B7 - Ecology

• habitat : the place where an organism lives
• population : all the organisms of one species living in a habitat
• community : the population of different species living in a habitat
• abiotic factors : non living
• biotic factors : living things
• ecosystem : the interaction of a community of living organisms with non living parts of the environment
• organism compete for light, space and water and ,mates
• any change in any environment can have a knock on effect e.g. if a fox becomes extinct there will be a increase in rabbits population
• abiotic : moisture levels, light intensity and temperature
• biotic : animals and plants
• adaptations : structural e.g. thick fur, behavioural e.g. migration and functional e.g. hibernation
• extremophiles are adapted to very extreme conditions like volcanic vents
• food chains show what has been eaten in the food chain
• producer make there own food using the sun like green plants
• producers are eaten by primary consumers which are then eaten by secondary consumers which are then eaten by tertiary consumers
• using quadrats required practical : a quadrat is a square frame enclosing a known area to hep compare how common an organism is in two sample areas. place a quadrat o the ground at a random point within the first sample area. count all organism within the quadrat. repeat steps 1-2 as many times as possible work out mean number of organisms per quadrat within the first sample area. repeat steps 1 to 4 in the second sample area. finally compare the two means
• transects required practical : use transects to help find out how organisms are distributed across an area. mark out line int he area you want to sturdy using a tape measure. the collect data along the line. you can do this by just counting all the organisms you are interested in that touch line
• water evaporate to make water vapour. water also evaporate from plants called transpiration. when water cools it condenses into the clouds. water fall from clouds called precipitation
• carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis. the carbon is used to make glucose which can turn into carbohydrates, fats and proteins. when he plants and algae respire so carbon is returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. plants are eaten by animals and become fats and protein. the carbon moves through food chain. When animals die organisms feed on remains when these organisms respire carbon dioxide is returned to the atmosphere. combustion from wood release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
• other animals : detritus feeders
• energy from the sun is send to earth but radiation is then trapped by carbon dioxide and methane hence why there is global warming as heat can not escape quick enough