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AQA Biology GCSE > Ecology > Flashcards

Ecology Flashcards

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1
Q

What is meant by the term ‘habitat’?

A

the place where an organism lives

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2
Q

What is meant by the term ‘population’?

A

all the organisms of one species living in a habitat

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3
Q

What is meant by the term ‘Community’?

A

The populations of different species living in a habitat

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4
Q

What is meant by the term ‘abiotic factors’?

A

Non-living factors of the environment

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5
Q

What is meant by the term ‘biotic factors’?

A

living factors of the environment

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6
Q

What is meant by the term ‘ecosystem’?

A

the interaction of a community of living organisms with abiotic parts of their environment

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7
Q

What do plants compete for?

A

light, space, water, mineral ions

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8
Q

What do animals compete for?

A

territory, food, water, mates

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9
Q

True of false: No change in any environment can have a knock-on effect.

A

False, any change in any environment can have a knock-on effect

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10
Q

What are stable communities?

A

when all of the species and environmental factors are in balance so that the population sizes are roughly constant

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11
Q

What two changes in abiotic factors could affect plant populations?

A
  1. A decrease in light intensity, temperature or CO2 concentration would decrease the rate of photosynthesis. This could affect plant growth and cause a decrease in population size
  2. A decrease in mineral content of the soil could cause nutrient deficiencies, affecting plant growth
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12
Q

What is interdependence?

A

In a community, each species depends on other species for things such as food, shelter, pollination and seed dispersal

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13
Q

What biotic factors may affect organisms in an ecosystem?

A
  • New predators
  • Competition
  • New pathogens
  • Availability of food
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14
Q

Complete the sentence: Adaptations allow organisms to __________.

A

survive

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15
Q

What are the three types of adaptations?

A

Structural
Behavioural
Functional

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16
Q

What are structural adaptations?

A

Features of an organism’s body structure.
E.g.
- camouflage fur/skin
- thick skin to trap heat
- thin layer of fat to reduce heat
- surface area to volume ratio

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17
Q

What are behavioural adaptations?

A

The way organisms behave
E.g.
- many species migrate in response to climates changing throughout the year

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18
Q

What are functional adaptations?

A

Adaptations on the inside of an organism’s body that can be related to processes such as reproduction and metabolism.
E.g.
- animals that conserve water produce little sweat and small amounts of urine
- some animals hibernate and lower their metabolism to conserve energy

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19
Q

Why do microorganisms have a huge variety of adaptations?

A

so that they can live in a wide range of environments

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20
Q

What are microorganisms that are adapted to live in very extreme conditions called?

A

extremophiles

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21
Q

What do food chains show?

A

What is eaten by what in an ecosystem

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22
Q

What do food chains always start with?

A

A producer

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23
Q

What are producers?

A

Organisms that make their own food using energy from the Sun.
They are often green plants or algae that make glucose by photosynthesis.

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24
Q

What is glucose used to make in plants?

A

Other biological molecules in the plant

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25
Q

What is biomass?

A

The mass of living material

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26
Q

When is energy transferred through living organisms in an ecosystem?

A

When organisms eat other organisms

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27
Q

What are producers eaten by?

A

Primary consumers

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28
Q

What are primary consumers eaten by?

A

Secondary consumers

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29
Q

What are secondary consumers eaten by?

A

Tertiary consumers

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30
Q

What is the population of any species usually limited by?

A

The amount of food available

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31
Q

If the population of the prey increases, what else will increase?

A

The population of the predators

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32
Q

As the population of predators increases, what will decrease?

A

The number of prey

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33
Q

True or false – Predator-prey
cycles are always out of phase with each other.

A

True

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34
Q

Why are predator-prey cycles always out of phase with each other?

A

It takes a while for one population to respond to changes in the other population.

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35
Q

What does environmental variation affect?

A

The distribution of organisms

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36
Q

What is the distribution of an organism?

A

Where an organism is found

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37
Q

What are the two ways to study the distribution of an organism?

A
  1. Measure how common an organism is into sample areas and compare them
  2. Study how the distribution changes across an area (by placing quadrat along a transect)
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38
Q

What did the two ways to study the distribution of an organism give?

A

Quantitative data

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39
Q

Describe how a quadrat can be used to study the distribution of small organisms.

