topic 5: ecology Flashcards
(29 cards)
habitat
the place where all organisms live
population
all organisms of one species in a habitat
community
all the different species in a habitat
ecosystem
all different organisms living in a particular area and all the abiotic conditions e.g temperature, climate, soil type, etc
biodiversity
variety of different species of organisms on earth or within an ecosystem
biotic factors
availability food
predator number
competition
abiotic factors
environmental conditions
toxic chemicals
bioaccumulation
where toxic chemicals build up in food chains, the concentration increasing the further up you go
mean formula (quadrats)
total number of organisms/number of quadrats
study distribution across a habitat (practical)
mark out a line in the area you want to study
collect data along the line using quadrats placed next to each other. do this by counting all the organisms of the chosen species or estimate percentage cover
repeat the steps 1-3 times and find the mean number for each quadrat
plot graph
order of food chains
producer -> primary consumer -> secondary consumer -> tertiary consumer
ways of energy loss
food isnt eaten
excretion
ejestion
respiration
heat
components in the carbon cycle
decomposition
respiration (animal + plant)
burning
photosynthesis
types of bacteria involved in the nitrogen cycle
decomposers
nitrifying bacteria
nitrogen fixing bacteria
denitrifying bacteria
decomposers nitrogen cycle
break down proteins and urea and turns them into ammonia forming ammonium compounds in the soil
nitrifying bacteria
TURN AMMOnium ions into nitrates
nitrogen fixing bacteria
turn atmospheric nitrogen gas into nitrogen compounds
denitrifying bacteria
turns nitrates back into nitrogen gas and serves literally no purpose and is useless and should kill itself
use quadrats to study the population size of small
a quadrat is a square frame enclosing a known area
place a 1m^2 quadrat on the ground at a random point within the first sample area. u can do this by dividing the sample area into a grid and using a random number generator to pick coordinates to place your quadrats at
count all the organisms youre interested in within the quadrat
repeat steps 1-4 in the second sample area
work out the mean number between the two areas
carbon monoxide danger
product from incomplete combustion
binds to haemoglobin which prevents them from carrying oxygen
lack of oxygen = unable to respire = potential suffocation -> death
sulfur dioxide danger
product from sulfur impurities being burnt
mixes with rain cloud which forms dilute sulfuric acid
falls as acid rain causing lakes to be more acidic and damaging the ecosystem
greenhouse effect
heat radiates from the sun which gets absorbed by the greenhouse gases which then reradiate it within the atmosphere surrounding the earth. this causes global warming - ice caps melting, sea levels rising, flooding, extreme weather, etc
greenhouse gases
carbon dioxide
methane
nitrous oxide
cfc
eutrophication
nitrates are washed through the soil into rivers and lakes or sewage
the extra nutrients cause algae to grow fast and block out the light
plants cant photosynthesise due to the lack of light and they die
bacteria decomposes the plants and increase in number and deplete the oxygen in the water
water becomes anoxic and organisms that need oxygen die
