Gr 9 Bio

ye

Habitat loss - what is it?

The decline or destruction of natural environments where organisms live, often due to human activities such as urban development, agriculture, and deforestation.

Habitat fragmentation - what is it?

The process by which larger habitats are divided into smaller, isolated patches due to human activities or natural events, often leading to a decline in biodiversity.

What causes habitat loss and fragmentation?

They can occur naturally, but often due to human activities like agriculture, urban development, and highway building, as well as dredging, commercial fishing, and draining in aquatic environments like wetlands.

What are the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on biodiversity?

Species struggle to provide for themselves and the ecosystems lose biodiversity. As well, abiotic factors can be harmed, which results in further biodiversity loss.

What can we do to reduce habitat loss and fragmentation?

We can reduce demand for unsustainable agriculture, plant more native plants and reestablish wetlands.

Native species - what are they?

Organisms that are naturally found in a specific ecosystem or region.

Invasive species - what are they?

Organisms that were introduced to a specific ecosystem or region.

How do invasive species affect biodiversity?

Invasive species can outcompete native species for resources, disrupt food chains, and lead to declines or extinctions of indigenous organisms, ultimately reducing biodiversity.

What is biological control?

A method of reducing the population of invasive species using specifically introduced new species that target them.

Pollution - what is it?

The introduction of harmful substances or contaminants into the environment.

Acid precipitation - what is it and how does it affect biodiversity?

Acid precipitation refers to rain, snow, or fog that has a lower pH than normal due to the presence of sulfuric and nitric acids. It can harm ecosystems by altering soil chemistry, damaging aquatic habitats, and negatively impacting plant and animal health, which can lead to reduced biodiversity.

How do oil spills affect biodiversity?

Oil spills contaminate aquatic ecosystems. Animals can ingest the oil, which can poison them. Birds can get covered in the oil, and be unable to fly. As well, oil can cover the water surface, reducing oxygen levels and harming marine life.

How does plastic waste affect biodiversity?

Plastic waste can harm biodiversity by entangling wildlife, leading to injury or death. Additionally, animals may ingest plastic debris, which can cause internal harm and disrupt food chains.

What are the three methods for cleaning up oil spills?

Skimming - taking it off the surface

Dispersal agents - they break down the oil

Bioremediation - some organisms eat the oil over time

Burning

Consumption and resource management - what is the issue?

Humans consume resources faster than they are replenished.

Clear-cutting - what is it and what effect does it have on biodiversity?

Clear-cutting is a logging practice where all trees in an area are removed. This can lead to habitat destruction, loss of species, and reduced biodiversity as ecosystems struggle to recover.

Shelterwood cutting - what is it and what effect does it have on biodiversity?

Selective cutting - what is it and what effect does it have on biodiversity?

Selective cutting is a forestry practice where only certain trees are harvested while others are left standing. This can help maintain habitat structures and support biodiversity, allowing ecosystems to recover more effectively compared to clear-cutting.

How does overhunting affect biodiversity?

How can we reduce our impact on biodiversity using consumption and resource management?

What is a limiting factor?

Something within an ecosystem that limits the growth of a population of organisms

What is a carrying capacity?

The largest population of an organism that an ecosystem can sustain, determined by many factors, both biotic and abiotic.

Do smaller species and plants tend to be more or less diverse than larger species?

More diverse

What are ecosystem services?

The benefits experienced by organisms which are provided by sustainable ecosystems

What is sustainability?

The ability to maintain ecological balance by preserving resources to last a long time.

Why is biodiversity important? (List a few reasons)

• Promotes soil formation

• Provides food for species including humans

• Good health of organisms

• Protects natural resources

• Quick recovery from natural disasters

• Maintains food chains and webs

• Maintains genetic diversity

• Maintains ecosystem balance

Summarize the value of forests in an ecosystem

• Benefits for economy

• Paper and wood used for many products

• Evapotranspiration for water cycle

• Reduces erosion

• Habitat for species

What are the benefits of insects in an ecosystem?

• Cross pollination (credited for 1/3 of our food)

• Wild plants and crops

• Decomposition

What are IPCAs and how do they help preserve Canada’s biodiversity?

They are Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, and they are protected lands that are managed by Indigenous communities to maintain biodiversity by protecting ecosystems.

How does the greenhouse effect affect climate change?

By adding more greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, like methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide, radiation from the sun is reemitted back to Earth instead of leaving the atmosphere, causing rising temperatures.

How does the albedo effect affect climate change?

The albedo effect refers to light coloured surfaces reflecting more light than dark surfaces, which absorb more light. Since ice sheets, which are light coloured, are melting and causing sea levels (darker coloured) to rise, the Earth absorbs more of the sun’s energy, which magnifies the effect of climate change, leading to further warming.

What are some of the effects of climate change?

Change in weather:

• Severe heat waves

• Severe thunderstorms

• Increasingly intense hurricanes

Tornadoes:

• Financial harm

• Destruction of property

• Harm to ecosystems

Forest fires:

• Air quality issues

• Evacuation of communities

• Loss of habitats and biodiversity

Flooding:

Increasingly often due to:

• Rising sea levels

• Extreme weather events

• Changing tide

Effects on agriculture:

• Changing growing conditions

• Financial impacts

• Less snow, more rain - albedo effect

What are we doing to combat/reduce the impacts of climate change?

• Monitoring conditions

• Flood management

• Protecting biodiversity

• Tree planting

• Reducing emissions

What is the biosphere?

The areas on Earth where life can exist, for example forests.

What is the hydrosphere?

