Ecosystems

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  • Created by: portia
  • Created on: 05-08-17 14:30

This chapter concerns the diversity of life on Earth, a catalogue of all the different species

Species - a group of organisms with similar morphology and physiology, which can breed together to produce fertile offspring and are reproductively isolated from other species.

Species are named using the binomial system: first is the genus and the two names together indicate the species.

Species do not live in isolation; they share their living space with others to form communities. These communities of organisms interact with each other and with their environment.

  • A forest ecosystem includes not only the community of organisms, but also the soil, dead leaves that form leaf litter, water in the rain and streams, the air, rocks and all physical and chemical factors which influence organisms
  • No ecosystem is entirely self-contained; organisms in one ecosystem interact with those from others e.g many birds migrate from one ecosystem to another often over long distances to find food and to breed
  • ecosystems can be thought of on different scales: a small pong is…

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