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Bio P2 > Ecology > Flashcards

Ecology Flashcards

1
Q

State the levels of organisation in an ecosystem.

A

Individual, population, community, ecosystem.

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2
Q

What is an ecosystem?

A

The interaction between the living components and non-living components.

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3
Q

State the factors that plants may compete for.

A

• Light
• Space
• Water
• Mineral ions from soil

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4
Q

What is intraspecific competition?

A

Competition within a species.

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5
Q

What is interdependence?

A

Different species in a ecosystem depend on each other for various resources, if one species is removed, the whole community may be affected.

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6
Q

What is a stable community?

A

A community in which all the biotic factors (the different species) and all abiotic factors are balanced so that population sizes remain relatively constant.

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7
Q

What are abiotic factors?

A

Non-living factors.

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8
Q

State the abiotic factors that may affect an ecosystem.

A

• Light intensity
• Temperature
• Moisture
• Soil pH and mineral content
• Wind intensity and direction
• Carbon dioxide level
• Oxygen level

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9
Q

Why might light intensity affect an ecosystem?

A

Different species of plants may have different optimum light intensities for growth.

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10
Q

How does soil pH affect an ecosystem?

A

Certain plants may grow better in either alkaline or acidic soil.
Soil pH may affect the appearance of the plant eg. colour of hydrangea.

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11
Q

How does moisture level affect an ecosystem?

A

Many plants cannot survive in waterlogged soil as their roots cannot respire.
Certain plants are adapted to high moisture levels.

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12
Q

How does wind intensity affect an ecosystem?

A

Plant seeds are more likely to germinate in locations with lower wind intensity, which may also attract animals that depend on the plant to live nearby.

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13
Q

Give an example of a type of plants that have adapted to low soil mineral content.

A

Carnivorous plants catch insects to compensate for the low level of soil mineral content.

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14
Q

How does carbon dioxide concentration affect an ecosystem?

A

Higher carbon dioxide concentration leads to more plant growth.

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15
Q

How does oxygen concentration affect an ecosystem?

A

Aquatic animals cannot survive in areas with low oxygen concentration.

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16
Q

State the biotic factors that may affect an ecosystem.

A

• Food
• New predators
• New pathogens
• Competition

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17
Q

What are organisms living in extreme environments called?
.

A

Extremophiles

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18
Q

Give 3 examples of extreme living environments.

A

• High temperature
• High pressure
• High salt concentration

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19
Q

State an example of where extremophile bacteria can be found

A

In deep sea vents.

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20
Q

Define population

A

A species that occupy the same habitat.

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21
Q

Define community

A

Populations of different species interacting.

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22
Q

Define ecosystem

A

The interactions between the biotic and abiotic factors in an area.

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23
Q

Define biomass

A

The total mass of living material.

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24
Q

Describe a simple food chain

A

producer -> primary consumer -› secondary consumer -> tertiary consumer.

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25
Q

Describe the pattern of predators and prey in a stable community
.

A

The numbers of predators and prey rise and fall in cycles

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26
Q

Why are producers the first trophic level?

A

• Producers provide all biomass for the food chain (production of glucose via photosynthesis).
• The rest of the food chain involves the transfer of this biomass.

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27
Q

What piece of apparatus is used to measure the abundance and distribution of organisms in an area?

A

Quadrat

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28
Q

What piece of apparatus is used to study the distribution of organisms across a gradient?

A

Belt transect

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29
Q

When considering the abundance of different organisms, what is meant by the term “mode”?

A

The most populous organism

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30
Q

Describe how materials cycle through the living and non-living components of an ecosystem

A

• Organisms take in elements from their surroundings e.g. soil, air.
• Elements converted to complex molecules which become biomass.
• Elements transferred along food chains.
• Elements returned to environment during excretion and decomposition of dead organisms.

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31
Q

Give 3 molecules which are cycled through ecosystems

A

Oxygen, carbon dioxide and water.

