Ecology

Question 1

biota

Answer 1

all living organisms

Question 2

how are biomes grouped

Answer 2

based on the dominant form of vegetation in an environment

Question 3

what are the main climatic factors that plants respond to

Answer 3

light, water, temperature, co2 conc. , other variables including humidity

Question 4

what is the impact of climate change on the northern tree line

Answer 4

its moving further northward

Question 5

what was the vegetation of the Amazon region before it became rainforest

Answer 5

dry grassland

Question 6

in what way is flower pollination changing

Answer 6

becoming wind-pollinated rather than bee pollinated

Question 7

what human activities actually benefit plants

Answer 7

increased pollution and fire emissions can increase nitrogen, more CO2 means more photosynthesis

Question 8

impact of acidification on conifer trees in Ireland

Answer 8

they take up the emissions which wash into the soil and acidify it. This can release aluminium from the bed and poison fish

Question 9

impact of the Montreal Protocol

Answer 9

cleaner production of coal and reduction of sulphite emissions but also caused farmers to start fertilising their plantations

Question 10

3 levels of biodiversity

Answer 10

genetic diversity, ecosystem diversity, species diversity

Question 11

how many species identified

Answer 11

1.75 mil

Question 12

how many species disappear evey day

Answer 12

over 50

Question 13

what percentage of all plant species are found over 1.4% land surface

Answer 13

44%

Question 14

dendroecology

Answer 14

study of tree rings to investigate ecological processes

Question 15

phenology

Answer 15

study of the annual variations in the timing of key events in the life cycle of plants

Question 16

what percentage of a plant’s dry weight is carbon

Answer 16

50%

Question 17

what type of photosynthesis may be more frequent in the future

Answer 17

C4 photosynthesis, works better in warm environments as it can use water and solar radiation more efficiently

Question 18

what occurs to stomata in dry air

Answer 18

tend to close

Question 19

what determines the relation between climate and microclimate at the surface of leaves

Answer 19

wind

Question 20

what proportion of the earths biodiversity is found in the Amazon

Answer 20

1/3

Question 21

why did the Amazon cease to have a dry climate as it did 4000 yrs ago

Answer 21

southward shift in the intertropical convergence zone due to milankovitch forcing

Question 22

how much earlier is spring arriving in europe each decade

Answer 22

2.5 days earlier

Question 23

what are PTFs

Answer 23

Plant Functional Types: group of plants with similar traits which are similar in their association with environmental variabales

Question 24

what is GPP

Answer 24

gross primary productivity: the rate of photosynthesis on an ecosystem scale

Question 25

how often do biennials die

Answer 25

after 2 years

Question 26

what is NEP

Answer 26

net ecosystem production: net flux of CO2 from ecosystem to environment

Question 27

disturbance flux

Answer 27

additional carbon losses due to human and natural influences

Question 28

what conditions simulate NPP

Answer 28

warmer conditions and elevated CO2

Question 29

are terrestrial ecosystems a collective carbon sink or source

Answer 29

sink- will switch if respiration increases a lot

Question 30

N-effect

Answer 30

excess nitrogen in chemically active form fertilises plants

Question 31

4 human sources of nitrogen

Answer 31

car emissions, fertilizers, animal rearing, cultivation and disturbance of the land

Question 32

nitrogen saturation

Answer 32

land surfaces can leak nitrogen into drainage water and give off nitrous oxide

Question 33

how can forest edges exacerbate fire risk

Answer 33

use of fire and introduction of dry air into the canopy

Question 34

how does logging increase vulnerability to combustion

Answer 34

it thins the canopy

Question 35

which regions are important to protect in terms of biodiversity

Answer 35

high levels of endemism and hotspots

Question 36

species

Answer 36

group of individuals with the potential to interbreed in nature and produce fertile offspring

Question 37

name the taxonomic groups

Answer 37

domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species

Question 38

give the hierarchy of organisation of “ecosystems”

Answer 38

biosphere, biome, ecosystem, community, population, organism, cell

Question 39

biodiversity

Answer 39

biological diversity within and between species and ecosystems

Question 40

2 components of biodiversity

Answer 40

species richness (number of different species) and species evenness (abundance of different species)

Question 41

3 types of diversity according to Whittaker

Answer 41

alpha (species richness), beta (variation between two sites), gamma (measured across the whole landscape)

Question 42

trophic interactions

Answer 42

interactions between different species in an ecosystem

Question 43

4 stages of ecosystem succession

Answer 43

primary, early, mid, late

Question 44

primary succession

Answer 44

pioneer species on new land

Question 45

secondary succession

Answer 45

after disturbance like fire or land abandonment

Question 46

trophic rewilding

Answer 46

reconstructing ecosystems

Question 47

palynology

Answer 47

pollen analysis

Question 48

novel ecosystem

Answer 48

system that differs from those that prevailed historically due to human influence