Ecology Flashcards
(94 cards)
1
Q
What is a habitat?
A
- The place where an organism lives.
2
Q
What is a population?
A
- All the organisms of one species living in a habitat.
3
Q
What is a community?
A
- The populations of different species living in a habitat.
4
Q
What are abiotic factors?
A
- Non-living factors of the environment, e.g. temperature.
5
Q
What are biotic factors?
A
- Living factors of the environment, e.g. food.
6
Q
What is an ecosystem?
A
- The interaction of a community of living organisms (biotic) with the non-living (abiotic) parts of their environment.
7
Q
What do plants need?
A
- Light ,space, water and mineral ions (nutrients) from the soil.
8
Q
What do animals need?
A
- Space (territory), food, water and mates.
9
Q
What do organisms compete with?
A
- Other species (and members of their own species) for the same resources.
10
Q
What is interdependence?
A
-Each species depends on other species for things such as food, shelter, pollination and seed dispersal.
11
Q
What is a food web?
A
-A diagram of what eats what.
12
Q
What are stable communities?
A
- Communities where all the species and environmental factors are in balance so that population sizes are roughly constant.
13
Q
What are examples of stable communities?
A
-Tropical rainforests and ancient oak woodlands.
14
Q
What are abiotic factors?
A
- Non-living factors.
15
Q
what are 7 examples of abiotic factors ?
A
- Moisture level
-Light intensity
-Temperature
-Carbon dioxide level (for plants)
-Wind intensity and direction
-Oxygen level (for aquatic animals)
-Soil pH and mineral content
16
Q
What can a change in abiotic factors affect?
A
-The sizes of populations in a community.
17
Q
What can this mean?
A
- It can affect the population sizes of other organisms that depend on them.
18
Q
What are biotic factors?
A
- Living factors.
19
Q
Name 4 examples of biotic factors.
A
-New predators
-Competition
-New pathogens
-Availability of food
20
Q
how could a decrease in light intensity , temperature or level of carbon dioxide affect a plant?
A
- decrease the rate of photosynthesis in a plant species
-this could affect plant growth and cause a decrease in the population size.
21
Q
What could a new predator do?
A
-Cause a decrease in the prey population.
22
Q
What do adaptations allow organisms to do?
A
-Live in different environmental conditions.
23
Q
What are structural adaptations?
A
-Features of an organism’s body structure – such as shape or colour.
24
Q
Example of a structural adaptation?
A
- Arctic fox has white fur – it’s camouflage against the snow.
-this helps them avoid predators and sneak up on prey
25
what do whales have to help them retain heat ?
-a thick layer of blubber
-small surface area to volume ratio
26
What are behavioural adaptations?
- The ways that organisms behave.
27
Example of a behavioural adaptation?
- species ( e.g swallows ) migrate to warmer climates during the winter.
28
What are functional adaptations?
- internal processes or systems in an organism that give it a survival advantage
29
Example of a functional adaptation?
- Desert animals conserve water by producing very little sweat and small amounts of concentrated urine.
30
What are extremophiles ?
-Microorganisms (e.g. bacteria) that are adapted to live in very extreme conditions.
31
Give 2 examples of an extremophile environment.
- High temperature (e.g. super hot volcanic vents)
-high pressure (e.g. deep sea vents).
32
What do food chains always start with?
- A producer .
33
How do produces make their own food ?
- using energy from the Sun.
34
what are producers usually ?
-green plants or algae - they make glucose by photosynthesis
35
what is biomass ?
- the mass of living material
36
What is a consumer?
-Organisms that eat other organisms.
37
What is a predator?
-Consumers that hunt and kill other animals.
38
What is prey?
-The animals predators eat.
39
What do environmental changes affect?
- The distribution of organisms.
40
What can environmental changes be caused by?
-Seasonal factors, geographic factors or human interaction.
41
What are 4 reasons biomass lost between each trophic level?
-Not all ingested material is absorbed.
-Some biomass is used to fuel respiration.
-Some is lost in waste.
-Some is used for movement or to keep warm.
42
How can you calculate the efficiency of biomass transfer?
-Efficiency = (Biomass transferred to the next level ÷ Biomass available at the previous level) × 100
43
Name three things that can affect food security.
-Increasing birth rate.
-New pests and pathogens.
-Environmental change.
44
How can fish stocks be maintained?
-Fishing quotas.
-Net size limits.
45
What is factory farming?
-Keeping animals in small pens to restrict movement and reduce energy transfer.
46
How is insulin produced using bacteria?
-Human insulin gene is cut out with restriction enzyme.
-Gene inserted into a plasmid using ligase enzyme
-plasmid inserted into bacteria.
-Bacteria reproduce and produce insulin.
47
Give two benefits of genetically modified crops.
-Increased yield.
-Resistant to pests or grow in poor soil.
48
-Name three environmental changes that can affect the distribution of organisms.
-A change in the availability of water.
-A change in the temperature.
-A change in the composition of atmospheric gases.
49
What is an example of a change in the availability of water?
-Distribution of some animal and plant species in the tropics changes between the wet and dry seasons.
50
What is an example of a temperature change?
-Distribution of bird species in Germany is changing because of a rise in average temperature.
51
What is an example of a change in atmospheric gases?