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32
Q

Describe the carbon cycle

A
  • Plants fix carbon dioxide into organic molecules during photosynthesis.
  • The organic carbon-containing molecules are passed onto organisms that eat the plants.
    Carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere by respiration from animals and plants.
    Burning fossil fuels also releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
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33
Q

Why is the carbon cycle important?

A

Carbon-containing molecules such as glucose are important for living organisms to grow and provide energy for vital functions within cells.

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34
Q

Describe the water cycle

A
  • Water from lakes and oceans evaporates.
  • The evaporated water condenses into clouds and returns to earth as precipitation.
  • The water from precipitation is useful for life on land.
  • The water then returns to rivers and oceans through surface runoff.
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35
Q

Why is the water cycle important?

A

Living organisms require water and the water cycle provides organisms on land with a continuous supply of water.

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36
Q

Why are microorganisms important for the cycling of materials through an ecosystem?

A

Microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) return carbon to the environment by releasing carbon dioxide through respiration while they decompose dead matter. The decomposition of dead matter in soil returns mineral ions to the environment for other organisms to use e.g. plants use mineral ions for growth.

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37
Q

What is meant by decomposition? (biology only)

A

The breakdown of dead materials into simpler organic matter

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38
Q

How do decomposers break down dead matter?
(biology only)

A

Decomposers release enzymes which catalvse the breakdown of dead material into smaller molecules.

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39
Q

What are the two tpes of decomposition?
(biology only)

A

Aerobic decomposition (with oxygen)
Anaerobic decomposition (without oxygen)

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40
Q

What factors affect the rate of decomposition? (biology only)

A

• Oxygen availability
• Temperature
• Water content

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41
Q

Why is oxygen required for decomposition?
(biology only)

A

Most decomposers require oxygen for aerobic respiration.

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42
Q

How does the availability of oxygen affect the rate of decomposition? (biology only)

A

• As oxygen levels increase, the rate of decomposition increases.
• As oxygen levels decrease, the rate of decomposition decreases.

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43
Q

Why can decomposition still occur in the absence of oxygen? (biology only)

A

Some decomposers respire anaerobically.*
*However, the rate of decomposition is slower as anaerobic respiration produces less energy.

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44
Q

How does soil water content affect the rate of decomposition? (biology only)

A

Decomposers require water to survive:
• In moist conditions the rate of decomposition is high.
• In waterlogged soils there is little oxygen for respiration so the rate of decomposition decreases.

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45
Q

Why does decomposition require water?
(biology only)

A

Water is required for the secretion of enzymes and absorption of dissolved molecules.

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46
Q

How does temperature affect the rate of decomposition? (biology only)

A

Decomposers release enzymes:
• Rate highest at 50°C (optimum temperature for enzymes).
• Lower temperatures, enzymes work too slowly, rate decreases.
• High temperatures, enzymes denature, decomposition stops.

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47
Q

How is the rate of change calculated when considering the decay of biological material? (biology only)

A

Rate of change = Change in value
Change in time
Where value is a measurable variable associated with the decav of the material

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48
Q

What is compost? (biology only)

A

The nutrient-rich product of the rapid decay of waste biological material (dead plants and animal waste) in optimum conditions set by gardeners and farmers.

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49
Q

How is compost used? (biology only)

A

Used as natural fertiliser to promote growth of crops or garden plants.

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50
Q

Describe how biogas generators work (biology only)

A

Biogas generators provide methane gas for fuel through anaerobic decomposition that occurs in animal waste.

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51
Q

Describe how environmental conditions affect communities (biology only) (higher only)

A

• Environmental conditions e.g. temperature, soil pH, light intensity affect the abundance and distribution of organisms within communities.
• e.g rising global temperatures have been linked to the extinction of frog species (their thin skin makes them more vulnerable to temperature changes).

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52
Q

How can different temperatures be bad for certain communities?

