TOPIC 3B: tropical rainforests 🦜🥭

Question 1

How are marine ecosystems important to the UK, as a resource ? 🍣

Hint: generates, activities

Answer 1

• recreation- people use coastal marine ecosystems for leisure activities [e.g- swimming, fishing or boating].
• Tourism also generates income, which allows people to make a living.

Question 2

How else can marine ecosystems be an important resource, to the UK ? 🌊

Hint: renewable, drilled for oil

Answer 2

• energy- marine ecosystems are also important for energy. This is because, not only do they provide sites to generate renewable energy such as tidal power.
• They also have deep sea platforms. These deep sea platforms, can be drilled for oil, which can then be used for fuel in industry purposes.

Question 3

What can be extracted from the seabed, as an important resource for the UK ?

Hint: cooking and heating

Answer 3

• energy- as natural gas can also be extracted from the seabed, to be used for cooking and heating.

Question 4

What is the last way that the marine ecosystem, can be an important resource for the UK ? 🎣

Hint: breeding grounds

Answer 4

• fishing- people catch fish from marine ecosystems, as a source of food. This generates jobs.
• moreover, coastal marine ecosystems provide good breeding grounds for main fish species, that are caught and then sold.

Question 5

Name some ways, how human activities are degrading marine ecosystems ?

Answer 5

• pollution
• damage to the seabed
• and fishing

Question 6

How is pollution degrading marine ecosystems ? 🐢

Hint: intestinal blockages

Answer 6

• marine animals such as sea turtles, can eat plastic waste and mistake it for food. This can then kill them, since the plastic collects in their bodies.
• For example with bags, it can cause intestinal blockages, meaning they can’t feed, therefore they will die due to starvation.

Question 7

How else can pollution degrade marine ecosystems ? 🏭

Hint: waste, murky, fish

Answer 7

• industrial waste can affect the health of marine organisms such as fish.
• This is because industrial wastewater increases the murkiness/gloominess of the water.
• and because of this, it can block fishes gills from being unable to absorb dissolved oxygen [in the water]—-> meaning fishes will die.

Question 8

What is the third way how pollution can degrade marine ecosystems ? 🦈🐋

Hint: estuary, consumes dissolved oxygen, marine organisms

Answer 8

• excess fertilisers used to improve plant growth, can run into areas where freshwater rivers meet the ocean. This is called an estuary.
• if excess fertilisers do run into estuaries, this will cause algae to rapidly grow and reduce the supply of oxygen, since as the algae die and decompose, this consumes dissolved oxygen.
• and as a result of algae reducing the supply of oxygen, this can then kill marine organisms which live in seabed habitats, like sharks or whales.

Question 9

How can damage to the seabed, degrade marine ecosystems ? 🪸

Hint: trawl nets, damage, recover

Answer 9

• trawl nets are nets, behind boats that catch marine organisms.
• fishing with trawl nets can degrade marine life ecosystems, by damaging seabed habitats.
• meaning habitats such as coral reefs, will recover extremely slow

Question 10

What is another way that damage to the seabed, can degrade marine ecosystems? ⛴️

Hint: create shipping routes, nutrients

Answer 10

• dredging is the process of clearing out mud and other materials from the sea floor, to create shipping routes.
• ; dredging can degrade marine ecosystems since this process removes nutrients from the seabed which marine organisms would rely on.
• For example, marine animals and plants need nitrogen, but if it’s removed it results in a poor growth of marine plants.

Question 11

What is the final way how damage to the seabed, can degrade marine ecosystems? 🏗

Hint: releasing chemicals

Answer 11

• building marine infrastructure such as oil platforms, oil rigs and [offshore platforms] can physically damage the seafloor by, releasing chemicals.
• ; marine organisms that live in the seabed can also be harmed because of building marine infrastructure. [link to 2010 BP oil leak.]

Question 12

How can fishing degrade marine ecosystems ? 🐡

Hint: demand for fish, decline

Answer 12

• overfishing- since the demand for fish in the UK is greater than the supply of wild fish, this results in overfishing.
• In overfishing, fish species are caught faster than they can be replaced, meaning the number of fish species will decline.

