7.1 Competition & Interdependance

Ecology - all organisms have relationships - how ecosystems function & how they may change in the future

• if population of certain organism falls, it affects all other parts of the ecosystem

  • less food for predators

Habitat - The place where an organism lives

Population - All the organisms of a particular species that live in that habitat

Community - All the populations of different especies that live together in a habitat

Biotic factors - The living factors of the environment (animals / plants)

Abiotic factors - The non living factors of the environment (temperature / soil pH)

Ecosystem - The interaction of a community of living organisms with the non-living parts of their environment

Competition

• organisms need different resources to survive

• Animals need: territory, food, water, mates

• Plants need: light, space, water, mineral ions

All resources are limited - so organisms have to compete with each other

Interdependence

• All species depend on other species in some way

  • if something happened to one of the species, it will affect all the others