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Ecology Flashcards

(71 cards)

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1
Q

What is a living organism?

A

An individual organism capable of life

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2
Q

What is a habitat?

A

The place where an organism lives

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3
Q

What is an abiotic factor?

A

A non-living factor that affects where an organism can live e.g. temperature

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4
Q

What is a biotic factor?

A

A living factor that affects where an organism can live e.g food

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5
Q

What is a population?

A

All individuals of the same species in the same habitat

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6
Q

What is a community?

A

All individuals of different species in the same habitat

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7
Q

What is an ecosystem?

A

The interaction of the community of living organisms and the abiotic factors that affect them

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8
Q

How do living organisms interact?

A

To survive and reproduce organisms need a supply of materials from their environment and from the other organisms living there

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9
Q

What do plants compete with each other for

A

Light,water,mineral ions,space

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10
Q

What do animas compete with each other for

A

Oxygen,water,food,mates,territory

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11
Q

What is interdependence

A

Species in a community depend on each other for food,shelter,pollination, seed dispersal

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12
Q

What is a stable community

A

A community where all species and all the environmental factors are in balance

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13
Q

How can we spot a stable community

A

Population size remains fairly constant

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14
Q

Why are adaptations of living organisms important

A

Helps individuals survive in normal conditions, 3 types - structural,behavioural,functional

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15
Q

What is a structural adaptation

A

How the organism is built e.g. camel humps to store fat

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16
Q

What is a functional adaptation

A

How the organism functions e.g. desert rats don’t produce urine

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17
Q

What is a behavioural adaptation

A

How the organism behaves e.g. desert rats are nocturnal

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18
Q

What is an extremophile

A

An organism that can survive in high temperatures, high pressures or high salt concentrations e.g. bacteria in deep sea vents

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19
Q

What are producers

A

Any organism that produces their own glucose supply by photosynthesis using light e.g. green plants,algae

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20
Q

What are consumers

A

Any organism that has to eat to get food

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21
Q

What is biomass

A

The mass of living tissue in an organism

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22
Q

What are food chains

A

Flow charts that show feeding relationships,starting with a producer and an arrow that means “energy for or eaten by“

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23
Q

What is a food web

A

A series of interconnected food chains

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24
Q

What is a primary consumer

A

A consumer that eats plants (producers)

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25
What is a secondary consumer
A consumer that eats primary consumers
26
What is a predator species
A consumer that hunts and kills other consumers
27
What is a prey species
A consumer that is hunted or killed for food
28
What is a predator prey cycle
A graph that shows the rise and fall of predator and prey populations over time in a stable community
29
What do we mean by the “distribution“ of a species
The location in a habitat that a particular species is found
30
What do we mean by “abundance“ of a species
The number of individuals of a particular species
31
How do we measure distribution and abundance
Using quadrants and transects to find a sample of a species
32
What processing can we do with abundance data
Calculate the mode,mean or median and range,plot graphs to show how abundance of a species changes through habitats
33
What is the required practical for this unit
Measure the population size of a species in a habitat using sampling techniques
34
What is the carbon cycle
The cycling of carbon between the atmosphere,plants and respiring organisms
35
Why is the carbon cycle important
Carbon dioxide is taken in by plants during photosynthesis and released back into the atmosphere during respiration
36
What can go wrong with the carbon cycle?
Too much combustion causes carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to rise which can lead to global warming as CO2 is a greenhouse gas
37
What do microorganisms do in the carbon cycle
Microorganisms digest the carbohydrates in waste material, producing glucose and then respire the glucose, they also release CO2 into the atmosphere and minerals into the soil
38
What do we call microorganisms in the carbon cycle
a decomposer, the process is decomposition
39
What is the water cycle
The cycling of water between the atmosphere (as vapour and clouds) and the water stores (rivers,lakes,ocean)
40
Why is the water cycle important
All living organisms need a supply of fresh water that is potable (safe for drinking)
41
What is precipitation
Any water falling out of the sky e.g. rain,hail
42
What is evaporation?
Water turns from liquid to gas as its heated by the sun
43
What is condensation
Water vapour cools and turns back to a liquid
44
What is biodiversity
The variety of living organisms in an ecosystem
45
How do humans lower biodiversity
We pollute habitats,destroying them for building
46
Why is greater biodiversity important
The greater the biodiversity, the more stable the ecosystem so they are less likely to be harmed
47
What do we mean by stability of ecosystems
If one animal species relies on a single other species for food,shelter or to keep physical environment constant
48
So what would a stable ecosystem look like
Every species in a stable ecosystem would rely on several other species and the population would be fairly constant
49
What is waste management
Humans produce waste which needs to be properly handled, if it sent then we can cause pollution of water,air or land by sewage etc
50
Why is pollution a problem
Pollution kills animals and plants and this reduces biodiversity making some ecosystems unstable
51
Why is human land use a problem
Humans reduce the amount of land available for other species of building,quarrying, farming and dumping waste
52
What are peat bogs
Areas of land where the abiotic factors meant that plant material didn’t decompose after they died, these are rare habitats so they need lots of protection
53
How are peat bogs destroyed by humans
Mostly we use peat to produce compost
54
How else can peat bogs be destroyed
If water is drained to dry out the ground,peat starts to decay as abiotic factors have changed, peat can also be burnt as a fuel
55
What happens when a peat bog is destroyed
The area of peat bog land is reduced and this means biodiversity levels fall
56
Why is peat destruction bad for the environment
Decaying peat in compost or burning peat as a fuel releases CO2 (a greenhouse gas)
57
What is deforestation
Removal of trees from a forest so the land can be used for farming rice,cattle or biofuel crops
58
Why is deforestation bad for the environment
Loss of habitats causes biodiversity to fall,no CO2 taken in so more stays in the atmosphere
59
What is global warming
When the atmosphere warms due to increased levels of carbon dioxide and methane gas
60
Why are atmospheric carbon dioxide levels increasing
We burn fossil fuels and wood,destroy peat,releasing carbon dioxide and deforestation which means the trees aren’t there to photosynthesis
61
Why are atmospheric methane levels increasing
We farm more,more rice and cattle,both release methane into the atmosphere (a greenhouse gas)
62
How do greenhouse gases cause global warming
Stops heat energy leaving the atmosphere and escaping into space, earth gets warmer as greenhouse gases trap heat
63
How do humans improve biodiversity
Reducing deforestation,protecting rare habitats, breeding endangered species,recycling
64
How did farming methods reduce biodiversity
Hedges around fields were removed to make fields bigger and easier to farm
65
How can farming methods improve biodiversity
Replanting of hedgerows and leaving a strip of unharmed land round the edge of each field allows other plant species to grow,increasing variety
66
How can governments improve biodiversity
Make laws to reduce carbon emissions,protect forests and rare habitats,encouraging recycing
67
In the sampling required practical,how do we obtain a random number
Using a random number generator
68
Why is it important to use a random number
To avoid bias
69
What is a quadrat
A plastic frame used to count non-moving organisms
70
Why can’t we use a quadrat to measure the number of birds or mammals
They will fly away or run away so we can’t count them
71
What’s the equation used to estimate the number of plants in a sampled area of a field
(Area of field/ Area sampled) x number of plants counted

Biology (12 decks)

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