Topic 7 - Ecology Flashcards
(61 cards)
1
Q
Define habitat
A
the place where an organism lives
2
Q
Define population
A
all the organisms of one species living within a habitat
3
Q
Define biotic factors
A
living factors of the environment
4
Q
Define abiotic factors
A
the non-living factors of the environment
5
Q
Define interdependence
A
any change in the ecosystem can cause major change
6
Q
Define community
A
the populations of all the different species living within a habitat
7
Q
Define ecosystem
A
the abiotic and biotic parts of an environment, and how they interact with each other
8
Q
Give some examples of abiotic factors
A
- wind intensity/direction
- carbon dioxide level
- oxygen level
- soil pH and mineral content
- light intensity
- temperature
- moisture level
- water
9
Q
Give some examples of biotic factors
A
- new predators
- species outcompeting another
- new pathogens
- availability of food
10
Q
Define interspecific competition
A
competition occurs between members of different species
11
Q
Define intraspecific competiton
A
competition occurs between members of the same species
12
Q
What are the 3 types of adaptation?
A
- structural - features of an organism’s body
- behavioural - the way that organisms behave
- functional - happens inside the body
13
Q
Define an adaptation
A
feature/behaviour that helps an animal survive in its environment
14
Q
Define an extremophiles
A
organisms (usually microorganisms) that can survive in very extreme environments
15
Q
Name 2 important features of a predator-prey graph
A
- prey line reaches a higher peak than predator line
- predator line is offset to the right as it takes time for them to reproduce
16
Q
Smaller organisms tend to reproduce _______ (think bacteria)
A
faster
17
Q
Define a producer
A
they produce their own food using energy from the sun - the first stage of the food chain
18
Q
Define a primary consumer
A
they eat the producers (usually insects)
19
Q
Describe how you use a quadrat to work out the population of an organism in one area.
A
- place the quadrat on a random patch of grass in the area
- use a random number generator to decide how far to walk
- count how many organism are in the quadrat
- repeat this 15 times
- work out the average number of organisms per m²
- multiply this average by the area of the field
20
Q
What is a belt transect used to study?
A
the distribution of an organism along a line
21
Q
Describe how to use a belt transect
A
- place a tape across the area you want to study
- place the quadrat at intervals along the line
22
Q
What are the 4 main processes in the water cycle?
A
- evaporation
- condensation
- precipitation
- transpiration
23
Q
What are the processes called when water seeps into the ground?
A
- percolation
- stored in the water table
- returns back to sea through groundwater flow
24
Q
Describe the carbon cycle
A
- carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere during photosynthesis for plants
- when plants respire, some carbon dioxide is returned to the atmosphere
- when plants are eaten by animals, the carbon becomes part of the fat/protein in their bodies
- when the animals respire, some carbon dioxide is returned to the atmosphere
- when plants die, animals eat their remains and respire so carbon is returned to the atmosphere
- combustion of wood/fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide into the air
25
In the atmosphere, carbon is stored as ...
carbon dioxide
26
In animals, carbon is stored as ....
carbohydrates / fats / proteins
27
In fossil fuels / the ground, carbon is stored as ...
hydrocarbons
28
What microorganisms carry out decay?
bacteria and fungi
29
What factors does decay need?
- warmth
- oxygen
- water
30
Describe how water affects rate of decay
microorganisms require water in order to live - the greater the moisture, the faster the rate of decay
31
Describe how oxygen affects the rate of decay
microorganisms require oxygen in order to live - they respire to release energy
32
Describe how temperature affects the rate of decay
- enzymes break down organic material
- as temperature increases, the rate of decay increases - enzymes are working at their optimum temp
- if it gets too hot, the enzymes will denature
33
What are the main gases that biogas contains?
- methane (most important one)
- carbon dioxide
34
How is biogas formed?
when bacteria break down plant/animal material anaerobically
35
What are the 2 main types of biogas generators?
