Topic 7: Ecology Flashcards
Define individual
a single organism of a species
Define population
The total number of organisms of one species
Define community
All the living organisms in an environment
Define ecosystem
The interaction between the living and the non-living parts of an environment
Define stable community
It is a community where all the species, and environmental factors are balanced, so that population sizes remain fairly constant
Define interdependence
Within a community the species depend on each other for shelter, food, pollination, seed dispersal etc.
Name some biotics factors
New competitors
New pathogens
New predators
Availability of food
Name some abiotic factors
Temperature
Soil pH
Light intensity
Wind intensity
Mineral content
Moisture levels
Carbon dioxide levels
Oxygen levels
Define intraspecific competition
Members of the same species in a population are competing for the same resources
Define interspecific competition
Between individuals of different species within the same habitat or niche competing for the same resources
What are structural adaptations?
Physical features of an organism, e.g. sharks have sharp teeth for killing prey
What are behavioural adaptations?
Are how the organism behaves, an e.g. animals in hunting packs - wolves
What are functional adaptations?
Are how the body operates e.g. is sweat being produced or toxins
How are animals adapted to live in hot climates?
Thin fur
Little urine produced
Long limbs
Little body fat to lose heat by radiation
How are animals adapted to live in cold climates?
Thick fur
Blubber
Big feet
Body fat to conserve heat loss
How are plants adapted to live in hot climates?
Less leaves/ small leaves to reduce water loss
Long roots to absorb more water
What type of environments do extremophiles live in?
Environments with:
High temperature
High pressure
High salt concentration
Describe the order of food chains starting from the producer
Producer
Primary consumer
Secondary consumer
Tertiary consumer (predator)
Describe what happens when an apex predator dies
- When an apex predator dies, their body decomposes into the ground and the nutrients goes to the environment
- In decomposition, maggots, woodlice, earthworms etc. help chop up the dead organism and microorganisms break it down even more, so the nutrients and minerals go down to the environment
e.g. minerals into the soil or carbon in the air - Cycle repeats
Describe the method of estimating populations
- find the area of your quadrat
- find the area of your site
- divide the area of the site by the area of the quadrat - this is your multiplication factor
- place the quadrat randomly using a random number generator and coordinates
- count and record the number of organisms
- take at least 10 samples
- work out the mean number of organisms in each quadrat
- multiply up to estimate the total number in the site
How can we improve accuracy when estimating populations?
Bigger quadrats
More quadrats
Random sample sites
Describe the percentage cover method
- a simple way of measuring an organism is to calculate percentage cover
- this is especially useful if it is hard to count all the individual organisms within a quadrat
- quadrats are placed and the number of little squares that are covered by plants are counted
- only count the squares more than half covered and estimate the others
- divide total number of squares and x100 to give a percentage
Describe the method of sampling along a transect line
- a transect line is used when you are trying to investigate the effect of a changing factor (biotics or abiotic) over a distance
- quadrat readings are taken along a ‘line’ starting at one point and at various distances from it
- this line is a transect line
- multiple, random readings should be taken at each point to ensure representative data free from bias