ecology Flashcards
what are biotic factors
caused by living organisms affecting other populations in their ecosystems
what are abiotic factors
physical, non living conditions that affect the distribution of an organism
what do animals compete for?
mates, access to territory, food and water
what do plants compete for?
light, space, food, water
what are examples of biotic factors
food availability
new pathogens
new predators
competition
what are examples of abiotic factors
- temperature
- light intensity
- O2 and CO2 levels
- soil pH
- moisture level
what is this the definition of : the interaction of every living thing and every non living thing in an area
ecosystem
what is a population
total number of individuals of one species in an ecosystem
what is a community
al the plants and animals living in an ecosystem
what is a niche
the particular place or role that an organism has in its own ecosystem
What will less successful animals and plants that have less resources (and therefore they are less likely to reproduce and increase their population) do?
- stay in habitat and adapt new survival instinct
- do nothing and go extinct
- move to another area for better resources
difference between intra and inter specific competition
intraspecific is competition between different species, while inter specific is competition within one species
predator prey cycle
- prey population increases
- predator population increases as there’s more food
- prey population decreases as more predators eat then
- predator population decreases as there’s less food
Why is there a time lag in the predator prey cycle?
Because there is a rate of reproduction- as it takes time to reproduce due to the gestation period
4 main reasons why predator prey cycles are less accurate in real life?
- prey may be predated by more than one predator
- predators may consume more than one thing
- may not be a direct relationship between the two
- may be a food web (interdependence)
What is an adaptation?
A feature that helps an organism to increase its fitness and increase the ability to survive and reproduce in its environment
3 different types of adaptations?
behavioural - behaviour/ how it acts
physiological - production of something eg venom
structural - how animal looks/ anatomical things they have
6 parts of the water cycle
water evaporation, transpiration, precipitation, condensation, surface runoff, percolation
Role of animals in the carbon cycle?
Animals return CO2 in respiration
Animals die and then decay
Animals then respire by microbial respiration returning CO2 in
Role of plants in the carbon cycle?
They take in CO2 for photosynthesis
Return CO2 by respiring
They then return CO2 by burning/combustion
They then return CO2 by microbial respiration
Role of fossils in the carbon cycle?
Dead animals turn into fossils (absorbing CO2 ), then fossil fuels are burned and release CO2 in air
What happens to oceans and fact about them with CO2
They’re the largest store of carbon , and CO2 is dissolved in oceans
Method 1 Quadrats
- Calculate total area of field
- Divide area/field into even squares (1 by 1 m squared)
- Random number generator to generate coordinates (5-10%) A LARGE NUMBER!
- Place first Quadrat in first coordinate gird. Count number of chosen species in that Quadrat (use an ID guide)
- Record results in table
- Repeat for all Quadrats
- Calculate mean number of daisies
- Area of field/area of 1 Quadrat times mean number
Method 2 transects -
1. Randomly lay out ? measure (transect)
2. Place ? at 0 metres
3. Count number of ? in ?
4. Draw table - ? of daisies, distance from ? And light ? (using a probe to measure)
5. Move Quadrat along ? at small regular ? , eg 1 m along
6. Record no of ?
7. Repeat all along transect, using ? no of ?
8. Draw a ? of number vs distance. Use to draw a ? about number of daisies along the ?
- tape
- Quadrat
- daisies, Quadrat
- number, Start, intensity
- transect, intervals
- daisies
- LARGE, daisies
- graph, conclusion, gradient
4 ways the aerobic decay process is made faster (and why)
More microorganisms so more decomposition
More oxygen available so microorganisms can aerobically respire
Temperature is increased, more kinetic energy for enzymes to break down microorganisms quicker
Some moisture, as decomposes need water to survive as it makes up their cytoplasm
Anaerobic
Biogas is produced by ? decay of ?
A fuel ? for cooking, heating, ? etc
Generators contain rotting ? material and ?
The biogas contains ? (50-?%) , CO2 (15-?%), water ? and a small amount of other ?
This is a ?
And is ?
- anaerobic, bacteria
- source, electricity
- organic, bacteria
- methane, 75, 45, vapour, gases
- hydrocarbon
- renewable
Why does the presence of air result in a high concentration of CO2 in the biogas?
Because air contains oxygen and so if there’s lots of oxygen then the bacteria will aerobically respire more and make more CO2 than is wanted - this is annoying as there is less methane so it doesn’t burn as well
What happens to plant material if it doesn’t decay and why??
Is put on field as fertilisers as it may contain lots of minerals eg nitrate ions which help with growth
Decay required practical why use full fat milk?
Because it contains the most lipid/ fat content (substrate)
Decay required practical why use sodium carbonate?
Make sure solution is an alkaline solution (with a pH of more than 8.3)
Decay required practical what happens to the phenolphthalein stain when it’s added to milk and sodium carbonate and why?
Turns pink, as it’s an alkaline solution greater than 8.3 pH
