Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
ecology (terminology (ecosystem: (an ecosystem is a community interacting…
ecology
terminology
-
species:
two similar organisms are of the same species when they can be interbred to produce fertile offspring
-
-
interdependence
organisms depend on other organisms for food/shelter/seed dispersal. if the number of one organism changes, the rest of the community is affected.
-
-
adaptations
an adaptation is a change in either the structure, function, or behaviour of an organism in order to improve the chances of that organism to reproduce and pass on its genes to the next generation.
dry climates:
-many animals have a large surface area to volume ratio, allowing them to cool down faster. they will also have large ears compared to their size to increase their SA: V ratio (structural)
-living underground/ coming out at night, when it is cooler (behavioural)
-adapted kidneys to make extremely concentrated urine (functional)
cold climates:
-reduced surface area to volume ratio, small ears to limit heat loss
-lots of blubber to keep warm
-changing fur for camouflage (arctic fox)
-black skin underneath fur to trap heat
plants
plants need light, carbon dioxide and water for photosynthesis. they also need mineral ions like nitrates and magnesium. many plants have special adaptations like long roots or small leaves to limit water loss.
-
extremophiles
extremophiles are organisms that survive and reproduce in extreme environments. Many of them are microorganisms.
feeding relationships
a producer (plant) absorbs its energy from the sun and synthesises it into glucose and other molecules, which adds to the plants' biomass. The biomass is transferred to other organisms through the food chain
after the producer is eaten by a herbivore, which is in turn eaten by a predator, up until the apex predator, which is not eaten by anything (top of the food chain)
food chains often interlink with other, creating more complex food webs
in a stable community, predator and prey numbers fall in cycles; if there is a large number of prey, the number of predators grow, and then the prey numbers fall, and then the predator numbers fall, leading to an increase in the number of prey
trophic levels
trophic levels are a way to indicate how far up the food chain the organism is. (trophic level 1 is the producer)
-
competition:
competition can be in many forms, either intraspecific (same species) or interspecific(different species);
they are often for food or territory (interspecific) or mates (intraspecific)