Ecosystems

Ecosystems

Communities
1. Organisation
  1. Individual
    1. The smallest part of an ecosystem
  2. Population
    1. Individual organisms of a species
  3. Community
    1. Populations of different species
2. Competition
  1. Animals
    1. Food
    2. Mates
    3. Territory
  2. Plants
    1. Water
    2. Mineral ions
      1. From the soil
    3. Light
    4. Space
3. Species interdependence
  1. Food
  2. Pollination
  3. Seed dispersal
  4. Shelter
4. Stability
  1. Environmental factors balanced
  2. Species balanced
  3. Population sizes are constant
Trophic Levels
1. Food chains
  1. Show the feeding relationships in a community
  2. Prey
  3. Predator
  4. Apex predators
    1. Top of the food chain
  5. Decomposers
    1. Responsible for recycling organic matter
    2. The final stop of all food chains
2. 1) Producers
  1. Use photosynthesis to make own food
  2. Green plants and Algae
3. 2) Primary Consumers
  1. Herbivores that eat producers
4. 3) Secondary consumers
  1. Carnivores that eat herbivores
5. 4) Tertiary consumers
  1. Carnivores that eat carnivores
Material Cycles
1. Nitrogen
  1. Plants absorb nitrates through their roots to grow
    1. Can also absorb nitrogen from the air
    2. Using root nodule bacteria
  2. Farmers may add NPK fertilisers to the soil, which plants can absorb
    1. They may also use plants with root nodule bacteria to add nitrates back into infertile soil
      1. Crop rotation
  3. The nitrogen is passed-on to animals that eat the plants.
  4. When plants and animals die, bacteria recycle nitrogen back into the soil through decomposition.
  5. When lighting strikes soil, nitrogen is released back into the air.
2. Carbon
  1. Carbon is removed from the atmosphere by producers who use it in photosynthesis.
  2. Animals obtain carbon compounds by consuming plant matter
  3. Respiration returns carbon (dioxide) back into the atmosphere
  4. When animals and plants die, decomposers return the carbon locked in their bodies back to the atmosphere via decay.
  5. Combustion of fossil fuels is another source of carbon entry into the atmosphere.
3. Water
  1. Water evaporates from the Earth’s surface, and rises up into the atmosphere.
  2. The water vapour cools and condenses into rain or snow
    1. Eventually returns to the Earth’s surface
      1. Becomes surface runoff
      2. Absorbed and ground water
  3. Plants take up water through their roots.
  4. We get drinking water by:
    1. Filtering
    2. Adding chemicals to freshwater
    3. Desalinating seawater
Decay
Biomass
Sampling biodiversity
Relationships between species
1. Predator-Prey
  1. Cyclic in stable conditions
  2. Canada lynx and Snowshoe hare
    1. Increase in hare numbers = more food for lynx
      1. Lynx numbers increase
    2. Increase lynx numbers = more hare predators
      1. Hare numbers decrease
    3. Hare numbers decrease = less food for lynx
      1. Lynx numbers decrease
    4. Less lynx = hare population increase
2. Mutualistic
  1. Both species benefit
  2. Lichen
    1. Algae
    2. Fungi
    3. Share structure and food
3. Parasitic
  1. One organism benefits
    1. Receives shelter and food
  2. One organism is harmed
    1. Loses nutrients and may suffer illness

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	Created by Aaishah Ravat almost 5 years ago