ecology and human influences on the enviroment

Question 1

Ecosystem

Answer 1

A distinct, self-supporting system of organisms interacting with each other and with the physical environment.

Question 2

Ecology

Answer 2

The study of the interactions among organisms and their environment

Question 3

Abiotic

Answer 3

All the non-living components in an ecosystem

Question 4

Biotic

Answer 4

All the living components in an ecosystem

Question 5

Habitat

Answer 5

The place where an organism lives

Question 6

Population

Answer 6

All of the organisms of one species that live in the same place at the same time

Question 7

Community

Answer 7

All the populations of all the species that live in the same ecosystem at the same time (all the biotic parts)

Question 8

Species

Answer 8

A group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring

Question 9

Biodiversity

Answer 9

The amount of variation shown by organisms in an ecosystem. The measure of the number and abundance of each species.

Question 10

Abundance

Answer 10

A count, the number of individuals

Question 11

Species richness

Answer 11

The number of different species

Question 12

Species evenness

Answer 12

The relative abundance of each species

Question 13

Why is high biodiversity good

Answer 13

Makes sure ecosystems are stable because species depend on each other for eg. shelter and food.

Question 14

Food chain

Answer 14

Shows how energy is transferred between organisms

Question 15

Which abiotic factors could reduce the population of an organism

Answer 15

Temp, PH, O2

Question 16

Which biotic factors could reduce the population of an organism

Answer 16

Predators or bacteria

Question 17

Tropic levels names

Answer 17

1. Producer
2. Primary consumer
3. Secondary
4. Tertiary
   (Decomposers)

Question 18

How much energy is lost at each level in a food chain

Answer 18

90%

Question 19

How much energy is transferred from each level of a food chain

Answer 19

10%

Question 20

Why is energy lost at each step of a food chain

Answer 20

Not all is eaten, egestion, excretion, heat/respiration/movement

Question 21

Mean number of organisms per quadrant

Answer 21

Total number of organisms/ number of quadrats

Question 22

Producer

Answer 22

An organism which produces its own food through photosynthesis

Question 23

Consumers

Answer 23

Organisms that eat other organisms

Question 24

How is CO produced

Answer 24

When fossil fuels burn with insufficient oxygen

Question 25

Effect of CO on your body

Answer 25

It irreversibly binds with the haemoglobin in RBC and from carboxyhaemoglobin. The blood can’t carry oxygen.

Question 26

Greenhouse gases

Answer 26

methane, co2, nitrous oxide, CFCs, water vapour

Question 27

Acid rain effect on lakes

Answer 27

PH level rises and ecosystems are effected

Question 28

leaching

Answer 28

Where mineral ions are washed out of the soil by rain

Question 29

Eutrophication

Answer 29

The accumulation of nutrients in water, which leads to the reduction of oxygen levels and the death of aquatic life.

Question 30

Which pyramids are always the right shape

Answer 30

Pyramids of biomass and energy

Question 31

What represents useful energy in a food chain

Answer 31

Biomass/growth (10%)

Question 32

Energy efficiency equation

Answer 32

Useful energy/total energy input X 100

Question 33

effect of nitrous oxide on global warming

Answer 33

green house gas so traps the heat in the Earth’s atmosphere which results in global warming

Question 34

nitrogen fixing organism

Answer 34

nitrogen fixing bacteria, living in soil and root nodules

Question 35

decomposition organisms

Answer 35

bacteria and fungi (decomposers)

Question 36

nitrification organism

Answer 36

nitrifying bacteria (in the soil)

Question 37

denitrification organism

Answer 37

denitrifying bacteria

Question 38

nitrogen fixing bacteria role

Answer 38

nitrogen gas—>ammonium—>proteins (ammonification)

Question 39

decomposers role

Answer 39

turn waste into ammonium

Question 40

nitrifying bacteria role

Answer 40

ammonium—>nitrites—>nitrates (nitrification)

Question 41

denitrifying bacteria role

Answer 41

turn nitrates into nitrogen gas

Question 42

importance of nitrifying bacteria for the fertility of soils

Answer 42

turn ammonium into nitrates, so plants can take in the nitrates to make proteins and grow

Question 43

importance of decomposers in recycling

Answer 43

turn waste into ammonium, so it can be turned into nitrite and nitrate

Question 44

assimilation

Answer 44

when plants and animals incorporate the mineral ions or products of digestion into their body to make their own DNA molecules (eg. nitrates into amino acids)

Question 45

how is carbon monoxide produced

Answer 45

incomplete combustion

Question 46

how is sulfur dioxide produced

Answer 46

burning sulfur impurities in fossil fuels

Question 47

how does acid rain form

Answer 47

sulfuric and nitric acid lower the PH of the rain

Question 48

biological consequences of acid rain

Answer 48

-acidification of lakes (kills wildlife and disrupts food webs) -kills plants (and in other countries) -acidification of soil (important mineral ions leach out of the soil and inhibits trees from taking in mineral ions effectively)

Question 49

greenhouse gas

Answer 49

atmospheric gas that absorbs infrared light

Question 50

eg. of human activities that increase the release of greenhouse gases

Answer 50

-travel and burning of fossil fuels, deforestation (CO2) -eating meat and dairy (methane) -use of aerosols (CFCs) -fuel combustion (nitrous oxide)

Question 51

eg. of consequences of global warming

Answer 51

-ocean temp rising -change in or loss of habitats -extreme weather

Question 52

biological consequences of sewage water pollution

Answer 52

sewage contains pathogens which cause diseases, and lower the oxygen level in the water so wildlife dies

Question 53

eutrophication consequences

Answer 53

1. leaching of excess nitrates 2. algae growth 3. algae block out sunlight 4. plants in the water can’t photosynthesise and die (O2 decreases) 5. bacteria decompose dead plants and use up O2 6. animals die from low O2

Question 54

deforestation

Answer 54

the destruction of forests to make the land available for other uses

Question 55

biological consequences of deforestation

Answer 55

-more CO2 (contributes to global warming) -reduction in biodiversity (food and habitats) -removes mineral ions -soil erosion (no roots to keep it together) -disruption of water cycle (water not absorbed from the soil)

Question 56

evapotranspiration

Answer 56

the water that evaporates from the land and wet vegetation, and the water lost by transpiration

Question 57

transpiration

Answer 57

the loss of water from the stomata in the leaves