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GCSE BIOLOGY > P2- Ecology > Flashcards

P2- Ecology Flashcards

1
Q

What is an ecosystem?

A

The interaction of a community of living organisms (biotic) with the non-living (abiotic) parts of their environment

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2
Q

What is a habitat?

A

The place where an organism lives

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3
Q

What is a population?

A

All the members of a single species living within a geographical area

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4
Q

What is a community?

A

All of the different organisms living in a habitat

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5
Q

What is a species?

A

A type of organism that is the basic unit of classification

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6
Q

What is an organism?

A

A living thing (animal, plant, bacteria)

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7
Q

What is competition?

A

-Plants and animals have to compete for limited resources
-The best adapted plants and animals survive and win

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8
Q

What do organisms require in order to survive and reproduce?

A

A supply of materials from their surroundings and from the other living organisms there

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9
Q

4 things plants have to compete for

A

-Light
-Space
-Water
-Mineral ions

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10
Q

3 things animals have to compete for

A

-Food
-Mates
-Territory

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11
Q

What is interdependence?

A

-Within a community, each species depends on other species for food, shelter, pollination, seed dispersal etc
-If one species is removed it can affect the whole community

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12
Q

What is a stable community?

A

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

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13
Q

What are abiotic factors?

A

Non living factors of the environment

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14
Q

7 examples of abiotic factors

A

-Temperature
-Light intensity
-Moisture levels
-Soil pH and mineral content
-Wind intensity and direction
-Carbon dioxide levels (for plants)
-Oxygen levels (for aquatic animals)

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15
Q

How can abiotic factors affect the size of populations in a community?

A

-A change in environment could be an increase or decrease in an abiotic factor
-These changes affect the size of population
-This means they can also affect the population sizes of other organisms that depend on them

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16
Q

What are biotic factors?

A

Living factors of the environment

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17
Q

5 examples of biotic factors

A

-Availability of food
-New predators arriving
-New pathogens
-One species out competing another (numbers are no longer sufficient to breed)

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18
Q

How can biotic factors affect the size of populations in a community?

A

-A change in environment could be the introduction of a new biotic factor
-These changes can affect the size of populations in a community
-This can have knock-on effects because of interdependence

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19
Q

What do organisms have that enable them to survive in the conditions they normally live in?

A

Adaptations/Features

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20
Q

3 types of adaptations

A

-Structural
-Behavioural
-Functional

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21
Q

What is structural adaptation?

A

Features of an organism’s body structure

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22
Q

Examples of structural adaptation

A

-Coloured fur (camouflage)
-Thick/thin layer of fat (retain/lose heat)
-Sharp teeth and claws (animals)
-Spikes (plants)

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23
Q

What is behavioural adaptation?

A

Ways that organisms behave

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24
Q

Examples of behavioural adaptation

A

-Animals working in a pack to hunt
-Plants shoot grows quickly towards the sun (photosynthesis)
-Migrating to warmer climates during the winter

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25
Q

What is functional adaptation?

A

Things that go on inside an organism’s body that can be related to processes like reproduction and metabolism

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26
Q

Examples of functional adaptation

A

-Snakes venom (animals)
-Nettle poisons (plants)
-Desert animals conserve water (produce little sweat)
-Brown bears hibernate in winter, lower metabolism to conserve energy

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27
Q

Adaptations of a polar bear

A

-Thick coat and layer of fat (warmth)
-Greasy fur (waterproof)
-White fur (camo)
-Strong swimmers (prey)
-Big feet (spread out on surface)

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28
Q

Adaptations of a camel

A

-Long eyelashes (protect from sand)
-Hump (stores fat)
-Large, flat feet (stop slipping on sand, protect from heat)
-Sand coloured (camo)
-Short fur

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29
Q

What are extremophiles?

A

Organisms adapted to live in very extreme conditions

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30
Q

Examples of extreme environments

A

-High temperature
-High pressure
-High salt concentration

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31
Q

An example of an extremophile

A

Bacteria living in deep sea vents

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32
Q

What are photosynthetic organisms?

A

The producers of biomass for life on earth

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33
Q

What do food chains show?

A

-The feeding relationships within a community
-What is eaten by what in an ecosystem

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34
Q

What do the arrows in a food chain mean?

A

Transfers of energy

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35
Q

What do all food chains begin with?

A

A producer which synthesis molecules

36
Q

An example of a producer that begins the food chain

A

A green plant or algae which makes glucose by photosynthesis

37
Q

What are producers eaten by?

A

Primary consumers

38
Q

What are primary consumers eaten by?

A

Secondary consumers

39
Q

What are secondary consumers eaten by?

A

Tertiary consumers

40
Q

Simple example of a food chain

A

Leaf -> Caterpillar -> Bird -> Cat

41
Q

What are predators?

A

Consumers (animals/mammals) that hunt for prey

42
Q

What are prey?

A

An animal that is hunted down and eaten by a predator

43
Q

What is an apex predator?

A

The highest predator that cannot be killed/ eaten

44
Q

What happens in a stable community containing predators and prey?

A

The number of predators and prey rise and fall in cycles

45
Q

If the population of prey increases, what happens to the population of predators?

A

They increase

46
Q

If the population of predators increases, what happens to the population of prey?

A

They decrease

47
Q

What is a quadrat?

A

A square frame enclosing a known area

48
Q

What is the aim of the quadrat practical?

A

-Measure the population size of a common species in a habitat
-Use sampling techniques to investigate the effect of a factor on the distribution of this species.

49
Q

Why are materials in the living world recycled?

A

To provide the building blocks for future organisms

50
Q

How does the Water Cycle work (5 steps)?

