(P2)Ecosystems Flashcards
Define population, community and ecosystem
Population: all of the organisms of the same species in an area (eg. fish)
Community: all of the populations in a area (eg. fish, tadpoles, frogs …)
Ecosystem: all of the living and non-living organisms in an area (eg. a pond)
What is parasitism?
What is mutualism?
Parasitism: when a parasite feeds on the host. Benefits parasite, harms host
Mutualism: when two organisms both benefit from a close relationship. Example: nitrogen fixing bacteria get food from plant, plant gets nitrates from bacteria
Where is energy stored in an organism?
It is stored in the biomass, and transferred to the next trophic level by feeding, however some is transferred to the environment
What is a pyramid of biomass?
Why does each level get smaller?
It’s a diagram that shows the amount of biomass at each level in an ecosystem, with the producer at the bottom.
Because some energy at each level is transferred by heating to the environment
Fish farming involves growing one kind of fish in a controlled area. What are 2 disadvantages and one benefit of this?
👎: the waste can pollute the area, causing some local species to die out. Diseases from farmed fish can spread to wild fish
👍: reduces fishing of wild fish, increasing biodiversity
Why can eutrophication (fertiliser getting into water) decrease biodiversity in water?
Water plants and algae is grow more quickly, blocks sunlight so deeper plants cannot get light and die, bacteria decompose dead plants and take oxygen from the water, not enough oxygen for fish and they die
When would you sample randomly with a quadrat and when would you use a belt transect?
Quadrat - to estimate population size
Belt transect - to study the effects of abiotic and biotic factors on living organisms
What are the pros and cons of introducing non-indigenous species to an area?
👍May provide food for native species
👎May out-compete native species for food
What are the two indicators of air pollution?
Lichen: the different species allow you to identify if there is pollution
Black spot on roses: damaged by sulfur dioxide. Roses are clear when there is air pollution
What are the two indictors of water pollution?
Bloodworm and sludgeworms: live in water that contains little oxygen (polluted)
Stonefly larvae and mayfly: live in water with lots of oxygen (unpolluted)
