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AQA GCSE - Biology - paper 2 > ecology > Flashcards

ecology Flashcards

1
Q

What is the key thing in ecology?

A

The key thing to understand in ecology is that all organisms have relationships

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2
Q

If a part of the ecosystem changes, what will happen?

A

It will affect all other parts of the ecosystem

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3
Q

what does habitat mean?

A

the place where an organism lives

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4
Q

what does population mean?

A

all the organisms of one species living in a habitat

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5
Q

what does community mean?

A

the populations of different species living in a habitat

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6
Q

what are abiotic factors?

A

non-living factors of the environment

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7
Q

what are biotic factors?

A

living factors of the environment

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8
Q

what is an ecosystem?

A

the interaction of a community of living organisms (biotic) with the non living (abiotic) parts of the environment

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9
Q

Give an example of something that organisms compete for:

A

plants: light, space, water, mineral ions
animals: space, food, water, mates

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10
Q

what is interdependence?

A

How all species in an ecosystem depend on each other for things like: shelter, pollination, and food

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11
Q

Give an example of an abiotic factor:

A
  • moisture level
  • light intensity
  • temperature
  • carbon dioxide level (plants)
  • wind intensity & direction
  • oxygen level (aquatic animals)
  • soil pH and mineral content
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12
Q

Give an example of a biotic factor:

A
  • new predators arriving
  • competition
  • new pathogens
  • availability of food
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13
Q

What are structural features?

A

These are features of an organisms body structure - like shape or colour.

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14
Q

What are behavioural features?

A

These are ways that organisms behave - like animals migrate to warmer climates in winter

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15
Q

What are functional features?

A

These are things that go on inside an organisms body that can be related to processes - like reproduction

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16
Q

How do you draw a food chain?

A

food chains always start with a producer. Producers make their own food using energy from the sun. Producers are usually green plants or algae - they make glucose through photosynthesis. When a plant makes glucose, some of it is used to make other biological molecules - this is the biomass (mass of living material). Energy is transferred when eaten.

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17
Q

what is each consumer in a food chain called?

A

producers –> primary consumers–> secondary consumer –> tertiary consumers

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18
Q

What does a graph displaying the population of prey and predators look like?

A

As the number of prey increases, the number of predators increases. This causes the prey to decrease, therefore the predators decrease. The two are out of phase with each other - It is an infinite cycle.

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19
Q

What is a quadrat used for?

A

A quadrat is used to study the distribution of small organisms, or the population size of an organism in one area.

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20
Q

What is a transect used for?

A

A transect is used to study the distribution of organisms along a line - this could be a line where the environment is changing.

21
Q

How does temperature affect the rate of decay?

A

Warmer temperatures make things decompose quicker because they increase the rate that the enzymes involved in decomposition work at. If it is too hot or cold, the rate will decrease.

22
Q

How does the oxygen availability affect the rate of decay?

A

Many organisms need oxygen to respire, which they need to do to survive. The microorganisms involved in anaerobic decay do not need oxygen

23
Q

How does water availability affect the rate of decay?

A

decay takes place quicker in moist environments because the organisms involved in decay need water to carry out biological processes.

24
Q

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

A

the more microorganisms and detritus feeders there are, the faster decomposition happens.

25
Q

What is biogas?

A

biogas is mainly made of methane, which can be burned as a fuel. Biogas is made by anaerobic decay of waste material. Biogas is made in a simple fermenter called a digester or generator. These generators need to be kept at constant temperature to keep the microorganisms respiring. Biogas cannot be stored as a liquid, so it must be used straight away as a fuel.

26
Q

Describe a biogas batch generator:

A

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

27
Q

Describe a biogas continuous generator:

A

Continuous generators make biogas all the time. Waste is continuously fed in and the biogas is produced at a constant rate. Continuous generators are better for large-scale biogas operations.

28
Q

What do both biogas generators require?

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 required

29
Q

What is biodiversity?

A

biodiversity is the variety of different species of organisms on earth, or within an ecosystem

30
Q

why is high biodiversity important?

A

It makes sure that ecosystems are stable because different species depend on each other for things like shelter and food.

31
Q

How is pollution affecting water, land and air?

