Topic 7 Flashcards
What is a community?
The populations of different species living in a habitat.
What is the definition for an ecosystem?
The interaction of a community of biotic organisms with the abiotic parts of their environment.
What are some examples of abiotic factors?
- Rainfall.
- Light intensity.
- Temperature.
- Carbon dioxide level.
- Wind intensity and direction.
What are some examples of biotic factors?
- New predators arriving.
- Competition.
- New pathogens.
- Availability of food.
What are the structural adaptations of a camel?
- Thin layer of fat.
- Thin fur.
- Large surface to volume ratio.
What are the structural adaptations of an arctic fox?
- White fur for camouflage.
- Thick fur.
- Small surface area to volume ratio.
What is an example of a behavioural adaptation?
The migration of swallows to avoid cold conditions.
What are the functional adaptations of desert animals?
- Produce very little sweat.
- Produce very little urine.
- Produce very concentrated urine.
What are the functional adaptations of a brown bear during hibernation?
Low metabolism.
What is an extremophile?
A microorganism adapted to very extreme conditions.
What is biomass?
The energy stored in a plant or organism.
Using quadrats RQP?
- Mark out a line using a tape measure.
- Collect data along the line by counting the organisms on the line.
- Or use a quadrat, placed next to each other or at equal intervals along a line.
What environmental changes affect the distribution of organisms?
- Water availability.
- Temperature.
- Atmospheric gas composition.
What are the 4 stages of the water cycle?
- Evaporation & Transpiration.
- Condensation.
- Precipitation.
- Percolation.
What 4 factors speed up decay?
- Warm temperatures.
- A moist atmosphere.
- Oxygen rich conditions.
- More decay organisms.
What are the 4 routes for carbon in the carbon cycle?
- Photosynthesis.
- Respiration.
- Movement through the food chain.
- Combustion.
How is biogas made?
Different microorganisms decay plant and animal waste anaerobically to create methane.
Sludge waste from sewage works and sugar factories can also produce biogas.
What are the two types of biogas generators?
Batch generators and continuous generators.
What is a batch generator?
- Makes biogas in small batches.
- Manually loaded with waste.
- By-products are cleared after each batch.
What is a continuous generator?
- Makes biogas all the time.
- Waste is continuously fed in.
- Suited to large scale projects.