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Habitats and their Communities - Coggle Diagram
Habitats and their Communities
How to study a habitat
You need to measure environmental factors to find where plants and animals live, These environmental factors include the temperature of the air, soil and water, Light intensity, Aspect and Wind speed
Animals need to be observed and identified in a certain habitat, so to identify the smaller animals you need to use equipment to find and identify them. A pooter, a sweep net, a beating tray and a pitfall trap are used to capture small animals and insects to be identified.
When you find a site for a habitat study you should make a simple map of it and use a legend to clearly represent the main features of the site
If you do not know the species you are able to use a book with illustrations or a key to identify it.
To study a habitat you need to take observations and collect information about the plants, animals and their environment.
To identify the plants in the study area it is ideal to use smaller sample areas within the study area to get a good idea of what plants are present in the study area
The flow of matter and energy through ecosystems
Respiration converts chemical energy into other forms, In animals the chemical energy may be converted to heat, motion, chemical and sound energy. This energy is lost from the ecosystem. Respiration also releases carbon dioxide and water into the atmosphere. These gases can then be used by plants.
A food chain is how you investigate the flow matter and energy through ecosystems. Each time a organism is eaten the organism that ate it gets the matter and energy. An example is how grass makes its own food and does not need to physically eat anything. When a rabbit eats the grass the energy is transferred to the rabbit. Then when a fox eats the rabbit the energy is transferred to the fox. The grass is the producer in this food chain as it produces the energy and the rabbit and the fox are the consumers as they have to eat something to gain energy .
Photosynthesis takes the sun's light energy and converts it to chemical energy. This chemical energy is stored in glucose and starch within the plant, When plants are eaten the matter and energy they contain is passed on to the next organism.
The sun is the main source of energy for earth and it passes on energy to plants through photosynthesis. The plants then grow and make food with the energy. Then when the plants get eaten by animals they pass on the energy to the other organism.
A predator-prey relationship is when a predator kills its prey. An example is how the thrush hunts and kills a slug for food, the thrush is the predator and the slug is the prey.
Nutrients from the environment is used as energy, growth and repair.When plants and animals die they release carbon dioxide and water back to the environment. Then when they are broken down by fungi and bacteria they release elements into the air and soil, which is how matter flows through living and non-living things.
A decomposer is an organism that feeds on dead or decaying matter. Many types of bacteria and fungi are decomposers. Bacteria and fungi break down dead matter and make it available for other living organisms to use.
At the start of a food chain there are usually more organisms at the start and very few at the end. This is because that at each stage only 10% of energy is passed on to the organisms at the next stage. The other 90% is used for activities such as movement and respiration, or is released as heat and waste to the environment.
Relationships in Ecosystems
Competition occurs when two or more organisms struggle for the limited resources provided. An example would be how cactus's fight over the limited supply of water but don't need to for sunlight. To investigate competition you need to consider what is the limited resource, what organisms are competing, the adaptations that allow them to compete and research other scientists have carried out.
Interdependence is the way that living organisms rely on each other as they get resources from each other. To investigate interdependence you need to consider what organisms interact with each other, how each organism benefits from the relationship, how each organism is adapted to benefit the other and research another scientist has carried out.
An adaptation is the characteristics that allow animals to survive in their habitats. Each species eats different food, moves in a specific way and has physical features that allow it them to survive. This allows goes to plants as well. To investigate adaptation you need to consider the physical features, patterns of growth, what the organism needs to survive and research other scientists have carried out.
Definitions
Habitat: the place where an animal or plant lives
Community: a group of plants and animals that live together
Ecosystem: a group of plants and animals and their environment
Ecology: the study of ecosystems
Legend: An explanation of the symbols and colours that are used on a map.
Key: A system for identifying organisms based on answering questions about the physical features of the organism.
Adaptation: The way a species has evolved to suit its environment
Evolution: The way a species has change over time.
Competition: The struggle between organisms for limited resources.
Interdependence: The way that animals and plants rely on each other.
Photosynthesis: Is the way that plants make food using the sun's energy.
Respiration: How plants and animals release energy food.
Food Chain: A sequence of organisms when each one is eaten by the next.
Consumer: An organism that obtains their food by eating other living organisms.
Producer: An organism that can make their own food using sunlight by photosynthesis.
Decomposer: A organism that feeds on dead plants and animals.
Predator: An animal that hunts and kills another animal for food.
Prey: An animal that is hunted and killed for food