Population, Community, Habitat & Ecosystem (Edexcel IGCSE Biology)

Key Terms in Ecology

Spec point — 5.1 · understand the terms population, community, habitat and ecosystem

• There are several key terms that we use when referring to the various different components of an ecosystem and their levels of organisation:

  • A population is defined as a group of organisms of the same species living in the same place at the same time

  • A community includes all of the populations living in the same area at the same time

    • Within a community, each species depends on other species for food, shelter, pollination, seed dispersal etc
    • If one species is removed it can affect the whole community

  • A habitat is the place where an organism lives

    • E.g. badgers, deer, oak trees and ants are all species that would live in a woodland habitat

  • An ecosystem is defined as all the biotic factors and all the abiotic factors that interact within an area at one time

    • The term 'biotic factors' includes all the living components such as plants and animals

    • The term 'abiotic factors' includes all the non-living components such as light intensity, mineral ions, water availability

    • Ecosystems can vary greatly in size and scale

      • A small ecosystem might be a garden pond
      • A large ecosystem might be the whole of Antarctica

Levels of organisation in an ecosystem