B16/17/18 Ecology Flashcards
Biodiversity definition
Biodiversity is the variety of all the different species of organisms on Earth, or with an ecosystem.
What does the future of the human species rely on in terms of biodiversity?
The future of the human species on Earth relies on us maintaining a good level of biodiversity. Many human activities are reducing biodiversity.
Onky recently, measures have been taken to prevent this reduction.
Why has the global population increased so much recently?
The population has risen due to lots of medical advances keeping people alive more.
What are the consequences of this population explosion?
- Pollution (water and air)
- Global warming, the Greenhouse effect and climate change
- Peat bog destruction
- Food security
Why do people need land?
- Housing, retail, roads, industry
- Farming
- Quarrying
- Waste disposal
What happens when people use land?
- Habitats are destroyed
- Earth’s resources are drained
- There is a huge amount of waste for disposal
- Many pollutants
- Biodiversity decreases
What happens when we make more things?
We produce more waste, including waste chemicals.
What does pollution affect?
It affects water, land and air which kills plants and animals, reducing biodiversity.
How does pollution affect water?
Sewage and toxic chemicals from industry can pollute the water which affects the plants and animals who rely on them for survival.
How does pollution affect land use?
We use toxic chemicals for farming. We also bury nuclear waste underground, and we dump a lot of household waste in landfill sites.
How does pollution affect the air?
Smoke and acidic gases reduced into the atmosphere can pollute the air.
What are the consequences of global warming?
- Higher temperatures cause seawater to expand and ice to melt, causing the sea level to rise. It will lead to flooding, resulting in the loss of habitats.
- The distribution of many wild animal and plant species may change as temperatures increase. Some species may become more widely distributed and other species may become less widely distributed
- There could be changes in migration patterns.
- Biodiversity could be reduced if some species are unable to survive a change in the climate.
3 What does a food chain always start woth?
All food chains start with PRODUCER which make molecules like glucose.
3 What are food webs?
These are constructed from lots of food chains in a habitat.
3 What is biomass?
The dry mass of an organism