10.1 Flashcards

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1
Q

define ecosystem

A

an environment including all the living organisms interacting within it, the cycling of nutrients and the physical and chemical environment in which the organisms are living

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2
Q

define habitat

A

a place where organisms live

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3
Q

define microhabitat

A

small area of a habitat

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4
Q

define community

A

all the populations of all the different species of organisms living in a habitat at any one time

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5
Q

define abiotic factor

A

the non-living elements of the habitat of an organism

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6
Q

define biotic factor

A

the living elements of a habitat that affect the ability of a group of organisms to survive there

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7
Q

define biosphere

A

all of the areas of the surface of the earth where living organisms survive

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8
Q

define biomes

A

the major ecosystems of the world

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9
Q

define population

A

group of organisms of the same species living and breeding together in a habitat

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10
Q

define succession

A

the process by which the communities of organisms colonising an area over time

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11
Q

what is a climax community

A

a self-sustaining community with relatively constant biodiversity and species range. it is the most productive group of organisms that a given environment can support long term

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12
Q

what is a climatic climax community

A

the only climax community possible in a given climate

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13
Q

what is a plagioclimax

A

a climax community that is at least in part the result of human intervention

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14
Q

describe primary succession

A

empty inorganic surface
opportunist/pioneer species penetrate the rock surface
this traps organic matter and forms humus
then a soil can be established for grasses and ferns to grow
a root system is established
soil layer develops and more water and nutrients become available
larger plants can be supported
as plant diversity increases animal diversity will closely follow
leading to a climax community

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15
Q

give some examples or opportunist/pioneer species

A

algae, mosses and fungi

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16
Q

what is secondary succession

A

the development of an ecosystem from existing soil that is clear of vegetation

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17
Q

what causes secondary succession

A

river shift their courses, fires and floods, human disturbances

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18
Q

what factors effect the speed of succession

A

temperature
rainfall
underlying soil fertility

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19
Q

what is a microclimate

A

a small area with a distinct climate that is different to the surrounding areas

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20
Q

what is an edaphic factor

A

relate to the structure of the soil

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21
Q

what is leaching

A

the loss of minerals from soil as water passes through rapidly

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22
Q

how may plants be adapted to photosynthesize in low light levels

A

extra chlorophyll
different ratio of photosynthetic pigments that are sensitive to lower light levels
very large leaves to collect more light

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23
Q

what factors effect water availability

A

amount of precipitation
rate of evaporation
edaphic factors

24
Q

if water is cold and fast flowing the amount of oxygen dissolved in the water will…

A

increase

25
Q

if water temperature rises and is stagnant the amount of oxygen dissolved in the water will…

A

decrease

26
Q

state the 6 main abiotic factors which effect a population

A

light
temperature
wind and water currents
water availability
oxygen availability
edaphic factors

27
Q

state 4 main biotic factors which affect a population

A

predation
finding a mate
territory
parasitism and disease

28
Q

explain how predator and prey populations are related

A

as a prey population increases there is more food for predators so after an interval predator population grows too. Eventually the predators will increase to a point where they are eating more prey than what is replaced by reproduction so number of prey will fall and reduce the food supply for predators so they will not produce as many off spring and numbers of predators will decrease allowing abundance of prey to increase

29
Q

what is a territory

A

an area held and defended by an animal or group of animals against other organisms

30
Q

what are density-independent factors and give an example

A

factors which are the same regardless of the population size
e.g. temperature

31
Q

what are density-dependent factors and give an example

A

factors which depend on how many organisms there are in a specific area
e.g. disease

32
Q

what causes competition

A

when organisms compete for a resource that is in limited supply

33
Q

what is intraspecific competition

A

competition between members of the same species

34
Q

what is interspecific competition

A

occurs when different species within a community compete for the same resource

35
Q

define abundance

A

the relative representation of a species in a particular ecosystem

36
Q

define distribution

A

where a species of organism is found in the environment and how it is arranged

37
Q

what is uniform distribution

A

occurs when resources are thinly but evenly spread or individuals of a species are antagonistic to each other (hostile)

38
Q

what is clumped distribution

A

herds or groups of organisms that have specific resource requirements clump together where those resources are found

39
Q

what is random distribution

A

occurs when there are plentiful resources and no antagonism

40
Q

what is a quadrat

A

a square frame divided into sections that you lay on the ground to identify the sample area

41
Q

what are the limitations of using quadrats

A

the area you can sample
the randomness of the sampling site (easy bias)
decisions made about whether to include organisms partially covered by the quadrat

42
Q

what is the individual count

A

measures the number of individual organisms in an area

43
Q

what is percentage cover

A

the area covered by the above ground parts of a particular species

44
Q

what is the ACFOR scale and what does it stand for

A

scale for measuring the abundance of a species in an area
A - abundant
C - common
F - frequent
O - occasional
R - rare

45
Q

what are the limitations of the ACFOR scale

A

its subjective
no set definitions
species can easily be rated on by how obvious they are instead of how abundant they are

46
Q

what is a point quadrat and how is it used

A

a horizontal bar which has long pins at intervals along it. the bar is placed in the area and species in contact with the bar are recorded

47
Q

what is a permeant quadrat and why is it used

A

it stays in the same place and it allows data to be collected and compared over large time periods reliably from the same place

48
Q

what is a line transect

A

a way of gathering data more systematically, a tape is stretched between 2 points and every individual species that touches the tape is recorded

49
Q

what is a belt transect

A

when 2 tapes are laid out and the ground between them is surveyed

50
Q

how can you build up a clear picture of the animals that live in an area

A

mark, release and recapture

51
Q

what are the issues with using a scatter graph to see correlations

A

don’t always give clear results
human error when drawing

52
Q

what is the equation for spearman’s rank correlation co-efficient

A

rs = 1- 6Ed^2 / n(n^2-1)
d = rank difference
n = number of pairs

53
Q

what are the steps in carrying out a spearman’s rank correlation co-efficient

A

1 - null hypothesis
2 - rank value
3 - calculate difference in ranks
4 - square differences
5 - substitute into formula
6 - find critical value based on number of pairs of data (n)
7 - if rs is greater than or equal to the critical value you reject the null hypothesis

54
Q

what is a t-test used for

A

to determined whether the mean of a variable in one group differs significantly from the mean of the same variable in a different group

55
Q

what is the difference between a paired and an unpaired t -test

A

unpaired - looks at whether there is a difference in the means between two separate / independent groups
paired - looks at whether there is a difference in the mean between the same group before and after a change

56
Q

what is standard deviation

A

the average amount of variability in your data

57
Q

what is the equation for s^2 (variance squared)

A

s^2 = (Ex, - (Ex)^2/n)/n - 1