content Flashcards
what is the relationship between biomass and energy?
when one organism eats another, the biomass will get transferred to energy and this organism will obtain the energy
why does the energy decrease through every level of the food chain?
because through every organism that the energy gets passed through, there is some energy that gets wasted via excretion or exercise or some of the organism isn’t eaten properly
efficiency of transfers between organism
energy transferred to next level ÷ total energy in × 100
what happened to YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK when the wolves we added?
- deer population grew
- trees grew
- rivers and streams became more free flowing
- birds came and beavers came into the park
the wolves increased biodiversity and this is the effect of a biotic factor
what is the relationship between the numbers of predators and prey?
there are always less predators than there are prey
how can you see the effect of an abiotic factor?
you can use a belt transect and measure the population of species along the transect and this can indicate a change in the environment
what is the effect of deforestation?
deforestation on a mass scale → animals lose their habitat → area loses BIODIVERSITY
what are some conservation methods of deforestation?
introducing laws and legislations
what is parasitism?
when a parasite takes nutrients from its host
what it called when both the host and parasite benefit from parasitism?
a mutual relationship. e.g. birds and crocodile teeth
what is fish farming?
fish such as salmon and trout can be kept in large cages. here their growing conditions can be carefully controlled
what happen in fish farms?
- they are fed a high protein diet to make them fat
- chemicals are added to prevent diseases
- there are no predators so they can’t get eaten
what are some of the benefits of fish farming?
- attract tourists who like to salmon farm
- new technology means that there are no diseases
- cheap to produce, lots of profit
what are some of the negatives of fish farming?
- harming the wild stock
- parasite called sea lice can affect the fish before it is cooked and therefore chemicals are used to kill sea lice
- using chemicals destroys the environment and increases pollution so tourists no longer come
how do biotic factors affect an ecosystem?
with things such as competition and predation, it means that the population decreases as organisms will die from hunger and get eaten
how do abiotic factors affect an ecosystem?
if the temperature isn’t correct for the organisms, they will eventually die. if light intensity isn’t right, it ill affect the rate of photosynthesis for plants meaning they will eventually become lip
what is the importance of interdependence in a community?
it is important to see how different organisms impact each other with competition
what are non-indigenous / non-native species?
species that weren’t originally in this country
e.g. grey squirrel, crayfish
what are the benefits of non-native species?
- increases biodiversity
- they help the soil erosion
what are the negatives of non-native species?
- there are less prey and possibly more predators more competition so it decreases biodiversity
- disrupts environmental balance
what is the benefit of biodiversity?
Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play. For example, A larger number of plant species means a greater variety of crops. Greater species diversity ensures natural sustainability for all life forms.
why do materials decay?
because they are broken down by microorganisms or decomposers (bacteria and fungi)
where do microbes work best?
in warm, moist and aerobic (with oxygen) conditions
why is decay good for plants?
the decay process releases substances that plants need to grow
why is deforestation bad for the atmosphere?
most of the energy we use comes from burning fossil fuels. These release carbon dioxide when they burn. So the increasing use of energy is leading to increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
