BSCAPE HOMEOSTASIS

• An ecosystem is the interaction of a community of living organisms (biotic) with the non-living (abiotic) parts of the environment
• Plants compete for: light, space, water, and mineral ions
• A community is a group of animals and/or plants of different species
• Extremophiles are organisms that live in extreme environments, such as high temperature, pressure, or salt concentration
• A population is a group of animals or plants of the same species
• Animals compete for: food, mates, and territory/space
• Three biotic factors that can affect a community are: availability of food, new predators arriving, new diseases
• Three abiotic factors that can affect a community are: light intensity, temperature, moisture levels
• Producers include plants and algae
• Gases contributing to global warming are: carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour
• Processes in the carbon cycle include: photosynthesis, respiration, decay
• Reasons for deforestation include providing land for cattle and rice fields, and growing crops for biofuels
• Factors that reduce biodiversity are deforestation and global warming
• To reduce the negative impact on biodiversity, actions include breeding programs for endangered species, protection/regeneration of rare habitats, reintroduction of field margins
• The four main stages in the water cycle are: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, transpiration
• Biodiversity is the variety of all the different species of organisms on Earth
• Consequences of global warming

  • Change in species distribution
  • Changes in rainfall patterns
  • Flooding
  • Droughts
  • Sea level rise
  • More frequent extreme weather events
• What is a bog?

  An area of land that is acidic and waterlogged
• A transect is a line that is drawn across an area to measure the abundance of organisms
• How the destruction of peat bogs contributes to global warming: The peat bogs store carbon and when they are destroyed, the carbon is released into the atmosphere
•  three main categories of pollution: air pollution (smoke and acidic gases), water pollution (sewage, fertilisers or toxic chemicals), and land pollution (landfill and toxic chemicals)
• Decay contribution to GW: Microorganisms are involved in decay. They respire and release carbon dioxide
• Peat can be used as a fuel. How does this impact the environment?

  • Peat is burned
  • Carbon dioxide is released
  • Carbon dioxide causes global warming
• How does the destruction of peat bogs affect biodiversity?

  Reduces biodiversity - it removes habitat for the species
• Air Pollution: Smog, Acid Rain, Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Oxides, Sulfur Dioxide, Ozone Layer Depletion
• 3 different types of adaptation: structural, behavioural, functional
• Behavioural adaptations: actions taken by an organism to cope with environmental conditions.
• Structural adaptations: physical features that allow an organism to survive in its environment.
• Functional adaptations: physiological processes that enable an organism to function properly in its environment.
• examples of interdependence in a community: food, shelter, pollintation