IB ESS SUMMER PACK 2023

STUDENT’S NAME: ____________________

This paper is your Summer Homework.

Read the chapter summaries that are covered in

the first-year.
Answer all questions from the topics as follows:

Topics:

Chapter 1: Foundations of environmental systems

and societies

Chapter 2: Ecosystems and ecology

Chapter 3: Biodiversity and conservation
Chapter 4: Water, food production systems and
society

Write your answers in the boxes provided.

Due date : the first lesson of the ESS class!

TOPIC 1

1. Foundations of Environmental systems and societies

1. 1.1 Environmental value systems

2. 1.2 Systems and models

3. 1.3 Energy and equilibria

4. 1.4 Sustainability

5. 1.5 Humans and pollution

1.1EVS:
ECOCENTRIC:Puts ecology and nature as central humanity.

ANTROPOCENTRIC:Believes humans must sustainably manage the golabal system.

TECHNOCENTRIC:Believes that technological developments can provide solution to environmentel problems

Key historical influences on the development of the modern environmental

movement.

How did the following landmarks lead to the development of local and global environmental pressure groups,
the concept of stewardship, and raising public awareness via increased media coverage?

• Minimata, Japan (1956)

• mercury (Hg) released into wastewater bio accumulates in organisms b/c it’s a heavy metal
• Hg biomagnifies up the food chain
• resulted in mercury poisoning for residents
• human and pet deaths raised awareness of industrial contamination of food supplies
• Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (1962)
• documented negative impacts of pesticides on the environment
• painted picture of spring with no bird or insect life
• credited with launching the modern environmental movement
• Love Canal (1978)
• Hooker Co. sold land to local school board with deed detailing toxic waste buried at site
• school & neighborhood built on the site despite warnings
• buried waste seeped into groundwater
• high rates of cancer and other long-term health problems in area raised suspicions
• established toxic chemical waste as a national issue
• Three-mile Island (1979)
• partial core meltdown in Pennsylvania
• worst nuclear accident in the US
• solidified public concern about safety of nuclear energy
 • new government regulations significantly slowed development/construction of new nuclear facilities in
US
• Bhopal, India (1984)
• Union Carbide pesticide plant accidentally released toxic cyanide gas into atmosphere
• killed approximately 15,000 people - world’s worst industrial accident
• groundwater contamination and legal proceedings still ongoing
• UC paid approx. US$350 million in compensation
• corporate responsibility for effects/damages to people
• whaling & Save the Whales (1986)
• scientists noted 50,000 whales killed annually & populations plummeting
• International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned commercial whaling in 1986 to allow whale populations
to recover
• Japan, Iceland, Norway refuse to comply
• controversy: some species have recovered, others have not; depends on perspective
• Chernobyl (1986)
• core explosion at nuclear power plant in Ukraine
• worst nuclear disaster in history
• large radioactive cloud spread over many countries - introduced idea of international consequences from
local events
• raised concerns about nuclear power production and forced Soviet government to be more open
• early in age of 24-hr cable TV news, so highly publicized

1.2 Systems: an assemblage of parts and their relationship forming a functioning entirety or whole

1. Open systems: exchanges matter and energy(forest ecosystem..)

2. Closed systems: exchanges only energy(EARTH)
3. Isolated systems: neither matter nor energy and is theoretical)Entire unıverse)
Laws of thermodynamics

1st: energy is neither created nor destroyed, only changes forms

2nd: the entropy of a closed system increases; when energy is transformed into work, some energy is always lost as
waste heat

Equilibrium

Steady-state: in open systems, continuous inputs and outputs of energy and matter, system as a whole remains in a
constant state, no long term changes.

