Populations
How do we calculate the population density of an organism? What is the population of a eucalyptus tree that has 86 individuals in a 400m^2 area.
Density is equal to the total population of the organisms divided by the total area
0.215 organisms per metres squared
When a clown fish is interacting with a sea anemone what type of relationship is this considered?
Mutualism
What is a conservation strategies used to limit the impacts of habitat fragmentation
Building wildlife corridors
What is a form of nitrogen that is able to be used by plants
Nitrate
What does the term temporal and spatial scales mean?
Temporal:recording something based on the time or frequency of occurrence
Spatial: Recording something that is occurring over different distances
Why would removing an apex predator affect an ecosystem?
As a keystone species the population of their prey would increase drastically decreasing overall biodiversity
If a species is leeching nutrients from a host what type of species interaction is occuring?
Parasitism
List 3 strategies that would help with wildlife conservation of organisms that are considered endangered
Reforestation
Capture recapture
Sand traps
Captive breeding
Telemetry/ GPS tracking
Identify 3 invasive species found in Australia
Cane toad
Fox
Feral cats
Camels
Mice (other relevant answer)
What are the three components of biodiversity?
Genetic
Species
Ecosystem
What is meant by the term community in regards to ecosystems?
All of the populations of different species interacting in the same geographic region
What is meant by the term commensalism?
Trees are responsible for converting atmospheric CO2 into stored carbon in trees
What is the difference between primary and secondary succession?
- Bare rock, volcanic eruptions, takes hundreads to thousands of years, pioneers and lichen or moss
Secondary
- Soil, Bushfires, Takes decades to a hundread years, pioneers are annual plants such as grasses/ flowers
Identify 3 of the four greenhouse gases
Water vapour
Methane
Carbon Dioxide
Nitrous Oxide
What is meant by the term competitive exclusion?
Competitive exclusion refers to the fact that two organisms cannot occupy the same niche at any given time.
Intraspecifc refers to collaboration occurring in the same species while interspecific is collaboration occurring between different organisms
Why are 1080 baits used in WA but not in other parts of Australia
1080 baits are used in Western Australia because species native to WA are immune to 1080 baits as they are found naturally here
Describe the process of eutrophication
Nitrogen or phosphorus rich fertilisers run off into bodies of water
The nitrogen feeds the algae causing their population to increase causing an algal blanket
This algal blanket blocks sunlight from reaching plants reducing photosynthesis
Leads to hypoxic/ anoxic conditions leading to animal death
What needs to be included for something to be considered a biodiversity hotspot
High amount of endemic species roughly 1500
Lost around 70% of their vegetation
A lizard has a mass of 2.3kg when it was first caught, when later caught it weighs 1.8kg. What is its % mass loss in two decimal places.
21.74% mass loss
Using the following food chain draw an energy pyramid, make sure to include all the relevant components of an energy pyramid.
Grass --> Grasshopper --> Bird --> Snake --> Hawk
Energy pyramid must include
- Total energy in J
- Losing 10% per trophic level
- Organism classification labelled (producer etc)
- Organism names included on trophic levels
- Energy lost as heat
Explain at least 3 examples of what can be done to reduce the effects of eutrophication
Reduce the use of nitrogen/ phosphorus rich fertilisers
Harvest nitrogen rich organisms from ecosystems
Add oxygen bubblers to the body of water
Reduce run off into bodies of water
Increase fringe vegetation which prevents run off
How does increasing green house gases increase bushfires in Australia?
By increasing green house gases
More of the suns light and heat is trapped in our atmosphere
This increase in heat increase fire risks
- Atmosphere and soil
- Animal and decomposer
Nitrogen Fixation
Decomposition/ ammonification