Download Species, Population, and Communities

Name
MANKIND AND NATURE IN HARMONY
Look at Things Around You
What’s in an Ecosystem?
4T4U2A03
Date
Species, Population, and Communities
OrganOr
Organism
Population
Communities
Species
A species is a group of organisms that can mate and produce offspring like
themselves. The offspring can also mate and produce organisms like
themselves.
For example, a male gray squirrel and a female gray squirrel can mate and
produce offspring. The young gray squirrels look like their parents. Some
organisms that look alike are not the same species. For example, a goose and a
duck look alike. They both have feathers, webbed feet, and flat bills. But a
goose and a duck can’t mate to produce offspring. They are members of
different species.
Populations
All the organisms of the same species that live in the same place at the same
time are a population. For example, all Canada geese are members of the same
species, and the Canada geese that live at the same lake in the summer form a
population. Mallard ducks that live at the lake form another population. Lake
trout that live in the lake form a third population. Water lilies that grow in the
lake form another population.
Communities
Populations that live in the same place at the same time make up a community.
A lake community could have populations of geese, ducks, bass, water lilies,
grasses, and many other species of plants and animals.
The populations in a community interact with each other. Mallard ducks interact
with the insects they eat. They also interact with raccoons that try to steal their
eggs. Populations also compete with each other. Canada geese and mallard
ducks both eat insects. They both build nests in hidden places around the edge
of the lake.