Ecology and the Environment Flashcards

Question

producer

Answer 1

they produce their own energy eg plants photosynthesing

Answer 2

the organisms which eat the producer eg sheep who eat the grass

Answer 3

feed on the secondary consumer

Answer 4

feed on the primary consumer

Answer 5

a different stage of a food chain eg one trophic level might be the primary consumers

Answer 6

organisms (bacteria and fungi) which secrete digestive enzymes to decay dead organic matter to obtain their food, these help recycle nutrients

Answer 7

a simple way to show the feeding interactions between organisms in a community the arrows show the direction that the energy is travelling in

Answer 8

shows a more complex version and accurate version of the feeding interactions between the organisms in a community can also show interdependence (how the change in one population can affect others)

Answer 9

A pyramid of numbers shows how many organisms at each level of a food chain. You cannot change the trophic level of the organisms - they must stay in the same order as in the food chain with producers on the bottom, followed by primary consumers, then secondary consumers, then tertiary consumers this is why the pyramid of number is slightly flawed the pyramids always has the first thing on the food chain at the bottom and then the second and etc

Answer 10

shows the total mass of the organisms in each trophic level (i.e. the mass of an individual x the number of individuals). These are a more accurate way of looking at the relative amounts of organisms these are always more like a normal pyramid This is because the mass of organisms has to decrease as you go up a food chain – if we take our first food chain as an example, it’s impossible to have 10kg of grass-feeding 50kg of voles feeding 100kg of barn owls

Answer 11

Pyramids of energy illustrate the amount of energy contained within the biomass of individuals within different trophic levels The area of each box represents the quantity of energy present These pyramids always have a wide base (due to the large amount of energy contained within the biomass of producers) As you move up the pyramid to higher trophic levels the quantity of energy decreases as not all energy is transferred to the biomass of the next trophic level (roughly only 10 % of the energy is passed on)

Answer 12

Energy flows from the sun to the first trophic level (producers) in the form of light Producers convert light energy into chemical energy This occurs during photosynthesis, when producers convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen Producers use this glucose (during respiration) to produce their own biomass When primary consumers consume (eat) producers, they break down the biomass of the producer (digestion) and use the chemical energy to increase or sustain their own biomass When secondary consumers consume (eat) primary consumers, they break down the biomass of the primary consumer (digestion) and use the chemical energy to increase or sustain their own biomass, and so on In this way, as chemical energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next, biomass is also transferred

Answer 13

Biomass is a store of chemical energy

Answer 14

ruffly 90% is lost between each trophic level

Answer 15

the total amount of energy available eventually becomes too small to support another trophic level as 90% is lost between each level

Answer 16

Organisms rarely eat every part of the organism they are consuming – some of the biological material of plants and animals may be inedible Not all the ingested material is digested and absorbed, some is egested as faeces Energy is used for movement Energy is used to generate heat Energy is used for metabolic processes Some absorbed material is lost as waste: Carbon dioxide and water are waste products of respiration Water and urea are the waste products in the urine, which is produced when proteins are broken down

Answer 17

takes N2 gas and change it into nitrates in the soil

Answer 18

When the animals and plants die, they decay and all the proteins inside them are broken down into ammonium compounds and put back into the soil

Answer 19

convert the ammonium compounds (from the decomposers) to nitrites and then to nitrates

Answer 20

take the nitrates out of the soil and convert them back into N2 gas

Answer 21

N2 gas is very stable and the bonds holding the nitrogen atoms together would need massive amounts of energy to break (the two nitrogen atoms in a nitrogen molecule are held together by a triple covalent bond)

Answer 22

Nitrogen as an element is required to make proteins

Answer 23

nitrogen taken out of the air and converted into something easier to absorb such as nitrates

Answer 24

lightning nitrogen fixing bacteria

Answer 25

splitting the bond between the two atoms and turning them into nitrous oxides like N2O and NO2 that dissolve in rainwater and ‘leach’ into the soil

Answer 26

denitrification (bad denitrifying bacteria) plants actively transport N ions into their roots

Answer 27

nitrogen fixing (lighting or nitrogen fixing bacteria) nitrification (nitrifying bacteria)

Answer 28

eat the plants (or other animals) which contain amino acids and proteins

Answer 29

plants actively transport N ions into their roots

Answer 30

waste (urine and faeces) which puts the nitrogen back into the soil as ammonium compounds