-Distribution of lichen species changes in areas where there’s more air pollution.
52
describe the water cycle
-energy from the sun makes water evaporate from the land and sea , turning it into water vapour
-water also evaporates from plants (transpiration )
-warm water vapour rises , when it gets higher up it cools and condenses to form clouds
-water falls from the clouds as precipitation onto land , where it provides fresh water for plants and animals
-it then drains into the sea
-the whole process repeats
53
What drives the water cycle?
- Energy from the Sun.
54
describe the carbon cycle process
-Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by green plants and algae during photosynthesis.
-The carbon is used to make glucose, which is turned into carbohydrates, fats and proteins in the plant.
-Plants are eaten by animals, and carbon is passed along the food chain.
-Both plants and animals respire, releasing carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere.
-When plants, animals and their waste die, microorganisms decompose the material and release CO₂ through respiration.
-Burning of fossil fuels also releases stored carbon into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
55
Why is decay important in the carbon cycle?
- It returns carbon compounds in waste and dead organisms to the environment.
56
What is decomposition?
- The breakdown of dead material by microorganisms.
57
What does decomposition produce?
-Compost – a natural fertiliser for crops and garden plants.
58
What affects the rate of decay?
*Temperature - warmer temperatures increases the rate of decomposition because they increase the rate that enzymes involved in decomposition work at
*Oxygen availability - many organisms need oxygen to respire , which they need to do to survive
* Water availability - decay takes place faster in moist environments because the organisms involved in decay need water to carry out biological processes
*Number of decay organisms - the more microorganisms and detritus feeders there are , the faster decomposition happens
59
What conditions produce the fastest rate of decay?
-Warm, moist, aerobic conditions.
60
How is biogas made?
-Anaerobic decay of waste material.
61
What is biogas mainly made of?
-Methane which can be burned as a fuel
62
How is biogas stored?
- In a simple fermenter (called a digester or generator).
63
Why can biogas not be stored as a liquid?
-needs too high a pressure. , so it has to be used straight away e.g heating / cooking
64
What is biodiversity?
-The variety of different species of organisms on Earth, or within an ecosystem.
65
Why is high biodiversity important?
-It makes ecosystems more stable.
66
Name three ways human activity reduces biodiversity.
-Waste production.
-Deforestation.
-Global warming.
67
How are we producing more waste?
- Due to increasing population and demand for higher standard of living.
68
What types of pollution are caused by waste?
-Water pollution.
-Land pollution.
-Air pollution.
69
what ae the two types of biogas generators?
- batch and continuous generators
70
describe a batch generator
-make biogas in small batches
-they're manually loaded up with waste
71
describe a continuous generator
-make biogas all the time
-waste is continuously fed in and biogas is produced at a steady rate
-more suited to large- scale biogas projects
72
what must a biogas generator have?
-an inlet for waste material to be put in
-an outlet for the digested material to be removed through
-an outlet so that the biogas can be piped to where it is needed
73
What is biodiversity?
-The variety of different species of organisms on Earth, or within an ecosystem.
74
Why is high biodiversity important?
-It makes ecosystems more stable.
75
Name three ways human activity reduces biodiversity.
-Waste production.
-Deforestation.
-Global warming.
76
How are we producing more waste?
- Due to increasing population and demand for higher standard of living.
77
What types of pollution are caused by waste?
-Water pollution.
-Land pollution.
-Air pollution.
78
What causes global warming?
-Gases like carbon dioxide and methane trap energy from the Sun.
79
What is the greenhouse effect?
-Gases absorb energy and re-radiate it back towards Earth.
80
List consequences of global warming.
-Sea levels rising → flooding & habitat loss.
-Changes in species distribution.
-Changes in migration patterns.
-Reduced biodiversity.
81
Give 3 reasons why humans deforest land.
-To clear land for farming.
-To grow crops from which biofuels can be produced.
-To make space for buildings.
82
What are the problems caused by deforestation?
-Less carbon dioxide taken in.
-More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
-Less biodiversity.
83
What is peat bog destruction and why is it bad?
-Peat bogs are destroyed for compost → carbon is released into the atmosphere → contributes to global warming.
84
Give 5 examples of programmes set up to protect ecosystems and biodiversity.
-Breeding programmes.
-Protecting rare habitats.
-Reintroducing hedgerows.
-Regulating deforestation.
-Recycling resources.
85
Give 4 examples of conflicting pressures.
-Protecting food security.
-Development of land.
-Cost of programmes.
-Local people’s livelihoods.
86
What is a trophic level?
-Each stage in a food chain.
87
What is at trophic level 1?
-Producers (e.g. plants, algae).
88
What are primary consumers?
-Herbivores that eat producers (trophic level 2).
89
What are secondary consumers?
-Carnivores that eat herbivores (trophic level 3).
90
What are tertiary consumers?
-Carnivores that eat secondary consumers (trophic level 4).
91
What are decomposers?
-Microorganisms that break down dead material.
92
What do pyramids of biomass show?
-The relative mass of each trophic level.
93
How is biomass always arranged in pyramids?
- The producer is always at the bottom, followed by primary, secondary, then tertiary consumers.
94
What happens to biomass at each level?
-It decreases up the pyramid.