A
  1. Use two 10m tape measures and place them perpendicular to each other at one end. Divide the area into a grid.
  2. Use a random number generator to pick coordinates.
  3. Place the 1 m² quadrat at the coordinates and count all the organisms within the quadrat.
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 as many times as you can.
  5. Work out the main number of organisms per quadrat within the first sample area.
  6. Calculate the population size of an organism by multiplying the mean by the total area of the habitat.
  7. Repeat in a second sample area and then finally compare the two population sizes.
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40
Q

Describe how a transect can be used to study the distribution of organisms.

A
  1. Mark out a line in the area you want to study with a 10m tape measure.
  2. Collect data along the line by using a quadrat at regular intervals.
  3. Compare the number of organisms in each quadrat.
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41
Q

Describe how you can estimate the percentage cover of a quadrat.

A
  1. Count the number of squares covered by organism A.
  2. Make this into a percentage by dividing the number of squares covered by the organism by the total number of squares in the quadrat then multiply the result by 100.
  3. Do the same for organism B.
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42
Q

What are three environmental changes that affect the distribution of organisms?

A
  1. Temperature.
  2. Availability of water.
  3. Composition of atmospheric gases.
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43
Q

How can temperature affect the distribution of organisms?

A

A rise in average temperature could cause species to migrate to other areas.

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44
Q

How can availability of water affect the distribution of organisms?

A

The distribution of some animal and plants species change between the wet and dry seasons.

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45
Q

How can the composition of atmosphere gases affect the distribution of organisms?

A

In areas of high air pollution, some species cannot grow or the distribution of species changes.

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46
Q

What can environmental changes be caused by?

A

Seasonal factors
Geographic factors
Human interaction
Global warming

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47
Q

What is the water cycle?

A

How water is endlessly recycled.

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48
Q

Describe the process of the water cycle.

A
  1. Energy from the Sun makes water evaporate from the land and see turning it into water vapour water also operates by transpiration.
  2. Water vapour is carried upwards. When it gets higher up, it cools down and condenses to form clouds.
  3. What a fools from clouds as precipitation onto land where it provides freshwater for plants and animals.
  4. It then drains into the sea before the whole process starts again.
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49
Q

What are the four key terms involved in the water cycle?

A

Evaporation
Transpiration
Condensation
Precipitation

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50
Q

What are elements cycled back to the start of the food chain by?

A

Decay

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51
Q

How is biomass returned to the environment?

A

In waste products when the organisms die and decay

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52
Q

How is biomass returned to the environment?

A

In waste products when the organisms die and decay

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53
Q

What conditions increase the rate of decay?

A

Warm, moist aerobic condition because microorganisms are more active in these conditions.

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54
Q

What is the constant cycling of carbon called?

A

The carbon cycle

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55
Q

What is carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere by?

A

Green plants and algae during photosynthesis

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56
Q

What is carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere by?

A

Green plants and algae during photosynthesis

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57
Q

When the plants and algae are eaten by animals, what becomes a part of the fat and proteins in the bodies?

A

Carbon

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58
Q

What are detritus feeders?

A

Animals that feed on the remains of animals or plants

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59
Q

What gas does respiration release?

A

Carbon dioxide

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60
Q

What is animal waste broken down by?

A

Detritus feeders and microorganisms

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61
Q

What does the combustion of wood and fossil fossil fuels release?

A

Carbon dioxide

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62
Q

What is compost?

A

Decomposed organic matter that is used as a natural fertiliser for crops and garden plants

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63
Q

What can produce compost?

A

Decomposition

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64
Q

What is the process of decay also called?

A

Decomposition

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65
Q

What is the rate of decay affected by?

A

Temperature
Water availability
Oxygen availability
Number of decay organisms

66
Q

What is responsible for decomposition?

A

Microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi as well as the detritus feeders.

67
Q

Why do rainforest ecosystems usually have a very high rate of decay?

A

Because they have high temperatures and moist environments

68
Q

How does temperature affect the rate of decay?

A

Warm temperatures increase the rate the enzymes involved in decomposition work at.

If temperatures are too high, decomposition slows down as enzymes are denatured and the organisms die.

Cold temperatures slow the rate of decomposition .

69
Q

How does water availability affect the rate of decay?

A

Moist environments result in a faster rate of decay as the organisms involved need water to carry out biological processes.

70
Q

How does oxygen availability affect the rate of decay?

A

In aerobic decay microorganisms need oxygen to respire.

