Ecosystems

organisms

organisms

individual living things

Communities

different populations that live together in a defined area

Ecosystems

All the living and non-living things that interect in an area.

Biosphere

part of Earth in which life exists including land, water, and air or atmosphere

Difference between and ecosystem and community?

ecosystem includes nonliving components of environment; community includes only living components of environment

biotic and abiotic factors

Biotic factors: a result of living things in an environment such as food availability,

abiotic factors: a result of non-living things in an environment such as temperature

Food web

Consists of all the food chains in a single ecosystem

Tropic levels

each step in a food chain or food web where energy is transferred

Producers

photosynthesise. And are autotrophs. Plants.

Photosynthesis and formula

Conversion of carbon dioxide and light energy from the sun into glucose and oxygen by plants.
6CO2 + 6H2O ➡️ C6H12O6 + 6O2

primary consumers

animals that feed on producers; ex. herbivores. Heterotrophs

cellular respiration

The process by which organisms use oxygen to breakdown food molecules to get chemical energy for cell functions. (Identical to combustion).

Secondary consumers and tertiary consumers

Eat herbivores. Can be carnivores or omnivores.

Apex predator

Top of the food web and have no natural predator.

Scavengers

Eat Nonliving organism remains e,g vultures

Decomposes

Break down dead matter into inorganic materials such as nutrient rich soils, they complete the cycle of life, allowing plants grow better

biomass pyramid

The representation of the total living biomass present at different levels of an ecosystem.
Calculated by measuring the the population of an organism and their average masses and converting this into units of weight

Predation

The preying of one animals on another
E.g snake and mouse

Competition

Competent with other organisms for food.
E.f cheetahs and lions

Mutualism

Both organisms benefit from

Commensalism

1 organism benefits, the other is not bothered

Parasitism

One organism benefits whilst the other is negatively impacted

Invasive species

species that enter new ecosystems and multiply, harming native species and their habitats

Impacts of invasive species

Disrupt the ecosystem by completing for food, shelter and other resources. They could have no predators and reproduce more frequently.
E.g foxes

Population graphs

Shows what happens to a population of a species over time

Describe the Carbon cycle

1) Carbon dioxide enter the atmosphere through respiration and combustion (fossil fuels burnt)
2) Carbon dioxide is absorbed by plants to make carbohydrates through photosynthesis
3) Consumers feed on plants passing the carbon compounds along the food chain
4) Most of the carbon consumed is released as carbon dioxide in respiration
5) When organisms die they are:
a) eaten by decomposers and the remaining carbon is returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
b) compressed under tons of pressure and turned into carbon based fossil fuels

how much % of the atmosphere is nitrogen

78%

Describe the Nitrogen cycle

1) Nitrogen in the atmosphere is turned into nitrates by:
a) lighting which mixes oxygen and nitrogen together
b) nitrogen fixing bacteria convert nitrogen into
ammonium then nitrifying bacteria convert that into
nitrates.
2) both nitrates and ammonium feed plants and give them nitrogen they need.
3) Herbivores and omnivores eat the plants and get the source of nitrogen in them
4) carnivores eat these animals and get the source of nitrogen from them
5) poop and dead animals. denitrifying bacteria transform these nitrates from the soil into nitrogen gas. Releasing it back into the atmosphere