Ecology

Question 1

What is ecology?

Answer 1

Ecology is the study of ecosystems

Question 2

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 2

An ecosystem is an area where organisms interact with the physical environment

Question 3

What are the two types of ecosystems?

Answer 3

Living/biotic and nonliving/abiotic

Question 4

What are the three elements of a biotic ecosystem?

Answer 4

Producers - organisms which make their own food, photosynthesising plants

Consumers - eats other organisms and producers

Decomposes - organisms which decay and breakdown dead, organic matter to obtain their food. They help to recycle nutrients.

Question 5

In what type of ecosystem would you find producers, consumers and decomposers?

Answer 5

Biotic

Question 6

An abiotic ecosystem is a physical environment where all the abiotic factors affect growth and the survival of living things. What are some of these factors?

Answer 6

Temperature, carbon dioxide concentration, oxygen concentration, and quantity of minerals in the soil.

Question 7

What the five kingdoms in ecology?

Answer 7

Animals, fungi, plants, bacteria and protoctista

Question 8

What is biodiversity?

Answer 8

Biodiversity is the variety of species found within the ecosystem.

Question 9

In ecosystems the places where specific organisms live have a range of biotic and abiotic factors. What are these places called?

Answer 9

Habitats

Question 10

What is the term for the total number of individuals of one species in a particular habitat at a particular time?

Answer 10

Population

Question 11

In ecology, what does the term population mean?

Answer 11

Population means the total number of individuals of one species in a particular habitat at a particular time

Question 12

What is the 50x50cm square that ecologists use to measure the size of the population in a habitat?

Answer 12

Quadrat

Question 13

What is a quadrat?

Answer 13

A quadrat is a 50x50cm square, that ecologists use to measure the size of the population in a habitat.

Question 14

When population sampling a habitat, the habitat may not be uniform. What factors might differ and affect the distribution of a population?

Answer 14

Abiotic conditions differ such as light intensity, or one area may be trampled. These differences affect the distribution of population.

Question 15

What is a transect?

Answer 15

. A transect is a line across a habitat which is placed to pass through a range of abiotic conditions, from light to shade or across a path. The quadrat is placed at regular intervals along the transect and used to measure the number or percentage cover of the species

Question 16

What are the five elements of CORMS, used for planning in ecology

Answer 16

Change Organism Repeats Measure Same

Question 17

For CORMS in ecology, what does change and organism mean?

Answer 17

Change: name and describe how you will change the independent variable

Organism: name the organism or biological substance (e.g. enzyme) used in the experiment and describe how it will be kept the same

Question 18

For CORMS in ecology, what do Repeats, mean?

Answer 18

Repeats: say how many repeats you will use for each value of the independent variable and explain why it is necessary to repeat (reliability - to check the results are consistent). A habitat will vary a lot so we need to take many measurements in order to get reliable data. You should use a minimum of 10 quadrants in any area.

Question 19

For CORMS in ecology, what do Measure and Same mean?

Answer 19

Measure: say what the dependant variable is and how you are measuring it Same: say what variables you will keep the same and how you will ensure they are the same each time

Question 20

What is ‘the populations of all species present in an ecosystem at a particular time’ called?

Answer 20

Community

Question 21

How do species in a community interact with each other? (3 ways)

Answer 21

Feeding on each other Competition for resources Using abiotic resources

Question 22

When species in a community interact with each other by feeding on each other what is achieved?

Answer 22

It allows nutrients to be recycled

Question 23

When species in a community interact with each other by competing for resources what are they competing for?

Answer 23

Interacting By Competing for resources means they compete for food, mates, nesting sites, light, minerals ions etc (They also interact in two other ways - feeding on each other and use abiotic resources)

Question 24

When species in a community interact with each other by using abiotic resources what are they competing for?

Answer 24

The mineral ions in the soil, which they absorb with water

Question 25

The most simple way to show feeding relationships in an ecosystem is called a what? What do the arrows mean?

Answer 25

Chain The arrows mean “is eaten by”

Question 26

In a food chain where the arrows mean “is eaten by”, what else does the arrow show?

Answer 26

In a food chain the arrow shows the direction that energy and biomass moves, from the species that is eaten to the animal that eats it

Question 27

In a food chain or food web, what are the stages called?

Answer 27

Trophic levels

Question 28

Although they are rarely drawn in food chains, what are decomposers vital for?

Answer 28

Decomposers are vital for Recycling nutrients

Question 29

How is a food web more complex than a food chain?

Answer 29

It shows links between many species in a community

Question 30

A food chain shows who eats who, a food web shows relationships in more complex ways but what does a ecological pyramid show?

Answer 30

An ecological pyramid respresents the number of organisms at each trophic level, the the amount of biomass. They are drawn to scale

Question 31

What are the two types of ecological pyramid?

Answer 31

Pyramids of numbers - the number of organisms in the ecosystem

Pyramid of biomass - drawn to show the total biomass of organisms in each trophic level

Question 32

Label the levels on this food chain

Answer 32

Question 33

What how might the apex predator and decomposers appear in a food chain?

Answer 33

Question 34

What does a food web look like?

Answer 34