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Science > B9: Ecosystems And Material Cycles > Flashcards

B9: Ecosystems And Material Cycles Flashcards

1
Q

What does population mean?

A

All organisms of the same species living with one another in a habitat

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2
Q

What does community mean?

A

All of the populations of different species living together in a habitat

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3
Q

What does ecosystem mean?

A

Community of organisms and non-living components of an area and their interactions

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4
Q

What does interdependent mean?

A
  • organisms are dependent upon each other
  • a change in the population of one species can affect other populations within a community
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5
Q

What does mutualism mean?

A

The interaction between 2 organisms where both benefit as a result of their relationship

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6
Q

What’s a piece of apparatus that is used to measure the abundance and distribution of organisms in an area?

A

Quadrat

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7
Q

What does a food chain show?

A

It describes the feeding relationships between organisms and the resultant stages of biomass transfer

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8
Q

What does biomass mean?

A

The total mass of living material

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9
Q

What’s a simple food chain?

A

Producer -> primary consumer -> secondary consumer -> tertiary consumer

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10
Q

What’s biodiversity?

A

The variety of living organisms in an ecosystem

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11
Q

How does fish farming affect biodiversity?

A
  • food used to feed the fish and waste can leak into water sources, causing eutrophication
  • parasites from fish farms may spread and contaminate surrounding ecosystems
  • other organisms may become tangled in netting
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12
Q

How does the use of fertilisers affect biodiversity?

A

Excess fertiliser can wash into water sources causing eutrophication and death of many species, reducing biodiversity

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13
Q

What’s eutrophication?

A

A type of water pollution caused by the addition of sewage or fertiliser

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14
Q

How can humans more positively impact biodiversity?

A
  • conservation schemes (national parks, seed banks)
  • reforestation
  • protecting endangered species
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15
Q

What’s reforestation?

A

Replanting forests to help restore biodiversity

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16
Q

How do conservation schemes protect biodiversity?

A

They protect species from becoming extinct and increase population numbers

17
Q

What are 3 benefits of maintaining biodiversity?

A
  • jobs provided by ecotourism, reforestation and conservation schemes
  • to discover plant species that may contain chemicals that could be used in future medicine
  • reduces damage to food chains
18
Q

What is food security?

A

Ensuring that populations have access to adequate amounts of safe and nutritious foods

19
Q

What are 3 biological factors affecting food security?

A
  • rising human population
  • changing diets
  • sustainability
20
Q

What are the 3 types of nutrient cycle?

A
  • carbon
  • water
  • nitrogen
21
Q

Why are the nutrient cycles important?

A

They are essential to life, fixed amount of nutrients on earth which must be constantly recycled

22
Q

What are the stages in the carbon cycle?

A
  • photosynthesis
  • respiration
  • exchange
  • sedimentation
  • extraction
  • combustion
23
Q

What are the stages in the water cycle?

A
  • evaporation
  • transpiration
  • condensation
  • precipitation
  • infiltration
  • runoff
24
Q

What is potable water and how can it be prepared?

A

Drinking water
- desalination

25
Q

What is desalination?

A

A process that removes salts from saline water

26
Q

What are 2 methods of desalination?

A
  • thermal
  • reverse osmosis
27
Q

What do plants use to make proteins?

A

Nitrates

28
Q

Why can’t nitrogen be used directly by plants to form proteins?

A

Nitrogen is un reactive

29
Q

What is the role of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the nitrogen cycle?

A
  • convert nitrogen gas into ammonia
  • ammonia dissolves in solution forming ammonium ions
30
Q

Where are nitrogen-fixing bacteria found?

A
  • soil
  • root nodules of legumes
31
Q

How does temperature affect the rate of decomposition?

A

Decomposers release enzymes
- rate highest at 50°C (optimum)
- lower temperatures, enzymes work too slowly, rate decreases
- high temperatures, enzymes denature, decomposition stops

32
Q

What factors affect the rate of decomposition?

A
  • oxygen availability
  • temperature
  • water content
33
Q

How do decomposers break down dead matter?

A

Release enzymes which catalyse the breakdown of dead material into smaller molecules

34
Q

What is meant by decomposition?

A

The breakdown of dead materials into simpler organic matter

35
Q

What are the stages of the nitrogen cycle?

A
  • nitrogen-fixation
  • feeding
  • production of nitrogenous waste products
  • nitrification
  • uptake of nitrates
  • denitrification
36
Q

Where are denitrifying bacteria commonly found?

A

Waterlogged soils

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