Ecological niches

What is a niche of an animal?

The name for a species place within a community such as its habitat, behavior and diet.

What are obligate aerobes?

What are obligate anaerobes?

What are facultative anaerobes?

Obligate aerobes are organisms that needs oxygen for respiration.

Obligate anaerobes are organisms that do not need oxygen for respiration. respire anaerobically.

Facultative anaerobes usually respire aerobically, but can also respire anaerobically.

What factors determine a species niche?

Respiration: aerobic or anaerobic

Diet/nutrition: autotrophic, heterotrophic, photoautotrophs or holozoic.

Explain the types of nutrition of organisms and what sub-classes of them there are.

Autotrophic: produce own food

Such as:

Photoautotrophs: plants nutrition using light as energy to produce organic molecules.

Heterotrophic: use existing matter

Such as:

Holozoic: use existing nutrients by digestion which is absorbed into their cells for assimiliation.

Mixotrophic nutrition: autotrophic and heterotrophic

What are saprotrophs?

They are organisms that feed on dead organic matter by external digestion

Explain the relationship between dentition and what diet/food organisms eat. Give one example of an animals dentiton relating to its diet.

Incisors used for slicing - canines for tearing - molars for grinding Gi

Gorillas: herbivores thus large masseter muscles to eat plant material. Large temporal muscles for forceful bites.

Give an adaptation of a herbivores for feeding on plants and one of plants resisting herbivores eating them.

Herbivore adapation: Stylet which can slide through a plants cell walls to access nutrients

Plant adaptation: Spines stoping herbivores accessing their water

Give physical adaptations of prey and predators

Predator: eyes on the front of their skull to estimate distance to prey - fast speed - good sense organs to detect prey

Prey: eyes on the side of skull to have high field of vision - mechincal defense such as shells - camoflauge

Give examples of chemical adaptations.

Toxicity: poison frogs secrete poison out of their skin to kill predators.

Give behavioral adaptations.

Stealth to sneak up on prey as a predator

Give egs of plants adapted for harvesting light

Canopy trees: go above the canopy line to harvest light enabling better photosynthesis and gives competitive advantage over others

Lianas: vines that use the support of trees to reach the canopy to get sunlightW

What is a fundamental and realised niche?

Fundamental niche: potential extent of a species based on their adaptions and tolerance limits

Realised niche: the actual extent of a species when in competition with others.

What is competitive exlusion?

the concept of a dominant species outcompeting an inferior species in competition for resources and space. The inferior will either die or move away.