Energy & Ecosystems

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  • Energy & Ecosystems
    • What is an Ecosystem?
      • A balanced biological system consisting of living (biotic) organisms and non-living (abiotic) elements that occur together
      • Ecosystems can be on a large scale
        • E.G. African grasslands
      • Ecosystems can be on a small scale
        • E.G. a pond
    • What makes up an ecosystem?
      • Habitat
        • Place where an organism lives
      • Population
        • A group of organisms of the same species living in the same habitat at the same time (that can breed together)
      • Community
        • All the populations of different species who live in the same habitat that interact with one another
    • Niche
      • The role that each species plays within an ecosystem
      • It is impossible for two species to occupy the exact same niche within an ecosystem
    • Factors that affect ecosystems
      • Biotic Factors
        • Food supply
        • Disease
        • Predation
      • Abiotic Factors
        • pH
        • Temperature
        • Soil type
    • The dynamic nature of ecosystems
      • Population sizes rise and fall in most ecosystems, either very slightly or very noticeably.
      • Ecosystems change due to the interactions between living organisms and their physical environment
      • Any change in one factor can affect the other
    • Photo-synthesis is the source of energy for ecosystems
      • Matter is constantly recycled within an ecosystem - e.g. nutrient cycles like the nitrogen or carbon cycle
      • Energy is not recycled
        • It flows through the ecosystem

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