Chapter 15- Ecology Flashcards
Ecosystems
Groups of plants animals and environments
Eg desert, grassland etc.
Habitat
Area where plant/animal lives eg. Pond, rocky seashore, hedgerow
Three types of feeding relationships
Producers
Consumers
Decomposers
Producers
Produce food ie. Plants through photosynthesis
Consumers- definition and the three types
Eat plants and other animals
Herbivores, omnivores, carnivores
Decomposers
Eat dead plants and animals,
Release chemicals back into the environment eg. Wood life, bacteria, worms, viruses
Food chains
Show each level of things to be eaten
Eg.
Grass-> rabbit-> fox
Adaption definition plus examples
Changes to survive
Eg. Rabbits’ big ears-> to hear hunters
Fox’s red coats->to blend in
Butterflies’ long mouths -> to drink nectar
Competition
When two or more organisms require something in short supply
Food web
Many food chains combined
Interdependence
Everything depends on each other
Animals on plants eg, rabbit on grass
Plants on animals eg, bees for reproduction
Animals on animals eg. Foxes on rabbits
Conservation
Protection and wise management of natural resources
Pollution
Harmful unwanted addition to the environment
Waste management
Taking care of our waster
Reduce, reuse recycle
Pollution leads to
Diseas Poisoning Damage to water soil quality Dumps Loss of animals and plant life
Pooter
Tub with two straws (one end covered in gauze)
Sucks up organism
Sweep net
Swept over long grass to collect organisms
Beating tray
Placed under bush/tree, bush/tree shook to release organisms
Pitfall trap
Insects fall in
Quadrat
Used to estimate number of plants in a a habitat
Line transect
String/rope/tape marked at intervals eg. Knot every meter
Helpful for verticle plants
Zonation
Changes of organism form one habitat to another
Examples of habitats being destroyed
-woodland cut down for timber
-bog land drained for farming
-grassland used for housing and factories
A lakes destroyed by pollution
Why conserve?
- to prevent extinction
- to keep nature’s balance and biodiversity
- plants give medicine
- human survival and lifestyle at risk
Acid rain
Sulfur and nitrogen oxides dissolved in rainwater
Burns tree leaves
Kills plants and fish
Dissolves marble limestone and metal
Greenhouse gasses
Increasing levels of Co2
Warms earth-> floors, weather changes
Less ozone
Cloroflourocarbons
Allows UV radiation in
Smog
Particles arisen from burning
Harmful to lungs kills small plants
Untreated sewage
Micro-organisms’ nutrient
Causes diseases and removes oxygen
Excess slurry/silage leaks
- provides nutrients for microorganisms
- removes oxygen
Industrial waste
-poisonous é chemicals
Harmful to health
Nuclear waste
radioactive material
Cause mutations and cancer
Oil spills
Kills birds fish
Destroys beaches
Poor water management
Micro organisms cause disease
- poisonous é chemicals enter air, water and soil
- nutrients use up oxygen, killing plants and animals in water
- dumped waste is smelly, unsightly, attracts rats etc.
- pollutes water
- incineration produces poisonous gasses
Positive effects of humans
- reducing chlorofluorocarbons= the ozone layer forming again
- fee on plastic bags- less litter
Negative effects of humans
Burning fossil fuels-> increased heat-> flooding+extreme weather
Excess waste material
Ecology
The study of the relationship between plants and animals and the environment
