Unit 4 1.

.1 Populations and Ecosystems Ecological Niche Niche describes how an organisms fits into environment A niche refers to where an organism lives & what it does there Includes all biotic & abiotic conditions required organism to survive, reproduce & maintain viable population Some species may appear v. Similar, but nesting habitats or other aspects of behaviours will be different, show different levels of tolerance to environmental factors No 2 species occupy exactly the same niche Habitat Habitat place where community organisms lives Within ecosystem there are many habitats E.g. oak woodland the leaf canopy of trees, decaying log, a stream etc Within each habitat there are smaller units, each w/ own microclimate These called microhabitats e.g. the mud at the bottom of the stream for bloodworm or crevice on bark tree for lichen

Ecology study of interrelationships between organisms & their environment. Environment inc. abiotic (e.g. temp & rainfall) & biotic (e.g. competition & predation) components. Ecology includes the study of the life supporting layers of land, air, water that surround earth this is the biosphere

Populations & Ecosystems

Ecosystems An ecosystem made up of all interacting biotic & abiotic features in specific area Are more or less self contained functional units Within ecosystem 2 main processes consider: o Flow energy through system o Cycling elements within system E.g. oak woodland, freshwater pond or lake Within each ecosystem there are no species

Community Community defined as all populations of different organisms living & interacting in a particular place at the same time. Within oak woodland, community may inc. large range organisms, e.g. oak trees, hazel shrubs, bluebells etc.

Populations Population is group interbreeding organisms of 1 species in a habitat In different habitats of oak woodland there are several populations, e.g. nettles, worms, woodpeckers etc. Boundaries of a population are difficult to define The sheer distance between species (e.g. woodlice on one log can in theory breed with those on log in other side of wood) in practice the distance makes it unlikely & therefore they are considered different populations Where exactly boundary lies between 2 populations is unclear
AQA Biology (A-level Pg 4-5)