Ecosystems of the planet

Question 1

Define ecosystem

Answer 1

the living and non-living components of an envrionment and the interrelationships that exist between them

Question 2

which is living Biotic or Abiotic

Answer 2

biotic

Question 3

Give examples of abiotic and biotic factors and the they are interdependant

Answer 3

Abiotic : weather, climate
Biotic : Plants, animals
These are interconnected, with the biotic components relying and being influenced by abiotic components

Question 4

Where are Polar regions found and what is the climate and the factors that affect it

Answer 4

surrounding the north and south poles between 60- poles
Climate: Extremely cold, very little rainfall
Affecting factors: low angle of sun, half the year in darkness

Question 5

Where are coral reefs found and what is the climate and the factors that affect it

Answer 5

Between the tropics 30 and 30
climate: warm waters
Affecting factors: high conc of sun for curviture,

Question 6

Where are grasslands (T and T) found and what is the climate and the factors that affect it

Answer 6

Temperate between 40-60 degrees, Tropical between 5-30
Tropical Climate: long dry seasons, floods every year, hot
Tropical Affecting factors: when angle with the sun changes this can change conc of sun giving rapid rainfall, due the curve high conc of sun
Temperate climate: hot summers, cold winters, standard rainfall
Temperate Affecting factors: angle and conc of sun, Frontal rainfall

Question 7

Where are tropical rainforests found and what is the climate and the factors that affect it

Answer 7

found on the equator
Cliamte: very high rainfall, very hot, very humid
Affecting factors: due to curviture and sun conc, convectional rainfall at equator

Question 8

Where are Hot desert found and what is the climate and the factors that affect it

Answer 8

found at the tropics
Climate: very hot, hyper arid, very little rainfall
Affecting factors: receiving the hot are from hadleigh cell no rainclouds formed over tropics

Question 9

Where are Temperate forests found and what is the climate and the factors that affect it

Answer 9

found between 40 and 60
Climate: 2nd highest rainfall (high), warm summers frosty winters, humid,
Affecting factors: frontal rainfall, sun conc gives cold winters

Question 10

why aren’t temperate forests RFs

Answer 10

the heat is too sparadic

Question 11

what are the characteristics of flora and fauna in Polar regions and give an example of adaption for each

Answer 11

Flora: very low, large roots, close together, shallow roots
Example: Arctic Willow - low lying roots but many leaves
Fauna: raise young quickly, coats of fur, fat insulation, hibernation during winter
Example: Polar bears - large coats, white to blend in, large feet to not break ice, small ears

Question 12

what are the characteristics of flora and fauna in coral reefs and give an example of adaption for each

Answer 12

Flora: symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae, feed off photosynthesis, calcium carbonate skeleton
Example: Pillar coral - lies in shallow waters with high pillars to be closer to surface
Fauna: shelter in different polyps, large variety
Example: clams - settle on coral bed and filer plankton from seawater

Question 13

what are the characteristics of flora and fauna in grasslands (T and T) and give an example of adaption for each

Answer 13

Temperate
Flora: very fast growing,
Example: common grass - grows at 60cm per day
Fauna: very abilitated for running and moving,
Example: Saiga Antelope - can detect fresh grass, gives birth in twins for productivity while grass is fresh.
Tropical
Flora: can store great amounts of water, small leaves, lack in coulour
Example: Boabab tree - can store 120,000 litres of water to fit with the sparadic rainfall
Fauna: can store water and food, energy preserve
Example: Carmine Bee-Eater - lives in areas of zebras ,elephants, ostrich and Kori Bustard. Sits on their back waiting for insects to be kicked up

Question 14

what are the characteristics of flora and fauna in tropical rainforests and give an example of adaption for each

Answer 14

Flora: suited to their own layer of the rain forest, attempt to run off water (drip tips)
Example: lianas - woody vines that climg on trees for height and nutrients
Fauna: most agile, dangerous, one main defense mechanism
Example: Poison dart frog - brightly coloured to warn off predators, has poison on back and when touched kills instantly

