Terrestrial

Question 1

Planetary boundary

Answer 1

The safe operating space that humans can survive and develop in. Crossing these boundaries means that earths systems don’t function correctly.

Question 2

Ocean acidification

Answer 2

When the ph levels of the ocean decrease due to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Question 3

Ozone depletion

Answer 3

A decrease in ozone within the ozone layer which protects the earth from harmful UV rays of the sun

Question 4

Atmospheric aerosol

Answer 4

A particle in the atmosphere which affects the size and properties of clouds

Question 5

Ecosystem

Answer 5

A community of living and non living organisms which interact with one another in an environment

Question 6

Biogeographic realms

Answer 6

Ecosystems which have shared similar evolutionary history

Question 7

Biomes

Answer 7

Areas where the climate determines the types of plants and animals which live there

Question 8

Convergent evolution

Answer 8

Where species of different ancestral origin evolve to have similar traits

Question 9

Difference between organic and inorganic compounds

Answer 9

Organic compounds contain both carbon and hydrogen bonds

Inorganic compounds either don’t contain carbon or only contain carbon. (h20 and co2)

Question 10

Autotroph

Answer 10

An organism which can produce its own food using inorganic compounds

Question 11

Heterotrophs

Answer 11

An organism which cannot produce its own food and gets its food from other organisms

Question 12

Flux

Answer 12

The flow of matter/energy through biotic and abiotic factors

Question 13

Tropic level

Answer 13

The position an organism occupies on a food web

Question 14

Tropic interaction

Answer 14

The transfer of matter/energy from one species to another species

Question 15

Tropic cascade

Answer 15

The side effect which occurs when a tropic level (position an organism occupies on a food web) is removed

Question 16

Bottom up vs Top down cascade

Answer 16

Bottom up cascades occur when primary producers affect the populations of primary consumers and producers through resource restriction

Top down cascades occur when the apex predator/animal at the highest tropic level controls the population of primary consumers, therefore increasing/benefiting the primary producers

Question 17

Keystone species

Answer 17

Species which define an ecosystem. Without them ecosystems would function differently or not exist

Question 18

Ecosystem services

Answer 18

Benefits which an ecosystem provides to humans

Question 19

Ecological engineer

Answer 19

An organism which creates, destroys or changes a habitat (the home of an animal)

Question 20

Biogeochemical cycle

Answer 20

The movement of matter/energy through living and non-living components of an ecosystem (a community of interacting organisms)

Question 21

Source

Answer 21

A part of a plant where food is produced

Question 22

Sink

Answer 22

A part of a plant where food is stored

Question 23

How are humans affecting biogeochemical cycles?

Answer 23

Humans change the storage and the rate of flux in ecosystems

Question 24

Eutrophication

Answer 24

When there are too many nutrients (eg, phosphorus and nitrogen) in an ecosystem which starts a negative chain reaction

Question 25

Ocean acidification

Answer 25

When ph levels in the ocean decrease because of increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere

Question 26

Biodiversity

Answer 26

The different plants and animal life on earth

Question 27

Biological classification

Answer 27

When organisms are put into different groups

Question 28

Linnean classification

Answer 28

A way of organising organisms based off of physical traits

Question 29

Biodiversity hotspot

Answer 29

An area on the earth where high levels of biodiversity are threatened by humans

Question 30

Richness

Answer 30

The number of genetically related species

Question 31

Evenness

Answer 31

The difference in numbers of each species in an environment

Question 32

Why is biodiversity important

Answer 32

Biodiversity allows processes that support life on earth to occur

Question 33

Resource Complementarity

Answer 33

Where different organisms use different resources or use the same resources in different ways, resulting in reduced competition

Question 34

Facilitation

Answer 34

When one species provides a benefit to another species or interactions between species where one species is benefited

Question 35

Selection

Answer 35

Where higher biodiversity means that an ecosystem has a higher chance of adapting to changing environments

Question 36

Habitat loss vs Habitat fragmentation

Answer 36

Habitat loss = The reduction in habitat size Habitat fragmentation = Habitats are separated into smaller and isolated patches

Question 37

Minimum viable population

Answer 37

The minimum number of a population that is able to survive in the wild

Question 38

Endemic species

Answer 38

A species found only in a specific location

Question 39

Native species

Answer 39

A species found in different areas

Question 40

Alien species

Answer 40

A species found outside of its natural habitat due to human activity

Question 41

Invasive species

Answer 41

A species which causes harm to an environment which its not native to

Question 42

How do invasive species affect ecosystems

Answer 42

Invasive species → increased competition for resources, prey on native species

Question 43

Why are island ecosystems vulnerable to invasive species

Answer 43

Island ecosystems lack predators which control populations and island species are not evolved to fight invasive species

Question 44

Nitrogen Cycle

Answer 44

The process of when nitrogen changes its chemical form/makeup as it moves through biotic and abiotic components

Question 45

Nitrogen fixation

Answer 45

Where nitrogen in the atmosphere is converted into different nitrogen compounds (Nitrogen molecules containing other elements) to be used for other biogeochemical cycles