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Biology > Ecosystems > Flashcards

Ecosystems Flashcards

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0
Q

Denitrification

A
  • denitrifying bacteria get energy from turning nitrate back to N2
  • found in compost heaps and sewage plants
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1
Q

Nitrogen fixation by the haber process

A
  • N2 + 3H2 NH3
  • lots of energy
  • in fertilisers
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2
Q

Nitrogen fixation

A
  • the conversion of nitrogen from unreactive N2 to a more reactive form
  • ie ammonia or nitrate ions
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3
Q

Nitrogen fixation by living organisms

A
  • prokaryotes & archeans
  • ie rhizobium in soil - mutualistic with roots of leguimous plants
  • rhizobium colonises in root nodules
  • N2 -> NH4+
  • H+ from NADred
  • ATP resp& photosynthesis
  • anaerobic conditions from leghaemoglobin
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4
Q

Fixed nitrogen in plants

A
  • rhizobium
  • used to make amino acids
  • moved and synthesised to make proteins
  • others - N2 from soil active transport through root hairs
  • Nitrate ions-> nitrite ions-> ammonia -> amino acids
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5
Q

Nitrogen in animals

A
  • from diet (proteins + some nucleic acid)
  • broken down in digestion to amino acids
  • absorbed by and transported by blood
  • waste deaminated in liver -> urea
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6
Q

Ammonification

A
  • the production of ammonia
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7
Q

From living organisms to nitrogen in the soil

A
  • bacteria and fungi break down dead organisms with protease
  • some used some broken down to ammonia
  • NH3-> nitrosomonas -> NO2 -> nitrobacteur -> NO3
  • nitrifying bacteria
  • require O2
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8
Q

Nitrogen fixation in the atmosphere

A
  • energy from lightning = nitrogen oxides
  • dissolved is soil from rain
  • stormy countries contribute more
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9
Q

Studying succession

A
  • sand dunes
  • transects
  • line transect (next to tape)
  • belt transect (quadrats at intervals)
  • Continuous transect- record whole length of tape
  • interrupted transect - record at intervals
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10
Q

Succession stages

A
  • pioneer species - abiotic factors
  • they add nitrogen to the soil & produce humus, stabilise the soil and increase biodiversity
  • other plants can then colonise- biotic factors
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11
Q

Pioneer plants

A
  • the first living organism to colonise an area
  • later outcompeted
  • grow sparse, in low nitrate soils and have good disperal techniques
  • alter the soil
  • produce nutrients for decomposers
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12
Q

Seral stages

A
  • the different communities present in succession
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13
Q

Climax community

A
  • the final community of succession
  • normally stable
  • dont change much over time
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14
Q

Secondary succession

A
  • if the area was disturbed

- if soil was already present

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15
Q

Primary succession

A
  • if the original area had no soil

- and no living organisms present

16
Q

Succession

A
  • a directional change in a community over time
17
Q

Maximising energy transfer in animals

A
  • primary consumers - less trophic levels
  • fertiliser - more energy in plant
  • medicines to kill parasites - all energy in animal no lost to parasites
  • indoors - controlled heat& movement
18
Q

Maximising energy transfer in crops

A
  • crops close together - more sunlight on leaves less on floor
  • more H20 - isnt a limiting factor
  • extra minerals ie fertiliser - not a limiting factor
  • herbicides - specific to weeds
19
Q

Monocultures

A
  • grow a single variety of crop in an area
  • all light energy for the plant
  • herbicides - kill weeds
  • pesticides - kill insects
20
Q

Measuring energy transfer

A
  • measure pop size
  • calculate mean dry mass of an organism (killing and drying)
  • calculate energy transfer per gram ( burning and calorimeter)
  • calculate energy content
21
Q

Net primary productivity

A
  • the energy that is left as chemical energy after the plant has supplied its own needs by respiration
22
Q

Gross primary productivity

A
  • The total quantity of energy transferred by plants from sunlight into plant tissue
23
Q

Productivity

A
  • the rate at which plants turn light energy into chemical energy
24
Q

Loss of chemical energy

A
  • breaking down molecules in respiration- energy lost as heat
  • ATP made used for activities
  • not all energy from plants eaten
  • not all the plant digested ie faeces
  • energy lost as heat in digestion
  • overall efficiency = about 10%
25
Q

Loss of light energy

A
  • sunlight missing leaves
  • some wavelengths reflected
  • some pass through and dont hit pigments
  • only some wavelengths absorbed
  • energy lost during photosynthesis
26
Q

Decomposers

A
  • feed on detrius
27
Q

Detritus

A
  • organic matter in dead organisms and wate material

- ie dead leaves/faeces/ urine

28
Q

Food web

A
  • the interrelationships between food chains
29
Q

Trophic level

A
  • the stages of a food chain at which an organism eats
30
Q

Food chain

A
  • the way in which energy flow from
    producer to consumer
  • may contain multiple consumers ie primary/secondary/tertiary
31
Q

Consumer

A
  • an organism that obtains its energy from organic compunds
  • ie carbs, fats & proteins
  • all animals and fungi - consume mainly plants
32
Q

Producers

A
  • an organism that transfers light/ inorganic energy into organic molecules ie carbs
  • and supply the rest of the ecosystem
33
Q

Abiotic factors

A
  • non-living components of the enviroment

- ie temperature/light intensity/PH/wind speed/O2 conc/CO2 conc/ water availability/soil

34
Q

Competition

A
  • in which 2 organisms both require something which is in short supply
35
Q

Parasitism

A
  • one organism (the parasite) lives in close association with an organism of another species
  • and does it harm
36
Q

Mutualism

A
  • a close relationship between 2 organisms where both benefit
37
Q

Biotic factor

A
  • factors that involve other living organisms

- ie feeding (on plants)/predation/competition/parasitism

38
Q

Ecosystem

A
  • relatively self contained system including all the living organisms and the enviroment interacting with each other

Biology (10 decks)

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