A

1) Energy from the sun makes water evaporate from the land and sea turning it into water vapour
2) Water evaporates from plants (transpiration)
3) The warm water vapour is carried upwards (as warm air rises). When it gets higher up, it cools and condenses to form clouds
4) Water falls from the clouds as precipitation onto land to provide fresh water for plants and animals
5) It then drains into the sea and the process starts again

51
Q

How does the Carbon cycle work?

A

1) CO2, removed from the atmosphere by green plants and algae during photosynthesis
2) Carbon makes glucose turned into carbs, fats and proteins that make up the bodies of plants and algae
3) Plants and algae respire, some carbon returns to the atmosphere as CO2
4) When plants and algae are eaten by animals, some carbon becomes part of the fats and protein in their bodies. Carbon them moves through the food chain.
5) Carbon returns to the atmosphere as CO2 when animal respire
6) Organisms feed on the remains of dead plants and animals. Organisms respire and CO2 returns to the atmosphere
7) Animals produce waste broken down by microorganisms
8) Combustion of wood and fossil fuels releases CO2 back into air

52
Q

What microorganisms are involved in cycling materials through an ecosystem?

A

-Bacteria
-Fungi

53
Q

How is carbon returned to the atmosphere?

A

-Decomposers (bacteria/fungi) break down organic matter
-Carbon is released as CO₂ through respiration by microorganisms during decomposition
-This CO₂ returns to the atmosphere, which is then used by plants in photosynthesis

54
Q

How are mineral ions returned to the soil?

A

-Microorganisms decompose dead matter, releasing mineral ions like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium back into the soil
-These minerals are vital for plant growth and are used by plants to produce proteins and other compounds

55
Q

What is decomposition?

A

The breakdown of dead matter (plants, animals etc)

56
Q

3 factors that affect the rate of decay of biological material

A

1) Temperature
2) Oxygen availability
3) Water availability

57
Q

How does temperature affect the rate of decay of biological material?

A

-Warmer temperatures make things decompose quicker as they increase the rate that enzymes work
-However, if its too hot, the enzyme will denature so decomposition will slow down

58
Q

How does oxygen availability affect the rate of decay of biological material?

A

Many organisms need oxygen to respire which they need to survive

59
Q

How does water availability affect the rate of decay of biological material?

A

Decay takes place faster in moist environments because the organisms involved in decay need water to carry out biological processes

60
Q

What do gardeners and farmers do for rapid decay of waste biological material?

A

Try and provide the optimum conditions of temperature, water and oxygen availability

61
Q

What is compost and what is it used for?

A

-Decomposed organic matter
-Used as a natural fertiliser for crops and garden plants

62
Q

What does anaerobic decay produce?

A

Methane gas

63
Q

How is biogas made?

A

By anaerobic decay of waste material

64
Q

Where is biogas made?

A

In a simple fermenter called a digester or generator

65
Q

Why do biogas generators need to be kept at a constant temperature?

A

To keep the microorganisms respiring away

66
Q

What can biogas generators be used to produce?

A

Methane gas as a fuel

67
Q

2 main types of biogas generators

A

-Batch generators
-Continous generators

68
Q

What is the aim of the decay pratical (RP 10)?

A

To investigate the effect of temperature on the rate of decay of fresh milk by measuring pH change

69
Q

What can environmental changes cause?

A

The distribution of organisms to change

70
Q

3 examples of environmental changes that can affect where an organism lives

A

1) Change in the availability of water
2) Change in temperature
3) Change in the composition of atmospheric gases

71
Q

What is Biodiversity?

A

The variety of all the different species of organisms on earth, or within an ecosystem

72
Q

What does a great biodiversity ensure?

A

The stability of ecosystems

73
Q

Why does biodiversity ensure the stability of ecosystems?

A

By reducing the dependence of one species on another for food, shelter and the maintenance of the physical environment

74
Q

What does the future of human species on earth rely on?

A

Us maintaining a good level of biodiversity

75
Q

What is reducing biodiversity?

A

Human activities

76
Q

2 things that mean increasingly more resources are used and more waste is produced?

A

1) Rapid growth in the human population
2) Increase in the standard of living

77
Q

3 ways pollution occurs

A

1) in water (from sewage, fertiliser or toxic chemicals)
2) in air (from smoke and acidic gases)
3) on land (from landfill and from toxic chemicals)

78
Q

How is pollution reducing biodiversity?

A

By killing animals and plants

79
Q

4 ways humans are reducing the amount of land available for other animals and plants

A

1) Building
2) Quarrying
3) Farming
4) Dumping waste

80
Q

What does the destruction of peat bogs produce?

A

Garden compost

81
Q

What is the effect of destroying peat bogs?

A

It reduces the area of the habitat and thus the variety of different plant, animal and microorganism species that live there (biodiversity)

82
Q

What does the decay or burning of the peat release?

A

Carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

83
Q

2 reasons why large scale deforestation has occurred

A

1) To provide land for cattle and rice fields
2) To grow crops for biofuels

84
Q

What is contributing to global warming?

A

The levels of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere increasing

85
Q

List some biological impacts of global warming

A

-Polar ice caps melting
-Sea levels rising
-Unusual weather patterns
-Extinction of species

86
Q

5 ways scientists are trying to maintain biodiversity

A

-Breeding programmes for endangered species
-Protection and regeneration of rare habitats
-Reintroduction of field margins and hedgerows in agricultural areas where farmers grow only one type of crop
-Reduction of deforestation and CO2 emissions by governments
-Recycling resources rather than dumping waste in landfill

87
Q

4 conflicting pressures that are affecting how biodiversity is maintained

A

1) Cost of protecting biodiveristy
2) Affect people’s livelihoods (lose jobs, affect local economy)
3) Conflict between protecting biodiversity or food security
4) Affect the environment

GCSE BIOLOGY (9 decks)

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