A
  • If the temperature is too low, growth will be slower as organisms will use more energy to stay warm
  • If the temperature is too high, organisms can die and water will become limited as evaporation increases
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53
Q

How can changes in water levels affect ecosystems?
(Higher)

A
  • Animals may have to migrate to find water.
  • Melting ice caps may destroy the habitats of some animals (either animals living in icy regions or by sea level rise).
54
Q

How can atmospheric gases affect ecosystems?
(Higher)

A
  • Some organisms cannot survive when certain gases are present.
  • Polluted water can cause illness to animals that drink it.
55
Q

What detrimental impacts can sulfur dioxide have on the environment?

A
  • Formed when fossil fuels containing impurities are burnt.
  • Sulfur dioxide can dissolve in water to form acid rain which can erode buildings and pollute water sources.
56
Q

What detrimental impacts can carbon monoxide have on the environment?

A
  • Carbon monoxide is formed from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels.
  • Carbon monoxide binds irreversibly to haemoglobin which prevents it from carrying oxygen.
  • Too much exposure can cause unconsciousness and death.
57
Q

Name 5 greenhouse gases

A
  • Water vapour
  • Carbon dioxide
  • Nitrous oxide
  • Methane
  • CFCs
58
Q

Give 3 human activities that contribute to greenhouse gases

A
  • Burning fossil fuels
  • Deforestation
  • Large scale livestock farming
59
Q

How do greenhouse gases lead to global warming?

A
  • Greenhouse gases allow heat from the sun to enter the atmosphere.
  • The gases act as a ‘blanket’ and trap the heat in the atmosphere.
60
Q

State 3 negative consequences of global warming

A
  • Sea level rise caused by melting icebergs.
  • Disrupted farming and agriculture.
  • Increased spread of diseases in warmer climates.
61
Q

What is biodiversity?

A

The variety of the different species on earth or within an ecosystem.

62
Q

What is the importance of biodiversity?

A

To maintain the stability of an ecosystem.

63
Q

How does biodiversity ensure the stability of an ecosystem?

A

It reduces the dependence on particular species for resources eg. food and shelter, so that even if one species is removed other species can still survive.

64
Q

Why have humans’ consumption of resources and waste production increased?

A

• Rapid rise in human population
• Increase in standard of living

65
Q

Where does pollution occur?

A

• Air
• Land
• Water

66
Q

State an example of water pollutants.

A

• Sewage
• Fertiliser
• Chemicals

67
Q

State an example of water pollutants.

A

• Sewage
• Fertiliser
• Chemicals

68
Q

How does eutrophication occur?

A

Fertiliser from farms pollute the water, causing excessive algae growth, depleting the oxygen in the water, causing other plants and animals to die.
Dead plants are decomposed by bacteria and the oxygen level decreases further.

69
Q

State an example of air pollutants.

A

• Smoke
• Acidic gases

70
Q

State an example of land pollutants.

A

• Landfill waste
• Chemicals

71
Q

Which human activities reduce the land available for animals and plants?

A

• Building
• Farming
• Quarrying
• Disposing of waste

72
Q

Why have peat bogs been destroyed?

A

To produce compost to increase food production.

73
Q

Why does the destruction of peat bogs greatly contribute to the greenhouse effect?

A

Peat bogs are stores of carbon (carbon sinks) and burning them releases a large volume of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

74
Q

Why have large-scale deforestation activities occurred?

A

• To provide land for cattle or rice fields
• To grow crops to produce biofuels

75
Q

What is the greenhouse effect?

A

Greenhouse gases trap energy from the Sun as heat in the atmosphere, keeping the temperature on earth suitable for life.

76
Q

What is causing global warming?

A

The increase in levels of greenhouse gases eg. carbon dioxide and methane, causing the temperature on earth to increase.

77
Q

What are the harmful effects of deforestation?

A

• Destruction of many animals’ habitats
• Releases large amounts of greenhouse gases

78
Q

State the consequences of global warming.

A

• Rising sea levels
• Melting polar ice caps
• Changing weather patterns
• Migration of animals to find suitable habitats
• Tropical diseases becoming more common
• Extinction of species

79
Q

Describe the steps taken to maintain biodiversity.

