IB Biology Topic B4.1: Adaptation to Environment Key Definitions

Abiotic factors are non-living components like temperature, water availability, salinity, and soil type.

Biodiversity is the total variety of life on Earth.

Large-scale groupings of ecosystems sharing similar abiotic factors (e.g., temperature, precipitation).

A habitat is the specific place where an organism, population, species, or community lives. The word comes from the Latin habitare, meaning "to live."A

A limiting factor is any abiotic or biotic variable that restricts a species’ growth, reproduction, or distribution if it goes beyond the species’ tolerance range.

Mutualism is a cooperative relationship where both species gain benefits.

Each species survives within specific minimum and maximum values of certain abiotic factors, its range of tolerance. Outside this range, survival is impossible.

1. Each species has an optimal range of abiotic factors within which it can thrive.
2. Conditions outside this range lead to stress or intolerance, making survival or reproduction impossible.

Stomata are small openings on the leaf surface that regulate gas exchange and water loss in plants