Ecology and the Environment Flashcards
What is a population?
The number of organisms from a particular species in a given area.
What is a community?
All of the different species of plants and animals in a given area.
What is a habitat?
A place where an organism, or group of organisms live.
What is an ecosystem?
All of the organisms in a given area AND the habitat in which they live.
What equipment is used to measure the population of plants in a given area?
Quadrat
What is the name for organisms at the start of a food chain?
Producers
What is the name for the different levels in the food chain?
Trophic levels
Are primary consumers herbivores or carnivores?
Herbivores
Why is there rarely more than 3 or 4 levels in a food chain?
Because energy is lost at each trophic level.
How is energy lost at each trophic level?
Respiration (for movement, keeping warm etc.) and feces.
What is a food web?
A combination the different food chains in an ecosystem.
What is a pyramid of biomass?
A measure of the species present in food chain by biological mass rather than population size.
What is a pyramid of numbers?
A measure of the number of each species in a food chain.
What do the arrows in a food chain represent?
The transfer of energy between organisms.
Describe the role of bacteria in the carbon cycle.
They decompose dead matter, and release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through respiration.
How is carbon removed from the atmosphere and incorporated into living things?
Through photosynthesis which converts carbon dioxide to glucose. This is passed to consumers when they feed on plants.
What is the name of the process that returns carbon to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide?
Respiration
Name the main greenhouse gases.
Water vapour, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, CFCs
Name 2 processes carried out by humans that contribute to the greenhouse effect
Burning fossil fuels, deforestation, cattle farming
