The Living World Flashcards
What is an ecosystem?
A community of plants and animals living together in a habitat. The lives of animals and plants are closely related to each other and the climate and soil of the area that they live in. They exist on a range of sizes (pond to lake or woodland). Largest are called biomes and exist on a global scale.
What is a producer?
An organism or plant that is able to absorb energy from the sun through photosynthesis.
What is a consumer
A creature that eats herbivores and plant matter
What is a decomposer?
An organism such as a bacterium or fungus, that breaks down dead tissue, which is then recycled to the environment.
What is a food chain?
The connections between different organisms (plants and animals) that rely upon one another as their source of food.
What is a food web?
A complex hierarchy of plants and animals relying on each other for food.
What is a nutrient cycle?
A set of processes whereby organisms extract minerals necessary for growth from soil or water, before passing them on through the food chain − and ultimately back to the soil and water.
What biome are Large parts of North America and Europe covered in?
Temperate forest
What biome is Northern Africa dominated by
Desert
Where are tropical rainforest usually found?
On the equator and between the two tropics ( largest is found in Brazil )
The distribution of biomes is due to :
Climate
Altitude
Ocean currents
Wind direction
Proximity to the sea
Where are Temperate Forests / Deciduous and coniferous forests found?
Located 50-60 degrees north of the equator (where we are)!
UK: Deciduous trees shed their leaves in winter to keep moisture – more leaves = more transpiration.
Canada: Coniferous trees are evergreens – they keep their leaves to maximise photosynthesis during the brief summer months.
Why is it colder near to poles?
The low angle of the sun means energy is more dispersed (less concentrated) on the earth’s surface (1).
The sun’s energy is scattered and reflected by the atmosphere (1).
Ice, water and snow are good reflectors of solar radiation (1).
Because of the tilt of the earth, polar regions receive no sunlight for up to 6 months of the year (1)
What is abiotic factors and two examples?
An abiotic factor is a non-living part of an ecosystem that influences its environment
Example: temperature, amount of water available
What is a biotic factor and two examples?
A biotic factor is a living organism that shapes its environment.
Examples: animals and plants
Where does energy for an ecosystem come from
The sun
The air above the pond
Birds and insects
Food found from the surface of the water and in the water and in the pond margins
The pond surface
Animals breath through lungs gills and their skin
Lots of sunlight and light available
The pond margin
Shelter for insects and plants
Lots to eat and lots of sunlight and air
Mid pond water
Fish are the main predators.
Food found within the water column and surface and bottom
Pond bottom
Lots of shelter in mud and gravels , food sinks to the bottom for scavengers and decomposers
Less light and oxygen
Deep water, shallow water, pond margin
Over 30cm deep, 10-30 cm deep, 0-10 cm deep
Example of a food chain
Producer: detritus (decaying leaves)
Consumers: midge larva , great diving beetle, fish, heron
Where are they found Tropical rainforests (4 mark question)
Tropical rainforests can be found within the latitudes of the tropic of cancer and the tropic of Capricorn, around the equator.
They are located in the continents of Central/ South America, Africa, south east Asia and Oceania.
Countries that have tropical rainforests include Brazil, the Congo and Papua New Guinea.
Some examples of tropical rainforests are the Amazon and Borneo.
There are no tropical rainforests found in Europe or Antarctica.
Top layer of the rainforest
Emergents / top canopy 30-60 meters
Top layer of the rainforest
Emergents / top canopy 30-60 meters
Second top layer of rainforest
15-30 metres canopy
3rd layer of the rainforest
Under or lower tree canopy 5-15 metres
4th layer of the rainforest
Shrub layer and ground layer ( less than 5m
Last layer of the rainforest
Soils High Iron content, thick leaf litter layer
What is a Epiphytes –
parasitic plants that take root in trees high in the canopy
What are Drip tip leaves
allow excess water to spill off, prevents leaf damage
What is Liana
– a woody plant that takes root in soil but that is supported by trees so it can grow upwards to get sunlight
BUTTRESS roots.
These stabilise the tree, increase surface area for Oxygen/CO2 exchange and help transport water
Soil in tropical rainforest
Red colour due to high iron and aluminium content and infertile.
Thick layer of leaf litter and decomposing organic matter on the surface.
Rainforest Nutrient Cycle:
The rainforests nutrients cycle is quick.
Hot, damp conditions on the ground allow the dead plant material (e.g. leaves) to rapidly decompose.
This provides rich nutrients which are absorbed by the plants shallow roots, however these are in high demand they don’t stay in the soil for long and stay close to the surface.
If the vegetation is removed, heavy rainfall can quickly dissolve and carry away nutrients from the soil (leaching) creating latosol (infertile, iron rich, and very acidic red-coloured soil). The rain can also erode the soil away.
Impacts of deforestation : global
Global warming
Loss of biodiversity
Impacts of deforestation:
Loss of biodiversity
Impactos on deforestation local
Conflicts
Soil erosion
River pollution
Local climate change
Loss of tribes
What is an example of a food chain ( case study )
Gallows hill
Algae
Water worm
Small fish
Predertory fish
Heron
What are some examples of abiotic factors
Wind, soil, the sun
What is biotic
A living thing
What is a abiotic factor
A non living thing
What are the things in the trophic pyramid and what two things happen as you move up the pyramid?
Largest to smallest
Producers, primary consumers (herbivores), secondary consumers, Tertiary consumers.
The numbers of plants and animals decrease as we go up the pyramid.
The amount of energy also decreases as you go up the pyramid.
What are the 5 factors that cause the distribution of biomes
- Climate
- Altitude
- Ocean currents
- Wind direction
- Proximity to the sea
Location of tropical rainforests
In between the two tropics, the large is found in Brazil -> Amazon Rainforest.
What are two opportunities and their challenges in the Thar desert?
Mining and industry - Accessibility
Subsistence Farming - Extreme Temperatures
What are some factors that create loss of biodiversity?
Pollution
Habitat loss
Invasive species
What are the economic opportunities of deforestation?
- more jobs
- money for the loggers and companies
- Sell to other countries to help with development
What are the economic challenges that come with deforestation?
- can cause the destruction of plants that can help with diseases (periwinkle leukaemia +95%)
- tourism decreasing
- can cause flooding so effects business
- illegal logging can occur which they have to invest in law enforcement which means money not spent on other things
What are the negative environmental impacts of deforestation?
- destroys habitats
- climate change
- soil erosion - leaching loss of nutrients
- river pollution
