environmentally part of b6 Flashcards
why can conservation schemes be difficult?
-might require several countries to work together- difficult to arrange and some countries might not be willing to sign up to an agreement
-can be objected by local residents
- can be difficult to monitor things like endangered species
-they cost money
-involve making laws and regulations which can take a long time
what is selective breeding?
mating the best organism to get good offspring
what are some examples of good qualities in selective breeding?
-produces maximum yield- good food production
-good health and disease resistance
-in plants: attractive flowers, nice smell
what are the two issues with inbreeding?
causes health problems because there is more chance of the organism developing harmful genetic disorders because organisms with similar features who might be related are breeded
reduces the gene pool (number of different alleles in a population) because the farmer keeps breeding the best animals or plants which are closely related- inbreeding
what are the basic steps in selective breeding?
-choose parent organisms with the best characteristics
-breed them together
-the best off spring can be selected and bred
-process is repeated over several generations to develop desired traits
what is the abundance of an organism?
how many individuals you find in an area
what is the distribution of an organism?
where an organism is found in a habitat
why do you take samples of organisms?
it’s too time consuming measuring the number and distribution of a species in an area
what are pooters used for?
collecting insects
what are pooters?
-jars that have rubber bungs sealing the top and two tubes stuck through the bung.
you crawl around for a few minutes sucking up as many insects as you can the count how many insects you have collected. do this in a second area and compare the results. spend the same amount of time sampling and in sample areas of the same size.
what are pitfall traps used for?
ground insects
what are pitfall traps?
steep-sided containers that are sunk in a hole in the ground with the top partially open.
leave the trap overnight in your first sample area and insects that fall in can’t get out. try it in a second area and compare results.
what are nets used for?
collecting animals from long grass and water
what is a sweep net?
strong cloth net used for collecting insects from long grass.
sweep the net from left to right and quickly sweep up the net and turn the insects out into a container and count them. repeat in a second area and compare results.
what is a pond net?
a net used for collecting insects (water snails) from ponds or rivers.
you sweep the net along the bottom of the pond or river and then turn the net out into a white tray to count the organisms
what is a quadrat?
a square frame enclosing a known area to compare how common an organism is in two sample areas
what is the capture and recapture method?
you can estimate the size of a population by capturing a sample of the population and marking them and then recapturing another sample and see which ones are marked
what is a key?
a series of different questions that you can use to figure out what an unknown organism is- the questions narrow down to the correct organism
what are keys useful for?
to correctly identify an organism that you have sampled
what is the distribution of organisms affected by?
abiotic and biotic factors
what are abiotic factors?
non living factors
what are four abiotic factors?
temperature
moisture level
light intensity
soil ph
what are some biotic factors?
competition
predators
food availability
pathogens
what are ways to measure abiotic factors?
-therometre- temperature
-light sensor- light intensity
-soil moisture meter- moisture level
-indicator liquid/ electronic PH monitors- soil PH
how do you use indicator liquid to measure soil PH?
water is added to a soil sample and then an indicator liquid is added that changes colour depending on the PH. the colour is then compared to a chart to find the PH of the soil
how do you use electronic PH monitors to measure soil PH?
water is added to the soil sample and an electronic probe is placed into the sample to generate a numerical value for the PH
what are transects used for?
investigating how the distribution of a organism gradually changes across an area
what is a belt transect?
when you sample along the length of a transect using a quadrat
what are kite diagrams used for?
to show the data collected in a belt transect
what does each part of a kite diagram show?
thickness of kite- abundance of each organism
x axis- shows the distance along the transect line
how do human interactions affect our ecosystem?
-we use species for food, raw materials, fuels and medicines.
-deforestation for trees or for space for farming and mining reduces the habit for species and kills species in the process
-when we produce and consume things we create waste (waste chemicals) which can lead to pollution in habitats which can kill animals
-burning fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere which can cause global warming
-global warming can make it too hot or cold in a certain area which might kill a population or they might have to migrate
what is local biodiversity?
number of species in the local area
what is global biodiversity?
the number of species on the entire planet
what are the four main human activities which take land away from animals?
