Genetics & Ecology

• What are the 5 main conservation methods?

  • Management of succession
  • Seed banks
  • Captive breeding
  • Fishing quotas
  • Protected areas
• What does sustainable mean?


  Enough resources are taken to meet the needs of people today without reducing the ability of people in the future to meet their own needs
• What is conservation?

  the protection of natural resources
• What is a climax community?

  A stable group of plants and animals for a particular climate
• What does phlagioclimax mean?


  When succession is stopped artificially by human activities
• What is secondary succession?

  after a major disturbance in an area that already has soil and once had living organisms
• what is climax community?

  relatively stable community that results from a long period of plant and animal succession.
• How does primary succession work?

  Pioneer Species grow and die changing the environment so it is better for the next species until more complex ecosystem is built
• What are pioneer species?

  Species such as lichens that are the first to colonize the new area.
• What is primary succession?

  succession that occurs on surfaces where no soil exists
• What is succession?


  when one community completely replaces another over time in a given area
• What does dynamic mean?

  constantly changing
• Which 3 assumptions does the accuracy of mark release and recapture count on?

  - the marked sample has had enough time and opportunity to mix back in

  - the marking hasn't affected the individual's chance of survival

  - there are no changes in population size due to births, deaths, migration
• What equation would you use to work out the total population size in the mark release recapture method?

  (No. Caught in 1st sample x no. Caught in 2nd )/ no. Marked in 2nd sample
• What is the mark release re capture method?


  Used to measure abundance of motile species by capturing a small sample marking them releasing them and take a second sample a week later to see how many marked are caught
• What is an interrupted belt transect?

  Quadrat placed at regular intervals
• What is a belt transect?

  Quadrets are placed next to eachother along the transect (line) to work out species frequency and percentage cover along it
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of using quadrats?

  • Advantage- useful for quickly investigating areas with plant species that fit within it
  • quadrantsDisadvantage- areas with larger plants and trees would need very large quadrats
• What is a quadrat?


  A square frame enclosing a known area divides into grids of 100
• What are the methods for investigating populations and what are they used for?

  • Quadrets and transacts- non motile organisms
  • Nets and traps- motile organisms
• What is distribution?


  Where a particular species is within the area you're investigating
• What are the 2 methods of measuring abundance ?

  • Frequency- the number of samples a species is recorded in
  • Percentage cover- how much of the area you're investigating is covered by a species
• What does abundance of species mean and how is it calculated?

  The number of individuals of one species in a particular area , estimated by counting the number of individuals in samples taken
• What does an exponential graph show?

  Doubling In number at regular intervals
• What is a spectrophotometer?


  Measures amount of light passing through a sample
• A broth culture with a high absorbable value has a ........... number of bacteria present

  High
• What is a broth culture?


  A liquid broth containing bacteria
• What is predation?


  An interaction in which one organism kills another for food.
• Explain how intraspecific competition can cause cyclical change in population size around an eco systems carrying capacity

  Because population of species grows when resources are plentiful which leads to more organisms competing so eventually the resources become limited again , and if the population grows beyond the carrying capacity there won't be enough resources so the population decreases
• What is intraspecific competition?

  When organisms of the same species compete with each other for the same recourses
• What is interspecific competition?


  When organisms of different species compete with each other for the same recourses
• What happens if abiotic conditions aren't ideal?

  More energy will be needed to maintain eg body temp
• What is the carrying capacity?


  Maximum stable population size of a species that an ecosystem can support
• What is the population size?


  Total number of organisms of one species in a habitat
• What is an adaptation?


  A trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce
• What happens if 2 species try to occupy the same nice?

  They will compete with eachother and one will be more successful
• what is a niche?


  Is the role of a species within it's habitat what it eats, where and when it feeds.
• What is a habitat?


  The place where an organism lives
• What are abiotic conditions?

  Non living features of an ecosystem
• What are biotic conditions?


  Living features of an ecosystem