71
Q

How does the number of decay organisms affect the rate of decay?

A

The more microorganisms and detritus feeders there are faster decomposition happens

72
Q

What is biogas made by?

A

Anaerobic decay of waste material.

73
Q

What produces biogas?

A

Many different microorgansims

74
Q

What does anaerobic decay produce?

A

methane

75
Q

What is biogas made in?

A

A simple fermenter called a digester or generator

76
Q

Why do biogas generators need to be kept at a constant temperature?

A

to keep the microorganisms respiring

77
Q

Why can’t biogas be stored as a liquid?

A

It needs too high a pressure

78
Q

What are the four things that biogas is used for?

A
  • heating
  • cooking
  • lighting
  • powering a turbine to generate electricity
79
Q

What are the two main types of biogas generator?

A

Batch generators
Continuous generators

80
Q

What are batch generators?

A

They make biogas in small batches.
They are manually loaded with waste, which is left to digest.
The by-products are cleared away at the end of each session.

81
Q

What are continuous generators?

A

They make biogas all the time.
Waste is continuously fed in and biogas is produced at a steady rate.
They are more suited to large-scale biogas projects.

82
Q

What do all biogas generators need to have?

A
  1. an inlet for waste material to be put in
  2. an outlet for the digested material to be removed through
  3. an outlet so that the biogas can be piped to where it is needed
83
Q

How can you investigate the affect of temperature on decay? RP

A
  1. Measure out 5 cm³ of lipase solution and add it to a test tube. Label this tube ‘L’.
  2. Measure out 5 cm³ of milk and add it to a different test tube.
  3. Add 5 drops of phenolphthalein indicator to the tube containing milk.
  4. Then measure out 7 cm³ of sodium carbonate solution and add it to the tube containing milk mixture. This would turn the solution pink (alkaline).
  5. Put both tubes into a water bath set to 20°C and leave them to react the temperature. Use a thermometer to check this.
  6. Then use a calibrated dropping pipette to put 1cm³ of the lipase solution into the milk mixture and start a stopwatch.
  7. Stir the contents, the enzyme will start to decompose the milk.
  8. When the solution turns colourless, stop the stopwatch and record how long the colour change took.
  9. Repeat the experiment at a range of different temperatures (e.g. 30°C, 40°C, 50°C). Carry out the experiment three times at each temperature to calculate a mean time taken for the colour change.
  10. Calculate the rate of decay (units in s^-1)
84
Q

What is the equation for rate?

A

Rate = 1000/ time

85
Q

What is the unit for rate?

A

s^-1

86
Q

What is biodiversity?

A

The variety of different species of organisms on earth, or within an ecosystem.

87
Q

True or false: High biodiversity is important.

A

True

88
Q

Why is high biodiversity important?

A

It makes sure that ecosystems are stable due to interdependence and how species may also help to maintain the right physical environment for each other.

89
Q

What are three human actions that are reducing biodiversity?

A

waste production
deforestation
global warming

90
Q

Why is the world population growing?

A

Modern medicine and farming methods have reduced the number of people dying from disease or hunger.

91
Q

Complete the sentence: Our increasing population puts ______________ on the environment.

A

pressure

92
Q

What is resulting in raw materials being used up quicker than they can be replaced?

A

a demand for a higher standard if living requires more luxuries, so more energy and resources to create them

93
Q

As we make more and more things, what do we produce more of?

A

waste, including waste chemicals

94
Q

If waste is not properly handled, what will be caused?

A

more harmful pollution

95
Q

What waste is in water?

A

Sewage and toxic chemicals from industry
Chemicals used on land can be washed into water

96
Q

What waste is in land?

A

Toxic chemicals used for farming
Nuclear waste buried underground
Household waste in landfill

97
Q

What waste is in the air?

A

Smoke and acidic gases
e.g. sulfur dioxide produces acid rain

98
Q

Describe the greenhouse effect.

A

Energy from the sun heats the earths atmosphere and surface. Heat radiation is trapped by greenhouse gases which absorb the energy and re-radiate it in all directions. Some radiation is radiated back out into space.

99
Q

What are the three greenhouse gases?

A

Carbon Dioxide
Methane
Water vapour

100
Q

What are the four consequences of global warming?

A

Sea levels rising
Changes in species distribution
Changes in migration patterns
Reduction in biodiversity

101
Q

How can global warming cause sea levels to rise?

