Unit 3 Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

Biotic factors

A

Living factors:
Disease
Predation
Grazing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Abiotic factors

A

Non-living:
Temperature
Rainfall
pH

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Human influences

A

Air pollution
Habitat destruction
Overfishing
Desertification

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Habitat

A

The place where an organism lives

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Population

A

A group of organisms of the same species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Species

A

A group of organisms which can interbreed to produce fertile offspring

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Biodiversity

A

The total variety of living things in an area

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Community

A

All the populations living in the ecosystem

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Ecosystem

A

The balance of community (living) plus habitat (non-living)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Producer

A

A green plant which makes its own food by photosynthesis

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Consumer

A

An organism which needs to eat other organisms to gain energy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Herbivore

A

An animal which only eats plants

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Carnivore

A

An animal which only eats other animals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Omnivore

A

An animal which wats both plants and animals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Predator

A

An animal which hunts other animals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Prey

A

An animal which is hunted by other animals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Niche

A

The role an organism plays in the community

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

When does competition occur?

A

Between organisms when resource are in short supply

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Interspecific

A

Competition between members of different species for similar resources

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Intraspecific

A

Competition between members of the same species for the exact same resources

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Decomposer

A

Breaks down organic material (e.g. dead bodies and waste)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Food chain

A

The arrows show the direction of energy flow

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What do animals compete with one another for if in short supply?

A

Food
Water
Shelter

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Which type of competition is more intense?

A

Intraspecific as organisms are competing for the exact same resources

25
Q

What do plants growing in the same habitat compete for if in short supply?

A

Light
Water
Soil nutrients

26
Q

Interdependent

A

A delicate balance between predator and prey

27
Q

Indicator species

A

Organisms that by their presence or absence give information about environmental quality and pollution levels

28
Q

Water pollution

A

-Polluted by untreated sewage being allowed to enter rivers and streams
-Lots of organic waste
->lots of bacteria (decomposers)
->low oxygen levels (bacteria takes it in to respire)

29
Q

Abundance

A

Number of that type of organism

30
Q

Quadrats

A

Sample plants in fields
Count the number of squares containing your plant and then factor up for the total area of the field

-More than 1 quadrat thrown (reliable)
-Thrown randomly (valid) (unbiased)
-Spread across the field (representitive)
-Stick to rules (if a plant is half in and half out)

31
Q

Pitfall trap

A

Sample small ground insects on the ground soil

-Multiple traps (reliable)
-Traps set up across the area (representative)

-Birds may eat trapped animals ->camouflage with leaves
-Some animals may eat other animals ->check traps regularly

32
Q

Line transect

A

Measures the distribution of organisms from one point to another e.g. high shore to low shore
Quadrats placd at regular intervals along it and abiotic factors are measured
Relationships can be found between abiotic factors and distribution of organisms

33
Q

Light intensity

A

Light meter
Shadows->stand without your shadow covering it
Light changes->carry out same time of day

34
Q

Soil moisture

A

Moisture meter

Unclean probe->clean probe (cloth)
Different depths->same depth
Same position

35
Q

What happens to energy at each level of a food chain

A

-90% of energy is ‘lost’ as heat, movement or indigestible materials
-10% of energy is used for growth and is passed on to the next level

36
Q

Pyramid of energy

A

Always a pyramid

Shows the energy passed on from one stage in a food chain to the next

37
Q

Pyramid of numbers

A

Shows the number of organisms at each stage of a food chain

38
Q

Irregular pyramids of numbers

A

1-when a tree/bush is the producer
2-when parasites feed off of the top predator

39
Q

What requires an increased food yield

A

Increasing human polulation

40
Q

Fertilisers

A

-Provide plants with chemicals such as nitrates to increase crop yield

41
Q

How do nitrates work in fertilisers?

A

-Nitrates dissolve in soil water and are dissolved into plants
-The plants use the nitrates to produce amino acids which are synthesised into plant protein
-Animals consume plants/animals to obtain amino acids for protein synthesis

42
Q

Algal blooms

A

-Fertilisers leach into fresh water, adding extra, unwanted nutrients
—>increases algal populations
—>algal blooms
—>reduce light availability for aquatic plants->death
—>dead plants and dead algae become food for bacteria
—>bacteria grows in number
—>bacteria use up large quantities of oxygen
—>reduces oxygen availability for other organisms
—>reduced biodiversity in water

43
Q

Alternatives to fertilisers

A

Genetically modified crops

44
Q

Pesticides

A

Used to kill plants and animals that reduce crop growth

45
Q

Biosccumulation

A

Pesticides sprayed on crops can accumulate in the bodies of organisms over time
As they are passed along food chain, toxicity increases and can reach lethal levels

46
Q

Alternatives to pesticides

A

GM crops
Biological control

47
Q

Biological control

A

The deliberate introduction of a predator to a parasite or pest

48
Q

Advantages of biological control

A

-No chemicals added to food chains
-Introduced predator is specific to pest
-Much cheaper after initial set-up costs

49
Q

Disadvantages of biological control

A

-Introduced species can sometimes become a pest
-Doesn’t guarantee that all pests will be killed
-Introduced predator can leave the environment

50
Q

Mutation

A

A random change to the genetic material
Occur spontaneously
Only source of new alleles in a population

51
Q

Environmental factors that can increase the rate of mutation?

A

Mutagenic agents

Chemicals e.g. mustard gas
Radiation e.g. x-rays, gamma radiation

52
Q

Adaptation

A

An inherited characteristic that makes an organism well suited to survival in its niche in its environment

53
Q

Desert plant adaptations

A

Surface area (leaves are spines to reduce water loss

Very deep roots (access deep underground water)

Thick waxy cuticle (reduce water loss and store water in flesh)

54
Q

Speciation

A

The formation of different species from a common ancestor

55
Q

Natural selection

A

-species produce more offspring than the environment can sustain
-Selection pressures e.g. lack of food, predation
-Those best adapted are more likely to survive and reproduce -> pass on favourable alleles to offspring
-Advantageous alleles will increase in frequency in a population

56
Q

Steps of speciation

A

-Part of a population becomes isolated by an isolation barrier
-Different mutations occur at random in each sub-population
-Natural selection selects for different mutations in each group due to different selection pressures
-Each sub-population evolves separately until they become so genetically different that they are two distinct species
-If the two new populations are allowed to interbreed and cannot produce fertile offspring then they are now different species

57
Q

Types of isolation barriers

A

Geographical- mountain, earthquake
Ecological- pH, salinity
Behavioural- becoming fertile at different times

58
Q

Stages of speciation

A

-Isolation
-Mutation
-Natural selection
-Speciation

59
Q

Types of pesticides

A

Fungicides - used to kill fungi
Insecticides - kill insects
Bactericides - bacteria
Herbicides - weeds