4.

Ecology

4 Ecology and the environment

The following sub-topics are covered in this section.

1. (a)  The organism in the environment

2. (b)  Feeding relationships
3. (c)  Cycles within ecosystems
4. (d)  Human influences on the environment

(a) The organism in the environment

4.1 understand the terms population, community, habitat and ecosystem

The organism and the environment

 Population – a group of organisms of the same species who live in the same
ecosystem at the same time
 Community – a group of populations living and interacting with each other in an area
 Ecosystem – a distinct, self-supporting system of organs interacting with each other
and with a physical environment
 Habitat - the area in which specific organisms live

4.2 practical: investigate the population size of an organism in two different

areas using quadrats

 A quadrat is a sampling square usually between 0.5 and 1 meter in length

 The sampling in an area must be carried out a random to avoid bias
 Use a grid and a random number generator to find the coordinates of the position the
quadrat will be placed in
 The populations inside the square are counted
 This process in repeated in 2 areas
 It shows where the population are dense and sparse
 Quadrats give a representation of an area

4.3B understand the term biodiversity

 Biodiversity is the variety of different species living in a habitat.

 The greater the number of different species in a habitat, the greater its biodiversity.
 Some ecosystems are natural and others are artificial.

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4.4B practical: investigate the distribution of organisms in their habitats and

measure biodiversity using quadrats

 Quadrants: square made of wires that is divided into smaller areas in which organisms
underneath are identified and counted
 Measuring distribution and biodiversity of organisms:
1. Place quadrant randomly within sampling area
2. Count the populations of different species within the
quadrant
3. Repeat this numerous times within sampling area
using the same size quadrant
4. Show results on map of sampled area, showing in
which areas populations of different species are
dense or not

 Increasing reliability of results:

 Randomly placed
 Use same size quadrant each time
 Reliability of results will increase as more samples are taken

4.5 understand how abiotic and biotic factors affect the population size and
distribution of organisms

 Abiotic factors: non - living environmental factors that can affect the organisms in
ecosystems
 Abiotic factors can affect a range of species as each organism is adapted to certain
environments
Abiotic factors

Light intensity Soil ph Carbon dioxide levels

Soil moisture level Availability of minerals and Availability of water
nutrients
Temperature Oxygen levels

 Biotic factors: interaction associated with

living organisms Gazing Competition for food Fungi
 Biotic factors will affect all species as Diseases Competition for shelter
they have the vulnerability of being food Predation Bacteria
to predators or being a host to a disease
that can affect population of species

(b) Feeding relationships

4.6 understand the names given to different trophic levels, including producers,
primary, secondary and tertiary consumers and decomposers
Feeding relationships in ecology
 There are 3 components of ecosystems
1. Producers – plants that photosynthesis to produce food
2. Consumers – animals that eat plants or other animals
3. Decomposers – decays dead material and help recycle nutrients
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4.7 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number,
pyramids of biomass and pyramids of energy transfer

Food chains
 The different stages in a food chain are called trophic levels
 Light → producer (green plant) → first consumer (flies and herbivores) → second
consumer (carnivores) → third consumer
 The fourth link in a food chain is a tertiary consumer
 Another link (fourth consumer) would be the quatemary consumer, because nothing
eats it, it is also called the top carnivore
 E.g. plankton → crustacean → fish → seal → polar bear
 Food webs give a clearer picture of the feeding relationships that exist between food
chains in an ecosystem

4.8 understand the transfer of substances and energy along a food chain

Pyramids of numbers and biomass

 A pyramid of number – represents the numbers of organisms in a food chain,
irrespective of their mass, we can het odd shapes as 1 willow tree for example can
support thousands of caterpillars
 Pyramids of biomass – always have a pyramid shape because mass is always lost at
each trophic level because: some material is always lost, some material isn’t digested,
is absorbed from excretory products, is lost by respiration
 Bioaccumulation – when toxins build up in a concentration as you go up the food
chain because the toxin doesn’t degrade inside the body tissue and cannot be excreted
so is kept inside the body, therefore the top predator ends up with the most disease
 Only 10% if available energy is transferred to the next trophic level
 Energy is lost as heat during respiratory processes – this limits the lengths of food
chains
 Endotherms are groups of organisms that generate heat from within
 They rely on physiological mechanisms to control body temp.
 Heat loos is large in mammals and birds
Different food webs

