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Environment, Habitats and their Communities - Coggle Diagram
Environment
Habitats
Forest
Tropical Rainforest
Deciduous forest
Coniferous Forest
Evergreen forest
Mountain
Savanna
Polar Ice
Underwater
Coral reef
atoll
Desert
Cold desert
Snowy Tundra
Hot and dry desert
Coastal desert
Semi-arid desert
Mediterranean
Grassland
Temparate grassland
Flooded grassland
Tropical grassland
Montane grassland
Desert grassland
Wetland
Ecosystems
Water
Fresh Water
Salt Water
Air
Oxygen
Carbon dioxide
Nitrogen
Energy
Renewable energy
Non-renewable energy
Minerals
Macro minerals
Trace minerals
Living organisms
Producers
Plants
Consumers
Herbivores
Carnivores
Omnivores
Scavengers
Decomposer
Parasites
Major biomes of india
Tropical Rainforest
Deciduous forest
Desert
Seacoast
Atmosphere
Troposphere
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Exosphere
Thermosphere
Food chain
Herbivores
Carnivores
Omnivores
Scavengers
Parasites
Habitats and their Communities
The flow of matter and energy through ecosystems
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 .
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
How to study a habitat
If you do not know the species you are able to use a book with illustrations or a key to identify it.
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
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
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.
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
To study a habitat you need to take observations and collect information about the plants, animals and their environment.
Definitions
Adaptation: The way a species has evolved to suit its environment
Interdependence: The way that animals and plants rely on each other.
Ecology: the study of ecosystems
Competition: The struggle between organisms for limited resources.
Prey: An animal that is hunted and killed for food
Ecosystem: a group of plants and animals and their environment
Community: a group of plants and animals that live together
Key: A system for identifying organisms based on answering questions about the physical features of the organism.
Food Chain: A sequence of organisms when each one is eaten by the next.
Decomposer: A organism that feeds on dead plants and animals.
Photosynthesis: Is the way that plants make food using the Sun's energy.
Predator: An animal that hunts and kills another animal for food.
Evolution: The way a species has changed over time.
Respiration: the act or process of breathing : the inhaling of oxygen and the exhaling of carbon dioxide
Producer: An organism that can make their own food using sunlight by photosynthesis.
Legend: An explanation of the symbols and colours that are used on a map.
Habitat: the place where an animal or plant lives
Consumer: An organism that obtains their food by eating other living organisms.
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.
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.
Euryhaline
Organisms that adapt to a wide range of temperatures
Stenohaline
Organisms that adapt to a narrow range of temperatures
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.