Ecosystems Flashcards
What is a small scale ecosystem?
A small scale ecosystem could be a pond, a lake, a garden, a decaying tree stump or even a compost bin.
What is a large scale ecosystem?
A large scale ecosystem, or a biome, is a very large ecosystem, or a group of ecosystems with similar biotic and abiotic factors. Examples of these are the rainforest, deserts and deciduous woodland.
What is a producer?
A producer is a biotic member of a biome that makes its own food. Plants are producers because they get their energy from the Sun. Producers are at the bottom of food chains.
What is a consumer?
A consumer is a biotic member of a biome that eats other animals and plants for food. Examples are foxes and birds, and they are further up the food chain.
What is a biotic member of a biome?
A biotic member of a biome is a living thing, for example, in a pond biome, a biotic member would be a frog, dragonfly or fish.
What is an abiotic feature in a biome?
An abiotic feature of a biome is something that isn’t living, but still affects the creatures living within it. In a pond biome, the weather, the soil and the water are all abiotic features.
What is a decomposer?
A decomposer is a creature which consumes dead plants and animals, and decomposes them. This reduces them to simpler forms of matter. Examples of decomposers are fungi and bacteria.
What is interdependence?
Interdependence in an ecosystem is the relationship between the biotic and abiotic factors interacting with each other. For example, if the weather is too hot or too cold, animals will die out.
What can cause damage to an ecosystem?
Human activity like deforestation can destroy the habitats and the animals living there. Air and water pollution, dropping litter and climate change can cause irreversible damage to an ecosystem. One of the main producers in the biome dying out can cause the rest of the food chain to go hungry.
What has water pollution done to the UK’s ecosystems?
The glutinous snail was found in clean, unpolluted lakes all across the UK, however now it survives in just one site in Wales. It was declared extinct in England in 2010.
What has a lack of active management done to the UK’s ecosystems?
Without active management, such as grazing or cutting, ferns, reedbeds and other weedy areas will turn to scrubland or woodland.
What has climate change done to the UK’s ecosystems?
The range of the Arctic Char (a coldwater fish) is contracting as the water temperatures around the UK become increasingly hotter, due to climate change. Dragonflies are expanding northwards due to the increased temperature, and colonising from the rest of Europe.
What are the characteristics of a hot desert biome?
The hot desert biome (such as in Cairo, Egypt) is caused by air travelling to the poles from the Equator, which loses its moisture. There are uniquely adapted species living in this area, including the coyote, which has adapted to eating cactus fruits and horned lizards.
What are the characteristics of a rainforest biome?
The continuous rainfall (like in Manaus, Brazil) and sunshine means that the rainforest biome has the highest biodiversity in the world. An example of a symbiotic relationship in this biome is where mosses grow on the banana tree, and the tree uses nutrients from the mosses to grow. There are humans, monkeys, insects, lions and tigers here.
What are the characteristics of a taiga biome?
Taiga is a forest (such as in Kuhmo, Finland) with coniferous trees that have waxy needles that protect them from the cold. They stay on the tree all year. Animals which live here are conifer cones, squirrels, weasels, foxes, lynxes and mice.