A

Higher temperatures cause seawater to expand and ice to melt, causing the sea level to rise

102
Q

How can global warming lead to changes in species distribution?

A

When temperatures increase and rainfall patterns change, some species become more widely or less widely distributed.

103
Q

How does global warming lead to changes in migration patterns?

A

Some birds will migrate to warmer areas such as the north

104
Q

How does global warming lead to a reduction in biodiversity?

A

Some species are unable to survive in a changed climate so become extinct

105
Q

What do humans use land for?

A

Building, quarrying, farming and disposing of waste

106
Q

What does destroying peat bogs do to the atmosphere?

A

Adds more carbon dioxide

107
Q

What are peat bogs?

A

bogs are areas of land that are acidic and waterlogged, when plants die in these areas they don’t fully decay so they build up to form peat

108
Q

How are peat bogs, carbon stores?

A

They store carbon from dead plants as they do not decay

109
Q

What can peat be used for?

A

fuel or compost

110
Q

How does the destruction of peat bogs release carbon dioxide?

A
  • when drained, microorganisms start to decompose it, they respire to produce carbon dioxide
  • when burned it releases carbon dioxide
111
Q

How can the destruction of peat bogs lead to a decrease in biodiversity?

A

It is destroying the habitat for animals, plants and microorganisms that live there

112
Q

What is deforestation?

A

The cutting down of forests.

113
Q

What is deforestation used for?

A
  • to clear land for farming, to provide more food
  • to grow crops from which biofuels can be produced
114
Q

What are the three problems that deforestation causes?

A
  • Less carbon dioxide removed from atmosphere
  • More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
  • Less biodiversity
115
Q

What are the four ways to protect ecosystems and biodiversity?

A
  1. Breeding programmes
  2. Habitat protection
  3. Preventing global warming
  4. Reducing waste
116
Q

What are breeding programmes set up for?

A

To prevent endangered species from becoming extinct

117
Q

What are breeding programmes?

A

Where animals are bred in captivity to make sure the species survives if it dies out in the wild.
Individuals can sometimes be released into the wild to boost or re-establish a population.

118
Q

What are habitat protection programmes used for?

A

To protect and regenerate rare habitats like mangroves, heathland and coral reefs.
It helps to protect and preserve the ecosystem and biodiversity.

119
Q

What is an example of habitat protection programmes?

A

Reintroducing hedgerows and field margins on fields in farms where they grow only a single type of crop. Field margins allow wild flowers and grasses to grow around the edges of fields. They provide a habitat for a wider variety of organisms.

120
Q

Who have introduced regulations and programmes to reduce the level of deforestation and carbon dioxide emissions?

A

Some governments

121
Q

What can be done to reduce waste?

A
  • encouraging people to recycle and reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfill
  • encouraging people to buy what they need
  • reusing certain items
122
Q

What are the four conflicting pressures that affect how biodiversity is maintained?

A
  1. The cost of programmes
  2. The effect on the local economy
  3. Protecting food security
  4. The development of society
123
Q

Why is the cost of maintaining biodiversity programmes an issue?

A

Money may be prioritised for other things.
It costs a lot to maintain and monitor programmes.

124
Q

Why does the maintaining of biodiversity have an effect on the local economy?

A
  • Costly
  • Could cause a reduction in jobs (tree-felling)
  • Could cause people to move away to find work
125
Q

Why is protecting food security an issue when it comes to maintaining biodiversity?

A

Certain pests and organisms must be killed by farmers to protect crops, however this could affect the food chain and biodiversity.

126
Q

Why is the development of society an issue when it comes to maintaining biodiversity?

A

Sometimes land is in such high demand that greenfield sites must be used for development.

127
Q

What can food chains be divided into?

A

Trophic levels

128
Q

What are trophic levels?

A

Different stages of the food chain that consist of one or more organisms that perform a specific role in the food chain.

129
Q

What is in trophic level 1?

A

Producers

130
Q

What are in tropic level 2?

A

Primary consumers

131
Q

What are in tropic level 3?

A

Secondary consumers

132
Q

What are in tropic level 4?

A

Tertiary consumers

133
Q

How do bacteria and fungi decompose dead animal or plant material left in an environment?

A

They secrete enzymes that break down the dead stuff into small soluble food molecules.

134
Q

Complete the sentence: There is _______ energy and ______ biomass every time you move up a trophic level.

