Ecosystems

Question 1

Ecosystem

Answer 1

All the biotic and abiotic features of an area and how they are interrelated.

Question 2

Interrelationship

Answer 2

How multiple things are connected to each other.

Question 3

Interdependence

Answer 3

How two or more things depend on each other.

Question 4

Give some examples of abiotic features of an ecosystem.

Answer 4

Soil
Climate
Rivers
Sun
Minerals

Question 5

Biome

Answer 5

An ecosystem on a global scale. (7 major biomes).

Question 6

What does the nutrient cycle show?

Answer 6

How nutrients move through an ecosystem.

Question 7

Nutrients

Answer 7

A substance that provides nourishment essential for organisms to live and grow.

Question 8

Leeching

Answer 8

When water washes nutrients out of the soil.

Question 9

What factor determines which type of ecosystem forms?

Answer 9

Climate (the long term pattern of weather, based on an average over 30 yrs, such as the av. rainfall or temp we expect each month).

Question 10

Tundra ecosystems

Answer 10

-found at high latitudes
-countries like Canada and Alaska
-cold winters and brief summers
-little rainfall
-vegetation includes mosses, grasses, and low shrubs as growing conditions are difficult
-permafrost (layer of permanently frozen ground)

Question 11

Boreal forest ecosystems

Answer 11

-also known as ‘taiga’ ecosystems
-found 50 to 60° N
-winters are cold and dry
-summers are mild and moist
-vegetation = coniferous trees (evergreen, and have needles).

Question 12

Temperate Deciduous Forest ecosystems

Answer 12

-found at the mid-latitudes
-countries include the UK
-4 distinct seasons
-warm summers, relatively mild winters
-rainfall all year round
-deciduous trees which loose their leaves in the winter months to cope in colder weather (no photosynthesis)

Question 13

Hot deserts

Answer 13

-found between 15 and 35° N and S of the equator
-little rainfall (under 250mm of rainfall per year)
-hot during the day, cold at night (extreme diurnal range)
-vegetation = shrubs and trees which are sparsely distributed
-infertile, sandy soil

Question 14

Grassland ecosystems

Answer 14

-two types

-Savannah grasslands
-located between the tropics
-distinct dry and wet seasons, though rainfall is still relatively low
-most vegetation = grasses, with a few scattered trees

-Temperate grasslands
-found at higher latitudes
-less rainfall
-vegetation = just grasses

Question 15

Tropical rainforest ecosystems

Answer 15

-located around the equator, near the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn
-hot and wet all year round
-areas of lush forest with dense canopies forming distinct layers

Question 16

Polar ecosystems

Answer 16

-found around the North and South poles.
-cold, icy, and dry
-not much grows at all
-remain dark for several months a year
-this means the growing season is very short (about 2 months)

Question 17

What can the organisms in an ecosystem be classed as?

Answer 17

Producers - use sunlight energy to produce food (via photosynthesis)

Consumers - get their energy by eating other organisms (which can be either producers or other consumers, hence primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary consumers all exist)

Decomposers - get their energy by breaking down dead material (dead producers like fallen leaves or dead consumers like animal remains) e.g bacteria, worms, fungi

Question 18

Food chain vs food web

Answer 18

A food chain is an arrangement of organisms in an ecosystem to show what eats what, and thereby the direction in which energy transfers in the ecosystem.

On the other hand, a food web is a more complex diagram showing how lots of food chains overlap, and thereby the many ways in which energy is transferred through an ecosystem.

Question 19

Why does the biomass decrease as you move up a level in a food chain?

Answer 19

-Each organism is expending energy through exertion. (movement, respiration).

-Only parts of the organism is eaten.

Question 20

Biomass

Answer 20

Organic material from plants and animals (which can be used as energy).

Question 21

All the organisms in a food chain/web are interrelated. This means that…which means that…

Answer 21

…if one part changes, it affects all the other parts dependant on it…any changes to an ecosystem can have a knock-on effect (potentially critical).

Question 22

Slapton Ley (UK ecosystem, small-scale)

Answer 22

Slapton Ley is a freshwater lagoon, separated from the sea by a shingle barrier (bar). It is located in South Devon, in the SW of England. The lagoon is a Site of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a National Nature reserve (NNR).This means that the government has recognised it as a vulnerable ecosystem, which means that it is protected from over- development. The reed beds provide a habitat for many plants and animals, which means it is a highly biodiverse ecosystem.

Question 23

What is an example of a food chain in Slapton Ley reed bed?

Answer 23

Waterlily → Water Boatman → Stickleback →Heron

Question 24

What is an example of a food web in Slapton Ley river bed?

Answer 24

Common reed
↙ ↘
Moth Larva Water
Beetle
↓ ↓
Dragonfly larva
Dragonfly
↘ ↙
↳ Eel Frog ↲
↘ ↙
Bittern

Question 25

The nutrient cycle

Answer 25

The Nutrient Cycle is a repeating cycle showing the movement of nutrients through an ecosystem.

Energy from biomass releases into the litter store when biotic parts of the ecosystem die.

The nutrients are then released into the soil as decomposers break down the litter.

These nutrients are then uptaken by more biotic parts of the ecosystem, and the cycle starts again.

Question 26

Interdependence in the Slapton Ley Reed bed ecosystem.

Answer 26

The reed beds of Slapton Ley are an interdependent ecosystem. This means that all its components depend on one another, which means that any change to one component can have a knock- on effect on the rest of the ecosystem (it could be a human action, or a natural event that causes this change).

Question 27

Natural changes to the Slapton Ley ecosystem. (temperature)

Answer 27

High average temperatures in the last 10 years have increased algae growth on the surface of the lagoon. This means that the amount of light entering the lagoon has decreased, which means that waterweed plant are more likely to die because they cannot photosynthesise as efficiently as before. This may lead to a decrease in water beetle numbers, as they’d have less food to eat, which may lead to a decline in fish and eel populations also.

Question 28

Natural changes to the Slapton Ley ecosystem. (erosion)

Answer 28

The shingle bar of Slapton Ley is being eroded by the sea. If it breaks through, the freshwater lagoon will be contaminated by seawater. This means that sticklebacks will die out as they are not well adapted to the saline water, which means the population of perch may also decline.

Question 29

Human-induced changes to the Slapton Ley reed bed ecosystem.

Answer 29

People used to overfish stickleback here. This meant that the population of perch also declined as their food source was reduced dramatically. However, the number of water boatman may have risen as there were fewer stickleback to hunt them.

In 2005, fishing was banned at Slapton ley. The number of sticklebacks would’ve risen, therefore perch numbers would’ve inclined but its prey, water boatman, would’ve declined in number.