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Science > Ecology 9 > Flashcards

Ecology 9 Flashcards

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1
Q

Define a producer/autotroph

A

an organism which makes its own food

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2
Q

Define a consumer/heterotroph

A

an organism which obtains its food by eating another organism

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3
Q

Define a scavenger

A

An animal which feeds on already dead animals

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4
Q

Define a decomposer

A

A micro-organism which breaks down dead organisms and wastes in order to obtain nutrients

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5
Q

Define a detritivore

A

An invertebrate which breaks down dead organisms and wastes in order to obtain nutrients

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6
Q

Define interdependence

A

A relationship between two organisms, where each affects the other’s survival

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7
Q

Define mutualism

A

An interaction between two organisms in which both benefit

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8
Q

List some abiotic factors

A
  • UV radiation
  • amount of sunlight
  • temperature
  • exposure to air
  • wind intensity
  • rock types
  • rainfall
  • CO2 levels
  • altitude
  • O2 levels in water
  • soil
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9
Q

List some biotic factors

A
  • flora
  • fauna
  • relationships
  • competition for food
  • diseases
  • competition for habitat
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10
Q

What are examples of detritivores?

A
  • cockroaches
  • termites
  • mosquitoes
  • dung flies
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11
Q

What are examples of interdependant relationships?

A
  • predator/prey
  • mating
  • competition
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12
Q

What are examples of symbiotic relationships?

A
  • parasitism
  • mutualism
  • commensalism
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13
Q

What is the difference between interspecific and intraspecific relationships?

A

interspecific - different species
intraspecific - same species

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14
Q

Define parasitism

A

One species benefits while the other is harmed

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15
Q

Define commensalism

A

one species benefits and the other is unaffected

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16
Q

How does an increase in predators affect the prey?

A

The prey will die out due to over hunting, resulting in the death of predators

17
Q

How does an increase in prey affect the predators?

A

If the prey eats producers, the producers will die out causing many species including the prey to die. This will result in the death of the predators

18
Q

How do abiotic factors affect biotic factors?

A

The abiotic factors in an ecosystem decide which biotic factors will survive in it and what their amount will be

19
Q

What percentage biomass/energy is passed from one trophic level to the next?

A

10%

20
Q

List some ways that energy is used up in each trophic level

A
  • movement
  • heat
  • faeces
21
Q

Outline the carbon cycle

A
  • Plants convert CO2 to oxygen through photosynthesis
  • Animals release CO2 during respiration
  • Decomposers convert carbon compounds and waste material back to CO2
  • The combustion of fossil fuels releases CO2 back into the air
22
Q

Outline the nitrogen cycle

A
  • Nitrogen fixing bacteria converts nitrogen (N2) into nitrates (NO2) in soil
  • Plants can then incorporate this nitrogen to make protein and DNA
  • When animals ingest plants, they absorb the nitrogen and proteins are converted into amino acids
  • When animals excrete urine (ammonia), the NH3 is converted back into nitrates (NO2) by nitrifying bacteria and then into NO3
  • Denitrifying bacteria converts NO3 back into nitrogen (N2) in the air
23
Q

What is glucose used for?

A

cellular respiration and carbohydrates

24
Q

What are the types of proteins formed by amino acids?

A

structural and functional

25
Q

What are examples of structural proteins?

A
  • muscle (actin, myosin)
  • collagen
  • keratin
26
Q

What are examples of functional proteins?

A
  • hormones (oestrogen, testosterone, adrenaline, progesterone, ADH)
  • antibodies
  • enzymes
  • haemoglobin
27
Q

How are legumes involved in the nitrogen cycle?

A

The nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the nodules converts the nitrogen into nitrates. It is a mutualistic relationship as the bacteria gets a nice home and the plants get nitrogen.

28
Q

How are coal power stations linked global warming?

A

When coal is burned it reacts with oxygen in the air to produce carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide works like a blanket over the atmosphere, trapping the heat inside.

29
Q

What are three methods of renewable electricity?

A
  • wind power stations
  • solar power
  • Hydroelecricity
30
Q

What are advantages and disadvantages of wind power?

A

Advantages:
* doesn’t release carbon dioxide
* doesn’t disrupt farmlands
Disadvantages:
* can be dangerous to wildlife like birds
* noisy
* expensive
* unreliable

31
Q

What are advantages and disadvantages of solar power?

A

Advantages:
* reduces electricity bills
* no noise
* no pollution
* can be installed anywhere
* low maintance
Disadvantages:
* expensive
* lower energy production in winter months and on cloudy days
* panels can be seen as unattractive

32
Q

What are advantages and disadvantages of hydroelectricity?

A

Advantages:
* low pollution
* reliable
* adjustable
* creates lakes
Disadvantages:
* expensive
* succeptable to droughts
* flood risk
* takes away habitat from fish

33
Q

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of cool burning?

A

Advantages:
* lower risk of dangerous fires
* native plant reproduction
* control of invasive species
* creates more habitat for wildlife
* minimizes the spread of pests and diseases
Disadvantages:
* Can sometimes create a wildfire
* Can negatively affect air quality
* Can negatively affect water quality

34
Q

How does cool burning conserve ecosystems?

A
  • Generates patchy habitats preferred by small animals
  • Prevents wildfires from consuming the land, destroying habitiats and killing animals
35
Q

How can overfishing be managed sustainably?

A

Reducing fishing in certain areas at a time to allow populations to replenish and not using such big fishing nets

36
Q

What is a way that biodiversity and habitat loss can be managed?

A

Reusing agricultural land instead of creating more in order to put the environment before cost and efficiency

37
Q

What are ways to reduce the decline in biodiversity?

A
  1. invest in the environment
  2. stop using rivers & estuaries as “sinks” for pollution
  3. make food affordable
  4. reduce food waste
  5. government regulations
38
Q

What are strategies that were used to allow the recovery of Mountain Gorilla populations?

A

The money from tourism is used to restore gorilla habitats and conservation efforts by multiple communities

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