1. Ecosystems

Question 1

What is Ecology?

Answer 1

The study of living things, how they interact and the impact humans have on them

Question 2

What is the Biosphere?

Answer 2

The name given to the living planet, and all the living organisms that exist and interact upon it

Question 3

What is the definition of a species?

Answer 3

All the individuals of the same species share characteristics, can interbreed and produce fertile offspring

Question 4

What is meant by biodiversity?

Answer 4

Biodiversity is the total variety of organisms that are present in a particular area

Question 5

Why is biodiversity important?

Answer 5

To study the effects of pollution

Plant and animal breeding

Living organisms are an important source of raw materials

Conservation

Question 6

What can the biosphere be split into?

Answer 6

Huge bio-geographical areas known as biomes. However these can be split into even smaller area, with more distinct characteristics, called ecosystems

Question 7

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 7

A naturally occurring unit made up of all the living things in a particular area, their non-living environment, and the interactions between them

Question 8

Give examples of ecosystems

Answer 8

Pond, forest, plain, river, grassland, mountains, ect.

Question 9

What is the place where an organism lives called?

Answer 9

It’s habitat

Question 10

Give examples of habitats

Answer 10

Forest floor, under tree bark, leaf litter, shrub layer, ect.

Question 11

What is a population?

Answer 11

All the living things of one species, within an ecosystem

Question 12

What is the community?

Answer 12

All living things (all the populations) added together, in an ecosystem

Question 13

What are three factors that affect biodiversity?

Answer 13

Biotic

Abiotic

Human influences

Question 14

What are:

Abiotic factors?

Biotic factors?

Give examples

Answer 14

Abiotic factors are non-living factors which affect communities
Light intensity, rainfall, temperature, wind speed

Biotic factors are living factors which affect communities
Parasite and hosts, disease, predator/prey

Question 15

What is a producer and consumer?

Answer 15

A producer is a green plant which can make its own food, by the process of photosynthesis

A consumer is a living organism that must feed on other organisms to obtain energy

Question 16

What are the four sections consumers can be split into, define them?

Answer 16

Carnivores feeds only on other organisms (Fox)

Herbivores feed on only plants (deer)

Omnivores eat both animals and plants (human)

Decomposes feed on decaying organisms (fungi)

Question 17

Which two terms are used to describe feeding relationships?

Answer 17

Predators are living organisms which hunt other organisms for food

Prey are living organisms that are hunted by other organisms for food

Question 18

Which diagrams are used to describe feeding relationships?

Answer 18

Food chains are diagrams representing a set of feeding relationships within an ecosystem (it always starts with a producer)

Food webs are diagrams representing all the feeding relationships in an ecosystem

Question 19

What is a niche?

Answer 19

A niche is the role that an organism plays within a community
It is not only the organisms habitat, but it’s whole way of life

Question 20

What is predation?

Answer 20

Predation affects the numbers of both predators and prey

Question 21

What happens if the prey population in an ecosystem grows?

Answer 21

Predator numbers will respond to the increased food source and grow as well

Question 22

What happens when the predator numbers are high, because of increased food source?

How will this impact affect the predators?

Answer 22

The prey numbers will begin to fall, because of the increase in predators

This will cause the predator population to fall

Question 23

What is a specialist?

Answer 23

A specialist is an organism that has a limited range of prey

Question 24

What causes competition?

Answer 24

When organisms have the same needs, but these resources are in short supply

Question 25

What things do organisms compete for?

Answer 25

Animal - Territory, food, water, nesting sites and materials, mates

Plant - Light, water, soil minerals, CO2

Question 26

What is intERspecific competition?

Answer 26

When members of different species compete for the same resources in an ecosystem

Question 27

What is intRAspecific competition?

Answer 27

When members of the same species compete for the same resources

(this competition is often much fiercer)

Question 28

What is competition an important factor in?

Answer 28

The process of Evolution