A

less, less

135
Q

What do pyramids of biomass show?

A

The relative masses of trophic levels

136
Q

When drawing pyramids of biomass, what must be labeled?

A

each bar

137
Q

True or false: Biomass is gained between each trophic level.

A

False - Biomass is lost.

138
Q

Why is biomass lost between the trophic levels?

A
  • Organisms don’t always eat every single part of the organism they are consuming
  • They don’t absorb all of the biomass that they ingest so it is excreted.
  • Some biomass is converted into other substances that are lost as waste (carbon dioxide, urea)
139
Q

How can you calculate the biomass lost between each level?

A

Subtract the biomass that is available at that level from the biomass that was available at the previous level

140
Q

How can you calculate the efficiency of biomass transfer?

A

efficiency = biomass transferred to the next level / biomass available at previous level

141
Q

What is food security?

A

Having enough food to feed a population.

142
Q

What things can threaten food security?

A
  • Increasing world population
  • Diet changes in developing countries
  • Farming being affected by new pests and pathogens or changes in environmental conditions
  • High input costs of farming
  • Conflict that affects the availability of food and water
143
Q

Why are sustainable methods of food production needed?

A

So that enough food can be made for everyone now and in the future.

144
Q

What is sustainable production?

A

Making enough food without using resources faster than they can be renewed

145
Q

What is overfishing decreasing?

A

fish stocks

146
Q

What are the effects of overfishing?

A
  • fewer fish to eat
  • ocean’s food chain is disrupted
  • some species disappearing from areas
147
Q

What are the two ways that fish stocks can be maintained?

A

Fishing quotas
Net size

148
Q

What are fishing quotas?

A

Limits on the number and size of fish that can be caught in certain areas. This allows them to reproduce so that the population can grow.

149
Q

What is net size?

A

Limiting the mesh size of the fish net, depending on what is being fished. This reduces the amount of unwanted and discarded fish.
Using a larger mesh size will let unwanted species escape. Therefore younger fish will also escape allowing them to breed.

150
Q

How can food production be made more efficient?

A

Limiting the movement of livestock in a temperature controlled environment. This means that the animal uses less energy moving and controlling their body temperature, so more energy is available for growth and more food can be produced.

151
Q

What does it mean if an animal is factory farmed?

A

They are raised in small areas to reduce their movement so that more energy is available for growth. Some are also fed high-protein foods.

152
Q

Why are factory farming methods controversial?

A
  • Disease can spread quickly between animals that are kept closely together
  • Some people believe it is cruel and unnatural.
153
Q

What is biotechnology?

A

Where living things and biological processes are used and manipulated to produce a useful product.

154
Q

What can bacteria be engineered to produce?

A

human insulin

155
Q

Describe how bacteria can be genetically engineered to make human insulin.

A
  1. A plasmid is removed from a bacterium.
  2. The insulin gene is cut out of a human chromosome using a restriction enzyme.
  3. The cut in the DNA leaves one of the DNA strands with unpaired bases, called a ‘sticky end’.
  4. The plasmid is cut open using the same restriction enzymes, leaving the same sticky ends.
  5. The plasmid and insulin gene are mixed together.
  6. Ligase is added, joining the sticky enzymes to produce recombinant DNA.
  7. The recombinant DNA is inserted into a bacterium.
  8. The modified bacterium is grown in a vat under controlled conditions.
  9. This produces millions of bacteria that produce insulin.
  10. The insulin is harvested and purified to treat people with diabetes.
156
Q

What is mycoprotein?

A

Made from fungi to make high-protein meat substitutes for vegetarian meals

157
Q

How is mycoprotein produced?

A

The fungus Fusarium is grown in aerobic conditions on glucose syrup.
The fungal biomass is harvested and purified to produce mycoprotein.

158
Q

Why are some crops genetically modified?

A
  • To be resistant to pests
  • To grow better in changing conditions
  • To provide more nutritional value
159
Q

What is ‘Golden rice’?

A

A food that has been genetically modified to produce a chemical that is converted in the body to vitamin A.

160
Q

Why do some people not agree with genetically modifying food?

A
  • Many people argue that people are hungry because they can’t afford food, not because there isn’t any.
  • Some countries could become dependent on companies that sell GM seeds
  • Sometimes poor soil is the reason that crops don’t grow, so even GM crops won’t survive

AQA Biology GCSE (5 decks)

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