Ecology (B15-17) Flashcards
What is an ecosystem?
The interaction of a community of living organisms with their non-living environment
What do plant compete for?
- Water/mineral ions
- Sunlight
- Space
What do animals compete for?
- Food
- Mates
- Territory
What does it mean if a community is stable?
All the biotic and abiotic factors are in balance, so populations remain fairly constant
What are extremophiles?
Organisms that thrive in extreme conditions (high temperature, pressure, salinity, etc)
Name an example of an extremophile
Bacteria living in deep sea vents
What is a producer?
An organism that produces biomass (food) by synthesising molecules
What are primary consumers?
Organisms that eat producers
What are secondary consumers?
Organisms that eat primary consumers
What are tertiary consumers?
Organisms that eat primary and secondary consumers
Write a practical for estimating the population size of an organism
- Measure out a 20m by 20m area
- Throw the quadrat randomly
- Count no. of organisms
- Repeat 10 times
- Calculate total population size with equation
Total area/Area sampled X No. counted
Describe three ways seeds are adapted for dispersal
- Winged seeds (wind)
- Seeds in fruit (through animals)
- Sticky seeds (on animals)
How are transects used to estimate population size?
A tape measure is stretched out from one area to another and quadrats are placed at regular intervals
Write a method to investigate the rate of decay of milk
- Fill a test tube with 5 cm^3 lipase solution and label “Amylase”
- Fill another test tube with cresol red, 5 cm^3 milk and 7cm^3 sodium carbonate solution and label “Milk”
- Place a thermometer into the milk test tube
- Place both tubes into a 20°C water bath
- Wait 5 minutes
- Use a pipette to transfer 1 cm^3 lipase into the milk and start a stopwatch
- When indicator turns from purple to yellow, stop timing
- Repeat at different temperatures
List three ways biodiversity is maintained by humans
- Breeding programmes
- Reducing deforestation
- Protecting rare habitats