Static: no change over time; when the state of equilibrium is distributed, the system adapts a new equilibrium; can’t
occur in living systems

Stable: the system returns to the same equilibrium after disturbances

Unstable: system returns to a new equilibrium after disturbances

Feedback

Positive: results in a further decrease of output and the system is destabilized and pushed into a new state of
equilibrium

Negative: tends to neutralize or counteract any deviation from an equilibrium and tends to stabilize systems

Transfers and transformations

Transfers: occur whwn energy or matter flows and - Energy to energy(light converted to heat by radiating
changes location but does not change its state surfaces)

- The movement of material through living - Matter to energy(burning fossil fuels)

organisms(carnivores eating other animals.
- Energy to matter(Photosynthesisi)
- Movement of material in non-living process(water
being carried by a steream)

- The movement of energy( ocean curernts tranferring

het)

The Gaia model

Views earth as a living organism

Transformations occur whwn energy or matter flows

and changes its state

- Matter to matter(glucose converted to starch)

1.4SUSTAINABILITY: is the use and management of resorces that allows full natural replacement of the resources
exploited and full recovery of the ecosystems affected by their extraction and use.

Natural capital is natural resources that produce sustainable natural income of goods and services.

Natural income is the yield from natural capital

Sustainability Indicators

EF(Ecological Foot print): The ecological footprint (EF) is the amount of land and water that is required to support a
human population at a given standard of living – providing all the resources and assimilating all the waste

Biocapacity

Millenium Ecosytem Assesmeny (MEA): Funded by the United Nations (UN).

Started in 2001 with the first results in 2005 (MEA, 2005

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs: (EIAs) incorporate baseline studies before a development project is
undertaken. They assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of a project; predicting and evaluating
possible impacts and suggesting mitigation strategies for the project. They are usually followed by an audit and
continued monitoring. Each country or region has different guidance on the use of EIAs

1.5

• POLLUTION: The contamination of air, water, or soil by substances that are harmful to living organisms.
 *Pollutants may be in the form of organic or inorganic substances, light, sound or thermal energy, biological
agents or invasive species.

• Point source: Pollution that can be traced back to a single origin or source (ex. sewage treatment plant
discharge).

• Point source pollution has a localized impact is easier to manage.

• Non-point source: Pollution which cannot be traced back to a single origin or source (ex. storm water runoff,
water runoff from urban areas and failed septic systems).

• More difficult to identify and manage

• Hard to assign responsibility

TOPIC2

Ecosystems and Ecology

1. 2.1 Species and populations

2. 2.2 Communities and ecosystems

 3. 2.3 Flows of energy and matter

4. 2.4 Biomes, zonation and succession

5. 2.5 Investigating ecosystems

Definitions:

Biotic factors: living components.

Abiotic factors: non-living physical and chemical components.

Species: is a groupof organisms(living things) sharing common characteristics that interbreed and produce fertile
offspring.

Population: a group of individuals of the same species living in the same area at the same time.

Habitat: the environment where a species normally lives.

Ecological niche: how an organism makes a living.

Community: a group of populations living and interacting with each other in a common habitat.

Ecosystem: a community of independent organisms (biotic factors) and the physical environment (abiotic factors) which
they inhabit.

Biome: a collection of ecosystems sharing common climatic conditions.

Respiration: a process of breaking down food in order to release energy.

Photosynthesis: a process of producers making their own food (glucose) and producing oxygen from water and carbon
dioxide.

Biomass: the living mass of an organism or organisms but sometimes refers to dry mass.

Gross Productivity: the total gain in energy or biomass per unit area per unit time.

GPP: by producers

GSP: by consumers

Net Productivity: the total gain in energy or biomass per unit area per unit time after allowing for losses to respiration.

NPP: by producers

NSP: by consumers.

Biomes:

● Latitude (distance from equator)

● Altitude (height above sea level)

● Wind and water currents

● P/E ratio (precipitation over evaporation ratio)

 ● latent heat: heat that is either taken in or produced when water changes from state to state

Different Biomes:

Tropical Rainforest – hot and wet areas with broadleaved ever green forest. Within 50 north or south of the equator.
High rainfall and high temperature, high insolation as near equator. There are amazingly high levels of biodiversity, many
species and many individuals of specie. There are very large evergreen trees, small shrubs, orchids.

