ecology and the enviroment (topic 4)

Question 1

biodiversity

Answer 1

a measure of the range of species living within an ecosystem

Question 2

trophic levels

Answer 2

the feeding levels in a food chain

Question 3

primary consumers

Answer 3

herbivore that only eat plants (producers)

Question 4

secondary consumers

Answer 4

carnivores that eat primary consumers

Question 5

producers

Answer 5

organisms that make their own food by photosynthesis, e.g. plants

Question 6

decomposers

Answer 6

bacteria/fungi that break down dead animals body and waste for energy, using enzymes

Question 7

tertiary consumers

Answer 7

carnivores that eat secondary consumers, they have no predators and so are called the apex predators

Question 8

food chains

Answer 8

show the feeding relationships between organisms, they are organised by trophic levels

Question 9

effects of global warming

Answer 9

• climate change
• loss of habitats
• water levels rise as glaciers melt
• uninhabital enviromenrs due to climate change meaning extintion/migration to more habital areas

Question 10

pyramids of biomass

Answer 10

show the relative biomass at each trophic level

Question 11

deforisation

Answer 11

clearing of an area of trees on a mass scale

Question 12

food webs

Answer 12

collection of different food chains to show how all the organisms in the habitat interact, showing interdependence and therefore how population number changes can affect the entire ecosystem.

Question 13

effects of deforestation - leaching

Answer 13

Soil minerals are not taken up by trees and are instead washed away by rain into nearby bodies of water

Question 14

effects of deforestation - soil erosion

Answer 14

Soil is not held together by tree roots and organic matter, so is more likely to be washed and/or blown away

Question 15

effects of deforestation - water cycle disturbance

Answer 15

The removal of trees reduces the release of water vapour into the atmosphere by transpiration, reducing cloud formation and rainfall

Question 16

effects of deforestation - Carbon cycle disturbance and increased global warming

Answer 16

The removal of trees reduces photosynthesis, so less carbon is removed from the atmosphere and stored in plant tissues

Combustion of felled trees increases release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

Question 17

deforestation

Answer 17

clearing of trees on a large scale, usally to provide land for development/agriculture

Question 18

trophic levels

Answer 18

the level occupied by an organism within a food chain/food web

Question 19

first trophic level

Answer 19

producers- producers convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy stored into their tissues.

Question 20

second trophic level

Answer 20

primary consumers - primary consumers eat producers, transferring energy into their tissues.

Question 21

third trophic level

Answer 21

secondary consumers - secondary consumers eat primary consumers, transferring energy into their tissues.

Question 22

fourth trophic level

Answer 22

tertiary consumers - tertiary consumers eat secondary consumers, transferring energy into their tissues.

Question 23

greenhouse gases

Answer 23

gases that absorb infrared radiation from the sun, trapping it above the earths surface (greenhouse effect) which leads to the increase of the earths temperature (global warming)