Biodiversity and ecosystems

Question 1

What is biodiversity?

Answer 1

The measure of the variety of different species we have on Earth or in a particular ecosystem

Question 2

How come humans were able to rapidly grow in populations?

Answer 2

We have no natural predators, we are able to grow lots of food then what we could harvest in nature, we have vaccines and medicines that can destroy killer diseases.

Question 3

What resources do humans exhaust Earth of?

Answer 3

• fossil fuels for energy
• soil for agriculture
• water

Question 4

How are humans effecting land use and resources? (4)

Answer 4

• we have urbanised areas in place of homes, industry and businesses. In doing so we have cleared habitats and reduced natural ecosystems and the area’s biodiversity.
• the waste we produce takes up land to store and to process.
• we excavate areas for quarries to extract metal ores and minerals to be sold off.
• we use land for agriculture, when we farm the area’s natural animal and plant populations are destroyed, we also pollute the land with fertilisers and pesticides.

Question 5

Describe the correlation between population growth and the amount of waste, refer to environmental impact. Give examples of waste.

Answer 5

As the population has rapidly increased, we have produced more waste that takes up land to store and process, reducing natural ecosystems and biodiversity. Our waste, including human waste, disposed food, packaging, other manmade products and substances excreted from manufacturers and industries have polluted our land, and throughout time with the growth of our population, the standard of living has increased.

Question 6

What are the consequences of a higher standard of living?

Answer 6

Demand for certain products increase, therefore more waste is produced as we harvest more resources to accommodate for our modern lifestyle.

Question 7

How are humans polluting water, air and the land?

Answer 7

Water- the waste we produce such as sewage and industrial chemicals as well as fertilisers from farming can be washed into rivers without proper maintenance.
Air- we emit CO2 through burning fossil fuels for energy, for example for transportation. These gasses as well as the surfer dioxide that comes from our land fills decrease our air quality.
Land- Agriculture and industries use toxic substances such as pesticides, these can be washed with rain and infiltrate into the soil, making it infertile and unable to support a healthy ecosystem and a good biodiversity.

Question 8

List the causes of land pollution:

Answer 8

• farming
• domestic waste
• industrial waste
• human waste

Question 9

Describe how farming pollutes land:

Answer 9

The use of pesticides (to treat animal and fungal pests) and herbicides (to kill off competing weeds) is poisonous to the soil when it is sprayed onto the plants. It can be washed off and infiltrate into the soil with rain into rivers and can result in bioaccumulation where the poison builds up in each level of a food chain, from a producer to the tertiary predators which end up with the highest doses of the poison.

Question 10

Describe how human waste pollutes land:

Answer 10

human waste includes sewage, the more we have the harder it is to maintain and treat before being released. If untreated these can infiltrate the soil, and contaminate it with gut parasites and unpleasant chemicals.

Question 11

Describe how domestic waste pollutes land:

Answer 11

Domestic waste includes hazardous products that we throw out daily, these are gathered into land fills which take up space destroying natural habitats in the process. Toxic chemicals can seep into the soil, poisoning it.

Question 12

Describe how industrial pollutes land:

Answer 12

Industrial waste includes nuclear waste, accidents such as Chernobyl result in large long term impacts on the environments health. it released nuclear radiation to many surrounding countries affected healthy crop yields and limiting pastoral farming due to the residue on food products.

Question 14

Why is peat being destroyed?

Answer 14

-to make space for farming which include draining bogs which encourages peat decay.
-to burn the peat as fuel
-to sell to gardeners as compost.

Question 15

What is peat?

Answer 15

peat is a mass of partially decaying plant matter found in a bog.

Question 16

What are the consequences of global warming?

Answer 16

-rising sea levels- this can flood costal areas permanently and destroy associated biodiversity, additionally, the changes in ice make it hard for polar organisms to survive

-diseases- malaria mosquitos have migrated away from Africa into European countries spreading the disease to other populations

-migration- most animals that migrate are safer from extinction as they move to more suitable climates for their survival

-adaptations- adapting quickly to the changing environment is crucial to survive, most big-bodied animals face a greater risk as they have undergone the most evolution from longer generation lines.

-sea surface temperatures increase- this has caused many corals to become brittle and bleached.

-acidification- as the ocean becomes more acidic, corals are unable to develop skeletons.

-meteorological disasters- they become more frequent and severe.

Question 17

How have species from the North and South Pole been affected by the melting ice?

Answer 17

-in the North Pole, polar bear cubs have drowned in the artic circle as ice becomes thinner and less stable to hunt on.
-in the South Pole, penguins feed on krill which live under the ice surface, having less ice means fewer krill to eat, so they starve.

Question 18

What are extremophiles?

Answer 18

organisms that live in the extremities of an environment condition, in high pressure/temperature/salt concentration