It is estimated that tropical rainforest produces 40% of NPP of terrestrial ecosystems. But the problems it has, are that
50% of human population live near the equator, so they damage the biome, they are exploited for human economical
needs.

Desert – dry areas which are usually hot in the day and cold in the night, there are tropical, temperate and cold deserts.
It covers 20-30% of earths surface, about 300 of north or south of the equator. Water is limited in the deserts. There are
few species and very low biodiversity, there are only the ones who adapted to the conditions. Soil can be rich, because
the nutrients are not washed away from the water. NPP is low because the amount of plants and animals are limited,
because of the water. Desertification is the human activity

Temperate Grassland – fairly flat areas, that are covered with grass, they are located 400 – 600 from the equator, either
north or south. The net productivity is not very high, because its only grass that grows on the land, nothing else. And
with that the animals that are growing are small size as well. Humans use grass lands for the crops.

Temperate Forest - mild climate and deciduous forest. Located 400 – 600 north or south of the equator, it has 4
seasons, there also are fewer species than tropical rainforest, it has the second highest NPP after the tropical rainforest.
Much of the temperate forests, have been cleared because of human activities.

Arctic Tundra – Tree less plain with permafrost, cold and very low precipitation, dark nights. It is 10% of lands surface, it
is located on the arctic cap. Water is limiting but the fire can stop the climax community forming. There are no trees but
there Is a thick mat, covered by mosses and grasses. It has very low biodiversity, and soil is poor. With that the NPP is
very low, humans use it for mining.

Ecosystem Structure:

Food chains and trophic levels

Food chain: shows a flow of energy from one organism to the next.

Food web: shows a complex network of interrelated food chains.

Trophic level: a position that an organism or a group of organisms in a community occupies in a food chain.

Producers or autotrophs: which manufacture their own food from inorganic substances.

Consumers or heterotrophs: which feed on autotrophs or other heterotrophs to obtain energy.

Decomposers: consumers that obtain energy from dead organisms.

Detritivores: consumers that derive their food from detritus or decomposing organic material.

Ecological pyramids

Pyramid of numbers: shows the number of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain

advantages:

● Easy method of giving an overview.

 ● Good for comparing changes in population numbers over different times.

disadvantages:

● All organisms included regardless of their size.

● Numbers can be too great to represent accurately.

Pyramid of biomass: contains the biomass at each trophic level.

advantages:

● Overcomes the problems of pyramids of numbers.

Disadvantages:

● Only uses samples from populations, so it’s impossible to measure biomass exactly.

● Organisms must be killed to measure dry mass.

Pyramid of productivity: contains the flow of energy through each trophic level; shows the energy being generated and
available as food to the next trophic level during a fixed period of time.

Advantages:

Shows the actual energy transferred and allows for rate of production.

Disadvantages:

Very difficult and complex to collect energy data as the rate of biomass production over time is required

Bioaccumulation and biomagnification:

Bioaccumulation: increase in concentration in one organism over time.

Biomagnification: increase in concentration with the increase in trophic levels.

Trophic efficiency: only 10% of the energy is transferred to the next, so the trophic efficiency=10%.

Population Interactions

● A population is a group of organisms of the same species living in the same area at the same time and capable of
interbreeding.
● Population density is the average number of individuals in a stated area.

Competition
 ● Competition between members of the same species is Intraspecific competition.

● Individuals of the different species, competeting for the same resource is called Interspecific competition.

● The other outcome is that one species may totally outcompete the other, this is the principle of Competitive
exclusion.

Predation – happens when one animal, the predator, eats another animal, the prey.

Herbivory – is defined as an animal eating green plant.

Parasitism - is a relationship between two species in which one species lives in or on another gaining its food from it.

Mutualism - s a relationship between two or more species in which both or all benefit and none suffer.

