Organisation Of An Ecosystem

Question 1

Habitat -🟠

Answer 1

The place where an organism lives

Question 2

Population🟠

Answer 2

All the organisms of one species living in a habitat

Question 3

Comunity🟠

Answer 3

The population of different species living in a habitat

Question 4

Abiotic factors🟠

Answer 4

Non living factors of the environment eg temperature
• light intensity
• temperature
• moisture levels
• soil pH and mineral content
• wind intensity and direction
• carbon dioxide levels for plants
• oxygen levels for aquatic animals.

Question 5

Boitic factors🟠

Answer 5

Living factors of the environment, e.g food
Biotic (living) factors which can affect a community are:
• availability of food
• new predators arriving
• new pathogens
• one species outcompeting another so the numbers are no longer sufficient to breed.

Question 6

Ecosystem🟠

Answer 6

An ecosystem is the interaction of a community of living organisms (biotic) with the non-living (abiotic) parts of their environment.

Question 7

What do organisms need to survive and reproduce?

Give examples:🟠

Answer 7

supply of materials from their surroundings and from the other living organisms there:
Eg plants need light, space, water and mineral ions
Animals need territory, food, water and mates

Question 8

What do organisms often do for terrirtory, food, water ect🟠

Answer 8

Compete

Question 9

What is interdependence?🟠

Answer 9

If one species is removed it can affect the whole community.

Question 10

What are some examples of things which organisms depend on each other for?🟠

Answer 10

Within a community each species depends on other species for food, shelter, pollination, seed dispersal etc.

Question 11

What is a stable comunity?🟠

Answer 11

A stable community is one where all the species and environmental factors are in balance so that population sizes remain fairly constant.

Question 12

Abiotic (non-living) factors which can affect a community are:🟠

Answer 12

light intensity
• temperature
• moisture levels
• soil pH and mineral content
• wind intensity and direction
• carbon dioxide levels for plants
• oxygen levels for aquatic animals.

Question 13

Biotic (living) factors which can affect a community are:🟠

Answer 13

• availability of food
• new predators arriving
• new pathogens
• one species outcompeting another so the numbers are no longer sufficient to breed.

Question 14

What are the producers of biomass for life on Earth ?

Answer 14

Photosynthetic organims

Question 15

What do producers do?

Examples …

Answer 15

All food chains begin with a producer which synthesises molecules. This is usually a green plant or alga which makes glucose by photosynthesis.

Question 16

What are predators

Answer 16

Consumers that kill and eat other animals

Question 17

What are prey

Answer 17

eaten are prey

Question 18

What is the relationship between predators and prey in a stable ecosystem

Answer 18

In a stable community the numbers of predators and prey rise and fall in cycles.

Question 19

Why are predator prey diagrams drawn out in cycles?

Answer 19

It takes a while for one population to respond to changes in the other population

Question 20

Describe a food chain

Answer 20

Producers are eaten by primary consumers, which in turn may be eaten by secondary consumers and then tertiary consumers

Question 21

What does the water cycle provide for plants and animals?

Answer 21

The water cycle provides fresh water for plants and animals on land before draining into the seas

Question 22

Explain how the water cycle works

Answer 22

Energy from the sun makes water evapourate from the land and sea, turing it into water vapour. Water also ecapourates from plants (transpiration).

Th water vapour is carried upwards (as warm air rises). When it get higher it cool s condenses and forms clouds.

Water falls fron the clouds as precipitation onto land as fresh water for plants and animals

It drains into the sea before the whole process begins again

Question 23

What does the carbon cycle do

Answer 23

The carbon cycle returns carbon from organisms to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide to be used by plants in photosynthesis.

Question 24

Explain the carboncycle stsrting from green plants

Answer 24

Co2 is removed from the atmosphere by green plants and algea during photosynthesis. The carbon is used to make glucose which can be turned into carbohydrates, fats and protiens that make up the bodies and plants algea.

Some of the carbon is returned through respiration

When plants and algea are eaten some carbon becomes fats becomes fats and protiens in animals bodies. The carbon then moves through the food chain.

When the animals respire some carbon is returned a co2

When plants animals and algea die, detritus feeders and micro orgsnisms feed on thier remans

Co2 is returned when these organism respire

Animlas also produce waste which is boken down from by detrius feeder and microorganism

The cumbustion of wood and fossil fuels also releases c02 back into the air

So the carbon energy is constantly being cycled from the air through food chains and evtually back into the air again

Question 25

What happens to all materials in the living world?

Answer 25

All materials in the living world are recycled to provide the building blocks for future organisms.

For example plants turn carbon oxygen and hydrogen nitrogen from the soil and air into complex compounds which get passed up the food chain and return as waste ptoducts when an organism dies and decays (broken down by microorganisms). Decay puts stuff such as minerals ions (nitrates) back into the soil

Question 26

Whats are microrganisms role in cycling materials through an ecosystem?

Answer 26

returning carbon to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and mineral ions to the soil.

Question 27

Explain how different factors affect the rate of decay of biological material

Answer 27

Microoganisms such as fungi, detritus feeders, bacteria require certain factors

-Temperature
Warmer temperatures increase the rate of decay because they increase the rate that tge enzymes involved in decomposistion work at. However if the temperature is to hot though decomposition slows down or stops because enzymes are denatured and the organism dies
Really cold temperatures slow the rate of decomposition

-Oxygen avliablty
Many organisms need oxygeh to respire which is vitao for life. The organisms involved in anaerobic decay don’t need oxygen though

-water avaliablity
Decay takes place faster in moist environments because the organisms involved in decay need water to carry put biolgical process

-Number of decay organisms
The more microoganisms and detritus feeders there are, the faster decompistion happenes

Question 28

What are microrganisms

Answer 28

fungi, detritus feeders, bacteria

Question 29

What do gardeners and farmers try to provide for decay of waste biological mertial?
What is produced ?

Answer 29

Gardeners and farmers try to provide optimum conditions for rapid decay of waste biological material. The compost produced is used as a natural fertiliser for growing garden plants or crops.

Question 30

Wgat does aenerobic decay produce

Answer 30

Methane gas

Question 31

What is bio gas

Answer 31

A fuel (which can be burnt) mainly made up of methane

Question 32

Explain biogas: how is it made? What needs to be kept at a constant temp? What happens to the gas?

Answer 32

Biogas is made in a simple fermenter called a digester
Biogas generators need to be kept at a constant temp to keep the microrganisms respiring
Biogas can’t be stored as liquid (to high pressure) so it is used stright away

Question 33

What can biogas be used to produce

Answer 33

Biogas generators can be used to produce methane gas as a fuel.