Biology B7 (ecology)

?
What is an ecosystem?
The interaction of a community of living organisms with the non-living parts of their environment
1 of 58
What do plants in a community/habitat compete with each other for?
Light and space, and for water and mineral ions from the soil
2 of 58
What do animals compete with each other for?
Food, mates and territory
3 of 58
Within a community, what can each species depend on another species for?
Food, shelter, pollination and seed dispersal
4 of 58
What is it called where species depend on each other for them to live?
Interdependence
5 of 58
What is a stable community?
Where all the species and environmental factors are in balance so that the population sizes remain fairly constant
6 of 58
What do abiotic factors mean?
Factors that are non-living
7 of 58
Give 7 abiotic factors which can affect a community
light intensity, temperature, moisture levels, soil pH/mineral content, wind intensity/direction, co2 levels for plants, oxygen levels for aquatic animals
8 of 58
What do biotic factors mean?
Factors that are living
9 of 58
Give 4 biotic factors which can affect a community
Food availability, new predators arriving, new pathogens, one species out competing another so numbers are no longer sufficient to breed
10 of 58
What are the 3 types of adaptations that organisms use?
Structural, behavioural, functional
11 of 58
What 3 conditions could make an environment extreme?
High temperature, pressure or salt concentration
12 of 58
What are organisms that live in extreme environments called?
Extremophiles
13 of 58
What is an example of an extremophile?
Bacteria living in deep sea vents
14 of 58
How can feeding relationships within a community be represented?
By a food chain
15 of 58
What do food chains begin with, what does this do and what is an example of one?
A producer which synthesises molecules, this is usually a green plant or algae
16 of 58
What comes next in a food chain?
Primary consumers which eat producers
17 of 58
What comes next?
Secondary consumers which eat primary consumers
18 of 58
What comes next?
Tertiary consumers which eat secondary consumers
19 of 58
What are consumers that kill and eat other animals called?
Predators
20 of 58
What are organisms that are eaten called?
Prey
21 of 58
What happens in a stable community in terms of numbers of predators and prey?
It rises and falls in cycles
22 of 58
what type of organisms are producers of biomass for life on earth?
photsynthetic
23 of 58
what are the 6 processes involved in the carbon cycle?
photosynthesis, respiration, combustion, feeding, decay, death
24 of 58
what is the role of the carbon cycle?
to return carbon rom organisms to the atmosphere as CO2 to be used by plants in photosynthesis
25 of 58
what are the 3 conditions that are best suited for decay to happen?
best temperature for enzymes to catalyse and to not denature, water(moisture), high concentration of oxygen
26 of 58
what is the compost produced by farmers used as?
a natural fertiliser
27 of 58
what does anaerobic decay produce?
methane gas
28 of 58
what can be used to produce methane gas as a fuel?
biogas generators
29 of 58
In the water cycle, what happens continuously to water?
evaporates and precipitates
30 of 58
What does the water cycle provide?
fresh water for plants and animals on land before draining into the seas
31 of 58
What are the reasons why more resources are used and hwy more waste is produced?
rapid growth in human population and an increase in the standard of living
32 of 58
what are the 3 ways in which pollution can be as and give examples of each?
in water(from sewage, fertiliser, toxic chemicals), in air(from smoke and acidic gases), on land(from landfill and toxic chemicals)
33 of 58
what can polllution do to plants and animals and how would this affect biodiversity?
can kill plants and animals which can reduce biodiversity
34 of 58
What are the 4 ways that humans reduce the amount of land available for other animals and plants?
building, quarrying, farming, dumping waste
35 of 58
what does the destruction of peat bogs (and other areas of peat to produce garden compost) do in terms of area?
reduces the area of this habitat and therefore the variety of different plants, animals and microorganism species that live there (biodiversity).
36 of 58
what can be decayed or burnt to impact the atmosphere?
peat
37 of 58
What does decay or burning peat do?
releases CO2 into the atmosphere
38 of 58
what does the combustion of fossil fuels release other than CO2?
sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides
39 of 58
what can these cause?
acid rain
40 of 58
How else can air pollution be caused?
By tiny particulates from smoke which can cause smog
41 of 58
What are peat bogs a store of?
carbon
42 of 58
What are peat bogs also called?
carbon sinks
43 of 58
What are the 3 most common greenhouse gases?
CO2, CH4 and water vapour
44 of 58
What are the consequences of global warming?
polar ice caps melting, rising sea levels, more unusual weather, animals will migrate to more suitable temperatures, tropical diseases may be more common in other regions, many species will become extinct
45 of 58
What are producers mainly like?
plants and algae
46 of 58
what percent of incident energy from light for photosynthesis is transferred by producers?
1%
47 of 58
how much biomass from each trophic level is transferred to the level above it?
10%
48 of 58
what are the reasons for the losses of biomass?
not all ingested material is absorbed (some are egested as faeces)), lost as waste like CO2 and H2O in respiration and water and urea in urine, large amounts of glucose are used in respiration
49 of 58
define food security
having enough food to feed a population
50 of 58
what are the biological factors which are threatening food security?
increasing birth rate, changing diets in developed countries, new pests/pathogens that affect farming, environmental changes (widespread famine),cost of agricultural inputs, conflicts that will affect water/food availability
51 of 58
what sort of methods must be found to feed all people on Earth?
sustainable methods
52 of 58
How can the efficiency of food production be improved?
by restricting energy transfer from food animals to the environment
53 of 58
how can this be done?
by limiting their movement and by controlling the temperature of their surroundings
54 of 58
What are some animals fed to increase growth?
high protein foods
55 of 58
what are the +'s of modern/intensive farming techniques?
higher yields, more efficient use of food, quality control easier
56 of 58
what are the -'s of modern/intensive farming techniques?
costly additives needed, risk of antibiotic resistance, considered unethical by some people
57 of 58
what is eutrophication caused by?
run off of excess fertilisers from farmer's fields
58 of 58

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What do plants in a community/habitat compete with each other for?

Back

Light and space, and for water and mineral ions from the soil

Card 3

Front

What do animals compete with each other for?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Within a community, what can each species depend on another species for?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What is it called where species depend on each other for them to live?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Biology resources:

Biology
See all Biology resources »See all Variety of life and classification resources »