GCSE Biology · AQA 8461 · Topic 4.7.1
Adaptations, interdependence and competition
Key points
- Plants compete for light, space, water and mineral ions; animals compete for food, mates and territory.
- Interdependence: species rely on each other for food, shelter, pollination and seed dispersal. A stable community is one where species and environmental factors are in balance, so population sizes stay roughly constant.
- Abiotic factors are non-living: light, temperature, moisture, soil pH and minerals, wind, CO and O.
- Biotic factors are living: food availability, new predators or pathogens, and competition.
- Adaptations can be structural, behavioural or functional. Extremophiles live in very hot, salty or high-pressure places.
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Organisms survive only if they can get the resources they need and cope with their surroundings. This sub-topic explains competition, interdependence, the factors that affect communities and the adaptations that let organisms live where…
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