U1 - Living Environment Flashcards
Sampling technique for plants or slow-moving animals
Quadrat
Sampling technique for ground dwelling insects
Pitfall trap
How to make an experiment more reliable
Repeat multiple times and take an average
Why do we sample randomly?
To avoid sample bias
How is energy lost from a food chain?
Movement/ heat / undigested parts
What is the source of energy of all food chains?
The Sun
What are plants called in food chains?
Producer (they make their own food)
What is the process by which plants produce food?
Photosynthesis
What is an animal that only consumes plants?
Herbivore
What is an animal that only consumes other organisms?
Carnivore
What is an animal that consumes plants and organisms?
Omnivore
What is the term for a bacteria or fungus that breaks down dead matter?
Decomposer
What is the useful form of Nitrogen in the soil?
Nitrates
What do plants turn nitrates into?
Protein
When animal and plants die and decompose, what form of Nitrogen is released?
Ammonium
What does ammonium get ‘fixed’ into by bacteria?
Nitrites, then nitrates
How is carbon dioxide removed from the air?
Trees and plants carrying out photosynthesis
What do plants store carbon as?
Glucose (or cellulose/starch)
When plants and animals decomposed, their remains can be transformed by heat and pressure over millions of years. What is this resource?
Fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas)
Process by which fossil fuels are burned in factories/vehicles
Combustion (burning in oxygen)
The number of one species in an ecosystem
Population
All the living species in the ecosystem
Community
All the living and non-living factors of a habitat
Ecosystem
The variety of species in an ecosystem
Biodiversity
Consequence of adding too much fertiliser to fields (effect on water)
Eutrophication
Formed when fertilisers enter water - this blocks out light
algal bloom
This resource is used up in the water when bacteria feed off dead plants and animals
Oxygen
A human impact caused by poaching
Species extinction / vulnerable species
What is a INNS?
Invasive Non-Native Species (e.g. grey squirrel)
Name another invasive species in the UK
Japanese knotweed
Rhododendron
American mink
What is the effect of invasive species?
Outcompetes native species (sometimes to extinction)
Name an abiotic factor
Light intensity pH Temperature Moisture Wind velocity
How would you measure light intensity
Hold light meter away from body - sensor directed to the sun
How would you measure wind speed?
Anemometer
How would you measure soil or air temperature?
Thermometer
How would you measure soil moisture?
A moisture meter/probe
What is an indicator species?
A species whose presence or absence can show the quality of the ecosystem
What is an SSSI
Site of Special Scientific Interest (for rare plants, animals or geological features)
What can SEPA (Scottish Environmental Protection Agency) do?
- Protect against flooding
- Monitor river/sea water quality
- Help enforce environmental law
What does the SNH (Scottish Natural Heritage) do?
- Educate people on environmental issues
- Conserve natural heritage