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4.9 understand why only about 10% of energy is transferred from one trophic
level to the next
Energy looses
 Little energy from the sun that reaches the earth is trapped by living things because:
 Most of the sunlight never reaches the earth surface – it is
absorbed or reflected by the air
 Some sunlight doesn’t fall onto leaves
 Some sunlight passes through the leaves
 Plants only capture 0.2% of the light that reaches them
 Efficiency = efficiency output / energy output
 The energy and biomass (mass of living tissue) is reduced at each tropic level
 Some material is lost by the organism as waste energy used by respiration isn’t
available for the next trophic level
 Only 10% of available energy is transferred to the next trophic level
 Energy is lost as heat during respiratory processes limiting the length of food chain

(c) Cycles within ecosystems

4.10 describe the stages in the carbon cycle, including respiration,

photosynthesis, decomposition and combustion

CARBON CYCLE: Describes the Movement of Carbon Molecules in the environment

 RESPIRATION
 All Living Organisms will Respire
Aerobically and Release Carbon
Dioxide into the Atmosphere as
Organic Compounds that are Broken
Down to Release Energy
 PHOTOSYNTHESIS

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 Photosynthesis Fixes Carbon Atoms from Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide into Organic
Molecules and Becomes Part of Complex Carbon Compounds in Plants
 DECOMPOSITION
 Dead Organisms are Broken Down by Decomposers and Carbon in their Bodies are
Returned to the Atmosphere as Carbon Dioxide
 COMBUSTION
 If Decomposition is Blocked, Plant and Animal Material are Available as Fossil Fuels
After a Long Period of Time
 Combustion of Fossil Fuels Releases Carbon Dioxide Back into the Atmosphere

4.11B describe the stages in the nitrogen cycle, including the roles of nitrogen
fixing bacteria, decomposers, nitrifying bacteria and denitrifying bacteria
(specific names of bacteria are not required)

Nitrogen cycle
 These are the basic principles of the nitrogen cycle:
 Nitrogen fixation – changing nitrogen into ammonium
 Ammonification – ammonia → ammonium
 Nitrification – ammonium into nitrates (nitrifying bacteria)
 Denitrification – returning bacteria and biochemical into the air (denitrifying
bacteria); nitrates → nitrogen gas
 Together with other biological and biochemical process, like volcanic activity and
lightning is the nitrogen cycle complete
 Nitrogen is needed for DNA production and making proteins
 Plants and animals don’t have the enzymes to break up and use the nitrogen in the air
 Nitrogen fixing bacteria live in the soil with roots of plants
 Clover has root nodules with nitrifying bacteria that can convert ammonium to
nitrates
 When the plant decomposes they put ammonium into the soil
 Leaching – soluble substances are washed from the soil e.g. nitrogen and fertilisers
 Bogs don’t contain nitrifying bacteria so carnivorous plants adapt to get nitrogen in
other ways ‘eating animals’
 Leguminous plants like beans and alfalfa have nitrogen fixing bacteria and they return
nitrogen to the soil

(d) Human influences on the environment

4.12 understand the biological consequences of pollution of air by sulfur

dioxide and carbon monoxide

Human influences on the environment

 Sulphur dioxide dissolves in rainwater as does nitric acid and creates acid rain which:
 1. Damages buildings 2. Leaches soil 3. Changes pH of rivers (which kills fish) 4.
Damages trees
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 Carbon monoxide binds more readily with the haemoglobin in the blood which
restricts the ability of the blood to carry oxygen, leading to death
 These are both produced by burning fossil fuels

4.13 understand that water vapour, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane and
CFCs are greenhouse gases

 Greenhouse gasses are gasses than contribute of the greenhouse gas effect by
absorbing infrared radiation
 These include water vapour (naturally occurring), carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide
(produced by burning fossil fuels), methane (produced by cows and paddy fields) and
chlorofluorocarbons (used as a coolant in fridges)
Greenhouse effect
 The greenhouse gas effect is the trapping of the sun’s heat energy by naturally
occurring gases
 By increasing the thickness of the layer of greenhouse gases,
 More incoming radiation is absorbed by the earth on its way out of the atmosphere
 Too much heat is now trapped in the atmosphere
 This leads to:
 Polar ice caps melting – sea level rises
 Changes in rainfall patterns
 Disease spread more easily due to high temperatures
 Species could become extinct by changing ecosystem