A

• Protection and rebuilding habitats.
• Replanting field margins and hedgerows.
• Reduce deforestation.
• Reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
• Recycling rather than disposing in landfills
• Breeding programmes for endangered species.

80
Q

What is the purpose of replanting hedgerows and field margins?

A

There is higher biodiversity in the margins than the fields that they surround.

81
Q

What does a food chain show?

A

It describes the feeding relationships between organisms and the resultant stages of biomass transfer.

82
Q

What is trophic level 1?

A

Plants and algae which make their own food (through photosynthesis) - called producers.

83
Q

What is trophic level 2?

A

Herbivores which eat producers - called primary consumers.

84
Q

What is trophic level 3?

A

Carnivores that eat herbivores - called secondary consumers.

85
Q

What is trophic level 4?

A

Carnivores that eat other carnivores - called tertiary consumers.

86
Q

What is an apex predator?

A

A carnivore with no predators

87
Q

How do decomposers break down dead matter?

A

Decomposers release enzymes which catalyse the breakdown of dead material into smaller molecules. Soluble small food molecules then diffuse into the microorganisms.

88
Q

What is biomass?
.

A

The dry mass of all of the living organisms in an area

89
Q

Why is dry mass used for biomass?

A

Because the wet mass varies as the volume of water in the organism varies.

90
Q

How do you calculate the efficiency of biomass transfer?

A

efficiency = (energy transferred / total energy available) × 100

91
Q

What percentage of the incident energy from light for photosynthesis do producers transfer?

A

1%

92
Q

What percentage of the biomass from one trophic level is transferred to the level above it in feeding?

A

Approximately 10%

93
Q

Why are biomass transfers not 100% efficient?

A

Energy is lost through:
- Egestion (removal of faeces)
- Excretion (removal of waste products e.g. urine containing urea and water)
- Respiration (loss of carbon dioxide and water) in which large amounts of glucose are used
The production of inedible bones and shells

94
Q

How does the efficiency of biomass transfers affect the number of trophic levels in a biomass pyramid?

A

The less efficient the transfers, the fewer trophic levels and the fewer organisms in higher trophic levels.

95
Q

What is a biomass pyramid?

A

A pyramid that shows the total dry mass of organisms at each trophic level
Trophic level 1 is at the bottom of the pyramid

96
Q

What is food security?

A

Having enough food to be able to feed a population.

97
Q

State the biological factors threatening food security.

A

• Rising birth rates
• Changing diets in developed countries - food is transported around the world
• New pests and pathogens
• Environmental changes affecting food production
• Increased cost of agriculture
• Armed conflicts

98
Q

How does intensive farming increase the production of animals?

A

• Reduce their energy loss to the environment:
• Limiting movement
• Regulating their surrounding temperature
• Feed animals antibiotics to prevent diseases.
• Feed animals high protein foods to increase growth.

99
Q

What are the disadvantages of intensive farming?

A

• May lead to antibiotic resistance.
• Cost is high.
• Ethical objections eg. limiting movement of animals may cause them harm.
• Biodiversity may be reduced.

100
Q

What are the disadvantages of intensive farming?

A

• May lead to antibiotic resistance.
• Cost is high.
• Ethical objections eg. limiting movement of animals may cause them harm.
• Biodiversity may be reduced.

101
Q

What are the advantages of intensive farming?

A

• Higher yield of food
• More efficient
• Allows easier quality control

102
Q

How can fish stocks be conserved?

A

• Control the size of gaps in fishing nets to prevent juvenile fish from being killed. before reaching reproductive maturity
• Introduce fishing quotas.

103
Q

What is a transgenic organism?

A

An organism that has been genetically modified to contain genetic material from another source.

104
Q

State an example of genetically modified foods.

A

.
Golden rice.

105
Q

How might crops be genetically modified?

