4)+Ecology+and+the+environment

a) The organism in the environment b) Feeding relationships c) Cycles within ecosystems d) Human influences on the environment
 * Section 4: Ecology and the environment**

Don't forget to download the workbooks from the Bridge on each of these topics!

a) The organism in the environment

//Students will be assessed on their ability to:// 4.1 understand the terms: population, community, habitat and ecosystem 4.2 recall the use of quadrats to estimate the population size of an organism in two different areas 4.3 describe the use of quadrats as a technique for sampling the distribution of organisms in their habitats

__**Estimating the size of the school field**__ __ [] __

b) Feeding relationships

//Students will be assessed on their ability to:// 4.4 recall the names given to different trophic levels to include producers, primary, secondary and tertiary consumers and decomposers 4.5 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramids of energy transfer 4.6 understand the transfer of substances and of energy along a food chain 4.7 explain why only about 10% of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next

__**A) Make a food web of the mountain ecosystem (use A3 paper provided & work in pairs)**__ __**B) Questions to answer in your exercise books**__ 1. Find and write out 6 different food chains from your team's food web. (Your food chains should not be similar.) 2. On two of your food chains, identify the producer and three levels of consumers. 3. Identify three organisms, which are at the top of their food chains. 4. Explain what would happen if all of the primary consumer became extinct with examples from this web. 5. Describe what would happen if all of the decomposers became extinct with examples from this web. 6. Why is only about 10% of the energy transferred from one trophic level to the next? (page 160-161 of the Cambridge book will help as will the following link) [] If you want to know what one of the animals looks like then have a look at this site: http://alp-rockymoutain.tripod.com/id4.html

c) Cycles within ecosystems

//Students will be assessed on their ability to:// **4.8 describe the stages in the water cycle, including evaporation, transpiration, condensation and precipitation** 4.9 describe the stages in the carbon cycle, including respiration, photosynthesis, decomposition and combustion **4.10 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)**

d) Human influences on the environment

//Students will be assessed on their ability to:// 4.11 understand the biological consequences of pollution of air by sulphur dioxide and by carbon monoxide 4.12 recall that water vapour, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane and CFCs are greenhouse gases 4.13 understand how human activities contribute to greenhouse gases 4.14 understand how an increase in greenhouse gases results in an enhanced greenhouse effect and that this may lead to global warming and its consequences **4.15 understand the biological consequences of pollution of water by sewage including increases in the number of microorganisms causing depletion of oxygen** 4.16 understand that eutrophication can result from leached minerals from fertiliser 4.17 understand the effects of deforestation, including leaching, soil erosion, disturbance of the water cycle and of the balance in atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide.