AQA GCSE Biology - 7.1 Adaptations, Interdependence & Competition

Sep 5, 2026

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AQA GCSE Biology topic notes covering the relationships that shape ecosystems, with a focus on communities, abiotic and biotic factors, and how organisms are adapted to survive. Explores four levels of ecosystem organisation, defines competition and adaptation, and explains intraspecific versus interspecific competition. Includes interdependence concepts such as food webs, plus typical examination guidance on predicting population increases and decreases.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

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7.1 Adaptations, Interdependence & Competition

7.1.1 Communities

7.1.2 Abiotic Factors

7.1.3 Biotic Factors

7.1.4 Adaptations

Head to www.savemyexams. com for more awesome resources AQA GCSE Biology 7.1 Adaptations, Interdependence & Competition Contents 7.1.1 Communities 7.1.2 Abiotic Factors 7.1.3 Biotic Factors 7.1.4 Adaptations © 2015 − 2024 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers Your notes Head to www.savemyexams. com for more awesome resources 7.1.1 Communities Levels of Organisation inan Ecosystem There are 4 levels of organisation within an ecosystem: Individual organism: a single member of a species Population: a number of individuals of the same species living in the same area atthe sametime Community: multiple populations (of diyerent species) living and interacting in the same area Ecosystem: the interaction between a community (the living, biotic part) and the non-living (abiotic) parts of the environment Levels of organisation inan ecosystem © 2015 − 2024 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers Your notes Head to www.savemyexams. com for more awesome resources Competition & Adaption You should understand the following 2 terms: 1. Competition: If a group of organisms all need the same resource in order to survive and reproduce (have oyspring) but there is a limited amount of the resource available, they are said to compete for the resource Competition can be between members of the same species (intraspeci|c competition) or between members of diyerent species (interspeci|c competition) Intraspeci|c competition between two grey squirrels (same species) fora limited resource © 2015 − 2024 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers Your notes Head to www.savemyexams. com for more awesome resources Interspeci|c competition between a grey squirrel andared squirrel (diyerent species) fora limited resource 2. Adaptation: If an organism has certain features, behaviours, or other characteristics that help it to survive and reproduce in its habitat, it is said to be adapted to its habitat Ecosystems An ecosystem is the interaction of a community of living organisms (biotic)with the non-living (abiotic) parts of their environment Ecosystems can vary greatly in size and scale. Some ecosystems are small – a single tree can be seen asan ecosystem. Some ecosystems are very large – the whole of Antarctica can be seen as one ecosystem. Some other examples of ecosystems include: Agarden pond A woodland A coral reef A desert © 2015 − 2024 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers Your notes Head to www.savemyexams. com for more awesome resources Interactions within an Ecosystem In order to survive and reproduce (have oyspring) , organisms need certain resources from their surroundings (from the ecosystem they are living in) This means that members of a species will often interact with members of its own species or other species Some examples of these interactions include: Predators (carnivores) eating prey Herbivores eating plants Plant species being pollinated by bees © 2015 − 2024 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers Your notes Head to www.savemyexams. com for more awesome resources Competition in Plants & Animals Plants in a community or habitat may compete with each other for certain limited resources: Resources competed for by plants table Animals in a community or habitat may compete with each other for certain limited resources: Resources competed for by animals table © 2015 − 2024 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers Your notes Head to www.savemyexams. com for more awesome resources Interdependence Within a community, each species depends on other species for food, shelter, pollination, seed dispersal etc If one species is removed it can ayect the whole This is called interdependence Astable community is one where all the species a

FAQs

What are the four levels of organisation in an ecosystem?

They are individual organism, population, community, and ecosystem. Each level adds more scope, from one species member to interactions between living communities and non-living environmental factors.

How do intraspecific and interspecific competition differ?

Intraspecific competition occurs between members of the same species, while interspecific competition occurs between different species. Both happen when organisms need the same limited resource to survive and reproduce.

What is interdependence in a food web?

Interdependence is when species rely on other species for essential needs like food, shelter, pollination, or seed dispersal. Removing one species can change population sizes across the food web, leading to increases or decreases depending on who depends on whom.

Sep 5, 2026

Upload by Maeve