Question 15

what are the characteristics of flora and fauna in Hot deserts and give an example of adaption for each

Answer 15

Flora: thin shrubs, small amount of trees, deep roots
Example: Acacia tree - roots go 15m into the ground to find water supplies
Fauna: most are nocturnal, methods of shelter from sun or hot sand
Example: Meerkats live in underground tunnels to avoid heat of the day

Question 16

what are the characteristics of flora and fauna in Temperate forests and give an example of adaption for each

Answer 16

Flora: growing season of 6-8 months, deciduous trees, not as fast growth, fewer tree species than RF
Example: Oak - grows to 30 - 40m over a long time, sheds dramatically - releases 90000 acorns per year
Fauna: high amount of bird species, adapted to hot summers and cold winters, hibernation and migration
Example: The black bear - heavy coats for cold winters, build up a five inch layer of fat before hibernation, long claws for tree climbing

Question 17

Describe a food web

Answer 17

consists of many food chains in an ecosystem and combines into one web of a biome

Question 18

Describe a food chain

Answer 18

A food chain is a linear network of links in a food web starting from producer organisms and ending at apex predator

Question 19

see page 3 of Y10 Book 1

see page 29 of Y10 Book 1

Answer 19

to practice rain forests

To practice Coral Reefs

Question 20

Explain nutrient cycling in the rain forests

Answer 20

check answers on page 16, Y10, Book 1

Question 21

Explain convectional rainfall in Rain forests

Answer 21

1. Starts with the sun heating ground
2. Warmed air starts to rise
3. Warm air evaportates moisture from lakes, rivers and marshes and plants transpire
4. Warm air after rising, cools, condenses and rains putting water back on ground to do same process

Question 22

Explain nutrient cycling in coral reefs

5 stages

Answer 22

check answers on pg 28 of Y10, Book 1

Question 23

What are the 5 layers of the rain forests and name a characteristic of each

Answer 23

1. Emergents - Where the leaves of the tallest trees are, receiving all the sunlight
2. Canopy - Where the majority of the trees leaves are, sufficient enough that only 3 - 15% of light gets through it
3. Under Canopy - where most liana vines start and grow upwards at 20 m
4. Shrubs - bushes and small trees up to the height of 10 metres
5. Forest floor - where most mammals live and the wide roots like buttress roots are

Question 24

Define inter dependency

Answer 24

The way in which each factor (animals, Plants, soil, climate) in an ecosystem is reliant upon all others

Question 25

Describe a bit of inter dependency within rain forests

Answer 25

look over pg 21 , Y10, book 1

Question 26

Describe how the Congo basin tropical rain forest has value to humans and the planet

Answer 26

Biodiversity -
has one half of remaining elephants in the continent
most of the remaining gorillas
Bonobo and Okapi are reliant on the forest for their survival
Carbon storing -
The plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and produce oxygen
Trees and plants store carbon - estimated that the Congo Basin stores 23 gigatons of carbon

Question 27

What are the threats to the Congo basin
What happens and give facts
4 threats

Answer 27

Logging - Trees being chopped for other uses
Due to logging the Congo Basin could be gone 2100
Concessions at approximately 50 million hectares - goes to highest bidder
Contributes to 3-6% of national GDP
Agriculture - Using the land in the DRC as ground to grow then leaving it when less fertile
Manioc, plantains, bananas, peanuts, palm oil, fruits and veg too
4 million hectares devoted to farming
1% of DRC is agriculture
Mining - 60% of all cobalt comes from the Congo mines
12.5 million employed for it
35,000 kids working to mine cobalt
salary less than $2 a day
Poaching - 62 % of elephants gone since 1980
5 elephants a week are killed for Ivory (tusks) If hunting didn’t exist there would be 10x more elephants
1.7 million tonnes of bush meat annually

Question 28

Evaluate the solutions to the Congo basin RF
Virunga national park solution
and POS + NEG

