Name: _________________________________________

IBESS 4A

Topic 2.1 to 2.1.4

Topic 2 is all about the structure and makeup of the ecosystems around us. It is
important to look at how these different systems interact and how each part can
influence another part thus impacting the entire ecosystem. As you move through
the topic keep in mind the first and second laws of thermodynamics and how those
ideas can also influence the structure of an ecosystem.
Topic 2 Class Guide
1. Print, read, highlight and question Topic 2 Syllabus
2. Watch the Big Picture video on the website
3. Nature Walk
a. Explore the grounds
i. Discuss Abiotic, Biotic and trophic levels
b. 21 Questions
4. Complete the picture dictionary
5. Movie Poster: Trophic Levels
a. Create a move poster or advertisement or something similar that:
i. Is of a NAMED LOCAL trophic level
ii. Include food chain and web
iii. Include relevant terms: producer, consumers, decomposer,
herbivores, carnivores, autotrophs etc.
6. Trophic Level Practice Questions

Task
Watch the Ecosystems
Big Picture
Nature Walk
21 Questions
Picture Dictionary
Movie Poster of named
local trophic level
Trophic Level Practice
Questions

Due Date
2 September
2
2
4
4

Points

September
September
September
September

5
10
3
3

4 September

30

Environmental Picture Dictionary

For the list of vocabulary below you must include:

A picture you have taken that represents the vocabulary term

An explanation of how the picture represents the term. Be sure you can clearly define the
vocabulary term using your explanation.
You can use one picture to represent more than one word.
You may turn this in Via email or the old fashion way

Ecosystems Vocabulary Terms

1. Biotic
11. Biodiversity
2. Abiotic
12. Biome
3. Ecosystem
13. Entropy
4. Trophic Level
14. Parasitism
5. Population
15. Zonation
6. Species
16. Diversity
Points
3
2
7. Community
17. Consumer
8. Habitat
18. Decomposer
Vocabulary
All
Missing 1-2
9. Niche
19. Autotroph
vocabulary
vocabulary
&
10. Ecosystem
20. Omnivore terms
terms
are
Explanation
21. Carry Capacity
included
Most
All
explanations
explanations
contains both
contains
how the
both how the
picture
picture
relates to the
relates to the
vocabulary
vocabulary
term AND
term AND
the definition
the
of the term.
definition of
the term.

Rubric
1

Missing
Not
more than 2
completed
vocabulary
No
This is a pig. It represents an
terms
Explanation
omnivore because it eats both
Few
plants and animals.
explanations
contains both
how the
picture
relates to the
vocabulary
term AND
the definition
of the term.

Trophic Level Posters

Criteria/Score

Communication
Ideas & Concepts
o Poster is very
well organized
o Poster is very
neat and
aesthetically
pleasing
o Information is
easily
accessible and
understood
o Poster clearly
identifies the
trophic levels
of food chain
within a food
web
o Poster is
mostly well
organized
o Poster is
mostly neat
and
aesthetically
pleasing
o Information is
pretty
accessible and
understood
o Poster
attempts to
identify the
trophic levels
of food chain
within a food
web
o Poster is
disorganized
o Poster is not
aesthetically
pleasing
o Information is
hard to

Accuracy of
Information
o Trophic
levels are
easily seen
o Food web is
easily
followed
o Food chain
within the
web is
easily seen
and
followed
o Species are
correctly
identified
o

Usefulness in
application
o Poster
allows for
easy
identificatio
n of a
named local
ecosystem,
its food web
and a
specific food
chain within
the web

Trophic
levels are
seen but
lacking or
incomplete
Food web is
difficult to
follow
Food chain
within the
web is
difficult to
find
Species are
mostly
correctly
identified

Poster
depicts a
named
ecosystem
and a
named
web/trophic
level but
does not
give a clear
understandi
ng of the
relationship
s

Trophic
levels are
missing and
incomplete
Food web is
missing or
too difficult

Poster does
not provide
a specific
ecosystem
or give any
insight as to
the

delineate and
understand
The food web
or chain is or
not able to
follow

to follow
Food chain
within the
web is too
difficult to
find
Species are
incorrectly
identified

relationship
between the
trophic
levels and
the
environmen
t

Topic 2.1 to 2.14 Practice Questions

1.

Most food chains seldom have more than four trophic levels because
A.
in most ecosystems, competition for food is very great.
B.
the total biodiversity in any ecosystem is limited.
C.
energy is lost as it moves along a food chain and little remains at the level of the top
carnivore.
D.
in many parts of the world, many species have become extinct and complex
ecosystems are rare.
(Total 1 mark)

2.

Which of the following statements about food chains is true?

A.
Herbivores are usually found at the third trophic level.
B.
Carnivores are never at the second trophic level.
C.
Primary producers can be found at any trophic level.
D.
Secondary consumers are at the second trophic level.

(Total 1 mark)

3.

4.

