ecosystems

• ecology is the study of the relationships of organisms with each other and with their environment
• environment is the combination of factors that surround and act upon an organism
• an ecosystem is a self sustaining system of organisms interacting with each other and their environment
• a habitat is the area in which an organism lives eg swamp.
• a microhabitat is a very small habitat eg roots of a mangrove tree
• a niche describes the role an organism plays within the ecosystem. eg predator or prey
• species are a group of organisms with common ancestry that closely resembles each other
• a population is a group of organisms of the same species which live in a particular habitat
• a community consists of all populations which live in the same place and interact with each other hiding and protecting each other and also communicating with each other
• herbivores- eat plants
• carnivore- eats animals
• omnivore- eat animals and plants
• trophic levels refers to the position or level that an organism occupies in a food chain
• predators- carnivores that feed on other animals called their prey
• prey- they are the animals that are hunted, captured, killed and eaten by predators