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2.8.1Additional lessons

Habitats — IB Biology SL Revision Notes & Topical Questions

5 min read 5 parts Lesson 41 of 142

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Part 1 of 5What a Habitat Is

2.8.1 Habitats
Habitat
  • The place where an organism lives, which provides food, shelter and the conditions it needs to survive.
Location
  • A habitat can be described by geography, for example a polar habitat at the North or South Pole.
Ecosystem type
  • Habitats can also be named by their type, such as grassland, desert, wetland or rainforest.
Many species
  • Any one habitat contains many different species that together make up a community.
Microhabitat
  • A small, specific part of a habitat, such as the underside of a stone, can have its own conditions.

Part 2 of 5Levels of Organisation

1
An individual organism is a single living thing of one species.
2
A population is a group of organisms of the same species living in the same area at the same time.
3
A community is all the populations of different species living and interacting in one habitat.
4
An ecosystem is a community together with the non-living environment it interacts with.
5
Many ecosystems with similar climates and vegetation make up a biome.

Part 3 of 5Describing a Habitat

Describing a Habitat
Abiotic features
  • Temperature, light, water, soil and salinity vary between habitats and affect which species can live there.
Biotic features
  • Other organisms provide food, competition, predation and shelter within the habitat.
Example: rocky shore
  • Species on a rocky shore live in zones that are covered and uncovered by the tide.
Example: pond
  • A pond is a freshwater habitat with plants, invertebrates, fish and microbes in one community.

Part 4 of 5Why Habitats Matter

Why Habitats Matter
Resources
  • The conditions in a habitat decide which food, shelter and breeding sites are available to a species.
Change
  • Loss or damage of a habitat, for example by deforestation, reduces the size of populations living there.
Conservation
  • Protecting a habitat protects the whole community of species that depend on it.

Part 5 of 5Exam Checklist & Tips

2.8.1 – Key Points for the Exam

  • Habitat The environment in which a species normally lives.
  • Population A group of organisms of one species living in the same area.
  • Community All the populations of different species in an area, interacting together.
  • Ecosystem A community and its non-living environment, interacting as a system.

Common Mistakes

  • Using habitat and ecosystem as if they mean the same thing;
    • an ecosystem includes the interactions with abiotic factors.
  • Calling all the organisms in an area a population, when a population refers to a single species.
  • Describing a habitat only by its location and ignoring the ecosystem type.
  • Thinking that a habitat contains only one species; habitats contain communities.

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