The diagram below shows a complete food web. Each letter

represents a species.
Which are producers?
A.
P and H
B.
P, H, R and F
C.
O, N and T
D.
O
(Total 1 mark)
The diagram below shows a complete food web. Each letter represents a species.

F
E

N
Which are secondary consumers?
A.
G, S, R, P and F
B.
H and P
C.
N, L, E and T
D.
O

(Total 1 mark)

5.

Two herbivorous animals are part of the same community. One of them is prey to many
predators and the other has no natural predator. They are
A.
primary consumers and occupy the same ecological niche.
B.
primary producers and occupy the same ecological niche.
C.
primary consumers and occupy different ecological niches.
D.
primary producers and occupy different ecological niches.
(Total 1 mark)

6.

With the help of a diagram, state what is meant by the term food-chain.

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(Total 2 marks)

7.

The bar-graph below shows the number of bird species found at different altitudes in the

Himalayan Mountains. These mountains, in northern India, show a transition from tropical
forest at the base, to a tundra-like ecosystem at high altitudes.
9000
8000
7000
A ltitu d e / m

6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000

100
200
N u m b e r o f b ird s p e c ie s

300

[G M Macdonald, Biogeography: Space, Time and Life (Blackwell, 2003), p. 414.

Reproduced by permission of Wiley-Blackwell]

(a)

(i)

Define the terms species diversity and habitat diversity.

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(2)

(ii)

Use the data in the graph to state and explain the relationship between species
diversity and habitat diversity.
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(2)

(c)

Human activities often simplify ecosystems, making them unstable. Explain this
statement.
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(5)
(Total 9 marks)

8.

Figure 1 shows a simplified food web for the North Sea in Europe.
Figure 1
In s o la tio n
fro m su n
(s o la r e n e rg y )

S u rfa c e o f se a
E u p h o tic z o n e
(lig h t a v a ila b le fo r
p h o to s y n th e s is )

M in e ra l
n u trie n ts
in s o lu tio n

P h y to p la n k to n

S e a b ir d s ( e .g . p u ff in , g a n n e t)
S e a ls

Z o o p la n k to n

M ac k erel
J
e
l
l
y
f
i
s
h
S
a
n
d
e
e
l
s
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - C a rb o n d io x id e
d is s o lv e d in
se a w a te r

H e rrin g
D o lp h in s
S q u id

D e m e r s a l f is h ( e .g . c o d , h a d d o c k )
C ru s ta c e a n s
( e .g . c r a b s , lo b s te r s )
C o n tin e n ta l s h e lf
B e n th ic z o n e
(se a b e d )

D e tritu s (d e c a y in g
o rg a n ic m a te ria l)

S E D IM E N T

[Adrian Kidd, Managing Ecosystems, (Hodder & Stoughton, 1999) p. 41; p. 72. Hodder and Stoughton.
Reproduced by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.]

(a)

(i)

Complete the table below by assigning each of the following types of organisms
from Figure 1 to its correct trophic level.
jellyfish, crustaceans, dolphins, zooplankton, puffins, phytoplankton
Producer

Primary
Consumer

Secondary
Consumer

Tertiary
Consumer

Decomposer

(3)

(ii)

Explain why there is a limit to the number of trophic levels which can be
supported in an ecosystem.
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(iii) In the 1970s sand eels were harvested and used as animal feed, for fishmeal and
for oil and food on salmon farms. State and explain what impacts a dramatic
reduction in the number of sand eels might have on the rest of the ecosystem.
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(3)

Figure 3 shows common sources of pressure on marine ecosystems.

Figure 3
Pressure

Substance or activity

Waste input

Nitrate and phosphate

Pathogens
Oil

Major sources

Potential effects

Pesticides and herbicides

Radioactive wastes
Heavy metals

Sewage, agriculture
Sewage, agriculture
Industry, shipping, vehicles, urban
run-off
Industry, agriculture, forestry
Nuclear fuel processing
Industry, ocean dumping, vehicles

Plastics and debris

Solid waste

Litter, shipping wastes, lost fishing gear Entanglement of wildlife, digestive interference
Sewage, ocean dumping, industry
Reduced oxygen, smothering

Environment
restructure

Coastal development

Dredging, industrial, residencial and

tourism development

Resource
exploitation

Fish and shellfish harvesting, Harvesting activities, drilling accidents, Stock depletion, oil and chemical
petroleum development
oil leakage
contamination, disturbance of the sea bed during
drilling
Mineral development
Extraction of sand and gravel
Destruction of fish spawning areas. Decreased
water quality, coastal erosion, changes in sea
bed.

Atmospheric
change

Greenhouse gases

(c)

Energy production, transportation,

agriculture, industry

Eutrophication
Disease and infection, shellfish contamination
Oiling of birds and animals, seafood tainting,
beach contamination

M etabolic problems

Aethetic and habitat loss, coastal erosion

Sea level rise, coastal flooding

Referring to Figure 3, discuss why marine ecosystems can be so difficult to manage.

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(5)
(Total 13 marks)