Ecology Flashcards
Explain omnivore
Eats plants and animals
Explain carnivore
Eats only animals
Explain food chain
A food chain is a list of organisms in which each organism is eaten by the next one in the chain.
Explain food web
A food web consists of two or more interconnected food chains.
Explain adaption
An adaptation is a structure that helps an organism to survive in its habitat.
Explain a decomposed
Decomposers are organisms that feed on dead plants and animals
What is a producer
Producers are plants that make their own food
Explain habitat
A habitat is the area where a plant or animal lives.
What is meant by ecology
Ecology is the study of the relationships between plants, animals and their environment.
What does interdependence mean
Interdependence means that living things depend on each other for survival.
Explain herbivore
Eats only plants
What is an ecosystem
An ecosystem consists of all the plants and animals in an area interacting with each other and their physical environment.
Name equipment used to study a habitat
A pooter, a beating tray, a pitfall trap and a sweep net are devices used to collect animals.
A quadrat is a square used to estimate the number of plants in a habitat.
A line transect is a rope marked at regular intervals and laid out across a habitat to estimate the number of plants present.
Give five steps to studying a habitT
1 Draw a simple map of the habitat.
2 Measure and record the environmental features in the habitat.
3 Identify and list all the organisms in the habitat.
4 Collect samples of those organisms that cannot be identified in the habitat.
5 Estimate the number of each organism in the habitat.
Explain conservation
The protection and wisemanagement of natural resources to prevent living things becoming extinct.
Name some habitats that are harmed because of human activity
we knock down forests and woodlands for timber or for housing
bog lands are being drained for farming
grassland is being used up for housing and factories
lakes are being destroyed by pollution.
Why is conservation important
To prevent organisms from being wiped out. At present, many organisms are under threat of becoming extinct.
To maintain the balance of nature. The loss of any one type of organism can cause dramatic results for other types of organisms.
Future generations have the right to the same natural resources as are found at present.
Plants are the source of many medicines. As plants become extinct, we lose the ability to test them for new medications.
If our natural resources are not protected there is a danger that human lifestyles (and even our survival) would be at risk.
Explain pollutant
The materials which cause pollution are called pollutants.
Give some examples of air pollution
Acid rain- chemicals are dissolved in rainwater and it: burns leaves on trees, kills plants and fish, dissolves marble, limestone and metal
Greenhouse gases- Increasing levels of carbon dioxide (and other gases), causing the Earth to warm up, resulting in floods and weather changes
Lead Burning - ‘leaded’ petrol, harmful to the brains of young children
What are the main causes of water pollution
badly treated sewage (toilet) waste
oil spills
the dumping of household, farming and industrial wastes.
