Ecology Flashcards
What is an ecosystem?
Interaction between the living and non-living components
What may plants compete for? (4)
Mineral Ions
Space
Light
Water
What may animals compete for? (3)
Food
Territory
Mates
What is intraspecific competition?
Competition within a species.
What is interspecific competition?
Competition with different species.
What is intedependence?
Different species in an ecosystem depend on eachother for various resources, if one species is removed, the whole community may be affected.
What is a stable community?
All the biotic factors and the abiotic factors are balanced so that the population size remains constant.
What are abiotic factors?
Non living factors.
Abiotic factors that may affect an ecosystem? (4)
Light intensity
Temperature
Carbon Dioxide level
Soil pH
How might light intensity affect an ecosystem?
Different species of plants may have different optimums for light intensity for growth.
Why does temperature affect an ecosystem?
Different species of plants and animals have different optimum temperatures for growth and survival.
How does soil pH affect an ecosystem?
Certain plants may grow better in more alkaline conditions and some in more acidic conditions.
How does moisture level affect an ecosystem?
Certain plants are adapted to high moisture levels.
Biotic factors that may affect an ecosystem?
Food
New predators
New pathogens
Competition
What are adaptations?
Features that enable a organisms to survive in their living environments.
What is an extremorphile?
Organisms living in extreme conditions.
Examples of extreme living environments (3)
High temperature
High pressure
High salt concentration
Where can extremorphile bacteria be found?
In deep sea vents.
Define population?
A species that occupy the same habitat.
Define habitat?
The place where an organism lives.
Define community?
Populations of different species intercating.
What do food chains show?
The feeding relationships of different organisms and the flow of energy between the organisms.
Define biomass?
The total mass of living material.
What are trophic levels?
The stages in a food chain.
What do the arrows in a food chain show?
The direction of biomass transfers.
Describe a simple food chain?
Producer -> Primary Consumer -> Secondary Consumer -> Tertiary Consumer
What is a producer?
An organism that makes its own food.
What types of organisms are primary producers?
Green plants and algae that trap energy from the sun.
What is a primary consumer?
An organism that feeds on producers.
What is a secondary consumer?
An organism that feeds on primary consumers.
What is a tertiary consumer?
An organism that feeds on secondary consumers.
What is a predator?
A consumer that kills and eats other animals.
What is prey?
An animal that is killed and eaten by another animal.
Describe the pattern of prey and predators in a stable community?
The number of predators and prey rise and fall in cycles.
What piece of apparatus is used to measure the abundance and distribution of organisms in an area?
Quadrats
What molecules are cycled through ecosystems? (3)
Oxygen
Carbon Dioxide
Water
Describe the carbon cycle?
Plants absorb carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and photosynthesis converts carbon in carbon dioxide to glucose.
Respiration converts carbon in glucose to carbon dioxide.
Plants make carbon compounds and are eaten by animals.
Dead organisms are broken down by bacteria which respire.
Dead plants may form fossil fuels.
When fossil fuels are burnt CO2 is released.
Why is the carbon cycle important?
Carbon containing molecules such as glucose are important for living molecules to grow and provide energy for cells.
Describe the water cycle?
- Water from lakes and oceans evaporate
- The evaporated water condenses into clouds and returns to earth as precipitation.
- The water from precipitation is useful for life on land.
The water returns to rivers and oceans.
Why is the water cycle important?
The water cycle provides organisms on land with a continuous supply of water
Why are microorganisms important for the cycling of materials through an ecosystem?
Microorganisms return CO2 back into the atmosphere when they decompose dead matter.
The decomposition of dead matter in soil returns mineral ions to the environment for other organisms to use.
How can low temperatures be bad for certain communities?
If the temperature is too low then growth will be slower as organisms use more energy to stay warm.
What is decomposition?
The breakdown of dead matter into simpler organic matter.
What are two types of decomposition?
Aerobic - with oxygen
Anaerobic - without oxygen
What factors affect the rate of decomposition? (2)
Temperature
Oxygen availability
How can changes in water levels affect ecosystems?
Animals may have to migrate to find water.
Melting ice caps can destroy the habitats of some animals.
How can atmospheric gases affect ecosystems?
Polluted water can cause illness to the animals that drink it.
Some organisms cannot survive with certain gases present.
Detrimental impacts of sulfur dioxide on the environment?
It can dissolve in water to form acid rain which can erode buildings and pollute water sources.
Formed when fossil fuels containing impurities are burnt.
Detrimental impacts of carbon monoxide on the environment?
Formed in the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels.
Binds to haemoglobin which prevents oxygen reaching the brain.
Too much exposure can lead to death and unconsciousness.
Name 3 greenhouse gases?
Methane
Water Vapour
Carbon Dioxide
3 human activities that contribute to greenhouse gases?
Deforestation
Burning Fossil Fuels
Large scale livestock farming
How do greenhouse gases lead to global warming?
Greenhouse gases allow heat from the sun to enter the atmosphere.
The gases act as a blanket and trap the heat in the atmosphere.
5 consequences of global warming?
Rising sea levels
Melting Ice Caps
Increased spread of diseases in warmer climates
Changing weather patterns.
Extinction of species
What is biodiversity?
The variety of different species on earth within an ecosystem.
Importance of biodiversity?
Maintain the stability of an ecosystem.
How does biodiversity ensure the stability of an ecosystem?
It reduces the dependence of specific species for resources e.g food and shelter. Even if one species is removes the rest can still survive.
Why have humans’ consumption of resources and waste products increased?
Rapid rise in human population.
Increase in standard of living.
Where does pollution occur?
Land
Water
Air
3 examples of water pollutants?
Sewage
Fertiliser
Chemicals
2 examples of air pollutants?
Smoke
Acidic Gases
2 examples of land pollutants?
Landfill waste
Chemicals
4 human activities that reduce the land available for plants and animals?
Building
Farming
Quarrying
Disposing waste
What is a peat bog?
Bogs are areas of land that are waterlogged and acidic – plants living in bogs do not decay fully when they die due to a lack of oxygen. The partly decomposed plant matter accumulates over very long periods of time and forms peat.
Why have peat bogs been destroyed?
To produce compost to increase food production.
Why does the destruction of peat bogs contribute to the greenhouse effect?
Peat bogs store carbon and when they’re burned they release it into the atmosphere
Why have large scale deforestation activities occured?
Provide land for cattle or rice fields.
To grow crops to produce biofuels.
What is the greenhouse effect?
Greenhouse gases trap energy from the sun and use it to heat the earth.
What causes global warming?
Increase in levels of greenhouse gases causing the temperature on earth to increase.
2 harmful effects of deforestation?
Destruction of many animals’ habitats.
Releases large amounts of greenhouse gases.
Steps taken to maintain biodiversity? (5)
Breeding programmes for endangered species.
Protection and rebuilding habitats.
Reduce deforestation.
Reduce CO2 emissions.
Recycling rather than disposing in landfills.