Succession

● Succession is the change in species composition in an ecosystem over time

● It may occur on bare ground where soul formation starts the process or where no soil has already formed, or
where the vegetation has been removed.
● Early in succession, GPP and respiration are low and so NPP is high as biomass accumulates.
Zonation:is the change in communıty along an environmental gradient due to factors such as changes in altıtude,
Latitude, tidal level or distance from shore /coverage by water.

Changes occurring during a succession

1. The size of organisms increases

2. Energy flow becomes more complex
3. Soil depth, humus, water-holding capacity, mineral content and cycling increase
4. Biodiversity increases and then falls as the climax community is reached
5. NPP and GPP rise and then fall
6. Production: respiration ratio falls
7. Species diversity in successions
8. Early stages of succession: few species
9. Species diversity increases with the succession
10. Increase continues until a balance is reached between possibilities for new species to establish, existing species
to expand their range and local extinction.

· Internal – factors act within species

1. Limited food supply lead to intraspecific competition

2. Lack of suitable territory

3. Survival of the fittest

· External – factors act between different species (predation and disease)

1. Predation – pray animals increase, predators increase -> pray decreases and the predators decrease

2. Disease – at high populations spreads fast

S-curves

· Start with exponential growth

· Then the growth slows down

· Finally constant size

Other facts:

· Consistent with carrying capacity of the environment

· Environmental resistance

Density-independent limiting factors (abiotic factors when effects do not depend on the population density)

· Climate

· Weather

· Volcanic eruptions

· Floods

J- curves

· “Boom and üst” – population grows exponentially and suddenly collapses

· The collapse is referred to as overshoot

· The sudden collapse usually caused by abiotic factors

The J-curves usually occur in:

1. Microbes 3. Fish

2. Invertebrates 4. Small mammals

K-selected species · High parental care and protection

· Long life · High investment in individual offspring

· Slower growth · Adapted to stable environment

· Late maturity · Later stages of succession

· Fewer large offspring · Niche specialists

 · Predators · Little parental care or protection

· Regulated mainly by internal factors · Little investment in individual offspring

· Higher trophic level · Adapted to unstable environment

· Trees, albatrosses, humans · Pioneers, colonizers

· Niche generalists

r-selected species · Prey

· Short life · Regulated mainly by external factors

· Rapid growth · Lower trophic level

· Early maturity · Examples: annual plants, flour beetles, bacteria

· Many small offspring

2.5 INVESTIGATING ECOSYSTEMS

Collecting data:

*Sampling methods:

Simple random ,Systematic sampling,Cluster sampling, Stratified Sampling

Bıostatistical sampling method:

Quadrats, Line&Belt Transect

Abiotic Factors:

MARINE: Salinity, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, wave action

FRESHWATER:Turbity,flow velocity,pH,temperature,dissolved oxygen

TERRESTERIAL: soil texture, slope, soil moisture, drainage and mineral content,temperature,light intensity,wind speed

APPARATUS:

Salinity: conductivity meter, handheld refractometer, hydrometer

pH: pH meter

Temperature: thermometer

Dissolved oxygen: Winkler titration, DO meter

Wave Action: Wave meters or gauges

Turbidity: Secchi disc

Flow velocity: flowmeter, impellers

Light intensity: light meter

Wind speed: anemometer

Soil Texture: soil texture analysis kits

Slope: inclinometer, GPS

Soil Moisture: tensiometers

Drainage: percolation tests, soil moisture sensors, groundwater level measurement

Mineral Content: spectrophotometer

BIOTİC FACTORS:Measurıng Biomass of Low vegetatıon and grasses

For low vegetation / grasses:

1. Place a suitably sized quadrat.

2. Harvest all the above-ground vegetation in that area.

3. Wash it to remove any insects.

4. Dry it at about 60–70°C until it reaches a constant weight. Water

content can vary enormously so all the water should be removed and

the mass given as dry weight.

5. For accurate results this should be repeated 3–5 times so that a mean

per unit area can be obtained.

6. The result can then be extrapolated to the total biomass of that

species in the ecosystem.

