What is a population in ecology?
Organisms of the same species living in a particular area.
AQA A-Level Biology - (7402) · 3.7.4
Revise AQA A-Level Biology - (7402) specification point 3.7.4, Populations in ecosystems (A-level only), with free active-recall flashcards. Flip through the set or review every question and answer below.
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What is a population in ecology?
Organisms of the same species living in a particular area.
What is a community in ecology?
Populations of different species living together.
What makes up an ecosystem?
A community and the abiotic components of its environment, with interactions between them.
How can ecosystems vary in size?
They can be very small or very large.
What two types of data are recorded at corresponding locations when investigating an environmental factor’s effect on species distribution?
Measurements of the environmental factor and the species’ occurrence or abundance.
How can sampling locations be arranged when investigating an environmental factor’s relationship with species distribution?
Across a gradient of the environmental factor.
How should measurement and recording methods be used across locations in a species distribution investigation?
Use consistent methods for measuring the factor and recording the species.
Why are replication and appropriate sampling important in a species distribution investigation?
They help reveal variation and reduce the influence of unrepresentative observations.
What can comparing environmental factor measurements with species data reveal?
An association between the factor and the species’ distribution.
Why does an association between an environmental factor and species distribution not establish causation?
Other variables may also differ between locations.