Ecology Flashcards
1
Q
Habitat
A
Place where an organism lives
2
Q
Population
A
All organisms of 1 species living in a habitat
3
Q
Community
A
Populations of different species living in a habitat
4
Q
Define abiotic factors
A
Non-living factors of environment
5
Q
Define biotic factors
A
Living factors of environment
6
Q
Ecosystem
A
Interaction of community of living organisms with abiotic parts of their environment
7
Q
What do plants compete for
A
- light
- space
- water
- mineral ions from soil
8
Q
What do animals compete for
A
- territory
- food
- water
- mates
9
Q
What do organisms compete with
A
- other species
- members of own species
10
Q
Interdependence
A
Species in community relying on other species for things like - food, pollination, seed dispersal, shelter
11
Q
Stable communities
A
Species and environmental factors in balance so population sizes are roughly constant (may go up and down in cycles)
12
Q
List abiotic factors
A
- moisture level
- light intensity
- temperature
- carbon dioxide level (plants)
- wind intensity and direction
- oxygen level (aquatic animals)
- Soil pH and mineral content
13
Q
List biotic factors
A
- new predators
- competition - a species may outcompete another
- new pathogens
- availability of food
14
Q
Adaptations
A
Features/characteristics that allow an organism to live in different environmental conditions
15
Q
Types of adaptation
A
- structural
- behavioural
- functional
16
Q
Structural adaptations
A
Features of organisms body structure like shape/coulour
17
Q
Examples of structural adaptions
A
- arctic fox - camouflaging white fur
- whales - thick blubber layer to keep warm
- camels - thin fat layer to lost heat
18
Q
Behavioural adaptations
A
Ways organisms behave
19
Q
Example of behavioural adaptations
A
Swallows migrate to warmer climates during winter
20
Q
Functional adaptations
A
Things happening inside an organisms’s body related to processes like reproduction/metabolism
21
Q
Examples of functional adaptations
A
- desert animals produce little concebtrated urine - conserve water
- brown bears hibernate in winter when there’s little food - lower metabolism conerves energy
22
Q
Extremophiles
A
Organisms living in extreme environments like high temperatures, pressure, salt concentration
23
Q
Example of extremophile
A
Bacteria living in deep see vents
24
Q
What do food chains show
A
Whats eaten by what in eosystem
25
What do food chains start with
Producer
26
Producers
Make their own food using energy from sun, usually green plants or algae
27
Biomass process
- green plants produce glucose
- some glucose used to make other biological molecules **(biomass)**
- biomass like energy stored in plant
- energy transferred through living organisms in ecosystem when organisms eat other organisms
28
Order of food chain
- producer
- primary consumer
- secondary consumer
- tertiary consumer
29
Predators
Consumers that hunt and kill other animals
30
Prey
What predators eat
31
What happens if population of prey increase
- population of predators increases
- causing decrease in population of prey
32
Why do populations of predators and prey cycle
- if population of prey increases, population of predators increase
- as population of predators has increased, population of prey will decrease
- if population of prey decrease, population of predators decrease
- if population of predators decrease, population of prey increase
- **cycle restarts**
33
Why are predator-prey cycles always out of phase with each other
Takes a while for population to respond to other changes
34
Quadrat
- square frame enclosing an area
- used to find how common an organism is in sample area
35
How to use quadrats
- use calculator's random number generator to generate coordinates
- place 10 1m² quadrats down at coordinates
- count organisms within each quadrat
- find mean number of organisms per quadrat
- multiply by number of quadrats that can fit into target area
36
Transects
- lines
- used to find how organisms are distributed across area
37
How to use transects
- mark out line in area you are studying with tape measure
- count organisms touching line
- **OR** place quadrats along line at intervals
- **repeat** with another transect parallel to original
38
Stages of water cycle
- **evaporation + transpiration**
- **condensation**
- **precipitation**
- use
- return
39
Water cycle - evaporation + transpiration
- sun makes water evaporate from land + sea, turning it to water vapour
- water evaporates from plants - transpiration
40
Water cycle - condensation
