topic 9 - ecosystems

what is an organism?

single living individual

what is a population?

all the organisms of the same species in an area

what’s a community?

all the populations in an area

what’s an ecosystem?

all the living organisms and non-living components in an area

what’s abiotic factor?

non-living parts of an environment

biotic factors

living parts of an environment

what are biotic factors that affect distribution? (how widely spread organisms are)

prey

competitor

predator

what are abiotic factors that affect distribution? (how widely spread organisms are)

light

temperature

pollution

oxygen levels

how can organisms deter predators

they have special features

eg some animals use colours to look more frightening / are poisonous

what happens between organisms when materials are in limited supply?

competition where they may compete with each other for

food

mates for reproduction

territory

what’s interdependence and examples of it?

how different species in a community rely on each other for survival and reproduction

eg parasitism and mutualism

what is parasite?

a parasite feeds on another organism (the host) while they are living together.

this harms the host but benefits the parasite

what’s mutualists?

when two organisms live closely together in a way that benefits them both.