Ecology Flashcards
Abiotic factors
Temperature Rainfall Wind Light intensity Day length
Soil pH
Air and mineral content
Biotic factors
Plants for food and shelter Predators and prey Parasites and pathogens Decomposers Competitors Pollinators
Factors affecting aquatic environments
Light- upper surface of water is light plentiful, where plants are found
Currents and wave action- can damage plants/ detach plants
Salt content- osmoregulation (salty environments may not suit some)
Oxygen concentration- lower than air: plants have to extract from water
Energy flow
Solar energy | Primary producers | Primary consumers | Secondary consumers | Tertiary consumers 10% gained from one to the next 90% lost
Conditions that give rise to an inverted pyramid of numbers
Producer is large eg oak tree
Primary consumer is a parasite
Pyramid of numbers limitations
Scale: very large numbers not considered
Size: not considered (one rose bush can support thousands of greenfly)
Effects of competition on population size
Restricts it
Only successful competitors will survive and reproduce
How animals survive competition
Change food source
Move somewhere else, away from populated areas
How plants survive competition
Trees: grow tall for light adaptive technique
Advantages of preditation
Stabilises the community
Controls numbers
Predators Eliminate the weak
Adaptations of predators
Keen senses
Live and hunt in packs
Camouflage
Adaptations of prey
Protective coat
Camouflage
Staying in large groups
Predator/Prey relationships
- Increase in prey ->increase in predators
- Prey are hunted- decrease. Predators increase slightly
- Prey is decreased, eventually predators will decrease (lack of food)
- Eventually prey increase again
Factors that affect human population numbers
Famine
War
Contraception
Medicine
Famine
Malnutrition and death due to disease or starvation
Improvements: advances in agricultural techniques
Medicine
Antibiotics, vaccines reduce incidence of polio, meningitis
Good sanitation
Improved surgical methods
All reduce death rates
War
Death from war reduces the human population
Increased birth rates often follow
Contraception
Reduced birth rates in developed countries
Population remains constant
Birth rates in developing countries reduced, but still high
Importance of nutrient recycling
Allows elements to be reused or used by other organisms, ensures no long term loss of earths nutrients
Types of pollution
Agricultural
Domestic
Industrial
Agricultural pollution
Cause: overuse of pesticides or insecticides
Problem: kill pollinators
Gets into food chain and harms organisms
Solution: biological pest control(introducing insects to consume pest)
Controlled by legislation
Benefits of conservation
Environments maintained
Endangered species protected
Balance of nature and biodiversity
Example of conservation practice
Fisheries
Larger net sizes (young can escape and reproduce)
Fishing quotas
Waste management
The way we deal with our waste
Problems with waste
May contain pathogens
Attracts rats
Waste water leads to eutrophication
Eutrophication
The enrichment of water with nutrients, causing excessive growth of algae and other plants
Examples of waste management
Agri- slurry pits
Fisheries- waste parts of fish for pig food
Forestry- replanting trees to maintain biodiversity
Role of micro organisms in waste management
Landfill sites (break down in soil) Sewage treatment
Ways to minimise waste
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
