(a) Write short notes on the following:
(i) habitat
(ii) ecological niche.
(b) (i) List three instruments used in the measurement of different ecological factors.
(ii) Briefly state what each instrument listed in (b) (i) above is used for.
(c) Name; (i) three plants (ii) two animals found in savannah vegetation.
Explanation
(a)(i) Habitat: Any environment within an ecosystem where an organism lives naturally.
(1) Similar organisms tend to associate and live together
(2) Every habitat is affected by some environmental factor(s) / biotic and abiotic factors
(3) Habitats may be terrestrial e.g. Tropical rain forest/ grassland / Savanna/ desert/ any suitable example, or aquatic, e.g. ocean / lake pond, arboreal trunks / leaf surface / or any suitable example.
(ii) Ecological Niche: Every organism is adapted to a specific place, and play a role in that community e.g. it feeds on some organisms/serves as food for others, it derives / obtains nutrients from its habitat! returns nutrients to it habitat, it is either a producer of a consumer. The sum total of all these roles for any given organism is referred to as its ecological niche.
(b) List of Ecological instruments and their uses
| Instrument | Uses |
|
(1) Light meter |
-for measuring light intensity |
(c) Plants of the Savanna Region: Grass -Acacia, shea butter, date palm, Mosses, Silk cotton, Flambouyant, Baobab, Lophina, Mango, Epiphyte / Orchid, Mushroom, Crotalaria, Parkia clapertonia, Vitex etc.
Animals of the Savanna Region Animal: Antelope, Elephant, Lion, Squirrel, Ants, Termites, Millipede, Centipede, Butterfly/ insects, Scorpions, snakes, Tortoise, Monkey, Baboon, Grasscutters, Giraffe, Zebra, Birds etc.