Ecology

Question 1

What is a community

Answer 1

The populations of different species living in a habitat

Question 2

What is a population

Answer 2

All the organisms of one species living in a habitat

Question 3

What is an ecosystem

Answer 3

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

Question 4

What are abiotic factors

Answer 4

Non-living factors of the environment

Question 5

What are biotic factors

Answer 5

Living factors of an environment

Question 6

What is a habitat

Answer 6

The place where an organism lives

Question 7

What is a predator

Answer 7

An animal that eats another animal in a food chain

Question 8

What is prey

Answer 8

An animal that is eaten by another animal in the food chain

Question 9

What is interdependence

Answer 9

Organisms relying on other organisms for things like food, shelter, pollination, seed dispersal

Question 10

What do plants compete for

Answer 10

Water
Sunlight
Space
Mineral ions

Question 11

What do animals compete for

Answer 11

Food
Water
Mates
Territory

Question 12

What are extaemophilles

Answer 12

An organism that is adapted to live in extreme conditions like:
High temperature
High pressure
High salt
(e.g. bacteria that live in deep sea vents)

Question 13

Behavioural adaptations

Answer 13

The way an organism behaves
(e.g. lizards burrow under the sand to cool down and pitcher plants open/close )

Question 14

Structural adaptations

Answer 14

Features of an organisms body structure
(e.g. bears have a small SA:V to reduce heat loss and pitcher plants have ridges to catch food)

Question 15

Functional adaptations

Answer 15

Processes that occur within the organisms body
(e.g. bears 🐻 slow body for hibernation using hormones and pitcher plants 🌱 produce wax/digestive fluids)

Question 16

What do food chains show

Answer 16

The flow of energy through an ecosystem through the process of feeding

Question 17

Producers

Answer 17

Absorb light energy to produce their own food through photosynthesis

Question 18

Consumers

Answer 18

Obtain energy through eating other organisms

Question 19

Decomposers

Answer 19

Obtain energy by breaking down dead matter

Question 20

Trophic levels

Answer 20

Feeding levels in food chains
(Producer is level 1)

Question 21

Stable communities

Answer 21

All species and environmental factors are in balance, so the population sizes remain roughly constant over time

Question 22

Precipitation

Answer 22

Rain, hail, snow, sleet that falls from the clouds

Question 23

Condensation

Answer 23

When water vapour cools and turns into clouds

Question 24

Evaporation

Answer 24

When the sun heats up water and it rises into the air

Question 25

Groundwater flow

Answer 25

When water flows through the rocks 🪨 and soil underground

Question 26

Surface run-off

Answer 26

When the water runs off the surface of the ground

Question 27

Transpiration

Answer 27

When the sun heats up the water from the leaves of trees

Question 28

Decomposition is caused by…

Answer 28

…microorganisms such as bacteria 🦠 and fungi 🍄

Question 29

Equation for respiration

Answer 29

6O(2) + C(6)H(12)O(6) = 6CO(2) + 6H(2)O

Question 30

What factors affect photosynthesis

Answer 30

Light intensity Carbon dioxide concentration Temperature

Question 31

What kind of organisms do you use for measuring the number of organisms in an area

Answer 31

Small non-motile

Question 32

Equation for number of organisms in an area

Answer 32

Area of field (divided by) area of quadrant X mean

Question 33

Biodiversity

Answer 33

The variety of different species of organisms within an ecosystem

Question 34

What do humans rely on other species for

Answer 34

Food Materials Shelter Medicine Purification

Question 35

What do humans use land for

Answer 35

Farming 🚜 Building 🏠 Quarrying ⛏ Landfill 🗑

Question 36

How do humans process waste

Answer 36

Landfill 🗑 Recycling ♻️ Incineration 🔥 Composting 🌱

Question 37

Types of pollution

Answer 37

Air 💨 Water 💧 Land/Earth 🌎

Question 38

Eutrophication

Answer 38

(Algae bloom) When fertilisers run off field into lakes they cause the algae to multiply rapidly This blocks sunlight and so prevents aquatic plants from photosynthesising

Question 39

What is carbon sequestration

Answer 39

The process of removing carbon from the atmosphere

Question 40

What are peat bogs

Answer 40

Areas of acidic, waterlogged land that contains partially decomposed plants

Question 41

Why are peat bogs being cleared

Answer 41

For farmland, fuel or compost

Question 42

Why are peat bogs important

Answer 42

There is little oxygen in peat bogs, so microorganisms can’t survive causing less decomposition and less carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere

Question 43

Global warming (3 stages)

Answer 43

1. Energy from the sun is absorbed by the earth 2. The earth radiates the energy back out into the atmosphere as infra red radiation ☢️ 3. Some of this passes through the atmosphere but greenhouse gases absorb the energy and re-radiate it back towards the earth

Question 44

Consequences of global warming

Answer 44

Decreases biodiversity Migration changes Changes to species distribution Rising sea levels

Question 45

Greenhouse gas pollution

Answer 45

Global warming Climate change Ice caps melt Extreme weather

Question 46

Acidic gases pollution

Answer 46

Damages leaves/lungs Plants perform less photosynthesis Breathing difficulties

Question 47

Carbon monoxide pollution

Answer 47

Combines with haemoglobin meaning the blood carries less oxygen

Question 48

Sewage pollution

Answer 48

Bacteria in water multiply quickly which uses up the oxygen in the water so animals/plants have less

Question 49

Acid rain pollution

Answer 49

Lowers pH of water which damages fish gills and bleaches coral

Question 50

Herbicides/pesticide pollution

Answer 50

Build up in soul and pass onto food chain Can be toxic to tertiary consumers Bioaccumulation

Question 51

Ways to protect from pollution

Answer 51

Breeding programs to help endangered species Protecting and re-generating rare habitats (mangroves, heathland, reefs) Hedgerows and field margins to provide habitats for species that cannot survive in a monoculture farm Regulating deforestation Recycling

Question 52

Problems affecting protection against pollution

Answer 52

High costs Impacting lives (people working in deforestation could loose jobs) Food security (farming) Development (new land needed)