B7 Flashcards
Habitat
Place where an organism lives
Population
All the organisms of one species living in a habitat
Community
The populations of different species living in a habitat
Ecosystem
The interaction of a community of living organisms with the non-living parts of their environment
Why do organisms compete
To survive and reproduce
What do plants compete for
Light
Space
Water
Mineral ions from the soil
What do animals compete for
Territory
Food
Water
Mates
Interdépendance
Species depend on other species for food, shelter,pollination and seed dispersal
What is a stable community
When all the species and environmental factors are in balance so the population sizes are roughly constant
What happens if factors in an ecosystem changes
Affects the size of populations in a community which can have knock on effects because of interdépendance
Abiotic factors and examples
Non living factors
Light intensity
Temperature
CO2 levels
How to biotic and abiotic factors change the environment
Abiotic - increase or decrease
Biotic - introduction of a new biotic factor
Biotic factor and examples
Living factors
New predators
Competition
New pathogens
What do adaptation allow organisms to do
Survive and live in different conditions
What is a structural adaptation
Features of an organisms body structure
Behavioural adaptation
The way an organism behaves
Functional adaptation
Things that go on inside an organisms body that can be related to processes like reproduction or metabolism
Extremophiles
Adapted to live in very extreme conditions
Food chains
Shows what is eaten by what in an ecosystem
What does a food chain start with
Producer that make their own food from sun energy by making glucose by photosynthesis
What is transferred when organisms in a food chain eat each other
Energy
What is the order in the food chain
Producer
Primary consumer
Secondary consumer
Tertiary consumers
Predators
Consumers that hunt and kill other animals
Prey
Who predators eat
Why are predators prey cycles always out of phase
It takes a while for one population to respond
What is a quadrat used for
To compare how common an organism is
How are quadrats used
1) place quadrats on the ground with random coordinates
2) count for organisms in the quadrat
3)multiply to get the amount of organisms in the whole area
What are transects for
To find out how organisms are distributed across an area that changes
How are transects used
1) place tape measure in a line across an area
2) collect the data across the line (organisms that touch the line/quadrats) at intervals
3) repeat with another line parallel to it
4) calculate the mean for each interval
Water cycle
1) sun energy evaporates water from the land, sea and plants (transpiration) turning it into water vapour
2) warm water vapour rises, cools condenses and forms clouds
3) water falls from clouds as precipitation providing fresh water for plants and animals
4) some water is absorbed by the soil, taken up by plant roots and used for photosynthesis or plant tissues
5) animals use it for chemical reactions and return it to the soil through excretion
6)some water will run off into streams and rivers
7) the water drains back into the sea and the process repeats
Carbon cycle
1) co2 removed from atmosphère by green plants and algae through photosynthesis. Carbon used to make glucose which build the tissues
2) when they respire carbon is returned
3) animals eat the plants so carbon transfers to them and moves through the food chain
4) animals respire and carbon is returned
5) when they die microorganisms feed on the remains and respire to return carbon
6)animals produce waste which is broken down my microorganisms
7)combustion releases co2
8) carbon is constantly being cycled
How does co2 and methane cause climate change
Act as an insulating layer once in the atmosphere
They absorb energy and heat from the sun and radiate it back to earth instead of space
Planet temp increases
Biodiversity
Variety of different species of organisms within an ecosystem
What reduces biodiversity
Waste production
Deforestation
Global warming
Pros of High biodiversity
Makes ecosystem stable because of interdépendance
Maintains right physical environment
How does the increasing population affect the earth
Pressure on the environment as we take resources to survive
How does demanding a higher standard of living affect the earth
Use more raw materials and energy for manufacturing
Run out of raw materials as they are used quicker than replaced
Waste
Causes harmful pollution without proper disposal and reduces biodiversity
Water waste
Sewage and toxic chemicals from industry can pollute water affecting plants and animals that rely on them
Chemicals used on lan (fertilisers) can be washed into water
Land waste
Toxic chemicals for farming (pesticides)
Bury toxic waste underground and household waste in landfill sites
Air waste
Smoke and acidic gases released into the atmosphere can pollute the air
What does sulfur dioxide cause
Acid rain
Higher temperature affects
Ice melts, sea water rises, flooding low lying places and loss of habitats
Species distributions changes causes
Temp increases and rainfall patterns changes
Increase in species that need warmer conditions
Decrease in species that need colder conditions
Migration pattern changes causes
Animals Migrate to warmer/colder places as the temp changes
Biodiversity effects from global warming
Reduces if species are unable to survive the change in climate
Reasons for land use
Building
quarrying
Farming
Dumping waste
Deforestation
Cutting down forests to clear land for cattle, crops, logging
How is less co2 taken in caused by deforestation
Amount of co2 removed via photosynthesis is reduced as their are less trees
How is more co2 in atmosphere caused by deforestation
Released when trees are burnt to clear land
Microorganisms feed on dead wood and releases co2 as a waste product of respiration
How is less biodiversity caused by deforestation
Forests contain huge number of species and when destroyed the species are in danger of extinction and biodiversity is reduced
Peatbog
Acidic land that is waterlogged
Plants that don’t fully decay as there’s not enough oxygen build up to form peat
Carbon in plants are stored in peat
Why are peatbogs drained
Used as farmland
Cut up and dried to burn as fuel
Compost for gardeners
Problems with draining peat bogs
Microorganisms decompose it which respire and release co2
CO2 released when burned
Destroys habitats and reduces biodiversity
Programmes to protect ecosystems
Helps minimise damage by human activities to ecosystems and biodiversity
Name 2 programmes that protect the ecosystems
Breeding programmes
Prevents endangered species going extinct
Bred in captivity then individuals are released to reestablish to population
Government regulations and programmes
Reduce deforestation
Reduce co2 released by businesses
Reduces global warming
Two problems with maintaining biodiversity
Costs money
Government pays farmers to reintroduce hedgerows
Money might be prioritised for something else
Development
Land in high demand
Untouched land with high biodiversity used for development (housing and agriculture)