A

• To improve nutritional value
• To be pest resistant
• To be pesticide resistant

106
Q

What are the advantages of golden rice?

A

It contains additional beta-carotene which can be converted to vitamin A in the body, supplementing people who do not obtain enough Vitamin A in their diet to prevent night blindness from forming.

107
Q

What is mycoprotein?

A

A protein-rich substance used to make meat substitute food for vegetarians and vegans.

108
Q

How is mycoprotein produced?

A

Fusarium, a fungus, is grown on glucose syrup, in aerobic conditions and the biomass is harvested and purified to get the mycoprotein.

109
Q

Abundance

A

Abundance refers to how many organisms there are.

110
Q

Quadrats -
Transects -

A

quadrants - to measure abundance
Transects - to measure how distribution changes

111
Q

what does evaporation require

A

Evaporation requires energy

112
Q

what happens to water during condensation?

A

Water vapour turns into liquid water

113
Q

Which process in the carbon cycle removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?

A

photosynthesis

114
Q

Which carbon-containing compound do plants produce during photosynthesis?

A

glucose

115
Q

what decmopsoung does for plants

A

This recycles the carbon, nitrogen, magnesium etc. and makes them available for the plants to absorb and use again.

116
Q

what happens if too much water in soil

A

soil becomes waterlogged then the oxygen levels will fall, which will decrease the rate of decomposition.

117
Q

anaerobic decay

A

decomposing microorganisms can break down organic material without oxygen. In these cases, the microorganisms carry out anaerobic respiration -anaerobic decay

118
Q

Biogas generators

A

Biogas generators are large containers in which animal or plant waste is left to decay anaerobically

119
Q

Once the biogas is removed from the tank, a sludgy material is left over- what’s its use

A

contains a high density of useful minerals- so this can be spread on fields like fertiliser.

120
Q

Give three reasons why maintaining high biodiversity is important.

A

1 help to provide the resources needed to sustain life, including human life

121
Q

How do field margins and hedgerows in agriculture help increase biodiversity?

A

They provide extra habitats and food sources so that a wider range of species can survive.

122
Q

How can the government encourage businesses (including farmers) to reduce damage to biodiversity.

A

Pay businesses for carrying out certain practices (like planting hedgerows)
Setting quotas or limits on harmful practices (such as quotes for deforestation)

123
Q

what’s the atmosphere

A

The is a layer of gases surrounding the Earth that is held in place by gravity.

124
Q

What is the difference between global warming and climate change?

A

Global warming refers to the overall increase in the earth’s temperature
Climate change is a consequence of global warming and refers to the effects on the climate, such as large-scale shifts in weather patterns

125
Q

3 main consequences of low biodiversity

A

no tress-less photosynthesis- won’t be taking in co2 from atmosphere= global warming

burning - release co2, smoke which suffocates animals, pollutes environment

habitats destroyed-reduces biodiversity. species = extinct

126
Q

Give three reasons for deforestation.

A

To clear land for agriculture
Logging for wood
Mining

127
Q

Explain how draining peat bogs contributes to global warming.

A

The draining of water allows air (and oxygen) to return to the soil
This allows microorganism to carry out aerobic respiration and decay the organic matter
This releases CO2 which acts as a greenhouse gas, and contributes to global warming

128
Q

ver the past 200 years, why has the food that we eat become more intensive to produce?

A

Our diets have changed to include food that require more land and resources to produce.
For example we consume more meat and fewer grains.

129
Q

What have humans done to allow them to increase their production of food?

A

Clearing land for agriculture
Application of fertilisers
Application of pesticides
Application of herbicides
Selective breeding
Genetic modification

130
Q

How could the spread of pathogens across the world affect food security?

A

They could damage/kill plants…
…which would decrease their yield…
…so there would be less food available.

131
Q

How scientists can estimate fossil age

A

Compare to fossils of known age
By age of rocks

132
Q

2 factors caused extincintuok of …

A

New disease
New predators / competition for food and mates

Bio P2 (8 decks)

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