A

water - sewage and toxic chemicals from industrial sites is released into water
land - toxic chemicals for farming are used, landfill sites, bury nuclear waste
air - smoke and acidic gases are released into air

32
Q

Explain what global warming is:

A

1) Earths’ temperature is a balance between the energy it gets from the sun and the energy it radiates back out into space
2) Gases in the atmosphere naturally act like an insulating layer. They absorb most of the energy that would be radiated out into space, and re-radiate it in all directions (including back to earth) This increases the earths’ temperature
3) If this didn’t happen, then at night there’d be nothing to keep any energy in, and we’d quickly get cold. But recently, this has been getting out of hand
4) There are several gases in the atmosphere which help keep energy in. They’re greenhouse gases and the main ones whose levels we worry about are Carbon dioxide and methane - because they’re levels are rising quickly
5) The earth is gradually heating up because of the increasing levels of greenhouse gases - this is global warming.

33
Q

what are the consequences of global warming?

A
  • melting ice caps, causing sea levels to rise. This is a loss of habitat and an increase in flooding
  • the distribution of animals and plants may change due to rainfall patterns changing and temperatures rising
  • change in migration patterns
  • reduction in biodiversity as species become extinct.
34
Q

What is deforestation?

A

the cutting down of forests

35
Q

Why is deforestation happening?

A
  • to clear land for farming to provide more food
  • to grow crops from which biofuels based on ethanol can be produced
36
Q

What problems does deforestation cause?

A
  • less carbon dioxide taken in as trees “lock up” some of the carbon but cannot do that if chopped down
  • more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere - carbon in the wood does not contribute to pollution until trees are burnt to clear land
  • less biodiversity - habitats like forests have large biodiversity which cannot exist if forests are removed
37
Q

Why does destroying peat bogs add more CO2 to the atmosphere?

A

the plants that live in bogs do not fully decay when they die due to a lack of oxygen. This means that they gradually build up to form peat. The carbon is then stored in the peat. When peat is then burnt as a fuel, the carbon is released back into the atmosphere. Also, when the bogs are drained, the peat comes into contact with air and some microorganisms start to decompose it. They respire, and release carbon dioxide.

38
Q

how are ecosystems and biodiversity being protected?

A
  • breeding programmes to prevent endangered species become extinct
  • programmes to rebuild habitats like mangroves are in place
  • hedgerows and field margins are being reintroduced around farms that grow one type of crop
  • regulations and programmes are introduced by governments to lower deforestation
  • people are encouraged to recycle to reduce the amount of waste dumped in landfill sites
39
Q

what are some issues around maintaining biodiversity?

A
  • protecting biodiversity costs money
  • protecting biodiversity may come at a cost to local peoples’ livelihood (people in tree-felling positions become unemployed)
  • conflict between protecting biodiversity and protecting our food security
  • land is in high demand due to expanding populations
40
Q

How are food chains organised into trophic levels?

A

trophic level 1 - producers
tropic level 2 - primary consumers
trophic level 3 - secondary consumers
trophic level 4 - tertiary consumers

decomposers - break down uneaten remains and waste

41
Q

what are pyramids of biomass?

A

They are a way of displaying the relative mass of each trophic level. Each bar shows the relative mass of living material at a trophic level

42
Q

why is biomass lost between each trophic level?

A
  • organisms do not always eat every part of the organism they’re consuming - some parts are inedible
  • organisms do not absorb all the of the stuff in the food they ingest (take in).
  • some of the biomass taken in is converted into other substances and used for other processes
43
Q

what factors affect food security?

A
  • the world population keeps increasing, with birth rate rising quickly
  • diets in developed countries change, so the demand for food to be imported increases
  • farming is affected by new pests and pathogens
  • the high input costs of farming can make it too expensive for people to start or maintain food production
  • conflict affecting food and water availability
44
Q

how are fish stocks being maintained (conserved)?

A

fishing quotas - limits the number and size of fish that can be caught in certain areas
net size - limits the size of net depending on what is being fished, allowing unwanted fish to continue living in the ocean

45
Q

how can food production be made more efficient?

A
  • livestock can be factory farmed
  • limiting the movement of livestock and controlling the environments’ temperature
  • fish can be factory farmed
  • some animals are fed high-protein food to increase growth
46
Q

what is biotechnology?

A

it is where living things and biological processes are used and manipulated to produce a useful product.

47
Q

what is mycoprotein?

A

food made from fungi:
- it is used to make high-protein meat substitutes like Quorn.
- made from the fungus Fusarium, grown in aerobic conditions on glucose syrup
- fungal biomass is harvested and purified to produce mycoprotein.

48
Q
A

AQA GCSE - Biology - paper 2 (3 decks)

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