Quadrats & Transects Flashcards
How do you study the distribution of an organism
Measure how come on an organism is in 2 sample areas using quadrats and compare them
Study how the distributing changes across an area by placing a quadrat along a transect
What can cause the distribution of organisms
Environmental changes like
Temperature
Availability of water
Composition of atmospheric gases
What can environmental favours be caused by
Seasonal factors
Geographic factors
Human interaction
What happens to the water on our planet
It’s constantly recycled
What happens at the start of the water cycles to water from energy from the sun
Energy from the sun makes water evaporate from the land and sea making it water vapour
What does water evaporate from plants called
Transpiration
What happens to water vapour in the water cycle
The arm water vapour is carried upward ( warm air rises) and as it gets Higher it condenses and cools to form clouds
What happens to water in clouds
It falls as precipitation into land where it’s provided as fresh water for plants and animals
What happens to the water after precipitation
It drains into the sea and the whole process starts again
What are the main parts of the water cycle
Heat energy from sun makes water evaporate /transpiration
Condensation into clouds
Precipitation water falls
What are living things made of
Materials they take from the world around them
What do plants do to elements
They turn elements like carbon oxygen hydrogen and nitrogen from the soil and air into copper compunds like carbs proteins and fats to make up living organisms
These will get passed up the food chain
What happens to the materials that make up living things
They are returned to the environment in waste products or when the organisms it’s in dies and decays
Why do materials decay
They’re broken down (digested) by microorganism
What does decay do
Pits the stuff that plants need to grow back into the soil
What happens to materials in a stable community
The materials that are taken out of the soil and used by plants etc are balanced by those that are put back in
What is the carbon cycle
The constant cycling of carbon
What happens at the start of the carbon cycle to co2
It’s removed from the atmosphere by green plants and algae during photosynthesis
What happens to the carbon in co2 in photosynthesis
It’s used to make glucose which can be turned into carbohydrates fats and proteins that make up the body of the plant and algae
What happens to co2 after the green plants have it in and photosynthesised
The plants will respire and some carbon is returned to the atmosphere as co2
How do carbon compounds get into animals
Animals eat the plants and algae and some carbon becomes part of the fats and proteins in their body
The carbon is now moving though the food chain
What happens to carbon when the animals respire
Some carbon is returned to the atmosphere as co2
What happens when plants and animals die
Other animals called detritus feeders and microorganisms feed on their remains when these organisms respire co2 is returned to the atmosphere
How is co2 released into the air apart from respiring organisms
Through combustion of wood and fossil fuels releasing co2
So what happens to carbon in the carbon cycle
Is constantly being cycled from the air through food chains and eventually back into the air again
