Ecology

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57 Terms

1
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Define community

A group of inderpendent lving organisms in an ecosystem

2
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Define population

All the organisms of 1 species who live in the same place at the same time

3
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Define ecosystem

The interaction of living organisms and their environment

4
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Order the levels of organism

  1. Producer → 1st trophic level

  2. Primary consumer → 2nd trophic level

  3. Secondary consumer → third trophic level

  4. Tertiary consumer → 4th trophic level

5
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What does interdependence mean?

All organisms in an ecosytem depend on eachother

↳ if the population of 1 organism fluctuates, it will also affect the rest of the ecosystem

6
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What do plants compete for in an ecosytem?

  • Light

  • Space

  • Water and minerals from the soil

7
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what do animals compete for in an ecosystem?

  • Food

  • Territory

  • Mates

8
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What is a stable community?

Where all the species and environmental factors are in balance so that population sizes remain fairly constant.

9
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Define abiotic

Non-living factors which affects an ecosystem

10
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Give examples of abiotic factors

  • Light intensity

  • Temperature

  • Moisture levels

  • Wind intensity and direction

  • Soil pH and mineral content

  • CO2 concentration (plants)

  • O2 levels (aquatic animals)

11
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Define biotic

Living factors which affects an ecosystem

12
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Give examples of biotic factors

  • Food availability

  • New predators

  • Disease (new pathogens)

  • Competition

13
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What are the different groups of adaptations called?

  • Structural → what you can see

  • Functional → What is on the inside

  • Behavioural → what is learnt

14
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How are polar bears adapted for the cold?

  • Small ears → reduce heat loss

  • Big paws → easier to walk through snow

  • Thick fur → Insulates their body from the cold

  • Long nose → can hunt prey easier

  • White fur → camouflage in the snow

15
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How are camels adapted for the desert?

  • Ears lined with fur → prevents sand and dust from entering

  • Varied diet → limited food supply

  • Nostrils can close → protect from sandstorms

  • Brown coat → camouflage

  • Fat stored in humps → no other body fat

16
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What is an extremophile?

An organism that lives in an extreme environment

↳ e.g polar regions, deserts, deep ocean bed, geothermal springs, top of mountains, bacteria living in deep sea vents

17
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What are decomposers? What do they do?

Bacteria and fungi

↳ break down dead organisms → decomposition or rotting

18
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How do decomposers break down dead organisms?

They release enzymes onto the dead matter and then consumes the broken down substances

19
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Define biomass

The mass of living organisms

20
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How is biomass transferred?

- Producers → they use energy from the sun to make food by photosynthesis to increase biomass

1% of energy from the sun is transferred into biomass

When an organism eats another, the biomass and therefore energy is transferred

10% of the energy in a trophic level is transferred to the one above it

21
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What processes are involved in the carbon cycle?

Photosynthesis → CO2 in the atmosphere is converted into glucose for plants

Respiration → CO2 is given out and into the atmosphere

Combustion → Fuels are burnt and releases CO2

Eating → animals feed on plants and pass the carbon compounds along the food chain

Decay → decomposers eat dead organisms and carbon in their bodies is returned to the atmosphere as CO2

22
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What processes are involved in the water cycle?

Evapouration → energy from the sun turns the water from a liquid to a gas

Condensation → The evapourated water cools and turns back into a liquid, forming clouds

Transport → water in clouds can be blown away by strong winds and moved to a different area

Precipitation → rain, slow, or sleet

Surface runoff → water which is not absorbed by the ground, runs along the surface

Percolation → water trickles through gaps in soil and rock

Transpiration → loss of water vapour from plants

23
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What conditions can increase the rate of decay?

  • Warm temperature

  • Moist conditions

  • Presence of bacteria

  • Lots of oxygen

24
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How does compost and manure benefit new plants and the soil?

  • They recycle minerals for plant absorbtion

  • They increase aeration and water retention of the soil

25
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What happpens if you overwater a plant?

The soil becomes water logged so the roots of the plant are flooded and anaerobic decay can occur and kill them

26
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What are the products of anaerobic decay? What are the problem with these?

Methane and carbon dioxide

↳ Both gases are a greenhouse gas which contributes to global warming

27
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What can the products of anaerobic decay be used for?

They can be used as fuel → the methane and CO2 is called biogas

↳ renewable energy

28
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Define biodiversity

The variety of living organisms in a particular place

29
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Why is our population increasing?

  • Better health care → people are living longer

  • New medicines

  • Farmers are able to produce more food

  • Some religions don't permit the use of contraception

30
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What are the problems of overpopulation?

Overconsumption → not sustainable as many materials will soon run out

Water pollution → farmers use too much fertiliser which can pollute rivers leading to eutrophication and cause illness

Air pollution → combustion of fuels releases CO2 which is contributing to the greenhouse effect. It can also cause acid rain.

