7 - ecology whole of topic Flashcards
abitotic factors
moisture levels
light
temp
co2 levels
wind intensity and dircetion
oxygen levels
soil pH
biotic factors
new predators
competition
new pathogens
availability for food
structural adaptations
body structure - shape/colour
1. arctic fox - white fur camo - predators and prey
2. whales - thick blubber - retain heat
3. camels - thin fat - help lose heat
behavioural adaptations
ways organisms behave
migrating to warmer climates
functional adaptations
- inside the body eg reproduction/metabloism
- desert animals - conserve water - dont sweat and concentrated piss
- brown bears hibernate over winter - lowers metabloism - conserves energy so they dont have to hunt when there isnt as much food
extremophiles
high temp
high salt
high pressure
whats biomass
a measure of the total mass of living material in each trophic level
environmental changes that effect the distribution of species
water availability
temp
atmospheric gasses
water cycle
transpiration and evaporation
condensation and precipiation
whats decay
- break down of dead matter by microorganisms
- fastest in warm/moist/aerobic conditions
- decay puts stuff back into soil that plants need to grow eg mineral ions
carbon cycle
- photosynthesis removes co2
- plants respire and some returned
- animals eat plants and it moves through food chain
- animals respire and some returned
- animals die and microorganisms feed on their remains
- these respire and co2 is returned
- combustion of wood for fossil fuels releases co2
- so carbon constantly being recycled
whats compost
decomposed organic matter used as natural fertiliser for crops
what effects the rate of decay
- temp - the warmer the faster but not too hot - enzymes
- oxygen - more oxygen - more they can respire - faster decay
- water - moist v good
- number of decay organisms - the moor the faster
whats biogas
- made of methane and burned as a fuel
- made by decaying plant and animal waste anaerobically
- made in a digester or generator
- need to be kept at constant temp
batch biogas generator
makes biogas in small batches
manually loaed up w waste
continuous biogas generators
makes biogas all the time
waste continuously fed in
biogas produced at steady rate
investigating the effect of temp on the rate of decay practical
- add lipase to test tube
- add milk to dif test tube
- add 5 drops of phenolphthalein to milk
- add sodium carbonate to this milk tube - alkali = goes pink
- both tubes in water bath at 30 degrees
- use a pipette and put the milk into the lipase and star stopwatch
- stir and the enzyme will star to decompose milk
- when solution loses its pink colour stop clock and record how long it took
- repeat at different temps
- calculate the rate - 1000/time
water waste
sewage and toxic chemicals frok industries can pollute lakes river and oceans and effect the wildlife or poison locals
land waste
toxic chemicals in pesticides etc
household waste in landfill
nuclear waste undergroud
air pollution
smoke and acidic gases - sulphur dioxide - acid rain
what are peat bogs
acidic and waterlogged land
plants that dont fully decay when they die bc there sint enough oxygen
carbon is stored in it
gets rained for fuels and usage of the field
when it gets drained the microorganisms respire bc of oxygen which releases co2
how to maintain biodiversity
- breeding programmes
- programmes protect coral reefs
- reintroduce hedgerows and field margins
- gov laws to reduce deforestation
trophic levels 1,2,3,4
- producers - make their own food photosynthesis - plants or algae
- primary consumer - herbivore
- secondary consumer - carnivore - eats 1,2
- tertiary consumer - carnivore - apex predator
what are decomposers
bacteria and fungi
decompose dead plant and animal waste
release enzymes that break the dead stuff down into food molecules which diffuse into the microoragnisms