Ecology Flashcards
What do organisms compete for to survive
Resources
What can any change in an ecosystem have
Knock on effects to other members of that ecosystem
What are abiotic factors and some examples
Non-living factors
Moisture levels
wind intensity
temperature
What are biotic factors and some examples
Living factors
New predators
Competition
New pathogens
What do adaptations allow an organism to do
Survive
Types of adaptation
Structural - features of an organisms body
Behavioural - way that organisms behave (e.g migration)
Functional - things that go on inside an organisms body (e.g hibernation)
What do food chains show
What’s eaten by what and the energy transfer within an ecosystem
What does a predator-prey graph look like
Cycling of a graph
Examples of environmental changes that can change the distribution of organisms
availability of water
change in the temperature
composition of atmospheric gases
Stages of the water cycle
Evaporation turns water in water vapour
condenses in clouds
precipitation
then drains into the sea
What is the carbon cycle
The removal and addition of carbon into the atmosphere as a cycle
What is decomposed organic matter used for by farmers
Natural fertilisers
What is the rate of decay affected by
Temperature
Oxygen levels
Water availability
No. of decay organisms
What is biogas
Made mainly of methane that comes from the anaerobic decay of waste material
What are the types of biogas generators
Batch and continuous
Batch is made in small batches whereas continuous is continuously fed in
What does a biogas generator need to have
An inlet for waste material to be put in
An outlet for digested materials to be removed
An outlet so that biogas can be piped to where it is needed
What is biodiversity
The variety of different species of organisms on earth, or in an ecosystem
Why is the population rising
As modern medicine and tech has reduced the number of people dying
This also increases the pressure on the environment as more is being burnt and more people demand a higher standard of living
What are the consequences of global warming
Cause ice to melt and sea level to rise
distribution of fauna may change
changes in migration patterns
biodiversity could reduce
What happens regarding CO2 when trees are cut down
Less CO2 taken in
More CO2 released into the atmosphere
What are humans trying to do to protect ecosystems
Breeding programmes
Re-introduction of species
Encouraging people to recycle
What are the different trophic levels
1 - producers
2 - primary consumers
3- secondary consumers
4 - tertiary consumers (apex predators)
What happens to energy between trophic levels
Energy is lost between trophic levels
What threatens food security
Birth rate and demand increasing
Conflicts
High costs
What does overfishing do to fish stocks
Decrease as there is less fish to eat
To combat this net size and fishing quotas are being implemented
How can food production be made more efficient
Factory farming reduces transfer of energy
High protein diets for animals
What is mycoprotein
Used to make high protein substitutes for meat eg quorn
made from the fungus fusarium
Which bacterium produces human insulin
GM bacterium
