Biology {Ecology 🍃 }
Components of an Ecosystem
consumers- animals eat other organisms to gain energy
decomposers- feed on decaying or dead material which helps to recycle nutrients ex. fungi
producers- plants, photosynthesis to make energy
Levels of Organisation
ecosystem- community of organisms and the habitat they live
community- all the populations living in the same area
population- all the organisms of the same species living in the same area
individual- one organism
habitat- where organisms live
Biodiversity
primary- herbivores secondary- carnivores tertiary- apex predator
Trophic Levels:
Food Chains and Webs
Food Web
more realisitc presentation of feeding relationships
more than 1 source of food
showcases interdependence within a community
Food Chains
shows the flow of energy from one trophic level to next
producer -> primary consumer -> secondary consumer
Pyramids of Biomass/Energy
Pyramids of Number of Organisms
Loss of Energy in Food Chain
ENEGRY LOSS 2- PRODUCERS respiration in plants releases energy into environment
ENERGY LOSS 3- CONSUMERS urine, waste gases and faeces energy loss, not all materials- like bones- are decomposed or cellulose which is non-digestible trapping energy
ENERGY LOSS 1 SUN only 10% of energy from teh sun absorbed from chloroplasts for photosynthesis because of incorrect wavelengths, and not directly hitting the chloroplasts
Carbon Cycle
Stage 1- Carbon enters atmosphere through aerobic respiration and combustion of hydrocarbons
Stage 2 - Carbon reabsorbed into plants in the form of CO2 for photosynthesis to make carbohydrates
Stage 3- Carbon compounds move across food webs/chains when consumers eat plants exhaled as CO2 and will eventually die
Stage 4- Decomposition of dead waste material with carbon returning to atmosphere as carbon dioxide
Stage 5 Repeat process with non decomposable materials after turning into fossil fuels over millions of years underground back to Stage 1
Factors Affecting an Ecosystem
Biotic Factors
biological factors that have an affect on the ecosystem
Abiotic Factors
temperature
pH
water
salinity
sunlight
minerals
food sources
predators
competition
disease from pathogens
High biodiversity- a large variety of different species living in an ecosystem with large populations of each
This is good because it makes the ecosystem stable, and changes in environment can be sustained
Human Impacts deforestation, pollution, global warming, habitat destruction
How should I investigate biodiversity? 1.Compare no. of organism in a given area using a quadrat. 2. In order to to this, map out a grid in a location, using a randomly generated coordinate with a calculator place the left corner of the quadrat there and count the number of organisms in that are. 3. Repeat this process with same size quadrat with another coordinate in different locations.
physical or chemical factors that have an affect on the ecosystem
How should I investigate the impacts of biotic and abiotic factors on biodiversity? Using a transect line up quadrats systematically across it at defined intervals and record the different factors in association to the population of the organisms.
the range and number of different species in an ecosystem