SUCCESSION

Question 1

What is ecological succession? (1)

Answer 1

sequences of different ecological communities developing in a habitat over time.

Question 2

what is a sere? (1)

Answer 2

all of the stages in a complete seral succession

Question 3

what is humus? (1)

Answer 3

the dead and decaying remains of plants and remains of animals, which form an important part of the soil structure.

Question 4

what is meant by primary succession? (1)

Answer 4

when the succession sequence starts on entirely new and without soil (usually formed on river deltas, dunes and cooled lava)

Question 5

what is a pioneer species? (1)

Answer 5

plants and animals that have adaptions to enable them to become the first colonises of an empty habitat.

Question 6

what is a climax community? (1)

Answer 6

the final stage in an ecological succession

Question 7

what is secondary succession? (1)

Answer 7

a succession that starts from existing soil

Question 8

what is the first significant development of a primary succession? (1)

Answer 8

the formations of soil (starts as parent rock, from which soil is formed from erosion however mineral particles may also be blown or washed in from else where so resulting mineral skeleton range in sizes)

Question 9

when is hummus first seen in a habitat? (1)

Answer 9

first added to a habitat by plant invaders of the primary succession (pioneer plants) - plants are able to survive there (called xerophytes) have drought resistant features.

Question 10

what change can succession be seen as? (1)

Answer 10

succession can be seen as a directional change, initially abiotic factors have a greater influence on the survival and growth of organisms, later as the nutrients of living organisms builds up, biotic factors increasingly affect survival to.

Question 11

what is the climatic climax? (1)

Answer 11

the final stage of an ecological succession which is determined by the prevailing climate.

Question 12

what is a deflected climax? (1)

Answer 12

the final stage of an ecological succession, which has been determined by human activity rather than natural forces.

Question 13

what is succession? (1)

Answer 13

this process by which communities of animals and plants colonise an area and then, overtime are gradually replaced by communities.

Question 14

what are the components of soil? (4)

Answer 14

hummus, sand, salt and clay

Question 16

What is meant by biota? (1)

Answer 16

All of the living things found within an ecosystem.

Question 17

What are biotic factors? (1)

Answer 17

All of the living influences of our environment/ecosystem

Question 18

What are abiotic factors? (1)

Answer 18

All of the non-living influences within our ecosystem.

Question 19

How does temperature affect biochemical reactions? (1)

Answer 19

Sunlight is a major source of heat, very few organisms can grow if the temperature of the environment falls outside of the range of 0-40degrees

Question 20

What happens if the temperature falls too low? (1)

Answer 20

At low temperatures, ice crystals may form in cells, disrupting the cytoplasm.

Question 21

What happens if the temperature becomes too high? (1)

Answer 21

At high temperatures proteins within cells, eg enzymes denature.

Question 22

What factors affect light intensity? (5)

Answer 22

-lattitude
-season
-aspect (slope)
-time of day
-Extent of cloud cover