B7 - Ecology Flashcards
What do organisms compete for?
- Food
- Water
- Space
- Light
- CO²/0²
- Mate
What is interdependence?
Organisms depending on each other for survival
When this happens, a community is formed
What are abiotic and biotic factors?
Abiotic factors: Non-living factors (e.g. Light, temperature, moisture, oil, soil pH, CO² & O² concentration)
Biotic factors: Living factors (e.g. Food, predators/prey and pathogens)
Describe the process of sampling.
-Place quadrat in a random place in area (ideally 10% of area, using random number generator to choose locations)
-Count number of chosen organism in each, calculate mean then multiply the total area to get estimate for population
-Moving it along a transect allows you to observe changes on population density over a distance
What do food chains show?
The direction of biomass transfer between organism’s.
Describe a food chain.
- Producer - produces biomass
- Primary Consumer
- Secondary Consumer
- Tertiary consumer
Apex predators are always at the top of the food chain - have no natural predator
Organism’s exist in tropic levels, and their populations will fluctuate over time
Describe the Water Cycle.
- Evaporation - Sun’s heat energy heats up ocean water and turns it into gas (water vapour)
- Transpiration - Plants release water vapour from their leaves through stomata
- Condensation - Water vapour rises, it cools and condenses into tiny droplets, forming clouds
- Precipitation - Clouds get heavy with water and water falls as rain, hail, snow or sleet
- Surface run off takes water back to the oceans. Some is taken through infiltration
Describe the Carbon Cycle.
- Photosynthesis - Plants take in CO₂ from the air and use it to make glucose.
- Respiration - Plants, animals, and decomposers release CO₂ back into the air.
- Feeding - Carbon moves through the food chain when animals eat plants and other animals.
- Decomposition - Microorganisms break down dead organisms, releasing CO₂ through respiration.
- Combustion - Burning fossil fuels releases stored carbon as CO₂ into the atmosphere.
What is biodiversity?
The variety of species of organism’s that exist in an ecosystem.
Usually lowered by human development
What do humans use land for?
- Building
- Quarrying
- Farming
- Landfill
What are peat bogs?
Areas of land that are acidic and waterlogged
- Being destroyed to make compost
- Reduces biodiversity
- Burning peats releases CO² - contributes to global warming
What is deforestation?
The cutting down of forests
- Provides land
- Reduces biodiversity
- Less transpiration
What is a pyramid of biomass?
It indicates how much biomass is transferred between tropic levels
Biomass is lost at each level
How do you work out the percentage absorbed by the next level in a pyramid of biomass?
(Biomass at second level ÷ biomass at level) × 100