Answer 31

they are found in poorly aerated soil which mean they respire anaerobically which puts the nitrogen straight out of the soil and into the air again

Answer 32

by ploughing and turning over soil (aerating)

Answer 33

decaying waste fossilisation of dead plants and animals occurs in specific conditions

Answer 34

carbon in dead and decaying matter is broken down by decomposers carbon stored in fossil fuels is extracted

Answer 35

carbon is released when fossil fuels are burned in factories or cars or planes (combustion) carbon is released during respiration of plants, animals and decomposers plants are eaten by animals which then respire as well

Answer 36

photosynthesis from plants

Answer 37

acid rain can damage plants and animals and also make rivers + lakes acidic damaging aquatic organisms. can also cause leaching of toxic minerals into lakes

Answer 38

Water vapour Carbon dioxide Methane Nitrous oxides CFCs - Chlorofluorocarbons

Answer 39

CO binds irreversibly to hemoglobin in red blood cells forming (carboxyhaemoglobin), preventing them from carrying oxygen to vital organs like the heart and brain

Answer 40

The Sun emits rays that enter the Earth’s atmosphere The heat bounces back from the Earth’s surface Some heat is reflected back out into space Some heat is absorbed by greenhouse gases and is trapped within the Earth’s atmosphere – this is normal However, as the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere rise due to human activities the atmosphere gets thicker and traps more heat causing the earth to heat up more than usual making it the enhanced greenhouse effect

Answer 41

Carbon dioxide is produced during the combustion of fossil fuel Methane is produced by cattle as they digest grass and released by rice paddy fields Deforestation: Clearing forests reduces the Earth’s capacity to absorb CO₂ through photosynthesis

Answer 42

Ocean temperatures increasing, causing melting of polar ice caps / rising sea levels / flooding / coral bleaching Increasing temperatures causing extreme weather like super storms, flooding, droughts Changes in or loss of habitats due to these extreme weather events Decreases in biodiversity as food chains are disrupted and extinction rates increase Increases in migration of species to new places, including increased spread of pests and disease

Answer 43

toxic chemicals can't be broken down and so build up and bioaccumulation and may even build up to toxic levels (biomagnifacation) untreated sewage - sewage provides a good source of food for decomposers which therefore breed and with more they use up oxygen in the water when respiring aerobically. This lack of oxygen in the water causes death of other aquatic organisms as they don't have enough oxygen. The death of these organisms causes more food for decomposers and the process repeats. (eutrphacation)

Answer 44

fertilisers - cause increase in growth in aquatic plants meaning less light reaches the bottom of the water so plants die when provides more food for the decomposers which therefore breed and with more they use up oxygen in the water when respiring aerobically. This lack of oxygen in the water causes death of other aquatic organisms as they don't have enough oxygen. The death of these organisms causes more food for decomposers and the process repeats. (eutrphacation)

Answer 45

leaching - if there is deforestation then there are less trees to uptake water so the water runs off into lakes and rivers. This means the mineral ions are removed from the soil and some of these nutrients (especially nitrates), can lead to further problems such as eutrophication soil erosion - The water running off from deforested areas may carry away some of the topsoil, causing erosion. Because of deforestation there are no plants present in the soil and therefore there are no roots holding the soil in place. The topsoil contains the most fertile, mineral ion rich materials: when it is lost due to erosion the minerals are also lost, making the land very difficult to use for crop growth and reducing the chance of plants re-growing. evapotranspiration - water is transferred from the land to the atmosphere by evaporation from the soil and other surfaces and by transpiration from plants. Transpiration is the evaporation and diffusion of water through the stomata of leaves. This evaporated water moves into the atmosphere and eventually (through the water cycle) makes rain in rain clouds. These rain clouds when then rain onto the plants, and the cycle will continue. When deforestation occurs, this cycle is broken. carbon cycle - trees photosynthesis and so when you cut them down they can't meaning that less carbon dioxide gets converted back into oxygen breaking the cycle. The cut down trees are usually burnt aswell which adds more carbon back into the atmosphere imbalance of atmospheric gases - more CO2 in atmosphere and less O2 as trees don't photosynthesis as they are cut down

Ecology and the Environment Flashcards

(69 cards)