Question 13

What is an example of how damaging the seabed can degrade marine ecosystems? 🐢🪿

Hint: oil rig

Answer 13

• For example in 2010, the BP oil disaster occurred at an oil rig which resulted in releasing 134 gallons of oil into the gulf of Mexico.
• This degraded marine ecosystems by killing 167,000 turtles and disrupting the food chain since 93 bird species were been exposed to the oil leak.

Question 14

Name all the biotic and abiotic characteristics of the tropical rainforest ecosystem ? [6] 🌿💧

Hint: water

Answer 14

• plants
• animals
• and humans
• climate
• soil
• water

Question 15

How are plants, a biotic characteristic of the tropical rainforest ecosystem ?

Hint: evergreen, vegetation cover

Answer 15

• plants- most of the trees are evergreen, since they take advantage of the contuines growing season.
• many trees are really tall; the vegetation cover is dense because very little light reaches the floor.

Question 16

• Fill in the gaps: _________, are plants that grow on other living plants and take nutrients, and ________ from the air.
• An example of this, is the spanish moss or tiger orchird

Answer 16

• Epiphytes, are plants that grow on other living plants and take nutrients, and moisture from the air.
• An example of this, is the spanish moss or tiger orchird

Question 17

Explain how animals, are an biotic characteristic of the tropical rainforest ecosystem ? 🐆🦜

Answer 17

• animals- animal species such as gorillas, jaguars, anacondas, tree fronds and chimps can be found in the tropical rainforest [ecosystem].
• though insect species [such as ants and fairy wasps can also be found.] Aswell as birds species [such as the scarlet macaw or the spectacled owl]

Question 18

What animal species can be found in tropical rainforest [ecosystems] ?

Hint: anaconda

Answer 18

• animal species such as gorillas, jaguars, anacondas, tree frogs and chimps can be found in the tropical rainforest [ecosystem].

Question 19

What bird and insect species can be found in tropical rainforest [ecosytems] ?

Answer 19

• though insect species [such as ants and fairy wasps can also be found.] Aswell as birds species [such as the scarlet macaw or the spectacled owl]

Question 20

What are some of the biotic characteristics that can be found in the tropical rainforest [ecosystem] ?

Hint: 🧍🏾🫑🫛🌽🥑

Answer 20

• humans- although they are typically home to animals and plants, the tropical rainforest [ecosystem] also has humans!
• This is because, the tropical rainforest is home to many people who have [previously] lived for generations, as they’ve adapted to life there.
• For example- the mayas- to survive, they grew: maize, beans and squash, they also grew avocados, peppers, tobacco and several medicinal plants. [during 2000 and 2400 BCE]

Question 21

What are some of the abiotic characteristics, that exist in the tropical rainforest ecosystem ?

Answer 21

• climate
• soil
• and, water

Question 22

What can you tell me about the climate, in tropical rainforest ecosystems ? 🌞

Hint: same

Answer 22

• in tropical rainforest ecosystems:
• the climate is the same all year round because, there aren’t any definite seasons.
• the temperature is hot and typically ranges from 20c to 28c [; it can slightly vary].
• This is because, tropical rainforests are near the equator, therefore the sun is overhead all year round.

Question 23

What can you tell me about the abiotic characteristic: soil, in tropical rainforest ecosystems ? 🌧️

Hint: fertile

Answer 23

• in tropical rainforest ecosystems:
• the soil isn’t that fertile. This is because, heavy rain washes the nutrients in the soil away.
• although decayed fallen leaves do provide a thin layer of nutrients [on the soil surface], the soil still isn’t fertile- because decay is fast in warm and moist conditions.

Question 24

What can you tell me about the abiotic characteristic: water, in tropical rainforest ecosystems ? 💧

Hint: stopped, stored, feeding rivers

Answer 24

• in tropical rainforest ecosystems:
• most of the rain is stopped, by the tree canopy.
• ; some water is absorbed by plants and stored inside them.
• additionally, water runs off the soil into streams= feeding some of the the largest rivers in the world. [e.g- the Amazon river]