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Ecosystem Basics
Abundance and Distribution of Species and Factors.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Habitat: | The location where an organism lives, such as a woodland. |
| Microhabitat: | The specific location of an organism, such as a tree or a leaf for certain insects |
| Population~: | All the individuals of a species interacting and breeding with one another in a habitat. |
| Community: | All the members of different populations of species interacting within a Habitat: I.e All of the organisms within a woodland. |
| Population Size: | The number of individuals of a population, i.e how many maize plants in a field. |
| Abundance: | The number of individuals of a species in a habitat (same as Population size.) |
| Distribution: | How the individuals of a population are spread out over an area. |
| Define Succession: | The progressive replacement of a dominate community by another until a climax community is reached. |
| Primary succession: | The succession that occurs on desolate, barren and previously inhospitable areas, such as after a glacier recceeds or lava flow destroys an area. |
| Climax Community: | The most productive and diverse community that an area can support. It is relatively constant with the species present but alterations are always occuring. |
| Pioneer Species: | Hardy species which are adapted to harsh abiotic environments, they help the formation of soil by breaking down rocks and converting energy to organic matter. |
| Plagioclimax: | This is when Human Activites cause the formation of a different climax community than would normally be formed. Use as mowing a lawn would cause no woody trees even though the soil can support them. |
| Difference between primary and secondary succession? | Primary Succession in an area that has no viable soil and is when a climax community is reached for very harsh abiotic environment. Secondary is the production of climax community from the disturbance of a primary succession. When soil is already present. |
| Name they type of species which first colonise an area: | Pioneer Species. (Marram Grass etc) |
| As succession continues, what happens to the biodiversity of an area: | It will increase, more organic matter and better soil quality will be able to support more complex and varied plant life, which in turn support more animal species. |
| How can succession be prevented? | Mowing grass, Harvesting crops, Destruction of woodlands. |