• Shuffle
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Alphabetize
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Front First
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Both Sides
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Read
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
Reading...
Front

Card Range To Study

through

image

Play button

image

Play button

image

Progress

1/41

Click to flip

Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;

Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;

H to show hint;

A reads text to speech;

41 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
Outline the factors that affect the distribution of plant species
temperature, amount of water (humidity and rainfall), light intensity, soil pH, salinity (how much salt), mineral nutrients. (Also wind, although not listed on syllabus) Do you know why? Check notes for reasons and examples if you're not sure
Explain the factors that affect the distribution of animal species (note that to explain you have to say WHY they have an effect)
temperature (proper range needed for survival, enzymes denature if too warm, reactions too slow if temperatures too low), water (proper amount needed for bodily functions and enzyme activities, aquatic organisms need it to live in), breeding sites (animals must breed to create a new generation an some require specific locations for this, like sites in trees for bird nests), food supply (may feed on specific foods and require these to stay alive, abundance may affect population size), territory (need to establish and defend to get food and mates in some species). Competition, pollution, and geographic barriers (like large canyons) can also affect distribution
Describe how to measure population size by the quadrat method
create plots/quadrents (make a grid on the map), number the grids, use a random number generator to choose which grids to count, measure population size in those quadrats, calculate average population density, multiply to get total population (check notes/study guide to make sure you know the equations)
What sort of organisms is the quardat method good for measuring?
population size for plants and slow-moving animals (like snails)
When would you use the transect?
To correlate the distribution of a plant or animal species with an abiotic variable. (For instance, as soil moisture decreases as you go away from a stream, what happens to the prevalence of a particular type of wildflower?)
Outline the use of the transect method
Stretch a rope down the area that you want to investigate. Walk the transect line. At predetermined intervals, measure the population size for the organism you are interested in. These measurements can be at the point on the rope or (point transect), in a belt transect, in a band going on both sides of the rope. Yo may see changes in the species present as abiotic factors change along the length of your transect
Explain "random sample"
a sampling method used to ensure that each part of an area being sampled has an equal chance of being measured
Explain what is meant by the niche concept
the role/functional position of an organism in its environment; the spatial habitat where a species lives; feeding activities/how food is obtained; interactions with other organisms in the community (also remember no two species can occupy the same niche)
Explain the principleof competitive exclusion
if two organisms occupy the same niche then they will compete for food/territory/other resources. The best adapted will cause the disappearance of the other. IB has used an example of Gause's experiment with P. aurelia and P. candatum before (you can google it)...know this or some other example
Distinguish between fundamental and realized niches
The fundamental niche is the potential mode of existance, given the adaptations of the species. (Where you predict it will be found in the absence of competition). The realized niche is the actual mode of existance, which results from its adaptations and competition with other species.
(Interspecific) Competition: outline and give an example of
both harmed, mice and ants both eat seeds so they compete for food
Herbivory: outline and give an example of
one benefits, one (plant) harmed; cows eat grass
Predation: : outline and give an example of
one benefits (predator), one harmed (prey); hawk eating rabbit
Parasitism: outline and give an example of
one benefits (parasite) one harmed (host); tapeworms and humans
Mutualism: outline and give an example of
both benefit; nitrogen-fixing bacteria and plants OR sea anemones and clownfish (don't call it Nemo!)
Define biomass
"the total organic matter comprising a group of organisms in a particular habitat" (from textbook)…basically the weight (without water) of all of the organisms in the same trophic level. Can be used to make biomass pyramids
Describe one method for measurement of biomass at a trophic level in an ecosystem.
Do extensive measurements to determine the population of plants (or animals) and their size. Estimate the weight of all of these things (this will require additional measurements). Take a very small sample (perhap part of a tree) to the lab, determine the wet weight, oven dry, weight again. Create a calculation to convert your estimate of total wet weight to total dry weight.
Define gross production
Gross production=total light energy converted into chemical energy by the autotrophs in an ecosystem
Define net production
Net production=energy available to consumers after the autotrophs have used what was necessary for their own respiration
What equation relates gross production, net preoduction, and plant respiration?
Net production=Gross production-plant respiration (GP-R=NP) (not given on test)
If gross productivity is 150 kJ m-2 yr-1 and respiration is 50 kJ m-2 yr-1 , what is net productivity?
100 kJ m-2 yr-1
Discuss the difficulties of classifying organisms into trophic levels
Depending on the food chain used, an organism in a food web may have two or more trophic levels. You should draw a food web and use specific examples to illustrate this idea. Memorize your study guide food web if you don't know a local one
Explain the small biomass and low number of organisms in higher trophic levels
