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N Biology A Level > Topic 10 Ecosystems (incl 10.4) > Flashcards

Topic 10 Ecosystems (incl 10.4) Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a biosphere?

A

Volume of the earth’s surface where organisms can be found

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2
Q

What is ecology?

A

Study of interactions between organisms and their environment

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3
Q

What is an ecosystem?

A

A community of living organisms interacting with each other and with abiotic components

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4
Q

What are examples of abiotic components?

A

Light intensity, water, temperature, minerals, altitudes

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5
Q

What is a community?

A

Populations of all the different species of organisms living in a habitat at any time

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6
Q

What is the definition of a species?

A

A group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring

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7
Q

What are autotrophs?

A

Producers
Make their own food
Plant and a,gas photosynthesise to produce ATP to make glucose from CO2 and H2O

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8
Q

What are heterotrophs?

A

Primary or secondary or tertiary consumers
Organisms that eat plant material exclusively
Herbivores or carnivores

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9
Q

What are decomposers?

A

Final tropic level
Break down animal and plant remains returning nutrients to soil

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10
Q

Why are energy loss along a food chain?

A

Significant amount of energy dissipated as heat from cellular respiration
Some die without being eaten
Not all dead animal/plant can be digested by consumers

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11
Q

What are issues with pyramids of biomass?

A
  • dry mass has to be taken or estimated
  • diff components of biomass have different energy contents per kilogram
  • doesn’t take into account reproduction rates and the effect of time/season on relative biomass
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12
Q

What is an advantage of pyramid of biomass?

A

Amount of energy in trophies level more accurately represented

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13
Q

How to measure pyramids of energy and what’s its unit?

A

Calorimeter
Kj m-2 yr-1

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14
Q

What are limitations of all pyramids?

A

-only provide a snapshot view of the ecosystem
- population size fluctuate overtime
- many assumptions built in

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15
Q

How to assess abundance?

A
  • individual counts
  • percentage cover
  • ACFOR scales (abundance, common, frequent, occasional, rare) (very subjective)
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16
Q

Why are species disappearing?

A
  • deforestation
  • hunting (humans or predators)
  • competition for resources (between species)
  • pollution: soil, rivers, lakes
17
Q

How can the aims of conservation be achieved?

A
  • education
  • captive breeding programs to reintroduce species
  • relocate/culling foreign species
  • set up nature reserves
18
Q

What is CITES?

A
  • International agreement to regulate trade and products made with living organisms
  • 3 appendices
  • ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species
19
Q

What does CITES stand for?

A

the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

20
Q

What are some CITES successes and failures?

A
  • extended lifeline to many species as given new international protections
  • many requests ignored
  • level of (il)legal trades increased
21
Q

What causes human population explosion?

A
  • humans learnt to farm
  • reliable sources of food
  • more children survive and reproduce
  • improving healthcare
22
Q

What are consequences to human population explosion?

A

Link to climate change, from need to provide food, shelter and goods
- deforestation to grow crops
- depleting fish from oceans
- development of engines releasing exhaust gases

23
Q

What are consequences to human population explosion?

A

Link to climate change, from need to provide food, shelter and goods
- deforestation to grow crops
- depleting fish from oceans
- development of engines releasing exhaust gases

24
Q

What are three major effects of human influences on ecosystem?

A
  • climate change
  • loss of biodiversity
  • depletion of biological resources
25
Q

Strong correlation does not mean…

A

Causation!!

26
Q

What are trophic levels and examples?

A

Organisms’ feeding relationships with other organisms
- producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer

27
Q

Why is some energy lost at each trophic level?

A

Used and released for respiration (heat and movement)

28
Q

What are some biotic factors?

A

Predators, disease, competition, availability of mates

29
Q

Why is using a diversity index a better measure of biodiversity than counting the number of species? (2 marks)

A
  • index counts for population
  • since numbers of organism in each species vary
30
Q

What are limitations of CITES?

A
  • not all countries have signed it
  • monitoring is expensive
  • some animals move across country boundaries

N Biology A Level (17 decks)

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