-building
-farming
-dumping waste
-quarrying
this means there is less land available for species to live on
what is the negative impact of woodland clearance?
-done to increase area of farmland
-reduces tree species- reduces biodiversity
-destroys the habitats of other organisms- which will die or migrate- reduces biodiversity
what is monoculture?
when areas of land are used to grow a single crop e.g oil plant plantations.
it can lead to loss is biodiversity as land is cleared to make space for monoculture
what causes pollution?
-toxic chemicals used for farming (fertilisers and pesticides)
-landfill site waste
-sewage and toxic chemicals which can pollute waterways
-smoke and gases released into the atmosphere
what is the impact of hunting?
species are hunted for specific use and if too many individuals are killed it can lead to extinction
- Rhinos are hunted for the horns.
-fishing on a large scale can reduce fish stocks
what is the impact of extinction?
-reduces biodiversity
-can impact food chains
-individuals might rely on a certain species
what are some ways of protecting biodiversity?
schemes which aid to prevent the introduction of harmful species that would threaten the local biodiversity
-protect areas like national parks and nature reserves and restrict the development of the land (e.g building houses on it)
-protect organisms in safe areas away from their natural habitat (e.g a zoo) they can be protected from harmful human activity e.g hunting and habitat destruction
what are 4 ways that biodiversity benefits wildlife and humans?
-protects the human food supply
-ensures minimal damage to food chains- if one species goes extinct another one might also
-provides medicines- medicines mostly come from plants
-providing industrial materials and fuels- wood, paper, oils
what is eco tourism?
tourism that aims to minimise it’s impact on the environment such as having a small amount of tourists visit at one time
what is a benefit of ecotourism?
-brings money into areas which supports the local economy and helps fund conservation work.
-locals are often employed
-it promotes respect for the local environment
-ecotourism companies often run their own conservation schemes
why is biodiversity so important?
It increases the stability of the ecosystem, so that changes are less likely to have adverse affects- if one organism becomes extinct others might aswell
Many species provide specific services for humans , such as pollination
Many of our medicine and drugs come from wild species and organisms
what does inbreeding mean?
an organism that is prone to disease or birth defects because of animals (like siblings) being breeded for a certain characteristic
why is biodiversity important?
it ensures that organisms have enough options for food and shelter- for example if the food that rabbits eat decreases then they will still have other options because of biodiversity
in less biodiverse communities what happens?
the species become more reliant on each other which makes them vulnerable.
what are breeding programmes?
programmes which try to help increase the number of endangered species by trying to breed them together
what are reforestation programmes?
programmes which try to regrow forests and plant trees to increase biodiversity
what is quarrying?
extracting materials from the ground
what is logging?
cutting down trees to use the wood for things like making furniture
what are the three main effects of deforestation?
- there are less trees which can photosynthesise which means not as much carbon dioxide will be taken out of the atmosphere- which means it will be left in the atmosphere- this can contribute to global warming
- forests can be cleared by burning- which releases carbon dioxide that was stored in the trees- this can cause global warming of suffocate animals
- habitats that used to have lots of biodiversity has now been destroyed.
how is peat created?
when plants are fully decomposed in waterlogged earth. the peat therefore had carbon dioxide that was stored by the plants
what are peat bogs usually used for?
post of the time the water is drained from them and used for land for cattle and farmland which releases stored carbon
what is the other effect of using peat?
destroying or using peat destroys habitats of animals which reduces biodiversity.
what two words describe the soil of peat bogs?
-acidic
-waterlogged
how does draining peat bogs contribute to global warming?
-draining of water returns oxygen to the soil
-this means microorganisms can aerobically decompose the organic matter like plants which have stored carbon
-this releases co2
what are the two main greenhouse gases?
-carbon dioxide
-methane
what is climate change?
long term weather patterns
what are the consequences of climate change?
weather events like droughts and hurricanes will become more common and also more severe
sea levels will rise- because high temps will cause ice to melt and when water is heated it expands.
-some species might not be able to get used to changing weather conditions and become extinct