Energy goes from one trophic level to the next as the energy in the chemicals of one organism are taken in Only about 10% of the energy from one trophic level is tranferred to the next trophic level. Energy is lost between trophic levels for reasons including: material not consumed (like bones), material not assimilated (like the cellulose/fiber in the human diet that becomes part of feces), and heat loss through cellular respiration. Energy transformations are never 100% efficient, including those involving reactions within our bodies. Less energy means less possible biomass at the higher trophic levels. This will be reflected in smaller population sizes at higher trophic levels and a limited number of trophic level
Be able to construct a pyramid of energy from appropriate information (ie, producers are 200 kJ m-2 yr-1, primary consumers are 20 kJ m-2 yr-1, and secondary consumers are 2 kJ m-2 yr-1)
Check your pyramid to make sure producers are on the bottom, primary consumers 2nd and secondary consumers at the top. The width of the bar should be proportional to the energy. The energy of each bar should be labelled and you should have units!
Distinguish between primary and secondary succession, giving an example of each
In primary succession there is not soil initially (after volcanic eruptions or glacier receeding); in secondary succession there is already soil (after a forest fire or when letting a farm return to a natural state)
Outline the changes in species diversity and production during primary succession
Productivity increases over time. In order: lichens mosses, grasses, shrubs, trees. Know why they come in this order…see notes on facilitation and inhibition
Explain the effects of living organisms on the abiotic environment, with reference to the changes occuring during primary succession
1. Soil development (for example, mosses die adding enough organic material to the soil which allows the grasses to grow) 2. accumulation of minerals (some organisms, like pine trees, change the pH of the soil which affects how easy it is for plants to absorb certain minerals) 3. reduced erosion (grasses and other plants redure erosion). See notes for other specific examples as well as facilitation and inhibition
Distinguish between biome and biosphere
Biosphere=the part of the Earth where living organisms are found. The biosphere includes all of the organisms on Earth. Biome=A large region characterized by a specific type of climate and certain types of plant and animal communities
Explain how rainfall and temperature affect the distribution of biomes
Be able to draw a climograph to show the interaction between these factors. It should include the 6 biomes listed in G.2.11 See notes.
Outline the characteristics of the 6 major biomes
The 6 biomes to know are: desert, grassland, shrubland, temperate deciduous forest, tropical forest, and tundra. Your descriptions shoul include temperature, moisture (rainfall), and characteristics of vegitation. See class activity on google docs
Calculate the Simpson diversity index for communities
Make sure you know the formula from topic G.3.1 (not given on test). There are practice questions on your homework.
Analyze the biodiversity of two communities using the diversity index.
The diversity index is a measure of species richness of an ecosystem. The higher the index the greater the diversity. Environmental change cause changes in the index. (Pollution, environmental disturbance, etc lower the index)
Discuss reasons for the conservation of biodiversity using rainforests as an example.
Be sure your answer includes ethical, ecological, economic and asethetic arguments. Also be able to discuss some reasons that people might be opposed to conservation…see your notes if you can't do this.
List 3 examples of the introduction of alien species that had significant impacts on ecosystems.
1. Biological control: releasing ladybugs to kill aphids on roses in the garden. 2. Accidental release: zebra mussels being moved around the world in ballast water for boats, the zebra mussels compete with native mussels. 3. Deliberate release: cane toads in Australia (to kill cane grubs, which didn't work. Plus, the cane toads outcompeted a lot of native wildlife)
Discuss the impact of alien species on ecosystems (3 impacts with named examples of each).
Interspecific competition (alien zebra mussels vs. native mussels, alien thistle vs. Colorado wildflowers); Predation (alien dogs and cats killing birds like the dodo); species extiction (dodo); biological control of pest species (ladybugs and aphids; failed attempt with cane toad and cane grubs)
Outline one example of control of an invasive species
Kill them (ie thistles in Colorado meadows), move them (ie take goats out of nature reserves in New Zealand), ideally prevent their entry (hence the rules about fruit at the airport)
Define biomagnification
Biomagnification is the process in which chemical substance become more concentrated at each trophic level (don't confuse with bioaccumulation, with is within an organism during its lifetime)
Explain the causes and consequences of biomagnification using a named example
DDT is sprayed on crops to control insects. It washes off into rivers and lakes and gets on aquatic plants and phytoplankton (producers) at low comcentrations. Little fish eat these producers and build up higher and higher levels of DDT in their lifetimes (bioaccumulation). In the next trophic level, a medium-sized fish will consume many small fish, concentrating all of the DDT from all of the little fish in their bodies. When birds eat large fish and medium fish then they get all of the DDT from those fish. The concentration has increased at each trophic level--biomagnification. (You could also use the mercury example from the video)
Outline the effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on living tissues and biological productivity.
UV damages DNA causing mutations. Biological productivity is decreased (reduces photosynthetic rates in plants and algae). It also damages tissues, increases rates of skin cancer, causes cataracts.
What absorbs UV radiation and reduces the amount people on Earth are exposed to?
ozone in the stratosphere
Outline the effects of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) on the ozone layer
CFCs cause ozone (O3) to break down to oxygen gas (O2). The notes have the details, which are not required but can sometimes give you an extra point on an essay