Pack 13 - Ecological Techniques

Question 1

List the main Abiotic factors in an ecosytem

Answer 1

CO2 and O2
Water
Temperature
Salinity
Light intensity
Mineral ions

Question 2

List the Biotic factors in a ecosystem

Answer 2

Competition
Predation
Parasites
Symbiosis
Disease

Question 3

What is a community?

Answer 3

All the organisms/ populations present in a habitat

Question 4

What is a population?

Answer 4

All the individuals of one species in a habitat

Question 5

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 5

The community and the non-living (abiotic) factors of the environment

Question 6

What is an ecological niche?

Answer 6

An organisms role in the ecosystem

Question 7

What are quadrats used for?

Answer 7

Measure density, frequency or percentage cover of plants or slow moving animals

Question 8

How would you work out the amount of plants in a field?

Answer 8

Map on area using a map with grids/ tape measures
Use a random number generator to generate coordinates to place you quadrat down
You need a large sample so at least 20 quadrats need to be place down
Calculate the running mean and remember to count the amount of the plant you are looking at
Divide the total by the mean to get total in the field/area

Question 9

What two techniques are there to investigate distribution?

Answer 9

Line Transect

Belt Transect/Interrupted Belt Transect

Question 10

How would you measure the abundance of moving animals?

Answer 10

Using Mark Release Recapture method