- batch generators - make biogas in small batches
- continuous generators - make biogas all the time
36
Describe how you would investigate the effect of temperature on the rate of decay
- add 5cm³ of lipase solution to a test tube
- add 5cm³ of milk, 5 drops of phenolphthalein indicator and 7cm³ of sodium carbonate solution to another test tube (should turn pink)
- put both tubes into a water bath at 20 ℃ and leave them until they reach 20℃ (use a thermometer)
- add 1cm³ of lipase solution into the milk and start at stopwatch and stir
- once the solution goes back to white, stop the stopwatch
- repeat at different temperatures
37
Why does the solution change from pink to white in the rate of decay practical?
- the pH falls
- because lipase breaks down fats to produce fatty acids and (glycerol)
38
Why is a temperature sensor and data logger better than using a thermometer?
- more accurate
- gives continuous readings
- reduces human error
39
Define biodiversity
the variety of different species of organisms on Earth, or within an ecosystem
40
Describe how more waste can affect the water
- sewage and toxic chemicals can pollute water
- affects plants/animals that rely on the water
41
Describe how more waste can affect the land
- toxic chemicals are used for farming
- nuclear waste is buried underground
42
Describe how more waste can affect the air
- smoke and acidic acids can pollute the air
- e.g sulfur dioxide can cause acid rain
43
Describe global warming (what it is, main gases, effects)
- increasing levels of greenhouse gases trap the heat in - enhanced greenhouse effect
- main gases = methane and carbon dioxide
- effects = ice melts + sea levels rise, loss of biodiversity, changes in migration patterns
44
Describe the negative effects of deforestation
- humans want to use the land for other things (farming)
- less carbon dioxide is absorbed so carbon sink is reduced
- more carbon dioxide is added as the trees are burnt
- also leads to less biodiversity
45
Describe the destruction of peat bogs
- they're drained so the area can be used as farmland or the peat is dried to use as fuel
- when peat is drained, it comes into contact with air and some microorganisms decompose it - they respire and release carbon dioxide (carbon sink is reduced)
- carbon dioxide is also released when peat is burned as a fuel
- also destroys habitats which reduces biodiversity
46
What are some ways to maintain biodiversity?
- breeding programmes to protect endangered species
- governments introduce regulations to reduce deforestation
- programmes to protect and regenerate rare habitats
47
Why can we not always maintain biodiversity?
- expensive
- may leave local people unemployed
- protecting biodiversity can affect development
- protecting biodiversity can lead to food scarcity - e.g pests are killed to protect crops
48
What is always at the bottom of pyramids of biomass?
producer
(trophic level 1)
49
Why is energy lost between each trophic level?
- not all material is consumed
- energy is used for respiration, movement, growth etc.
- faeces lost
- energy is lost as heat
50
% efficiency (biomass transfer) =
energy in tissues / energy in food x 100
51
What are some factors affecting food security?
- climate change + global warming
- population growth
- changing diets - produce is now shipped around the world
- war
- costs of farming
- new diseases can destroy crops/livestock
52
Why is it more energy efficient to eat crops rather than animals?
the food chain is shorter so less energy is lost
53
Why is intensive farming more energy efficient?
- less energy is being used for movement and heat retention so they can use more energy for growth
- farmers can keep more animals in a smaller space
54
Define food security
having enough food to feed a population
55
What are the negatives to intensive farming?
- disease can spread easily between animals
- cruel to the animals
56
What are two ways to improve fish stocks?
- fishing quotas (limits to the number/size of fish you can catch)
- net size (bigger mesh size will let the smaller, unwanted fish escape)
57
Describe how to make mycroprotein
- clean the fermenter
- add sugar syrup and fusarium fungus
- allow to grow
- harvest, purify and dry
- add flavourings and colour
58
What does the Fusarium fungus feed on?
sugar syrup
59
Give the advantages of using mycoprotein as a food
source instead of traditional meat sources.
- needs less land
- cheap to mass produce
- lots of protein, little fat
- energy efficient
60
Describe the features of an industrial fermenter
- water jacket - maintains the correct temp
- data logger - monitor pH and temp
- stirrer - mix everything evenly
- oxygen supply - for aerobic respiration
61
Name a genetically modified organism which has been used to help humans
insulin
