Quickworksheets

Shared Worksheets

Kindly Shared By:

crillstone

New Zealand

Date Shared: 10 September 2022

Worksheet Type:

Interactive e-Worksheet

Tags Describing Content or Audience:

ecology

Worksheet Instructions:

Ecology is the study of the relationships amongst organisms (living things) and the connections between organisms and their physical environment.Organisms do not exist in isolation – they are interdependent. Individuals depend on other organisms for food, protection or mates. Each organism exists in a network of relationships with organisms belonging to the same species (group of similar organisms that can breed together) and to different species.The physical environment is the context in which organisms live and may include the land they live on, the air that surrounds them, as well as bodies of water. Organisms depend on the physical environment for nutrients, light, water, warmth, shelter and spaces to live in. The habitat of a species includes the places where members of the species live and reproduce. The niche of a species describes how members make a living and reproduce in the environment in which they exist.A description of the niche of the gannets shown above would include where the gannets are found (habitat); the environmental conditions they encounter; the feeding role they occupy in the community; and the features (adaptations) that enable them to survive and reproduce in their environment. Niche Competition If two species with very similar niches are found in the same community, then intense competition for resources will occur between members of those two species.Ecologists have discovered that two species cannot continue to occupy the same niche within a community over the long term. One species will be more efficient at using resources and will increase in numbers, while the other will die out or migrate or its niche will slowly change over time allowing it to remain in that community.

Target Language or Knowledge:

Match the pairs below:
organisms that eat plants only → herbivores, description of habitat, conditions, role & adaptations → niche , relationships between organisms and environment → ecology , the places where a species lives → habitat
Adaptations are features of a species that enable it to survive. To survive, members must carry out all of the life processes (feeding, movement, reproduction, etc.). A structural adaptation involves some part of an organism’s body, e.g. the horns of the male mountain goat to compete with other males for mates. A physiological adaptation refers to a process occurring inside the organism, e.g. gum tree leaves produce toxins (poisons) that discourage grazing by animals such as possums. A behavioural adaptation can be an individual or group activity, e.g. a flock of sheep moves into the shade to prevent overheating in the sun. Adaptation Structural Physiological Behavioural
long frog tongue → Structural adaptations , sticky frog tongue → Physiological adaptations , kangaroo pouch → Structural adaptations , possum night feeding → Behavioural adaptations , poisonous venom → Physiological adaptations , bird migration → Behavioural adaptations , cat’s claws → Structural adaptations , hedgehog rolling → Behavioural adaptations
Habitat is where a species lives.
True
Omnivores, herbivores, carnivores, scavengers and parasites are all consumers.
True
Ecology is the study of relationships between organisms and the environment.
true
Two species cannot occupy identical niches in the same community over the long term.
true