Ecology

• ecology is the study of how organisms interact with each other and their environment
• biodiversity is a measure of the range of different species living in an area - range
• population is the number of organisms of a single species living in an area - number
• habitat is the place where an organism lives and breeds - place
• environment is the surroundings of an organism - surroundings
• community is all the populations (from all species) in a particular area - all
• ecosystem is an area in which a community interact with their physical surroundings - interaction
• abiotic factors are non-living factors that affect the environment and living organisms
• anemometer measures wind speed in km/h
• pH meter measures pH on the pH scale
• light meter measures light intensity in lux
• humidity meter measures humidity in %
• rainfall gauge measure rainfall in mm
• thermometer measures temperature in Cº
• soil moisture levels can be calculated by taking soil samples and weighing them to find their mass - difference when dried is % soil moisture
• physical factors will influence which organism will live in a particular environment
• to sample plants we use quadrats that are placed on the ground and the number or % cover of plants in that area is recorded
• random sampling is where the area being sampled has a similar distribution of organisms throughout, removes bias
• systematic sampling is to show how the distribution of organisms changes from one area to another, there is zonation
• in habitats where abiotic factors are less extreme and organisms do not need to adapt there is often heavy competition for the resources
• competition is a biotic factor
• biotic factors: predators, disease and watse
• biotic factors can affect populations just as abiotic factors do
• a food chain displays the order in which energy passes through living organisms
• the source of all energy for all feeding relationships is the sun
• plants are always the start of a food chain they are called producers / trophic level 1
• animals that eat producers are called primary consumers / trophic level 2
• animals that eat primary consumers are secondary consumers / trophic level 3
• 1. sun
  2. producer
  3. primary consumer
  4. secondary consumer
• a food web is made up of interconnected food chains, in the end nutrients are recycled by decomposers
• producers are a plant or part of a plant that has produced its own food by photosynthesis
• consumers eat other plants or animals
• herbivores only eat plants
• omnivores eat plants and animals
• carnivores only eat animals
• decomposers break down organic material
• a food chain is a feeding relationship between organisms at different trophic levels
• trophic levels are feeding levels
• a food web is a collection of food chains all interacting with each other
• an energy pyramid is a diagram showing the transfer of energy between trophic levels