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AQA Biology > Ecology > Flashcards

Ecology Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a biotic factor and an example?

A

A living factor that affects another organism
Competition for resources
Disease
Bacteria
Food

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2
Q

What is a abiotic factor and an example?

A

Any non living factor that affects another organism
Light intensity
Moisture levels
Wind
Ph and mineral content of soil
Temperature

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3
Q

What is a habitat?

A

Where an organism lives

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4
Q

What is a population?

A

All the organisms of a species that live in that habitat

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5
Q

What is an ecosystem?

A

The interaction of a community of living organisms with the non living parts of their environment

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6
Q

What are the main reasons for competition?

A

Space
Mated
food
Water

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7
Q

Why do organisms compete?

A

Because the resources are limited

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8
Q

What is interdependence?

A

The idea that all species depend on each other in some way

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9
Q

What are the three groups of adaptations?

A

Behavioural
Structural
Functional

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10
Q

What is a structural adaptation?

A

A physical feature that changes such as an organisms shape or colour

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11
Q

What is a behavioural adaptation?

A

An adaptation that changes the way an organism behaves or acts

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12
Q

What is a functional adaptation?

A

Adaptations that have changed Processes inside the body

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13
Q

What is an extremophile?

A

A microorganism that is adapted to live in extreme environments

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14
Q

What are the steps of a water cycle?

A
  1. Energy from sun heats up water to evaporate and transpiration
  2. Condenses into clouds which can be moved around
  3. Water precipitates down to earth where is flows into rivers and plants for repetition
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15
Q

What are the stores of a carbon cycle?

A

Air
Plants
Soil
Fossil fuels
Animals

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16
Q

What are the steps of a carbon cycle?

A

Photosynthesis takes in CO2
Animals respire releasing carbon dioxide
Organism that are dead are decayed by decomposes and carbon is released or they become fossil fuels which can be burnt

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17
Q

What is decomposition?

A

The process by which dead organic matter is broken down into inorganic substances like water, co2, sugars and minerals

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18
Q

What can speed up decomposition?

A

Oxygen availability - more aerobic respiration
Temperature- enzymes have optimum temp
Water content - decomposes need water to survive - moisture

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19
Q

What is compost made from and used for?

A

Made from dead plants and is used to fertilise soil with nutrients

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20
Q

What is the use of a biogas generator?

A

It uses anaerobic decay of organic matter to produce methane which can be used for energy

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21
Q

What is shown by a food chain?

A

What gets eaten by what in an ecosystem

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22
Q

What is a producer?

A

A photosynthetic organism that produces glucose by photosynthesis

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23
Q

What is a primary consumer?

A

A animal that eats the producer for food

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24
Q

What is a secondary consumer?

A

A animal that eats the primary consumer for food

25
Q

What is a tertiary consumer?

A

An animals that eats the secondary consumer

26
Q

How is energy lost or used up a food chain and biomass pyramid?

A

Not all of the ingested material is absorbed, some is egested
Some absorbed materials are lost as waste
Not all of the animal is eaten, such as skeleton or teeth

27
Q

What is abundance and how is it measured?

A

How many organisms there are measure with quadrats

28
Q

What is distribution and how is it measured?

A

Where the organisms are and measured with a transect line

29
Q

What is sampling?

A

Where a subset of the organisms are measured to make predictions about the whole population

30
Q

What is biodiversity?

A

Biodiversity is the variety of different species within a ecosystem

31
Q

Why is biodiversity important?

A

If there are loads of different species it means other species are less dependent on a certain species for survival.

32
Q

What effect does the human population have on ecosystems?

A

A negative effect due to a larger population and an increase in standard of living. More resources are used and more waste is produced that cause pollution and damage

33
Q

How can pollution occur in land?

A

From landfill and toxic chemicals

34
Q

How can pollution occur in water?

A

From sewage, toxic chemicals and fertilisers

35
Q

How can pollution occur in the air?

A

From smoke and acidic gases

36
Q

What environmental changes effect the distribution of species in an ecosystem?

A

Temperature
Availability of water
Composition of atmospheric gases

37
Q

Outline the ways in which biodiversity can be maintained

A

Breeding programs
Reduce the impact of necessary practices

38
Q

How can breeding programs maintain biodiversity?

A

They reduce the chance that endangered animals go extinct by breeding their numbers safely in captivity

39
Q

What are the problems with breeding programmes?

A

Unless the natural habitat they are related into is safe then the population will just decline again so we need to create protected areas

40
Q

How can governments reject the impact of necessary practices?

A

By making laws such as the need for hedgerows on field margins to decrease the impact of biodiversity

41
Q

What are the biological effects of climate change?

A

Species may be unable to adapt to changes in climate
Migration patterns may move
Animals may go extinct which cause a knock on effect to an ecosystem

42
Q

What is the global consensus about climate change?

A

Based on systematic reviews of peer reviewed publication

43
Q

Why could evidence for climate change be uncertain?

A

Lack of records
Hard to theorise something at this scale

44
Q

Why is land so limited and what is it used for?

A

Land is limited because of its many uses
Building
Quarrying
Farming
Dumping waste

45
Q

What is deforestation?

A

The large scale cutting down of trees

46
Q

What are the reasons for deforestation?

A

To clear land for farming for cattle and rice
To grow crops for biofuels
Logging

47
Q

What the main implications of deforestation?

A

Lack of photosynthesis to get rid of CO2
Burning of wood creates carbon and smoke, causing pollution
Less habitats and biodiversity with loss of species

48
Q

What are peat bogs?

A

Areas of land wear the soil is acidic and water logged so microorganisms cannot survive

49
Q

What is peat?

A

The build up of partially rotting plants that stores the carbon

50
Q

Why are peat bogs drained?

A

For use as farmland or for use as compost I’m gardens

51
Q

Why is the drainage of peat bogs bad?

A

If there is no water and the soil is aerated microorganisms can survive. This means they can decay the plants and release carbon
Leads to a loss of biodiversity

52
Q

.

A
53
Q

How to calculate biomass efficiency?

A

Biomass transferred to next level / biomass available x 100

54
Q

What is food security?

A

Food security is when everyone has access to safe and nutritious food in order to live a healthy life in ways the planet can sustain into the future

55
Q

What factors affect food secretary?

A
  • increasing birth rate has threatened food security
  • changing diets means scarce food resources
  • new pests and pathogens effecting farming
  • environmental change that effects food production like drought
  • cost
  • conflicts effecting availability of food and water
56
Q

What is fish farming?

A

Fish farms are large enclosed spaces to provide controlled environments for the growth of fish for human consumption.

57
Q

How can farming techniques be changed to increase food security?

A

Restrict energy transfer from food animals to environment by limiting movement and controlling temp. Some animals can also be fed protein to increase growth

58
Q

What are two sustainable fishing practices?

A

Increasing the size of gaps in fishing nets, allows for selective capture or adult fish, allowing young fish to grow and reproduce

Fishing quotas set limits on the amount of fish that can be caught to help maintain a balanced ecosystem

AQA Biology (10 decks)

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