Ecology - Biomass, Food And Biotechnoogy Flashcards
What are tropic levels
Different stages in the food chain
Labelled 1 to 4
Tropic level one
Producers
Eg plants and algae
Make their own food through photosynthesis
Tropic level 2
Primary consumers
Herbaviors that eat pants and algae
Tropic level 3
Secondary consumers
Canavors that eat primary consumers and secondary consumers
Meat eaters
Trophic level 4
Carnovors that eat other carnivores
Tertiary consummers
Have no predictors
Top of the food chain so known as apex preditors
Decompsoers
E.g bacteria fungi Decompose dead plant or animal material They do this by sectrearing enzymes that break down the dead stuff into small soluble food molecules. These then diffuse into microorganisms Also released nutrients into environment
What does a pyramid of biomass show
The relative mass of each trophic level
If the energy that comes form the sun , how much is transferred for pjotosythesis
1%
How does a plant create its biomass
Uses glucose form photosynthesis to make biological molecules wich make up the plants biomass (mass of living material) biomass stored energy
How is biomass lost through uneaten material
They dont eat eveything. For example may leave the bone so that biomass is not transferred
Some organisms die before they are eaten so their energy isn’t past alone food chain
How is biomass lost through waste products
Dont absorbed all energy so some is released as faeces
Some biomass is converted into other things like energy and heat
Produces waste co2 and water
Urea is another waste substance wich is released in urine when proteins in biomass are broken down
how do you calculate efficiency of biomass transfer
biomass transfer to the next level / biomass transfer at the previous level x 100
what is food security
having enough food to feed the population
name 5 factors that affect food security
population is increasing
as diets change demand for certain foods changes which can already be in scarce supply
farming can be affected by pests and pathagens or changes in environmental conditions
this can result in loss of crop and livstock
sometimes there are not enough people producing food due to high input costs of seeds and mechanary
what is sustanible production
making enough food without using resources faster than they renew
what is overfishing
reducing fish stocks in the oceans so there is less fish for us to eat. It affects the oceans food chains and some species may disapeear.
how can fish stocks be maintained
fishing quotes- limits on the number and size of fish that can be caught in certain areas.
net size- limits on mesh size to reduce the number of discarded fish. larger mesh will allow unwanted fish to escape
how can efficacy of food production be increased
limiting movement
temperature controlled environment
so more energy is available for growth
another thing is high protein foods
underline the positives and negatives of factory farming
positive: higher efficiency , cheaper to buy, helps feed increasing human population
negatives: cruel, low animal welfare, unnatural, disease spreads, energy required to maintain temperatures
what is mycoprotein and what is it use for
protein from fungi. used to make high protein meat substitutes such as quorn.
what fungus is the main source of mycoprotein and how is it made
fusarium. its grown in large vats on glycose syrup with oxygen and nitrogen and other minerals. once ready its purified and dried to make the mycoprotein.
what is genetic engineering
transferring a useful gene from one organism to another
how is Bactria genetically engineered to make human insulin
insulin gene is cut out of a human chromosome using a restriction enzyme. resistiction enzymes recognize sequences of dna at cut at that point. The cut leaes onre dna strand with unpaired bases (sticky end)
a plasmid is cut open using same restriction enzyme, leaving the same sticky end.
the plasmid and the insulin gene are mixed together. ligase(enzyme) is added wich joins the sticky ends to produce recombinant dna wich is inserted into a bacterium.
bacterium grown in a vat and you end u with millions of bacteria that produce insulin
the insulin can be harvested and purifyed to treat ppl with diabetes.
benefits of gm crops
increases yield as they could becomes resistance to pests and diseases or able to grow in more challenging conditions .
may contain nutrients that ppl are missing in their diets.
concerns of gm crops
people go hungry because they cant afford to buy the food. its not cus there is no food. so poverty needs to be tackled first. sometimes the problem is poor soil. fears countries may become dependant on the the companies who sell gm foods.
