B6.1: Monitoring And Maintaining The Environment Flashcards
What is the abundance of an organism?
How many individuals you find in an area: population size
What is the distribution of an organism?
Where an organism is found in a habitat (a part of a field)
Why do we take samples?
It would be too time consuming to measure the number of individuals and every species in an area you are investigating
How can abundance be estimated?
Counting the number of individuals in a certain area and then scaling up for the total area
What are the ways you can measure the distribution of an organism?
Measure how common an organism is in 2 sample areas and compare them
Study how the distribution changes in area
What are pooters?
Jars that have rubber bangs sealing the top
Why is it important to understand the relationships within a community?
Monitoring the impact of conservation projects that aim to conserve endangered species or habitats
How can pooters be used to collect data in a sample?
If you suck on the shorter tube and put the end of the longer tube over an insect, it’ll be sucked into the jar
In your first sample areas, crawl around for a few mins sucking up as many insects as you can. Then count the number of insects you’ve collected.
Do this in the second sample area and compare what you find for a similar amount of time and choose sample areas of similar size
What are pitfalls?
Steep sided containers that are sunk in a hole in the ground. The top is partly open
How can pitfall traps be useful in investigating ground insects?
Leave the trap overnight in your first sample areas. Insects that come along fall into the container and can’t get out again, so you can count them
Set up in te second sample and compare what you find
What are the types of nets?
Sweep net
Pond net
What is a sweep net?
A net lined with strong cloth for collecting insects, spiders from long grass
What is a pond net?
A net used for collecting insects, water snails from ponds and rivers
How can you use a sweep net to collect data?
To use one, stand still in your first sample areas and sweep the net once from left to right through te grass. Quickly sweep the net up and turn the insects out into a container to count
Repeat the sweep with 2nd sample and compare the number of organisms you find
How can you use a pond net to collect data?
Stand in your first sample areas and sweep the net along the bottom of the pond/river. Turn the net out into a white tray with a bit of water in to count the organisms you’ve caught
Then sweep your pond net in your second sample area and compare what you find
What is a quadrat?
A square frame enclosing a known area
What is a sample?
Observations or meaurements from a small are, which is representative of a larger area
Name 4 different sampling techniques for animals
Pooters
Sweep nets
Kick sampling
Tree beating
Pitfall traps
Name 2 different sampling techniques for plant species
Quadrat
Transect
What tool could be used to record the abudance of different plant species in a habitat?
A quadrat
Which tool could be used to record the abundance of different flying insects species in a habitat?
A sweep net
What tool could be used to record the abundance of different small crawling animal species in a habitat?
A pitfall trap
What are the 2 different approches to sampling plants?
Random sampling
Non random sampling
State the approach to sampling being used when sampling with transect
Non random
What us the equation for calculating animal popilation size?
Estimated population size = (first sample x second sample) / number of recaptured marked individuals
Describe the mark release-recapture method
Use trap to capture some animals
Mark captured animals
Release animals
Set trap again in a couple of days
Note the number in the recapture that are marked
State 5 negative impacts that humans have upon the environment
Hunting
Deforestation
Pollution
Land use
Pesticides
State 5 positive impacts that humans have upon the environment
Sustainable farming
Captive breeding programs
Creating nature reserves
Recycling
Preserving habitats
Define biodiversity
The variety in all the species living in an ecosystem
Name 3 benefits of maintaining biodiversity
Ecotourism can provide money for local economies
Prevent extinction
Some animals or plants may have been useful medicinal properties
Balance within an ecosystem
2 challenges of maintaining biodiversity
Difficult to gain political agreement on policies
Popilation may need re-educating to understand why they must change their lifelong ways of doing things
Maintaining biodiversity can be expensive
What is conservation?
Protecting a natural environment to make sure habitats are not lost
2 examples of conservation activites
Controlled grazing
Feeding animals
Controlling numbers of dominant species
Restricting human access
Reintroduction of species
What is captive breeding?
Breeding animals in a human controlled environment such as a zoo or aquarium with the aim to:
- create a healthy stable population
- gradually reintroduce
- maintain genetic diversity
What is the issue with captive breeding?
Organisms may not be suitable to release into the wild:
- they may not know how to hunt / forage for food
- they may not be able to recognise threats in the wild
What are seed banks?
A store of plant genetic material with the purpose of providing a backup against the extinction of plant species
How can changes in water levels affect ecosystems?
Animals may have to migrate to find water
Melting ice caps may destroy certain animal habitats
How can atmospheric gases affect ecosystems?
Some organisms cannot survive when certain gases are present
Polluted water can cause illness to animals that drink it
Certain gases can lead to acid rain which cause deforestation
What is an indicator species?
A species thats population size directly correlates to the levels of pollution
State the organisms you would expect to find as indicators of different levels of water pollution
Unpolluted - mayfly larva / nymphs
Low pollution - freshwater shrimp
High pollution - water louse
Very high pollution - sludge worms