- warm water vapour carried upwards as warm air rises
- cools higher up to form clouds
41
Water cycle - precipitation
- water falls from clouds - usually rain, sometimes snow/hail
- providing fresh water for plants + animals
42
Water cycle - use
- some water absorbed by soil, taken up by plant roots, used in photosynthesis
- some water taken up by plants, becomes part of tissue, passed to animals in food chain
- water used in animals for chemical reactions
43
Water cycle - return
- animals excrete water to soil/atmosphere - sweating + urination + breathing out
- water not absorbed by soil runs off into streams/rivers
- drains into sea
- cycle restarts
44
Role of microorganisms in cycling
- microorganisms digest materials, breaking them down
- this decay puts stuff that plants need to grow back into soil
45
How do conditions affect rate of microorganisms causing decay
Happens faster in warmer, moist, aerobic (oxygen rich) conditions as microorganisms more active
46
Cycle of materials in stable community
- materials taken out of soil and used by plants are balanced by those put back in
- constant cycle
47
Carbon cycle
- green plants + algae remove CO₂ - **photosynthesis**
- makes **glucose** - turned into carbs, fats, proteins to make up plant/algae bodies
- **respire** - some carbon returned as CO₂
- **eaten** by animals - carbon becomes fats/proteins of their body, part of chain
- **respire** - some carbon returned as CO₂
- **death** - detritus feeders feed on dead animals
- **respire** return CO₂
48
What other things CO₂ into air
Combustion of wood and fossil fuels
49
What is biodiversity
Variety of all the different species of organisms on earth or within an ecosystem
50
What does biodiversity maintain
Stability of ecosystems
51
How does biodiversity maintain stability of ecosystems
- reduces dependence of 1 species on another for
-food
-shelter
- different species can help maintain right physical environment for each other
52
Human actions reducing biodiversity
- waste production
- deforestation
- global warming
53
What is happening to human actions reducing biodiversity
We've recently started taking measures to stop this continuing
54
How many people are there in the world
Over 8 billion and quickly rising
55
Why has population risen
- modern medicine + farming methods
- less people dying of disease + hunger
56
How does rising population affect environment
- need more resources to survive
- demanding higher standard of living (cars, plastics) - raw resources being used faster + more energy used in manufacturing
- many raw materials used up faster than replaced
57
Why are we producing more waste
Making more things
58
What bad kind of waste are we producing more of
Waste chemicals
59
Problem with waste and chemicals materials being handled improperly
More pollution causes
60
Where can pollution occur
- water
- land
- air
61
Water polution
- sewage + toxic chemicals from industry pollute lakes, rivers, oceans
- chemicals used on land wash into water
- affects plants/animals relying on them (human)
62
Land pollution
- use toxic chemicals for farming - pesticides, herbicides
- bury nuclear waste underground
- dump much household waste into landfill
63
Air pollution
- smoke + acidic gases released into atmosphere, polluting air
- e.g- sulfur dioxide leads to acid rain
64
Problem with pollution
Kills plants + animals, reducing biodiversity
65
Human uses of land
- building
- quarrying
- farming
- dumping waste
66
Problem with human uses of land
- less land available for other organisms
- bad effect on environment - deforestation, destruction of habitats
67
Bogs
- areas of acidic + waterlogged land
- contain plants that don't fully decay when they die (not enough oxygen)
68
How is peat formed in bogs
Partly-rotted plants gradually build up to form peat
69
What happens to carbon in plants in bogs
Stored in peat
70
What do humans do to peat bogs
- drained so area can be used for farmland
OR
- peat cut up and dried to use as fuel
OR
- peat sold to gardeners as compost
71
Problem with peat being drained
- comes into contact with air, some microorganisms start to decompose it
- microorganisms respire, release CO₂
72
Problem with peat being burnt as fuel
Releases CO₂
73
How does destroying peat bogs reduce biodiversity
- destroys or reduces area of habitats for some animals/plants/microorganisms living there
74
Deforestation
Chopping down trees of forests
75
Where has deforestation occurred
Rainforests in **tropical areas**
76
Reasons for deforestation
- clear land for farming to provide more food
