6.6 POPULATIONS AND STABILITY

Question 1

What is a predator?

Answer 1

A predator is an animal that hunts and kills other animals for food.

Question 2

What is prey?

Answer 2

Prey is an animal that is hunted for food.

Question 3

What factors effect the graph showing the relationship between predator and prey?

Answer 3

Factors effecting predator prey relationship graph:
- only occur if predation is the only limiting factor and there is only 1 predator
- size of predator population is influenced by the size of the prey population and vice versa

Question 4

What is the general predator prey relationship?

Answer 4

As the number of prey increases, the number of predators also increases as there is a larger food source available. Then, as the predator population eats the prey, the prey populations will decrease. This then causes the predator population to also decrease as there is less food and more competition. The number of prey increases again and the cycle continues.

Question 5

What is conservation?

Answer 5

Conservation is the maintenance of biodiversity through human action or management.
- maintaining biodiversity between species
- maintaining genetic diversity within species
- maintenance of habitats

Question 6

What does conservation involve?

Answer 6

Conservation involves the management of ecosystems so the natural resources in them can be used without running out.
- e.g forest stewardship council maintains forests for use of timber, mission is to promote socially beneficial, environmentally appropriate and economically viable management of forests globally.

Question 7

What is recalaimation?

Answer 7

Reclaimation is the process of restoring ecosystems that have been damaged or destroyed.
- e.g areas destroyed by flood/new building sites
- uses techniques like controlled burning of areas of forest to halt succession and improve biodiversity.

Question 8

Does conservation stay constant?

Answer 8

Conservation is a dynamic and needs to adapt to constant change.

Question 9

What is preservation?

Answer 9

Preservation is the protection of an area by restricting or banning human interference, so the ecosystem is kept in its original state.
- most commonly used when preserving ecologically, archeologically or paleontologically sensitive resources, which can be easily damaged or destroyed by disturbances.
= visitation is not allowed on preserved areas
= newly discovered caves are pristine, may contain very sensitive ecological formations or unique ecosystems
= marine conservation zones

Question 10

What is the economic importance of conservation?

Answer 10

Economic importance of conservation:
- provide resources that humans need to survive and provide an income
- e.g rainforest species provide medicinal drugs, clothes and food for trade
= other forests can be used for the production of timber and paper

Question 11

What is the social importance of conservation?

Answer 11

Social importance of conservation:
- many people enjoy the natural beauty of wild ecosystems as well as using them for activities which are beneficial to health b y providing means of relaxation and exercise
- e.g bird watching, walking, cycling and climbing

Question 12

What is the ethical importance of conservation?

Answer 12

Ethical importance of conservation:
- all organisms have a right to exists, most play an important role within their ecosystem. many people believe we should not have the right to decide which organisms can survive, and which we could live without. we also have moral responsibility for future generations to conserve the wide variety of existing natural ecosystems.

Question 13

Why is sustainable management of the environment needed?

Answer 13

Sustainable management of the environment is needed to meet increasing demand for resources without damaging the environment beyond repair.

Question 14

What are the aims of sustainability?

Answer 14

The aims of sustainability:
- preserve the environment
- ensure resources are available for future generations
- allow humans in all societies to live comfortably
- enable less economically developed countries to develop, through exploiting their natural resources
- create a more even balance in the consumption of these resources between a more economically developed country and a less economically developed country

Question 15

What is reduce, reuse, recycle?

Answer 15

Reduce- lowering consumption of physical objects + natural objects

Reuse - reusing objects in their current form

Recycle - break down an item into its raw material to be used for the manufacture of new items

Question 16

What is sustainable timber production?

Answer 16

Sustainable timber production is the sustainable management of forest’s biodiversity whilst supporting wood trade.

Question 17

Why is coppicing used in small scale timber production?

Answer 17

Coppicing is used as is divides woodlands into sections and trees are only cut in particular sections which allows for newly coppiced trees to grow.

Question 18

What is rotational coppicing?

Answer 18

Rotational coppicing maintains biodiversity so trees never grow enough to block out the light and prevents succession.

Question 19

What is the main advantage of rotational coppicing?

Answer 19

The main advantage of rotational coppicing is that succession cannot occur and more species can survive.

Question 20

What is pollarding?

Answer 20

Pollarding is similar to coppicing but the trunk is cut higher up the tree.

Question 21

What is the main advantage of pollarding?

Answer 21

The main advantage of pollarding is that deer and animals cannot eat new shoots as they appear.

Question 22

What technique is large scale timber production based on?

Answer 22

Large scale timber production is based around the technique of felling large areas of forest.

Question 23

What are key practices of sustainable felling?

Answer 23

Sustainable felling key practices:
1. selective cutting - only removes largest trees
2. replace trees through replanting rather than waiting for natural regeneration
3. plant trees at optimal distance apart to reduce competition
4. manage pests and pathogens to maximise yields
5. ensure that areas of forest remain for indigenous people

Question 24

What are the main disadvantages of sustainable felling?

Answer 24

The main disadvantages of sustainable felling are that habitats are destroyed, soil minerals are reduced, bare soil which is left is susceptible to erosion.

Question 25

What percentage of the world’s fisheries are over fished?

Answer 25

34.2% of the worlds fisheries are over fished.

Question 26

What is a main disadvantage of trawler fishing?

Answer 26

A main disadvantage of trawler fishing is that it causes overfishing.

Question 27

What is a main disadvantage of long line fishing?

Answer 27

A main disadvantage of long line fishing is that vulnerable species can be caught.

Question 28

When is catching a wild fish sustainable?

Answer 28

Catching a wild fish is sustainable is when it is caught when the population is stable so will remain stable in the future.

Question 29

What are sustainable methods of catching fish?

Answer 29

Sustainable methods of catching are rod and reel fishing (recreational), nets with different mesh sizes so fish that are too small can escape.

Question 30

What are the problems with fish farms?

Answer 30

The problems with fish farms are overfishing, habitat damage, bycatch of vulnerable species, pollution, parasites and spread of disease.

Question 31

What is the common fisheries policy?

Answer 31

The common fisheries policy is the fishery policy of the EU, which aims to preserve fish stocks, protect the marine environment, ensure economic viability of EU fleets and provide consumers with quality food. It provides limits on the numbers of certain species of fish that are allowed to be caught in an area to maintain the natural population.

Question 32

How can mesh size allow sustainable fishing to occur?

Answer 32

Mesh size can allow sustainable fishing to occur as immature fish can escape so only mature fish are caught and breeding can continue.

Question 33

Why is commercial and recreational fishing only allowed at certain times of the year?

Answer 33

Commercial and recreation fishing is only allowed at certain times of the year to protect breeding seasons of some fish species and allow fish levels to increase back to a sustainable level.

Question 34

Why are fish farms useful?

Answer 34

Fish farms are useful as they supply protein whilst preventing loss of wild species.