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Folio Biology Form 4 Chapter 8 and 9
Folio Biology Form 4 Chapter 8 and 9
Examples of ecosystems are forest, grassland, pond, field, river, lake and
sea.
1.1
The pH value of the soil and water affects the distribution of organisms.
a) Most organisms live in a neutral or nearly neutral environment
(pH6-7.5)
b) Some plants, like the maize, grows well in an acidic condition while
coconuts grow well in an alkaline condition.
as
their
body
environmental temperature.
temperature
varies
with
the
1.2
The green plants are the producers because they can synthesise food
through photosynthesis.
1.3
When energy is transferred from one trophic level to another trophic level
as much as 90% of the chemical energy in the food consumed is used for
its metabolic activities and lost as heat, excretory products and undigested
matter.
2.0
2.1
Symbiosis
in symbiosis, one organism will live in or with another organism called the
host.
The organism that interacts with the host will benefit from the interaction.
i. Commensalism
The organism that benefits is called the commensal while the other
organism is called the host.
Epiphytes are green plants which grow on other plants to obtain more
sunlight and for support.
The benefits that epizoites get from their hosts are transport, protection
and leftover foods from the mouth of the hosts.
ii. Parasitism
Parasitism
is
an
interaction
between
two
different
organisms where one organism called the parasite benefits and the other
organism called the host is harmed.
Ectoparasites
depend
on
their
hosts
for
food,
protection
and
transportation.
Endoparasites that live in animals arre the various types of worms that
live in the alimentary canals of their host and absorb nutrients from the
intestines of their hosts.
iii. Mutualism
Examples of mutualism:
a) Algae and fungi in lichen(both plants)
b) Hermit crabs and sea anemone(both animals)
c) Rhizobium bacteria and legume plants(one animal and one plant)
In the interaction between sea anemones and hermit crabs, the sea
anemones attach themselves to the shells of hermit crabs.
a) Sea anemone obtains transport and leftover food from the hermit
crab
b) The hermit crab obtains protection from its predators because of
the poisonous tentacles of the sea anemone.
Saprophytism
Some examples are paramecium sp. And amoeba sp. Which feed on
organic matter from dead organisms.
Prey-predator interaction
The size of the prey is usually smaller than the predator but the number of
prey is always more than the predator.
However, the population sizes of both predator and prey fluctuate together
a) When the population of a predator is high, the population of its
prey decreases because the prey are eaten by the predator.
b) When the population of the prey falls, there is insufficient food,
which results in a decline in the population of the predator.
c) When the population of the predator is low, the prey recovers and
its population increases. This will result in an increase in the
population of the predator.
The population sizes of both predator and prey are maintained in dynamic
equilibrium even as they fluctuate together. However, the fluctuations in
the predator population usually lag slightly behind those of the prey.
2.2
The common basic need are space, water, minerals, sunlight, food and
mates for plants and animals.
i. Intraspecific competition
3.0
They have special adaptations that enable them to survive on dry and
nutrient-poor soil.
Pioneer plants are hardy plants which usually have dense root systems
to bind the sand particles and hold water and humus.
The pioneer species change the new habitat gradually to make the
habitat more suitable for another species to live.
As a result, the new habitat which is not suitable for the pioneer species
is then gradually replaced by another new species and succession
begins.
These plants then become the new dominant species that can grow
faster and so they out-compete the pioneers which grow at a slower rate.
3.1
There are three types of mangrove trees which are involved in the process
of colonisation and succession in a mangrove swamp:
a) Avicenni sp. and Sonneratia sp. (pioneer species)
b) Rhizophora sp. (successor)
c) Bruguiera sp. (successor)
i.
The Avicennia sp. grows in the part of the mangrove swamp that faces
the sea while Sonneratia sp. grows at the mouth of the river which is
sheltered.
The adaptations of the pioneer species to the soft muddy soil and
waterlogged area are as follows:
a) A root system that spreads out widely to give support to the trees
in the soft muddy soil.
b) The Avicennia sp. and Sonneratia sp. have asparagus-shaped
pneumatophores that grows vertically upwards from the main
roots through the mud into the air. The pneumatophores are very
spongy and take in air for respiration of the root system.
ii.
Trees of Bruguiera sp. have buttress roots for support and knee-shaped
pneumatophores for gaseous exchange.
Finally, after a few hundred years, the process of succession stops and a
tropical rain forest, which is the climax community, is formed.
