Adaptations, Interdependence and Competition

Adaptations, Interdependence and Competition

• An individual belongs to a species and lives in a habitat within a population.
• Multiple populations interact in the same habitat, forming a community, where they are often dependent on each other.
• An ecosystem involves the interaction of a community with abiotic (non-living) parts of their environment.
• Organisms need the same resources to compete like light, space, water, mineral ions, food, water and mating partners.
• Interdependence is how organisms rely on each other in a community for survival.
• Examples include food, shelter, and reproduction like birds sheltering in trees, flowers being pollinated by bees, etc.
• The removal or addition of a species impacts the populations of others in the ecosystem by changing prey or predator numbers.
• A stable community maintains balanced biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) factors indicated by having constant population sizes which are difficult to replace if lost.
• Examples of stable communities include tropical rainforests, oak woodlands, and coral reefs

Abiotic factors

• Abiotic factors are non-living factors with affects on communities.
• Light intensity is needed for photosynthesis and affects the rate of plant growth.
• Plants can be food sources or shelter for many organisms.
• Temperature affects the rate of photosynthesis
• Both plants and animals need water to survive.
• Soil pH affects the rate of decay and how fast minerals return to the soil.
• Different species of plants thrive in different nutrient concentration levels.
• Wind affects the rate of transpiration in plants which transports water and minerals and affects a plants temperature
• Carbon dioxide affects rate of photosynthesis in plants as well as distribution of organisms
• CO2 is important to the environments of organisms
• Oxygen levels for aquatic animals affect their ability to survive

Biotic factors

• Biotic factors are living factors.
• Food availability ensures organisms can breed more successfully, and leads to a populaiton increase
• New predators affect numbers
• New pathogens mean a population has no resistance to being wiped out quickly
• If one species is better adapted to the environment than another it will outcompete it

Adaptations

• Adaptations allow organisms to survive in the conditions where they live including structural, behavioural and functional types.
• Structural adaptation includes the shape or colour of a part of an organism.
• Examples of structural adaptations include the sharp teeth of a carnivore and camouflage.
• Behavioural includes how an organism behaves, such as playing dead.
• Functional involves processes such as reproduction and metabolism
• Extremophiles live in extreme environments such as high temperatures and pressures, or salt concentrations.
• Adaptations for cold climates include smaller surface area to volume ratio to reduce heat loss, lots of insulation (blubber, fur coat)
• Adaptations for dry climates include kidneys that retain lots of water.
• Examples of plant adaptations: curled leaves, extensive roots, and waxy cuticles

Organisation of an Ecosystem

• Feeding relationships are displayed by food chains and begin with a producer.
• Producers are photosynthetic organisms like green plants or algae.
• Producer's produce glucose via photosynthesis and create biological molecules for biomass.
• Primary consumers eat producers
• Secondary consumers eat primary consumers where predators eat prey.
• Tetiary consumers eat secondary consumers
• Transects and quadrats are tools used to determine the distribution and sizes of species in an ecosystem.
• In a stable community if prey increases the population of predators will also increase.
• This results in the number of prey decreasing.
• When there isnt enough prey to feed all the predators, the population of predators decrease, which allow the population of prey to increase

How Materials are Cycled

• Carbon and water are cycled through ecosystems for life on Earth.

Carbon cycle includes.

• CO₂ being REMOVED from the air in photosynthesis by green plants and algae
• CO₂ being RETURNED to the air when plants, algae and animals respire
• Decomposers respiring while returning mineral ions to the soil.
• CO₂ being RETURNED to the air when combustion occurs in the burning of wood and fossil fuels.

Water cycle includes.

• The sun's energy causing water to evaporate and form water vapour.
• Water vapour formed as result of transpiration condenses to form clouds.
• Water returned to the land by precipitation and runs into lakes for plants and animals.

Decomposition

• A number of factors affect the rate of decomposition, including temperature, water, and availability of oxygen.
• Chemical reactions work faster in warmer conditions unless enzymes denature.
• Microorganisms grow faster in conditions with water is needed for respiration and to digest food.
• Most decomposers respire aerobically.