All water on Earth in all forms (solid, liquid, gas), for example water vapour.

What is the lithosphere?

The outer layer of Earth, including the crust and the top part of the upper mantle, for example minerals and rocks.

What is the atmosphere?

The layer of gases extending hundreds of kilometres that surrounds Earth, for example nitrogen gas in the atmosphere.

What are biotic factors?

The living organisms, remains, products, AND wastes of an ecosystem, for example insects and scat.

What are abiotic factors?

The non-living components of an ecosystem (chemical and physical) such as water and temperature.

What is a population? (Biology definition)

A group of organisms of one type that live in the same area/

What is an organism?

An individual living thing

What is a community? (biology definition)

Populations that live together in a defined area.

What is an ecosystem?

Community and its nonliving surroundings

What is biodiversity?

The variety of life that can be found on Earth as well as to the communities that they form and the habitats in which they live.

Found at three levels:

• Species biodiversity - the variety of different species in an area

• Genetic biodiversity - the variety of genes contained in organisms of one species

• Ecosystem biodiversity - the different habitats that exist in one particular area

What are the 5 main members of food chains (think what they eat or don’t eat)

• Producers - plants

• Herbivores - animals that eat plants

• Omnivores - animals that eat plants and animals

• Carnivores - animals that eat animals

• Decomposers - organisms that break down dead matter (or detritus) including detritivores (organisms that eat the dead matter) and bacteria and fungi (organisms that break down dead matter)

How many food chains do frogs belong to throughout their lives?

Two - as a herbivore tadpole in the water and as an omnivore adult in the forest/land.

What are the levels of consumers and trophic levels of the food chains?

sunlight

Producer - 1st trophic level

Primary consumer - 2nd trophic level

Tertiary consumer - 3rd trophic level

Quaternary consumer - 4th trophic level

also decomposers exist

What is the primary source of energy in an ecosystem?

Sunlight

What does a food chain show?

Linear transfer of energy from one organism to another.

What are heterotrophs?

Organisms that get their energy through the consumption of other organisms.

What is an autotroph

An organism that produces its own food.

What is a food web?

A collection of interconnected food chains.

What is a pyramid of energy?

A visual representation of the amount of energy input that goes to each trophic level. Energy decreases as it moves up the pyramid, and roughly only 10% of the initial energy can be used for the next trophic level.

What is a pyramid of numbers?

A visual representation of the number of organisms in each level of the food chain.

What is a pyramid of biomass?

A visual representation of the total mass of all the individuals in each trophic level.

Bioaccumulation

The increase in concentration of a toxic substance (mercury, DDT) in an organism over time, because it cannot be easily eliminated from the organism’s body.

Biomagnification/Bioamplification

The increase in concentration of a toxic substance from one level in a food chain to another.

Phytoplankton

The small plankton; they photosynthesize

Zooplankton

The larger plankton; they eat phytoplankton

What is DDT

A pesticide that was common from the 1940s-1970s. It is useful for combatting malaria and pests, but causes health issues and DDT poisoning.

Biogeochemical cycles

related to life, earth and chemistry

Evapotranspiration

The process in which plants take in water in their roots and evaporate it out through their leaves.

Why is nitrogen important?

• Nitrogen gas makes up about 80% of the atmosphere

• It’s important to DNA, enzymes and hormones

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria

convert nitrogen gas into compounds by breaking the bonds between atoms

How does nitrogen move out of the atmosphere?

Nitrogen fixing bacteria + lightning convert it to compounds

How does nitrogen move through the biosphere?

compounds get taken up by plants which are eaten by animals

How does nitrogen move from the biosphere to the soil?

DEATH. Then decomposition. Also pee.

How does nitrogen move back into the atmosphere?

Denitrifying bacteria do the opposite of nitrogen fixing bacteria.

What is the purpose of fertillizer?

To add nutrients to the soil

What are the negative effects of fertillizer?

• Plants become reliant on it

• Leaches into groundwater, drinking water impacted

• Gets carried into bodies of water, causing algae blooms

• Makes water more acidic, killing aquatic organisms

• This makes water cloudy, which harms photosynthesis

Eutrophication

• Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus cause algae blooms

• This causes darkness which kill the underwater plants (photosynthesis)

• Decomposers in the water use oxygen to decompose these plants

• Organisms die from lack of oxygen

This can cause an opening for invasive species.

It can also result in biomagnification since certain algae produce toxins

What are some sustainable farming practices?

• No tillage farming

• Rotating crops

• Natural crop selection (crops that are suited for the environment)

What is the key element for living things?

Carbon (and hydrogen but not as much)

Why is carbon so important?

• Carbohydrates

• Proteins

• Nucleic acids

• Photosynthesis and glucose production

What is required for photosynthesis, what is made, and what is the purpose?

Required: Carbon dioxide, water, light energy

Made: Glucose, oxygen

Purpose: to get food

What is required for cellular respiration, what is made, and what is the purpose?

Required: Glucose, oxygen
Made: Carbon dioxide, water, energy (ATP)

Purpose: To get energy from food

What is the relationship between cellular respiration and photosynthesis often called?

The carbon cycle

Is cellular respiration performed by plants or animals?

Both

How is carbon moved from the atmosphere?

• Dissolved into water in oceans

• Absorbed by plants during photosynthesis.

How does carbon move back into the atmospher?

• Cellular respiration

• Decomposition of dead material —→ combustion of fossil fuels

What are the processes that add carbon to the atmosphere called?

Sources

What are the processes that remove carbon from the atmosphere called?

Sinks