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Questions and Answers
Name the two major factors of an environment.
Name the two major factors of an environment.
Biotic and abiotic
Define symbiosis.
Define symbiosis.
Any kind of relationship or interaction between two dissimilar organisms, where at least one organism is benefited.
Distinguish between abiotic and biotic factors.
Distinguish between abiotic and biotic factors.
Abiotic factors are non-living elements of an ecosystem shaping the environment, while biotic factors are living organisms shaping the environment.
Give at least 2 examples of each type of symbiosis.
Give at least 2 examples of each type of symbiosis.
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Explain why predation is considered a biotic factor.
Explain why predation is considered a biotic factor.
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Study Notes
Ecology
- Study of the relationship of organisms with each other and their environment.
- Environment consists of two major factors: biotic and abiotic.
Biotic and Abiotic Factors
- Biotic factors: living organisms that shape their environment (e.g. aquatic plants, fish, amphibians, algae, predation, zooplankton).
- Abiotic factors: non-living parts of an ecosystem that shape its environment (e.g. water availability, light, temperature, rainfall, wind).
Symbiosis
- Definition: any kind of relationship or interaction between two dissimilar organisms, where at least one organism is benefited.
- Three main types of symbiosis:
- Parasitism: one organism benefits, the other is harmed (e.g. love bush on trees, tick on human skin, leeches on animals).
- Mutualism: both organisms benefit from the association (e.g. digestive bacteria and humans, sea anemones and clownfish, spider crab and algae).
- Commensalism: one organism benefits, the other is not harmed (e.g. sharks and remora fish, tree frogs using plants as protection, cattle egret and cattle).
Abiotic Factors
- Climatic factors (e.g. light, temperature, rainfall, wind, water availability).
- Edaphic factors (e.g. soil pH, texture, temperature, organic and mineral content).
- Aquatic factors (e.g. wave action, dissolved oxygen, salinity).
- Topographic factors (e.g. features of the earth's surface, angle of a slope).
Ecology Terms
- Community: interacting group of various species in a common location.
- Ecosystem: geographic area where biotic and abiotic factors work together to form a bubble of life.
- Habitat: place where an organism or community of organisms lives, including all living and nonliving factors.
- Niche: role an organism plays in a community.
- Population: group of organisms of one species that interbreed and live in the same place at the same time.
- Species: group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding.
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Description
Learn about the fundamentals of ecology, including the two major factors of an environment, symbiosis, and the differences between abiotic and biotic factors. Understand the relationships between organisms and their environment.