4.14 understand how human activities contribute to greenhouse gases

Greenhouse Human activities

gas
Water vapour Naturally exists in rivers, lakes and oceans
Carbon dioxide Produced when burning fuels in industrial processes
Produced in car exhausts
Nitrous oxide Released from fertilisers on land in farms
Released from cattle waste in farms
Produced from high temperatures in vehicle engines
Methane Released from rice paddy fields
Released from cattle
Cfc Used in fridges and is released into the atmosphere when disposed
Used in aerosol sprays

4.15 understand how an increase in greenhouse gases results in an enhanced

greenhouse effect and that this may lead to global warming and its
consequences

 GREENHOUSE GASES: Gases that Absorb Infrared Radiation from the Sun and
Remains Trapped in the Earth’s Atmosphere, Causing Earth’s Average Temperature
to Rise as a Result
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 ENHANCED GREENHOUSE EFFECT: Caused by the Increased Concentration and Effect

of Greenhouse Gases
THE ENHANCED GREENHOUSE EFFECT

1. The Sun Emits Rays that Enters the Earth’s

Atmosphere
2. The Heat is Emitted Back from the Earth’s Surface
3. Some Heat is Reflected Back Out into Space
4. But Some Heat is Absorbed by Greenhouse Gasses
and is Trapped Within the Earth’s Atmosphere so Causes the
Earth’s Average Temperature to Rise as a Result

CONSEQUENCES:
 Climate Change due to Increase in Earth’s Temperature
 Water Levels will Rise as Glaciers will Melt because of High Temperatures
 Extinction of Species due to Inhabitable Environment
 Migration of Species as they will Move to Areas that are More Habitable (No
Droughts)
 Spread of Diseases caused by the Cold Climate
 Loss of Habitat due to Climate Change (Animals that Live on Glaciers)

4.16understand the biological consequences of pollution of water by sewage

1. Reproduction of micro-organisms
 Sewage is rich in minerals and nutrients that provides large amounts of energy to
allow organisms such as decomposers to reproduce, increasing their population
 Sewage is rich in nutrients (phosphates) that will encourage the growth of algae,
causing algae bloom to form on the surface
2. Depletion of oxygen
 Decomposers will respire aerobically to break down sewage and dead plants (from
lack of sunlight due to algae bloom) so will cause depletion of oxygen, causing
aquatic organisms to die
 Sewage may contain bacteria that respires aerobically, using up oxygen in the water
 Sewage will increase population of organisms in the water so will cause more aerobic
respiration to take place, further increasing the depletion of oxygen

4.17 understand the biological consequences of eutrophication caused by

leached minerals from fertiliser

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Eutrophication
1. Inorganic fertilisers used by
farmers are very soluble and are
leached into rivers when it rains
2. The fertilisers, which contain
nitrate ions increase the
reproduction rare of algae which
uses the nitrates as protein for
growth
3. An algal bloom occurs
4. The algae blocks out sunlight for
plants living in the river
meaning they cannot
photosynthesis
5. The plants die
6. Eventually the algae run out of
mineral ions for growth and die
7. Decomposers decay the algae
and use oxygen for respiration
8. This causes the water to become anoxic and all life in the water dies due to a lack of
oxygen

4.18B understand the effects of deforestation, including leaching, soil erosion,

disturbance of evapotranspiration and the carbon cycle, and the balance of
atmospheric gases

Deforestation
 Deforestation – when humans clear large amounts of forest for non-forest use
 Effects:
1. Leaching od soil minerals – tresses absorb minerals but if no trees are present,
minerals will not be absorbed, and they will be leached by rainfall, the soil will lose
its fertility
2. Soil erosion – without canopies to protect the soil it is completely indreable to the full
force of raindrops
3. Disturbance of water cycle – not transpiration takes place due to no trees, this means
less water is released into the atmosphere leading to a drier climate
4. CO2 and O2 balance disturbed – without trees removing CO2 and converting it to
oxygen by photosynthesis there will be a higher concentration of CO2 and less O2,
slash and burn releases CO2