Measurıng Bıomass of Tress and Bushes

1. Select the tree or bush you which to test.

2. Harvest the leaves from 3–5 branches.

3. Wash it to remove any insects.

4. Dry it at about 60–70°C until it reaches a constant weight. Water content can vary enormously so all the water should
be removed and the mass given as dry weight.

5. For accurate results this should be repeated 3–5 times so that a mean

per unit area can be obtained.

6. The result can then be extrapolated to the total biomass of that

species in the ecosystem.

PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY

Different methods for terrestrial and aquatic habitats.

- Find three (almost) identical areas

- Dig up one and calculate its biomass.

- Cover one with black plastic, and leave one open.

 - A set amount of time later measure the biomass of the two site.

- Initial – Light = NPP

- Initial – Dark = Respiration

- Light – Dark = GPP

Secondary Productıvıty

GSP = food eaten – faecal loss

NSP = GSP – Respiration

1. Take the mass of herbivore.

2. Measure all the food it eats and its feces.

3. After a certain amount of time measure the mass of the animal again.

CATCHING MOTILE ORGANISMS

*Pitfall Traps

*Sweep Nets

*Tree Beating

*Kıck Sampling

IDENTIFYING SPECIES

*Dichotomous key

*Lincoln Index:Capture,Mark,Release,Recapture

Measurıng species diversity:

Species richness: number of different species present in an area (more species = greater richness)

Species evenness: the relative abundance of the different species in an area (similar abundance = more evenness)

Simpson’s Reciprocal Diversity Ind

.
TOPIC 3 BIODİVERSTY

Biodiversity and conservation

1. 3.1 An introduction to biodiversity

2. 3.2 Origins of biodiversity

3. 3.3 Threats to biodiversity

4. 3.4 Conservation of biodiversity

Types of Diversity

Biodiversity- the numbers of species of different animals and plants in different places can be considered at
threelevels:

1. Genetic diversity- the range of genetic material present in a species or a population.

2. Species diversity- the number of different species within a given area or habitat.

3. Habitat diversity- the number of different habitats per unit area that a particular ecosystem or biome contains.

Simpson’s diversity index- measure species diversity in an area

Simpson’s reciprocal index- in which 1 is the lowest diversity where N = the total number of organisms of all
species and n = the total number of organisms of a particular species

Hotspots:

● Some regions have more biodiversity than others.

● In hotspots there are unusually high numbers of endemic species- those only found in that place.

● Tend to be nearer the tropics and are often tropical forests.

● Tend to have large densities of human habituation nearby.

How New Species Form

Charles Darwin proposed the theory of evolution which is outlined in The Origin of Species, published in 1859

The theory is summarized below;

Speciation-
 ● When species are formed by gradual change over a long time when populations of the same species become
separated, they cannot interbreed and may start to diverge if the environments they inhabit change.

● Separation may have geographical or reproductive causes; humans speed up speciation by artificial selection
of plants and animals and by genetic engineering

● Over time the population gradually changes= natural selection

● “the survival of the fittest”

Physical Barriers (examples of species and speciation)

● Large flightless birds (e.g. emu, ostrich, rhea, cassowary) only found in Africa, Australia, South America

● cichlid fish in the lakes of East Africa, Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Malawi

● Llamas and camels (llamas in South America and camels in Africa and central Asia)

Land bridges: allow species to invade new areas

● Continental drift: the movement of tectonic plates.

● Plate tectonics: the study of the movement of plates (continental drift).

● Plates may either slide past each other, diverge, or converge.

Background and Mass Extinctions

Background extinction rate- natural extinction rate for species

E. O. Wilson- a biologist at Harvard, thinks that the current rate of extinction is 1000 times the background rate and
is caused by human activities

Hotspots- areas where species are more vulnerable to extinction

Biologists thing: we are the sixth mass extinction called the Holocene extinction event

The Sixth Mass Extinction

● far greater than any in the past.

● already wiped out many large mammal and flightless bird species.
 ● humans alter the landscape on an unprecedented scale.

