Populations and sustainability Flashcards
What is meant by population?
The total number of organisms of one species in a habitat
What do limiting factors do?
Limiting factors prevent further growth of a population and in some cases cause it to decline.
What are the two categories of limiting factors?
Abiotic e.g. temperature, light etc and biotic e.g. predators, disease, competition
What is interspecific variation?
When organisms of different species compete with each other for the same resources
What is intraspecific variation?
When the organisms of the same species are competing with each other for the same resources
What is carrying capacity?
The maximum stable population size of a species that an ecosystem can support.
Explain the interactions between predator and prey.
Predator and prey populations are controlled by negative feedback. As prey populations increase there is more food for predators so predator population increases. As predator population increases more prey is eaten so the prey population then begins to fall. This means there is less food for the predators so their population decreases.
What is conservation?
The protection and management of ecosystems so that the natural resources in them can be used without them running out
Why is conservation important?
Economic:
- Ecosystems provide resources for lots of things that humans need
Social:
- Many ecosystems bring joy to lots of people because they are attractive to look at and people use them for activities
Ethical:
- it is simply the right thing to do
- some people have a moral responsibility to conserve the environment for future generations
What is preservation?
Preservation is the protection of ecosystems so theyre kept exactly as they are. Nothing is removed from them and they are only used for activities that dont damage them.
section d and e on spec