- grow crops which biofuels based on ethanol can be produced from
77
Problems with deforestation
- less CO₂ taken in
- more CO₂ in atmosphere
- less biodiversity
78
Why does deforestation mean less CO₂ is taken in
- tress 'lock up' carbon they absorb during photosynthesis in their wood, removing it from atmosphere for hundreds of years
- **less photosynthesis** = less 'locking up'
79
Why does deforestation mean more CO₂ in atmosphere
- CO₂ released when trees burnt to clear land - carbon in 'locked up' in wood doesn't contribute to pollution until released by burning
- microorganisms feed on bits of dead wood - release CO₂ as waste product of respiration
80
Why does deforestation mean less biodiversity
- forests contain large number of species of plants/animals
- species risk extinction if habitat (forest) destroyed
81
How is temperature of Earth balanced
Balance between energy it gets from sun and energy is radiates back out into space
82
What do gases in atmosphere act like
Insulating layer
83
How do gases in atmosphere act like insulating layer
- absorb most energy that would be radiated out into space
- re-radiate it in all directions - including back towards earth
- increases temperature of planet
84
Main greenhouse gases
- carbon dioxide
- methane
85
What is happening to levels of CO₂ and methane in atmosphere
Quickly rising
86
What do increasing levels of CO₂ and methane in atmosphere contribute to
Global warming
87
Biological consequences of global warming
- rising sea level
- changes in distribution of plants/animals
- changing migration patterns
- reduced biodiversity
88
How does global warming melt ice caps
- high temps cause seawater to expand, melting ice
- causing rising sea level
89
How has sea level changed over time
Risen a little bit over last 100 years
90
Problem with rising sea level
- increased frequency of floods in some areas, especially low lying
- could result in loss of habitat
91
How has global warming changed distribution of plants/animals
- temp increase
- species needing warmer temp - more distributed as there is wider area of condition they thrive in
- species needing cooler temp - less widely distributed, smaller area of conditions they thrive in
92
Example of how global warming has changed migration patterns
Some birds migrating further North as Northern areas getting warmer
93
How does global warming reduce biodiversity
Some species unable to survive in climate - extinction
94
What have humans done to protect ecosystems + biodiversity
Scientists + concerned citizens have set up programmes to minimise damage by human activities
95
Programmes to protect ecosystems + biodiversity
- breeding programmes for endangered species
- protection + regeneration of rare habitats
- reintroduction of field margins + hedgerows in agricultural areas
- reduction of deforestation + CO₂ emissions
- recycling resources not dumping waste in landfill
96
Breeding programmes for endangered species
- stop extinction
- animals bred in captivity to make sure it survives
- some released into wild to boost/re-establish population
97
Protection + regeneration of rare habitats
- protecting habitats protects species living there
- e.g- coral reefs
98
Reintroduction of field margins + hedgerows in agricultural areas
- done in farms where only 1 type of crop grown
- field margins - land areas around edges of fields where wild flowers/grasses left to grow
- hedgerows + field margins provide habitat for wide variety of organisms that can survive in single crop habitat
99
What is being done to reduce Co₂ emissions
- some governments reducing levels of
-deforestation
-CO₂ released into atmosphere by businesses
100
Problems with attempting to maintain biodiversity
- financial cost
- costing livelihoods
- conflict with food security
- conflict with development
101
How is maintaining biodiversity financially costly
- governments pay farmers subsidy to reintroduce hedgerows + field margins
- expensive to monitor if programmes + regulations being followed
102
How is maintaining biodiversity costly to livelihoods
- people in tree-felling industry can become unemployed from reducing deforestation
- can affect local economy if people move away to find work
103
How can protecting biodiversity conflict with food security
- farmers see some organisms as pests so kill the to protect crops + livestock to produce more food
- negatively affecting biodiversity
104
How can maintaining biodiversity conflict with devlopment
- some land in high demand
- so untouched land with high biodiversity used for development