● previous mass extinctions were due to physical (abiotic) causes over long time spans.

● current mass extinction is caused by humans (biotic causes) and is accelerating.

humans:

● transform the environment

● overexploit other species

● introduce alien species

● pollute the environment

Worldwide Fund for Nature produces periodic report called the Living Planet Report

o measures trends in the Earth’s biological diversity

Two phases to the sixth mass extinction:

1. when modern humans spread over the Earth about 100 000 years ago

2. when humans became farmers 10 000 years ago

Factors that help to maintain the biodiversity

● complexity of the ecosystem

● stage of succession

● (lack of) limiting factors

● Inertia

Factors that lead to loss of biodiversity

● Natural hazards

● loss of habitat

● fragmentation of habitat
 ● pollution

● overexploitation

● introducing non-native (exotic species)

● spread of disease

● modern agricultural practices

What makes a species prone to extinction?

1. Narrow geographical range

2. Small population size of reclining numbers

3. Low population densities and large territories

4. Few populations of the species

5. A large body

6. Low reproductive potential

7. Seasonal migrants

8. Poor dispersers

9. Specialized feeders or niche requirements

10. Hunted for food or sport

11. Minimum viable population size: that is needed for a species to survive in the wild is a figure that
scientists and conservationists consider

12. Narrow geographical range

13. Small population size of reclining numbers

14. Low population densities and large territories

15. Few populations of the species

16. A large body

17. Low reproductive potential

18. Seasonal migrants

19. Poor dispersers

20. Specialized feeders or niche requirements

 21. Hunted for food or sport

22. Minimum viable population size: that is needed for a species to survive in the wild is a figure that
scientists and conservationists consider.

Extinct Species

● Thylacine (Tasmanian tiger)

● life expectancy of 12-14 years

● habitat: open forests and grassland

● competed with dingoes on the mainland of Australia

● hunted by farmers whose stock of sheep was the species’ prey

● hunting, poisoning, and trapping

● shooting parties organized for tourists’ entertainment

● last one has been killed in 1930

● now introduced dogs have taken over the ecological role of the thylacine

● Dodo

● large flightless bird endemic to the island of Mauritius

● ground-nesting bird

● 1505 Portuguese sailors ate dodo as a source of fresh meat

● new species introduced that ate dodo

● humans killed the birds for sport

 ● destruction of habitat

Endangered species

● Rafflesia

● tropical parasitic plant in the forests of South-East Asia

● single sexed

● pollination must be carried out when the plant in bloom

● vulnerable because they need specific conditions to survive

● deforestation and logging destroy their habitat

● now there are Rafflesia sanctuaries

3.4What are the reasons to conserve biodiversity

*economic, ecological, social and aesthetic.

The value of biodiversity:

Direct:

*Food sources

*Natural products(Rubber (latex) is from rubber trees, linen from flax, rope from hemp, cotton from cotton plants,
silk from silkworms.Honey, beeswax, rattan, natural perfumes, timber are all from plants or animals,medicines….)

Indirect:

• *Environmental services:( Soil aeration depends on worms.// Fertilization and pollination of some food
crops depend on insects//soil and water resorces are protected by vegetation//Wastes are broken by
decomposers)

• *Scientific and educational value

• *Biological control agents

• Gene pools

• Future potential for even more uses(miners uses canaries for understending toxic gases//indicator species
eg lichens, can show air quality.

• Human Health:medicines are prodeced by using plants

 • Human Rights: If biodiversity is protected, indigenous people can continue to live in their native lands

• Recreational

• Ecotourism

• Ethical/intrinsic value

• Biorights self-perpetuation

CONSERVATION : biologists do not necessarily want to exclude humans from reserves or from interacting
with other organisms

PRESERVATION: biology has an ecocentric viewpoint which puts value on nature for its own intrinsic
worth, not as a resource that humans can exploit

Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) -

• composed of and answering to a group of member states (countries)

• also called international organizations

eg the UN, IPCC

Governmental organizations (GOs) -

• part of and funded by a national government

• highly bureaucratic

• research, regulation, monitoring and control activities

• eg Environmental Protection Agency of the USA (EPA), Environmental Protection Department of China.

Non governmental organizations (NGOs) -

• not part of a government

• not for profit

• may be international or local and funded by altruists and subscriptions

• some run by volunteers

• very diverse

eg Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace

Timeline of key dates for biodiversity conservation

• 1961 World Wildlife Fund set up by IUCN and Julian Huxley

 • 1966 Species Survival Commission published Red Data LisT

• 1973 Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES).

• 1980 World Conservation Strategy

• 1980 Brandt Commission published - beginnings of sustainable development

• 1982 UN World Charter for Nature

• 1987 Brundtland Commission on Our Common Future - first defined sustainable development

• 1991 Caring for the Earth: A Strategy for Sustainable Living

• 1992 Earth Summit Rio de Janeiro produced Agenda 21, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the
Rio Declaration leading to BAPs (biodiversity action plans) Earth Council Global Biodiversity Strategy

• 2000 UN Millennium Summit and the MDGs (millennium development goals)

• 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg

• 2005 World Summit, New York

• 2010 International Year of Biodiversity

• 2012 Rio+20 - UN conference on sustainable development (UNSD)

Approaches to conservatIon

Species-based conservation

1.Cıtes: Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten
their survival

2.Captive breeding and zoos

3.Botanical gardens and seed banks

4.Flagships species: These species are charismatic, instantly recognized, popular and can capture our imagination

5.Keystone species: A keystone species is one that plays a critical role in maintaining the structure of the ecosystem in
which they live

Keystone Species

● Species that have a bigger effect on their environment than others.

● Act as keystone in an arch, holding the arch together.

● Their disappearance can have an impact far greater than and not proportional to their numbers or biomass.

● Could destroy the ecosystem or imbalance it greatly.

Example: elephants in the African savanna act as engineers, removing trees, after which grasses can grow

• ECOTONES: Edge effects occur at ecotones (where two habitats meet and there is a change near the boundary).

• CORRIDORS: Corridors which are strips of protected land may link reserves. These allow individuals to move
from reserve to reserve and so increase the size of the gene pool or allow seasonal migration.

• Exotic or invasive species may also get into a reserve via the corridors.

• UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere programme (MAB): The MAB reserves have, if possible, buffer zones. This is
a zone around the core reserve which is transitional.

TOPIC 4

Water, food production systems and society

4.1 Introduction to water systems

4.2 Access to freshwater

4.3 Aquatic food production systems

4.4 Water pollution

Economic Water Scarcity: This is when the supply of water exists, but there is not enough money to extract,
treat and transport it.

Physical water Scarcity: This is when the demand for water exceeds the supply of water. Arid areas don't
necessarily have a physical water scarcity if the demands are low.

Water Stress: This is when there is a shortage of water for economic reasons, physical reasons or both. If
there is water stress then wetlands, ecosystems, agricultural land, industrial production and ultimately
humans can all be affected.

Sustainable Water Use

• Sustainable: use of a resource at a rate that does not impact future generations

• Sources of freshwater:
– Surface water (lakes, rivers, streams)

– Aquifers (ground water)

• Replacing water in aquifers is a very slow process as it requires water to infiltrate the soil and rock to reach the aquifer.
(often difficult to use at sustainable levels)

• Some aquifers cannot be refilled as they are no longer exposed to an area for refilling. (cannot be used sustainably)

Two Problems: Water Scarcity & Water Degradation

Water Scarcity Issues:

• Growing Population Increases need for water and food

• Climate change affecting precipitation rates and changing monsoons.

