D4.2 Flashcards
Define stability as a property of an ecosystem.
Describe an example of a stable ecosystem.
Outline requirements for stability in an ecosystem.
Outline types of environmental change that can interfere with ecosystem stability.
Define “tipping point” in relation to ecosystem stability.
Discuss the impact of Amazon deforestation as an example of an ecosystem at a tipping point.
Define mesocosm.
Outline requirements of setting up a sustainable mesocosm.
Discuss the benefits and limitations of using mesocosms as models of ecosystems.
State the role of a keystone species in an ecosystem.
Outline an example of a keystone species in an ecosystem.
Describe requirements for sustainability in ecosystems.
Define resource harvesting.
Define sustainable in relation to resource harvesting.
Discuss the sustainable resource harvesting of a marine fish.
Assess the sustainability of resource harvesting by identifying the maximum sustainable yield of a resource on a population growth curve.
Discuss the sustainable resource harvesting of a terrestrial plant.
Discuss factors that negatively impact the sustainability of agriculture.
Discuss causes and effects of ecosystem eutrophication.
Outline the process of biomagnification.
Discuss the cause and effect of mercury biomagnification in an ecosystem.
Discuss the cause and effect of DDT biomagnification in an ecosystem.
Define biodegradable.
State that plastics are not biodegradable.
Define microplastic and macroplastic.
Discuss the cause and effect of microplastic pollution on an ocean ecosystem.
Define rewilding.
Discuss the methods of restoration of an ecosystem by rewilding.
Outline the rewilding of the Hinewai Reserve in New Zealand.
Outline the cause and effect of ecological succession.
Outline an example of reciprocal interactions between living organisms and the abiotic environments that cause ecological succession.
State an example of ecological succession triggered by an abiotic factor.
State an example of ecological succession triggered by a biotic factor.
Describe changes occurring during primary succession in a community, including increases in size of plants, amount of primary production, species diversity, complexity of food webs and amount of nutrient cycling.
Explain an example of cyclical succession in an ecosystem.
Define climax community and plagioclimax.
Discuss the impact of grazing my farm livestock on arresting succession in a community.
Discuss the impact of drainage of wetlands on arresting succession in a community.
