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Flashcards in Trophic Levels Deck (23)
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1
Q

What are trophic levels

A

Different stages of the food chain

Consisting of one or more organisms that perform a specific role in the food chain

2
Q

What does each trophic level contain

A
1 = producers 
2= primary consumers 
3= secondary consumers 
4= tertiary consumers
3
Q

What animals are in trophic levels 1 2 and 3

A
2 = herbivores. 
3 = carnivores 
4 = carnivores that way other carnivores ( apex predators)
4
Q

What’s biomass

A

The mass of living material

5
Q

What do pyramids of biomass show

A

The relative masses of trophic levels

Each bar shows the relative mass of living material at a trophic level

6
Q

What happens to the biomass as you go up a trophic level

A

It gets lost and decreases each time

Only about 10% is passed on

7
Q

Why is biomass lost

A

Organisms don’t eat every part of what Its consuming
It’s not all absorbed in the food they ingest - turns to faeces
It’s converted into other substances like waste from glucose or urea

8
Q

How do you calculate the efficiency of biomass transfer

A

Biomass transferred to the next level / biomass available at the previous level
x 100

9
Q

What is food security

A

Having enough food to feed a population

10
Q

What can threaten food security

A

Population increase
Demands for certain food increase
New pests and pathogens affecting farms and crops

11
Q

How can we maintain fish stocks

A

Fishing quotas
= limita in number and size of fish that can be caught - so stopping overfishing in areas
Net size = reduces number of unwanted fish by changing the mesh size for the fish ur fishing

12
Q

How can farming be made more efficient

A

Limiting the movement of life stock so they use less energy and we can control their body temp

13
Q

What is biotechnology

A

Where living things and biological processes are used and manipulated to produce a useful product

14
Q

What is genetic engineering

A

Transferring a useful gene from one organism to another

15
Q

What can bacteria be made into and how

A

It can be genetically engineered to make human insulin

16
Q

What happens in the first steps of genetically engineering bacteria

A

Remove plasmid from bacterium

Restriction enzymes cuts teh insulin gene out of a human chromosome

17
Q

What does the restriction enzyme do in genetic engineering of bacteria

A

It recognises specific sequences of DNA and the cut DNA at these points
This cut leaves one of the DNA strands with unpaired bases called a sticky end
The same restructuring enzyme cuts open the plasmids so the DNA and plasmid both have the same sticky ends
Making them mix together

18
Q

How do the sticky ends if the plasmid and human insulin gene join

A

An enzyme called ligase is added

It’s joins the sticky ends to produce recombinant DNA

19
Q

What happens to the recombinant DNA in genetic engineering of bacteria

A

It’s inserted into a bacterium
This is grown in a vat under controlled conditions
You will end up with millions of bacteria that produce insulin

20
Q

What is mycoprotein and how’s it’s made

A

Made from the fungus fusarium which is grown in aerobic conditions on glucose syrup
The fungal biomass is harvested and pitched to make mycoprotein

21
Q

What is mycoprotein used for

A

To make high-protein meat substitutes for vegetarian meals

22
Q

How can biotechnology help developing counties have enough food

A

GM crops can be produced that are resistant to pests
GM crops can be modified to grow better in drought conditions
They can be modified to produce more nutritional value

23
Q

Why do people not agree with biotechnology

A

People argue that people can’t afford food so we need to tackle poverty crisis first
Counties may become dependent on counties who sell GM seeds