4.0
Sampling Techniques
A sampling
technique
involves
collecting, counting,
and
making
4.1
4.2
In this technique, the first sample is the number of a certain animal that is
caught, marked and then released.
After a few days, a second sample is taken and recorded. The number of
individuals marked in the recaptured sample is counted and recorded.
Initially, a specific animal sample is captured and marked with a ring, a tag
or with waterproof coloured ink, paint or nail varnish.
The population size of the animals in the area can be estimated using the
formula below:
5.0
Order of Classification
All organisms on Earth can be classified into five kingdoms. The five
kingdoms are Prokaryotae, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia.
5.1
Each phyla is then divided into class. Organisms in the same class have
the characteristics but differ from organisms in other classes.
Subsequently, class is divided into order, order into family, family into
genus, and genus into species. Species is most specific classification
based on the hierarchy.
6.0
Nitrogen Cycle
i.
Nitrogen fixation
Nitrogen fixation is a process by which nitrogen in the air is converted to
nitrogen compounds required for growth.
The nitrogen in the air that is trapped in the soil is absorbed by nitrogenfixing bacteria which convert it to nitrogen compounds as nitrates.
ii.
Decomposition
iii.
Nitrification
Microorganisms that are involved in the nitrification process are nitrifying
bacteria such as Nitrosomonas sp. and Nitrobacter sp.
iv. Denitrification
7.0
7.1
i. Temperature
The optimum temperature for the growth of most microorganisms is 35C 40C.
is
not
suitable
for
growth
and
reproduction
of
microorganisms.
ii. pH value
A slightly alkaline medium is more suitable for the growth and reproduction
of bacteria. A slightly acidic medium is more suitable for the growth of
fungi.
A pH value that is too low or too high can inhibit growth and destroy most
microorganisms.
iii. Light
In
the
dark
(low
light
intensity),
growth
and
reproduction
of
Autotrophs such as the algae obtain its inorganic nutrients from the
surroundings.
7.2
Decomposition
a) Decomposition of dead organic remains is carried out by a group
of saprophytic bacteria and fungi, which are called the
decomposers.
b) Decomposers breakdown the dead remains of plants and animals
and waste products of animals and release nutrients in the soil.
7.3
7.4
8.0
This due to the heat that is absorbed and trapped in the Earths
atmosphere by certain gases(greenhouse gases) such as carbon dioxide,
methane, chlorofluorocarbon and nitrogen dioxide.
These greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, trap and absorb heat
in the atmosphere, causing a rise in the temperature of the atmosphere.
b) Forest fires
c) Deforestation
d) Open burning of rubbish
e) Coal-fueled power stations
f) Motor vehicles
g) Use of chlorofluorocarbon(CFC)
8.1
The ozone layer absorbs the harmful ultraviolet rays and prevents them
from reaching the Earths surface.
The atmosphere in this area has very low ozone concentrations, resulting
in the formation of an ozone hole.
The destruction of the ozone layer is mainly due to the increasing levels of
chlorofluorocarbon(CFC) in the atmosphere.
Effects of the thinning of the ozone layer which allows excessive ultraviolet
radiation to reach the Earth.
a) On the environment
o Increases in the temperature of the environment
o Changes in the climate and weather patterns
8.2
Impact of the thinning of the ozone layer and the global warming
There is also convincing evidence from research that links the melting of
the polar ice caps into global warming.
9.0
Eutrophication process
The algae that grow extensively cover up the surface of the lake, pond or
river.
This prevents sunlight from reaching the plants in the lower depths of the
water.
The number of aerobic bacteria that decompose the dead plants also
increases using more of the oxygen in the water.
This reduces the concentration of oxygen in the water and results in the
death of aquatic organisms.
The rapid growth of the algae and the process of decomposition by the
bacteria use up the oxygen supply in the water and thus increase the
biochemical oxygen demand(B.O.D).
10.0
The higher the B.O.D value, the more polluted is the water sample.
Good quality water has a B.O.D value of less than 0.5mg of oxygen per
litre.
11.0
Biological control
Biological control is a method in which a predator, which is a natural
enemy to a certain pest(prey), is used to control the population of that pest
in an area.
For example,
a) Owls and snakes eat rats
b) Fire ants eat aphids on leaves
c) Rearing guppies in a pond to eat mosquitoe larvae
d) Rearing cats to eliminate rats.