Land pollution → rubbish which is not recycled is thrown into landfill whcih is building up

Reduced biodiversity → land is cleared for houses/farms which leave fewer space and resources for other plants and animals

31
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What are bogs?

Areas of land which are acidic and waterlogged

↳ They often have very low levels of nutrients so decomposition is very slow and peat is formed

32
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Why is peat used? Why is this a problem?

For gardeners to add to their soil or to be burned as a fuel

↳ This reduces biodiversity since peat takes a while to form

It is also a non-renewable energy source

33
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Why are peat bogs important?

They are a very important store of carbon

34
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Why are draining peat bogs a problem?

They are drained so that the area can be used as farmland but this releases a lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

35
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What is the greenhouse effect?

The retention of heat in the atmosphere caused by the build-up of greenhouse gases

36
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Why is the greehouse effect good?

Without it, the Earth's temperature would be very cold and there would be little to no life

37
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What is the problem with the enhanced greenhouse effect?

It is leading to global warming

38
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What are the effects of global warming?

Melting polar ice caps → habitats are being lost, sea levels are rising which can flood cities

More severe weather → decreased crop production, more storm damage

Coral reefs are being bleached

More species are likely to become extinct

39
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Define conservation

The preservation of ecosystems and the organisms that live within them

40
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How can we maintain biodiversity?

  • Breeding programs for endangered species

  • Protecting and developing new endangered habitats

  • Replanting hedgerows

  • Reducing deforestation

  • Recycling

41
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What do the arrows in a trophic level represent?

The transfer of biomass (energy) from one trophic level to the next

42
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Why can biomass be lost between stages?

Not all matter is digested

↳ it can be excreted as: waste (faeces), carbon dioxide and water in respiration, water and urea in urine

43
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What is the equation for percentage efficiency transfer?

Percentage efficiency transfer = biomass in higher trophic level/biomass in lower trophic level

44
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Define food security

The measure of the availability of food → having enough food to feed a population

45
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How is food security reduced?

  • Increase in human population

  • Changing diets

  • Crop failure/disease

  • The effects of climate change → famine

  • Economy → increases costs of farming

  • Wars

46
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What is intensive farming?

The use of machines, natural and artificial fertilisers, and high yield crops to maximise food production

It can also include keeping livestock in smaller pens with regulated temperatures

↳ reduces the energy needed for movement

47
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What are the advantages and disadvantages of intensive farming?

Advantages:

  • Higher yields

  • More efficient use of land

Disadvantages:

  • Ethical issues

  • Increase the risk of antibiotic resistance → animals are fed antibiotics to prevent disease

48
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What is involved in organic farming?

They use natural fertilisers and rotate their crops to avoid monoculture

49
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Why is the population of fish declining? What is the result?

Overfishing

↳ species disappearing in an area or going extinct

↳ Ocean food chains being disrupted

↳ Fewer fish for human consumption

50
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What do sustainable fisheries need to do?

Ensure that the number of fish caught and killed dosen't exceed the number of fish being born

51
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What has been put in place to ensure that we aren't overfishing?

  • Fishing quotas → controls how much fish can be fished and changes every 2 years depending on the stocks of fish

  • Increased net size → can only catch large fish so small fish can grow and reproduce to maintain biodiversity

52
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What is biotechnology?

Using living systems to create/improve products

53
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How has biotechnology increased food security?

  • Tomatoes has been genetically modified to produce bigger fruits

  • Golden rice has been genetically modified to contain beta-carotene → higher nutritional value

  • Crops can be genetically modified to be resistant to insects

  • Crops can be genetically modified to be resistant to pesticides

  • Increase yield

54
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How is human insulin produced using bacteria?

  1. Remove DNA plasmid from bacteria

  2. Cut open the plasmid with an enzyme

  3. Cut the gene responsible for insulin production from the chromosome

  4. Insert the gene into the plasmid and seal it using enzymes

  5. Put the plasmid back into the bacteria

  6. Grow the bacteria which will reproduce and produce insulin

55
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<p>How are the conditions in a fermenter maintained to promote maximum growth?</p>

How are the conditions in a fermenter maintained to promote maximum growth?

  • pH and temperature are maintained at the optimum

  • Temperature is controlled by a water jacket

  • Sterile oxygen is added to ensure aerobic respiration occurs

  • A food source (glucose) is added

  • The mixture inside is stirred to ensure that all the oxygen and nutrients are equally distributed

56
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What environmental changes affect the distribution of species in an ecosystem?

  • Temperatures

  • Availability of water

  • Composition of atmospheric gases

These changes may be seasonal, geographic, or caused by human intervention

57
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What is used to produce mycoprotein

The fungus fusarium