Ecology

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What is an ecosystem made up of?
Living and non-living organisms
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What is the scientific name for living and non-living organisms
Biotic and abiotic
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What are the three levels of organisation from highest to lowest
1. Communities 2. Population 3. Individuals
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Why is there competition between different plants/animals
They compete for recourses
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What resources do plants compete for?
Plants often compete for water and mineral ions (minerals) from the soil, as well as for light and space.
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What resources/things do animals compete for?
Animals often compete for food, mates and territory.
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What is it called when different species depend on each other?
Species interdependence
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What might species depend on each other for?
Speed dispersal (eg birds and fruits), food (eg foxes and mice), shelter (eg owl and tree) and pollination (eg flowers and bees)
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When is a community stable?
when all the species and environmental factors are balanced and population sizes stay more or less constant.
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Why may removing one species from an ecosystem make it unstable?
Interdependence between different species. This means that one species may rely on another species for services such as food, shelter, pollination, and seed dispersal. Removing one species from an ecosystem could remove a key predator or prey.
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Name the first four components of a typical food chain
1 Producer 2 Primary consumer 3 Secondary consumer 4 Tertiary consumer
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What is a producer?
An organism that makes its own food eg algae or a green plant that can photosynthesise
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What do primary consumers eat?
Producers
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What do secondary consumers eat?
Primary consumers
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What do tertiary consumers eat?
Secondary consumers
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What do predator-prey graphs show?
the cyclical nature of predator and prey populations in stable communities.
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Using the example hares and lynxes (predator and prey), what would happen if the hares population increased?
The lynx population would increase as their is more food available to them.
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Using the example hares and lynxes (predator and prey), what would happen if the lynx population increased?
the hares population would decrease as there are more predators trying to kill them
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Prey-predator graphs are cyclic. T/F
True
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What are quadrats?
Quadrats are square frames that can be used to estimate population sizes.
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What are transects?
Transects can be used to investigate the effect of a factor on the distribution of a species. A transect line is a piece of tape that is stretched across the habitat of interest. Quadrats are placed at regular intervals along the transect line.
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What are quadrats used for?
Estimating population sizes
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What is the median?
The median is the middle value in a numerically ordered series.
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What is the mean?
The arithmetic mean is the average value of a series of numbers. The mean is calculated by adding up all the values and then dividing by the number of recordings that have been made.
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What is the mode?
The mode is the most common value in a series.
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What is the equation for population using quadrats?
population = number counted x (total survey area / area sampled)
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How do you use a quadrat to measure a population?
1. divide the habitat up 2.Randomly select a given number of cells, and place the quadrat 3. count the number of individual organisms of interest or record the percentage of the quadrat taken up by an organism 4. times that by the total survey area
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In a survey of a 100m^2 area, you count a total of 30 dandelions in 10 quadrats. The quadrats have sides of 0.5m. Estimate the total population size in this area.
Area of 10 quadrats = 10 x quadrat length (m) × quadrat height (m)
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What is the carbon cycle?
Carbon is present in all living organisms. When organisms die, the carbon is recycled so that it can be used by future generations.
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What is the water cycle?
This cycle describes how water moves on, above or just below the surface of our planet between different locations, such as rivers, oceans and the atmosphere. In order for this cycle to be completed, water has to change state.
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Explain the carbon cycle.
1.carbon removed from atmosphere by producers 2. by consuming plant matters, animals gain carbon compounds 3. carbon returns to atmosphere because of respiration 4. when animals die they return carbon to atmosphere because of decay or fossil fuels.
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Explain the water cycle
1 Water evaporates from the Earth’s surface, then goes to atmosphere 2 water vapour cools and condenses and turns to rain or snow 3 the water will either become earth runoff (eg rivers) or will travel through the ground 4 plants take water with roots
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Which process causes water to leave the Earth's surface and rise up into the atmosphere?
Evaporation
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What are three ways in which humans have negatively affected biodiversity?
Industrial revolution, ignoring warning signs and recent attitude shifts to try and help the earth
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Human activity decreases biodiversity on a global scale. T/F
True
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What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity is the variety of all the different species in a given space.
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What is industrial waste and pollution affectinhg?
The air, Smoke and gases are being added into the atmosphere constantly, particularly by power stations and cars. The water, Sewage, fertiliser and chemicals, all find their way to water. The land, herbicides and pesticides from farming
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Why do you think the human population has been rapidly expanding in recent decades (the population explosion)?
Modern medicine and agricultural methods are the underlying causal factors of this trend, due to their role in greatly reducing deaths caused by disease and hunger.
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What is peat?
Peat is a partially decayed plant matter that accumulates in bogs
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What are peat bogs?
A store of carbon, preventing it from being released into the atmosphere
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Why are peat bogs being destroyed?
1 To free up land for farming, which requires the bogs to be drained. This draining process stimulates peat decay. 2 To burn the peat for fuel. 3 To sell the peat to gardeners as garden compost.
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How can the peat demand be lowered?
gardeners using peat-free compost, such as manure or bark chippings.
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Card 2

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What is the scientific name for living and non-living organisms

Back

Biotic and abiotic

Card 3

Front

What are the three levels of organisation from highest to lowest

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Why is there competition between different plants/animals

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What resources do plants compete for?

Back

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