Answer 28

Virunga national park - A large park to protect gorillas and the trees
7,800 square km
tourist attraction protected by armed rangers
Brings money for jobs and protection
Home to 1/4 of the worlds most critically endangered
NEGATIVES 160 rangers killed while working, brings in money but not enough
POSTIVES Gorillas are now thriving, logging being watched over

Question 29

Evaluate the solutions to the Congo basin RF
Forest stewardship council solution
and POS + NEG

Answer 29

Forest stewardship council - Tells consumers if a product is legally sourced or not
respects the local indigenous people
POSITIVES- 5 million hectares have been certified, have 10,000 product lines in the UK, Tesco have 100,000 product lines
NEGATIVES- Tesco’s small amount of product lines show the small segment of the market is actually covered

Question 30

Evaluate the solutions to the Congo basin RF
World bank funding
and POS + NEG

Answer 30

World bank funding - Help improve the forested landscape, Fight poverty through sustainable solutions
Aim to : Improve rural livelihoods, protect 100,000 hectares of land, reduct green house gas emissions by 4.5 million tonnes of CO2
Have 189 member countries of World bank
POSITIVES - world bank approved $40 million climate trust fund to give help to the DRC GOVT to trial new approaches to improve livelihoods
NEGATIVES - Provide money to government, which can be bad as it has a poor record of corruption- money is lost before it gets to the people that need it.
rural areas can be left behind as big aid is given to urban areas, which accounts for 40% od DRC population.
The burners they are using still have an impact.

Question 31

Describe a bit of inter dependency within Coral reefs

Answer 31

Look over pg 29, Y10, Book 1

Question 32

How does the Great Barrier Reef have value to the planet and Humans

Answer 32

Social -
At least 500 million people rely on coral reefs for food
Coral reefs have been used in the treatment of Cancer, HIV, cardiovascular diseases and so on
Economic - Its estimated that coral reefs provide $375 billion per year around the world in goods and services
Tourism to the GBR generates AU$5-6 billion per year
Environmental - Coral reefs remove and recycle CO2
Home to 25 % of all Marine fish species ( 10% in the GBR alone)
Form natural barriers to protect nearby shore lines

Question 33

What are the threats to biodiversity in the GBR

4 threats

Answer 33

AGRICULTURE - where there has been urban development and incorrect uses within the catchment area. The greatest threats associate with the coastal development are the clearing or modifying of wetlands, mangroves and other coast ecosystems. 50% of Australia’s freshwater wetlands have been degraded, modified or lost. Run off involves fertiliser, sediment and litter - can be ingested by wildlife. Pop growth can increase polution. Long term threat
The COT starfish - Feeds on the polyps of the coral. In small numbers to a good job to the coral reef but with great numbers “sucks the life out of coral reefs.” Agricultural run off provides algae which is food for these starfish. Make corals more susceptible to bleaching
TOURISM - > 2 mil visitors per year. Pollution from boats/ vessels, walking on the reef, sunscreen runoff all have negative impacts. Also brings greater amount of litter.
CLIMATE CHANGE - El nino effect can cause increase in water temp. Climate change gives a higher water temp. a temp rise of 2-3 degrees can put 97% of the reef in the danger zone of bleaching. The raise in temp cause polyps to stress and spit out algae, which provide 90% of their energy so the polyps starve. Corals need a clean 10 - 15 years to recover

Question 34

Evaluate this solution : Removing COT starfish

with ECO + ENV

Answer 34

ECO = not very good due to cost for robots and cost to bile salts. Method of removal takes lots of paid time and bile salts
ENV : disturbs environment but very good for stopping a big threat to polyps

Question 35

Evaluate this solution :Queensland GOVT managing use of the reef
with SOC + ECO + ENV

Answer 35

SOC : Partnership approach and involvement of indigenous people is sustainable.
ECO : not sustainable due to $2 mil spent and negative impact on jobs. Banned dumping and Dredging
ENV : is sustainable - stops run off and stops poaching