Niche and Competition in Biology
This page delves into the fundamental concepts of niches and competition in biological ecosystems, providing a comprehensive overview for students studying Biology niche and competition notes GCSE and A-level.
The concept of a niche is thoroughly explained as the role an organism plays within a community, encompassing its interactions with both physical and biological components of the ecosystem. This includes how the organism utilizes resources such as light, nutrients, and water, as well as its interactions with other organisms through competition and predation.
Example: The red squirrel's niche is illustrated, detailing its habitat (coniferous and deciduous forests), resource usage (insects, seeds, bark, nuts, fruits, water, and sticks for nest-building), and interactions with other organisms (competition with grey squirrels and susceptibility to diseases carried by them).
The page then transitions to the topic of competition, a crucial aspect of ecosystem dynamics. Competition is defined as the struggle between organisms for the same limited resources necessary for survival.
Definition: Competition occurs when organisms need the same resources to survive.
The text outlines the resources that animals and plants compete for:
- Animals: mates, shelter, food
- Plants: nutrients, space, light, water
Vocabulary:
- Intraspecific competition: Competition for the same resources between members of the same species
- Interspecific competition: Competition for resources between members of different species
These two types of competition in Biology are essential for understanding ecosystem dynamics and species interactions.
The final section of the page focuses on energy transfer in food chains, a critical concept in ecosystem ecology. It explains how energy from consumed food is utilized and lost through various processes in an organism's body.
Highlight: Only about 10% of the energy consumed is used for growth and passed on to the next trophic level in a food chain.
The page concludes by defining key components of ecosystems:
- Producers: Organisms that make their own food
- Primary consumers: Animals that only eat plants (herbivores)
- Secondary consumers: Animals that eat other animals (carnivores) or both plants and animals (omnivores)
Vocabulary:
- Ecosystem: The basic unit of study in ecology, comprising the habitat and community of living things
- Community: Made up of animals and plants within an ecosystem
- Population: The total number of organisms of one species living in a particular habitat
This comprehensive overview provides students with a solid foundation for understanding energy transfer in food chains biology and the complex interactions within ecosystems.
