 
  • It makes it harder to breath and can result in respiratory health conditions  
• Oil spills 

  • Extracting oils (mining) can lead to oil spills in the ocean 
  • This is water pollution 
  • It leads to the death of animals and plants, disrupts ecosystems and results in a loss of biodiversity.  
• Effects of fossil fuels: enhanced greenhouse effect, coral bleaching, Air pollution, Oil spills 
• Pollinators: Animals that transfer pollen from one flower to another.
• examples of pollinators: bees, butterflies, bats, birds, and insects
• Abiotic factors are important in an ecosystem because they help biotic features function such as giving them a place to live (soil and water) and help them function (sunlight, oxygen)