Bio Paper 2

• Species may rely on each other for

  Food, seed dispersal, pollination, shelter
• Species compete for

  Food, water, light and space
• What is a stable community


  A community is one where all the species and environmental factors are in balance so that the population sizes remain fairly constant.
• Why is removing a species from an ecosystem make it unstable

  There is interdependence within the ecosystem, removal could affect the population
• Components of a food chain

  producers, consumers, predators
• Examples of biotic factors

  disease, food availability, competition, and new predators
• Examples of abiotic factors

  temperature, light and wind intensity, pH of soil, availability of water or oxygen, humidity
• Examples of structural adaptations


  Features of body structure, shape or colour
• Structural adaptations of camels

  they have large feet to prevent falling into the sand, thin layer of fat, large surface are to volume ratio to aid heat loss
• Examples of behavioural adaptations


  hibernation, masking, migration
• Define functional adaptations


  the processes that take place within an organism
• Define structural adaptations

  physical features of an organism
• Define behavioural adaptation


  the way an organism acts which helps it to survive in the specific habitat it lives in
• Examples of functional adaptations

  reduced sweating, production of venom or chemicals
• Functional adaptations of camels

  they metabolise fat to produce water, produce concentrated urine
• Define an extremophile


  a microorganisms that live in extreme environments such as high temperatures, pressure or salt concentration
• Define abundance

  the number of individuals of a species in a given area
• Define distribution

  the location of a certain species in a particular area
• What are quadrats used for

  To measure abundance
• What are transects used for


  To measure distribution
• Examples of environmental changes

  Change in: temperature, atmospheric gases and availability of water
• What atmospheric gas dissolves in water and makes it more acidic?

  Carbon dioxide
• Causes of environmental change


  Humans, geological activity, seasons
• Carbon cycle processes

  Removed via photosynthesis, obtained in animals by consuming plant matter, returned into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide via respiration, decomposers store carbon via decay
• Water cycle process

  evaporated from surface, water vapour condenses into rain or snow, becomes surface run off, water taken up plant roots
• Water cycle steps

  evaporation, condensation, precipitation, run off, transpiration, infiltration
• Carbon cycle steps

  photosynthesis, respiration, exchange, sedimentation and burial, extraction, and combustion
• Factors that affect the rate of decay

  Temperature, moisture, oxygen availability
• Ideal conditions for decay


  Moist, plenty of oxygen and warm
• What is produced from biogas generators

  Methane used as a fuel or slurry used as a fertiliser
• Conditions in biogas generators


  Anaerobic conditions, stable temperatures
• Methods of maintaining temperatures in biogas generators

  Bury generators underground, cover in insulating jacket
• Define biodiversity


  The variety of different species living in an area
• Factors that reduce biodiversity

  Waste in: water, land, air
• Examples of land pollutants

  Herbicides, pesticides, household waste, buried nuclear waste
• What is the greenhouse effect

  The process by which gases hold heat in the atmosphere
• How is carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere

  photosynthesis, absorbing in peat bogs, dissolving in water
• Consequences of global warming

  acidification of oceans, rising water levels, reduced biodiversity, extreme weather events, loss of habitats, change in animal distribution
• Methods of maintaining biodiversity

  recycling waste, reducing deforestation and emissions, breeding programs
• Benefits of recycling

  reduces demand for extraction, slows landfill expansion