• Agricultural practices are often wasteful, high evaporation rates

• Low water levels in many surface water sources

• Aquifers being exhausted due to over-pumping

Water Scarcity Solutions: Large Scale Solutions

• Build dams (reservoirs) – see discussion of issues from previous lesson

• Desalination – takes a lot of energy, thermal pollution

• Rainwater harvesting large scale

• Artificially recharge aquifers

•More efficient domestic use (low flow appliances and faucets)

• Grey water recycling – ex; use shower water for flushing or garden

• Rainwater harvesting

• Drought resistant crops

• Drip irrigation

• Water at night/evenings when evaporation rates are lower

Water conflicts in the Middle East:

• Many countries in the Middle East, which has one of the world’s highest population growth rates, face water
shortages.

• Most water in this dry region comes from the Nile, Jordan or Tigris rivers.

• Countries are in disagreement as to who has water rights.

Process of Eutrophication

● Fertilizers (or detergents) wash into river lake

● High levels of nitrates and/or phosphates lead to increased algal

● Algal blooms block sunlight from penetrating deeper into the lake

● More producers result in increased consumer

● Plants not on surface die due to lack of sunlight

● Decomposer population grows significantly

● Increased decomposition and consumer population leads to decreased dissolved oxygen

● Due to low levels of oxygen everything begins die

● May result in dead zones (oceans or freshwater) deeper into the lake
SHORT ANSWER and ESSAY TYPE QUESTIONS

1.
a. Define the term species . (1)

b. Describe how populations of individual species interact within an ecosystem, using named examples to
support your answer. (5)
2.
 3. Figure 1 below shows how the sun’s energy flows along a food chain and Figure 2 shows one way
in which solar energy can be converted into electricity.

Figure 1
Figure 2

[Source: Adapted from E P Odum, Ecology, A Bridge Between Science and Society, (Sinauer Associates Inc, 1996) page 89. © E P
Odum. Reproduced by permission of the estate of E P Odum.]

(a) Describe and explain what is happening to energy along the food chain in Figure 1.

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(2)

(b) Describe the process by which the sun’s energy is used by plants.

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(2)

(c) State two energy sources that could be used in the power station in Figure 2.

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(1)
 4. Figure 3 shows the nutrient cycles for a temperate deciduous woodland and for an area nearby where
the woodland has been cleared for mixed farming.

Figure 3

[Source: Nagle and Spencer, Diagram showing nutrient cycles for a temperate deciduous woodland and mixed farming from Advanced
Geography Through Diagrams, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997). By permission of Oxford University Press]

(i) Explain what is meant by the term biomass in Figure 3.

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(1)

(ii) Identify the main differences between the two nutrient cycles in Figure 3.

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(3)
5.

(a) It has been suggested that “extinction is a natural process therefore we should not worry about the loss
of biodiversity”. Give two reasons why you either agree or disagree with this statement.

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(2)

(b) List two advantages and two disadvantages of the role of captive breeding programs and zoos in the
conservation of endangered species.

(i) Advantages

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(2)

(ii) Disadvantages

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(2)
6.
Figure 4 shows rates of net primary productivity (NPP) for different biomes around the world.
Figure 4

(a) Define the term net primary productivity. [1]

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(b) Explain why rates of net primary productivity are higher in some parts of the planet
than others. [2]
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(c) Suggest two ecological reasons why certain ecosystems are considered more
biologically significant than others. [2]
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(d) Outline one human activity threatening a named area of biological significance. [1]
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7 . Figure 5: Graph showing changes in the populations of two forest species over time.

(i)Explain the relationship between the prey and predators shown in Figure 5. [2]
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(ii)Define the terms habitat diversity and species diversity.

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8. Outline the evolutionary processes that link habitat diversity to species diversity.

(5)

9. (a) (i) Outline the process of eutrophication.

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(2)

(ii) State one method of preventing eutrophication.

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(1)

(iii) State one method of dealing with eutrophication after it has occurred.

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(1)
 (b) (i) Explain what is meant by the term endangered species, giving an example.

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(2)

(ii) List three factors which may lead to a species becoming endangered.

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(3)

(c) Give three ways in which efforts are made to protect endangered species, with an example for
each.

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(3)
(d) How might natural selection lead to an increase in species diversity?

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(3)