Ecology Flashcards
What does biotic mean?
Living factors in an ecosystem.
What does abiotic mean?
Non-living factors in an ecosystem.
Give examples of biotic factors.
Availability of food, new predators, new pathogens or diseases.
What is an extremophiles?
Organisms that live in environments that are very extreme.
What is a population?
A group of organisms of one species living in a habitat.
How might scientists estimate the size of a population?
By sampling using a square frame called a quadrat.
What is a decomposer?
An organism that breaks down the dead materials and waste products of other organisms.
What is the carbon cycle?
A cycle that describes how carbon is recycled in nature.
What is the water cycle?
A cycle that describes how fresh water circulates between living organisms, river, and sea.
What is the first level of a food chain?
Producer.
What are the feeding levels in a food chain called?
Trophic levels.
What is the top consumer referred to as?
Apex predators.
What is biodiversity?
The variety of all the different species of organisms on Earth.
What are the factors that affect biodiversity?
Availability of water, temperature, and atmospheric gases.
What causes pollution in water?
Sewage, fertilisers or toxic chemicals.
What causes pollution in air?
Gases, for example sulfur dioxide which dissolves in moisture in the atmosphere to produce acid rain.
What causes pollution on land?
Landfill and toxic chemicals.
What are the effects of acid rain?
Acid rain affects the pH of water which can lead to the destruction of plant and animal life in bodies of water.
Why does deforestation occur?
To provide land for cattle and rice fields, and to grow crops from which biofuels are produced.
How is mycoprotein produced?
The fungus Fusarium ferments along with glucose syrup which creates mycoprotein.
What are the qualities of mycoprotein?
Protein-rich, low in fat, high in fibre, and suitable for vegetairians.
