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Biology > Higher Level Ecology > Flashcards

Higher Level Ecology Flashcards

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1
Q

What does the pyramid of numbers represent?

A

The number of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain

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2
Q

What does the Pyramid shape tell you?

A

Number of organisms decline as you go up due to large energy losses between each trophic level
Body size of the organism usually increases as you go up a pyramid of numbers

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3
Q

What are the limitations of the pyramids of numbers?

A

They did not take into account the size of the organisms

A huge oak tree may be represented by a narrow rectangle

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4
Q

What are the two main shapes of pyramids?

A

Normal pyramid and inverted pyramid

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5
Q

What factors control populations?

A

Completition
Predation
Parasitism
Symbiosis

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6
Q

What is competition?

A

active struggle between organisms for a resource that is in short supply

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7
Q

What would plants compete for?

A

Space, light, water and minerals

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8
Q

What would animals compete for?

A

Food, water, shelter, territory, mates

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9
Q

What is intra-specific competition and give an example

A

It takes place between members of the same species

Rabbits compete with eachother for food

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10
Q

What is inter specific competition and give an example

A

Occurs between members of different species

Blackbirds and thrushes for insects

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11
Q

How do animals avoid competition?

A

Adapt to their environments, which may involve changes in feeding habitats, camouflage and reproductive strategies

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12
Q

What are the two main types of competition?

A

Contest competition and scramble competition

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13
Q

What is contest competition?

A

Involves an active physical confrontation between two individual organisms

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14
Q

What is scramble competition and give an example

A

All of the competing individuals get some of the resource

Overcrowding of seedlings in flower beds

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15
Q

What does scramble competition cause?

A

Large changes in population sizes and in general reduces the numbers in a population

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16
Q

An adaptive technique to survive competition

A

Blackbird ‘song’ to warn competitors to stay away

Yellow petals of buttercups to attract insect pollinators

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17
Q

What is predation?

A

It’s the catching, killing and eating of another organism

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18
Q

What is a predator?

A

It’s an organism that catches, kills and eats another organism

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19
Q

What is prey?

A

It’s the organism that is eaten by the predator

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20
Q

Adoptions of predators

A

Hawks - excellent eye sight
Ladybirds - strong mouth parts to enable them to chew aphids
Fox - reddish fur for camouflage to avoid detection by rabbits
Long canine teeth to kill prey
Great speed to outrun prey to capture

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21
Q

Adaptions of prey

A

Rabbit -
Digs narrow underground burrows
Long ears - detect predator
White tail - conspicuous warning signal to other rabbits

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22
Q

What is parasitism?

A

It occurs when two organisms of different species live in close association and one organism obtains it’s food from, and to the disadvantage of the other organism

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23
Q

What are the two types of parasites?

A

Exoparasites and endoparasites

24
Q

What are Ectoparasites and example

A

Lives on outside of host, Feed on outside of host eg, mosquito

25
Q

What are endoparasites and example

A

Feed in a living host, bacteria of disease

26
Q

How do parasites differ from predators?

A

Smaller than the host, often attack from within, they’re dependent on the one particular host, don’t kill only do small amount of damage

27
Q

What is symbiosis?

A

Occurs when two organisms of different species live in close association and at least one of them benefits

28
Q

What is mutualism?

A

Form of symbiosis where both organisms benefit from association

29
Q

Example of symbiosis mutualism

A

Nitrogen fixing bacteria and legumes - bacteria provide nitrates for plant to make protein and plant provides carbohydrates and anaerobic conditions

30
Q

How does symbiosis influence human population?

A

Increases number of both organisms

31
Q

What are the factors that contribute to predator-prey interactions

A

Availability of food -increase in prey, increase in predators, prey killed off less food so they decline
Movement of predators

32
Q

Factors affecting human growth

A

War, famine, contraception, disease

33
Q

How do different types of mouth parts reduce competition?

A

They eat different food - or different parts of food

34
Q

Adoration of plants as prey

A

Thorns such as cacti

35
Q

Effects of predation in ecosystem

A

Maintains prey species at sustainable level

Major factor in evolution of prey species

36
Q

List two species from an ecosystem you have studied which are involved in a predator-prey relationship

A

Ladybirds and aphids

37
Q

Draw a graph to show how population numbers fluctuate in a predator-prey relationship and explain fluctuations

A

[page 33 in exam papers]
The number of prey builds up and therefore the number of predators will rise
As a result, there’s more prey being killed and so the number will fall
In turn, this will result in fewer predators and so numbers will fall as they die or move away
Eventually, the number of prey will rise again and cycle will begin again

38
Q

Graph of phytoplankton

A

Page 82

39
Q

Suggest two reasons why the human population increased so rapidly from the mid 1880’s

A

Better living conditions
Better nutrition
Improved medicine

40
Q

Suggest what could happen to biological diversity as the human population continues to increase

A

Inc - more people different

41
Q

Mention three main ways in which waste can be minimised

A

Reduce
Reuse
Recycle

42
Q

What is the role of microorganisms in pollution control

A

Decomposers

43
Q

Name three factors that controls wild populations

A 
Competition 
Predation
Disease
Parasitism
Hunting
44
Q

What deduction can be made in a particular area where the population of a predator did not decline following a big reduction in the population of its main prey

A

Different prey

45
Q

What deduction can be made when mortality levels resulting from infection tend to decline over the years

A

Immunity develops

46
Q

What deduction can be made where some members of the species remain in a general area throughout life and some members are migratory and the mortality levels tend to be higher in the migratory part of the population

A

Hazards encountered on migration

47
Q

What deduction can be made when there is a greater variety of herbaceous plants in areas where grazing species such as rabbits are more plentiful than in areas where grazing species are less plentiful

A

Reduced competition

48
Q

Where are primary producers found in a pyramid of numbers

A

Bottom

49
Q

Construct a simple inverted pyramid of numbers using named examples

A

Robin [small]
Ladybird [kinda big, smaller than aphids]
Aphids [big]
Oak tree [small]

Spider mites [small but not as small as oak tree and smaller than greenfly]
Mites [largest]
Greenfly [larger than oak tree]
Oak tree [smallest]

50
Q

Suggest an alternative to the use of pesticide for controlling the population of a species

A

Biological control

Genetically modified plant

51
Q

When the pesticide killed both the predator and the prey, the prey quickly reinvaded the strawberry fields while their predator returned much slowly, why did this happen?

A

Predator eliminated
Developed resistance to pesticide
Food available

52
Q

Comment on relative sizes due to pyramid of numbers

A 
Broader = smaller it is
Narrower = larger it is
53
Q

If the population of prey decreases suggest a possible consequence for the predators

A

Death, Migration

54
Q

Competition is generally more intense between members of the same species than between members of different species?

A

True

Same niche, same requirements for food, shelter, breeding etc

55
Q

Suggest two reasons why birds migrate

A

Climate
Breed
Food

56
Q

Suggest three possible effects of the disappearance of a plant on the populations of other plants and animals in the ecosystem

A

Animals dependant on plant as good may die or migrate

Biology (36 decks)

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