Module Four

Question 1

What is predation?

Answer 1

a predator-prey relationship is a type of feeding relationship where the predator obtains its nutrients by killing and eating another animal.

Question 2

What is competition?

Answer 2

When two or more organisms have one or more valuable, potentially limited resources in common.

Question 3

What is allelopathy?

Answer 3

The production of specific biomolecules by one plant that can be beneficial or detrimental to another plant.

Question 4

What is interspecific competition?

Answer 4

The competition between species for shared resources such as space, food and nesting sites.

Question 5

What is intraspecific competition?

Answer 5

a competition between individuals within the same species.

Question 6

What is symbiosis?

Answer 6

When two organisms live together in a close relationship that is beneficial to at least one of them.

Question 7

What are the three symbiotic relationships?

Answer 7

• Mutualism: both benefitted.
• Commensalism: one benefitted, one neutral
• Parasitism: one benefitted, one harmed.

Question 8

What is a keystone species?

Answer 8

an organism that helps hold the system together.

Question 9

What is a food chain?

Answer 9

A link of organisms according to their feeding relationships. A food chain displays a flow of energy.

Question 10

What is a niche?

Answer 10

The part of an ecosystem that an organism occupies.

Question 11

What is the competitive exclusion principle?

Answer 11

two species cannot have the same niche in an ecosystem. This means that two species cannot use the same resource in the same space at the same time.

Question 12

What is the consequence of predation?

Answer 12

Predator-prey relationships are interconnected, with a decrease in predators leading to an increase in prey, which in turn reduces predators, thereby perpetuating the cycle of predator-prey interactions.

Question 13

what is the consequences of competition?

Answer 13

Competition between species for resources affects the reproduction and survival rate. Abundance of species will decrease if their food source decreases.

Question 14

What is the consequence of symbiosis?

Answer 14

symbiosis allows an increase in biodiversity and therefore more resilient ecosystems.

Question 15

What is the consequence of disease?

Answer 15

this may alter the balance of food webs. affected species will suffer a decline and this has consequences for both their prey and those that predate them.

Question 16

What are random quadrats used to measure?

Answer 16

abundance of plants or immobile animals.

Question 17

What are transects used to measure?

Answer 17

Line: distribution of plants or immobile animals.
Belt: distribution and abundance of plants or immobile animals.

Question 18

What is capture-recapture used to measure?

Answer 18

measure the abundance of highly mobile or difficult to observe animals.

Question 19

What are the six main mass extinction events?

Answer 19

1) Ordovician - Silurian Extinction (440 million years ago) 86% loss
2) Late Devonian Extinction (365 million years ago) 75% loss
3) Permian - Triassic Extinction (252 million years ago) 96% loss
4) Triassic-Jurassic Extinction (201.3 million years ago) 80% loss
5) Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction (66 million years ago) 60-76%
6) Holocene Extinction (11 700 years ago-present)

Question 20

How did temperature affect the Permian Mass Extinction?

Answer 20

The Guadalupian Epoch and Lopingian Epoch experienced high temperatures of 25-28°C, followed by a drop to 22-24°C by the end of the Lopingian Epoch. Some hypotheses suggest that these temperatures were too warm for invertebrates, with only those specialized for high temperatures surviving. Photosynthetic symbionts may have been unable to survive higher ocean temperatures.

Question 21

How did the carbon cycle affect the Permian Mass Extinction?

Answer 21

The carbon cycle underwent significant changes around 500,000-1,000,000 years before the end of the Permian Period and entered the Induan Age. These changes coincided with two extinction events, suggesting a cause-and-effect relationship. Ozone depletion, caused by temporary sterility in pine trees, may have caused Earth’s largest mass extinction. Carbon isotope records suggest a disrupted biological cycle, with high 12C trapped in Permian sediments due to oceanic anoxia caused by Siberian flood basalt eruptions.

Question 22

How did methane producing microbes affect the Permian Mass Extinction?

Answer 22

Research suggests that the rapid blooming of Methanosarcina, an archaea capable of producing methane, may have contributed to Earth’s rising ocean temperatures and altering the carbon cycle. This increase in methane led to warming temperatures, ocean acidification, and other changes. Geologic evidence suggests that the uptake of carbon dioxide in the oceans and deposition of carbon in ocean sediments was more significant than the Siberian Traps eruptions alone.

Question 22

How did volcanic activity affect the Permian Mass Extinction?

Answer 22

The Siberian Traps are huge volcanic explosions that occurred in what is now Siberia. Large volumes of lava, carbon dioxide (CO2), and other gases were released into the atmosphere during these eruptions, which had a major impact on the ecosystem and caused global warming.

Question 23

How did the formation of Pangea affect the Permian Mass Extinction?

Answer 23

Pangaea, formed in the Permian, significantly reduced the area of shallow marine environments, which were the most productive parts of the oceans and produced most of the planet’s oxygen. This decrease in habitat led to a decrease in food availability for marine organisms. The formation of Pangaea may have impacted ocean circulation, nutrient circulation, and global weather patterns, ultimately impacting the availability of oxygen and food for marine life.

Question 23

What is metamorphic rock?

Answer 23

Rocks formed when existing rocks are exposed to extreme heat or pressure, causing physical or chemical changes.

Question 23

what are igneous rock?

Answer 23

Rocks formed when magma or lava spools and crystallises.

Question 23

What is sedimentary rock?

Answer 23

rocks formed when small particles of weathered rock are compacted into layers.

Question 23

How to Aboriginal Rock Painting’s support evolution?

Answer 23

Indigenous Australian rock paintings, dating back 28 000 years, provide crucial evidence for understanding ecosystem changes in Australia. These paintings reveal the arrival of people, their environments, adaptation to climate change on local flora and fauna. Radiometric dating methods are used to provide accurate dates.

Question 24

How has iron banded rock formed?

Answer 24

Appearance of cyanobacteria - increase in oxygen concentration - lead to the precipitation of insoluble iron oxide - forming an iron rich layer - build up of oxygen - large scale death of cyanobacteria and subsequent dispositions of iron-poor sediments.

Question 25

What evidence can we get from ice-core drilling?

Answer 25

past air temperatures, precipitation rates and atmospheric gases.