Compost

• Compost is produced when biological material decays used by gardeners and farmers as a natural fertiliser.
• Optimum conditions optimize decay where more oxygen = respiration = heat which increase the rate of decay
• Methane gas results from microorganisms decomposing waste anaerobically and can be burned as fuel.
• Biogas generators are used to produce methane requiring a temperature of 30 degrees to allow microorganisms to respire.
• Biogas cant be stored as liquid and needs to be used immediately

Environmental Change

• Temperature causes possible insect migration as a result of climate change.
• The level of water availability means populations will migrate to areas with water.
• The change of atmospheric gas composition, such as pollutants, can affect organisms.
• Changes may be seasonal, geographic or human induced.

Biodiversity and the Effect of Human Interaction on Ecosystems

• Biodiversity means variety of different species of organisms on Earth.
• High biodiversity will improve ecosystem stability because species are less dependent on each other.
• Human activities are negatively impacting biodiversity.
• The future of humans on Earth depends on maintaining biodiversity, such as food and new medicines.

Land Use

• Land is being used for houses, farming, shops, roads and factories.
• Peat bogs are being affected
• Deforestation is cutting down a a large number of trees to use the land

Global Warming

• Global warming is the increasing temperature around the world.
• This increase due to the increase of greenhouse gases of carbon dioxide and methane.
• Tree's are important because they can absorb carbon dioxide and go through photosynthesis
• Deforestation results in a lower number of habitats and a decreasing level of biodiversity

Human Interactions

• Positive human interactions help ecosystems, like keeping rainforests intact, reducing pollution, preserving scientific areas, replanting hedgerows etc
• Negative human interactions can harm ecosystems, such as the production of greenhouse gases, sulphur dioxide in factories, chemicals from farming leaking etc

Reduction of Negative Impact

• Breeding programs are important, these programs work to stop species from the threat of extinction.
• Land that only houses one type of crop can be regenerated with more hedgerows and field margins.
• Reduction of deforestation to reduce global warming.
• Recycling rather than using land fills

Trophic Levels

• Trophic levels are represented by numbers
• Level 1 are the producers, such as plants and algae that make their own food by photosynthesis
• Level 2 are called primary consumers and are herbivores that eat plants
• Level 3 are called secondary consumers and are carnivores that eat herbivores
• Level 4 are called tertiary consumers and are carnivores that eat other carnivores and are often the apex predator
• Decomposers breaks down dead plant and animal matter, as well as secreation enzymes
• Pyramids of biomass show the biomass at each trophic level, there is less as one goes up the levels.
• Biomass is the total mass of living organisms in a given area or volume.
• Because less biomass is transferred up each level it means there will not be a high number in the higher trophic levels
• Because less biomass is transferred each time it is common to find less animals in the higher trophic levels.

Food Security

• Food security: having sufficient food to feed the population.
• Increasing birth rate means more food is required
• Climate change and conflicts can affect food production and avaliablity of food.
• Sustainable methods are needed

Farming Techniques

• Raising them in smaller cages so there is less movements and the animal wastes its minimal amount of energy
• Areas are are kept in warmer temperatures in order to waste the least amount of energy
• High protein foods are also given to increase growth.

Substainable Fisheries

• The oceans are decreasing in the number of fish each year.
• This is because humans are fishing at a faster rate than population can regenerate the fish
• The fish population needs to maintain so it can continue to breed.
• There are limits of net sizes, as well as fishing quotas to encourage sustainability and control over fishing.

Biotechnology

• Biotechnology is used to help feed the population and potentially provide treatments
• The fungus Fusarium can produces mycoprotein which is a protein rich food source good for vegetarians.
• Genetically modified bacteria produces insulin
• The insulin is then purified and used to treat people with diabetes
• Genetically modifying crop also has many advantages such as a resistance to pests, and increasing nutritional value in certain crops.

Explore adaptations, interdependence, and competition within ecosystems. Learn how species, populations, and communities interact. Understand the impact of removing or adding a species and the importance of a stable, balanced community and how biotic and abiotic factors influence each other.