Topic 5- Revision Notes

5.1-terms ecosystem, community, population and habitat

Ecosystem: the community in a habitat and the combined biotic &

abiotic factors of the habitat.

Habitat: the part of an environment where an organism lives

Community: All of the organisms of different species that live in the same habitat
and interact.

Population: All the organisms of one species in a habitat.

5.2-Distribution of organisms in habitats- abiotic and biotic factors

-Abundance varies because of abiotic factors such as the amount of light,

water, temperature and space.

 When abiotic factors are ideal=organisms can grow fast and reproduce
successfully.
-E.g.-ideal temperature=metabolic reactions=more energy used for
growth and reproduction rather than maintaining their temp.

 When abiotic factors are not ideal=organisms cannot grow as fast or

reproduce as successfully.

-Abundance also varies because of biotic factors.

1) Interspecific competition=competition between different species

 When organisms of different species compete for the same resources.
 Resources available to both populations are reduced = both populations
limited by less food=less energy for growth and reproduction=lower
population size

2) Intraspecific competition=Competition within the same species.

 Population of species increases when there is plenty of resources
 As population increases=more organisms competing for same recourses.
 Resources become limited=population declines=less competition=more
growth and reproduction.
 Maximum stable population size of species=carrying capacity.

3) Predation=predator and prey population sizes are linked.

 As prey population increases=more food=predator population grows.
 As predator population increases=more prey is eaten=prey population
falls.
 Means there is less food for predators=predator population falls.
  Usually more complicated due to availability of food for the prey- e.g-
snowshoe hare declines due to being too many in comparison to food
availability which is accelerated by predation from lynx.

-Distribution can also be affected by abiotic factors

 Organisms can only exist if abiotic factors they can survive in exist.
 E.g- some plants can only grow on southern-facing slopes in northern
hemisphere, as it is where the solar input is the greatest.
 Some plants can’t grow near shoreline, as soil is too saline.

-Distribution can also be affected by biotic factors

 Interspecific competition can affect distribution of species. If two species
compete but one is better adapted then the other is out-competed.

5.3-How niche accounts for distribution and abundance in habitats

-Niche= role of organism in its habitat= It’s biotic interactions and abiotic
interactions

-Niche can only be occupied by one species.

-Abundance can be explained via the concepts of niches

 As species will compete if they occupy similar niches= less of both species
will be able survive as amount of resources is reduced.

-Distribution can be explained by the concepts of niches

 Can only survive in habitats where the conditions of their roles exist.

5.4- Stages of succession.

Succession= process of ecosystem change.

-Primary succession= happens on land that’s been newly formed or exposed-
just bare rock.
-Secondary succession= happens where land has been cleared but soil remains.

-Stages-primary:
1. Starts when species colonise and seeds are blown in and grow=
Pioneer species.
2. Abiotic conditions are harsh- only pioneer species survive, as they are
adapted.
3. Pioneer species change the abiotic conditions when they die and
decompose= basic soil.
4. Conditions are now less hostile and water can be retained so new
organisms can move and grow there. These die and decompose
adding organic material-larger plants, which retain more water, can
now move in.
5. New species may change environment.
- Secondary= same way but soil layer is already there so later starting point for
succession- pioneers are larger.

-At each stage better adapted animals and plants for improved condition
moves in and become dominant species after out-competing.

-Throughout succession ecosystem becomes more complex as species live

alongside each other= increases biodiversity.

-Final stage= climax community-steady state.

5.5-Photosynthesis to split water molecules

-Photosynthesis stores energy in glucose.

-Splitting water:
 The process breaks strong bonds in the H2Ohydrogen=stored in glucose
as a fuel when combined with CO2 & 02 is formed and released too all
via photolysis.
-Storing Hydrogen:
 Hydrogen reacts with CO2 to be stored. CO2 is reduced to carbohydrate
form of glucose fuel
-Using the energy stored:
 When energy is required the hydrogen reacts with oxygen and during
respiration and energy is released.
 Aerobic=glucose is broken down by H combining with oxygen to make
water and energy and CO2 is released.

5.9

Thylakoids-large surface area and

used for the light dependent reaction.

Grana-stacks of thylakoids.

Stroma-gel like substance containing

enzymes for light independent
reaction.
5.6-ADP and ATP
ATP=Adenosine Triphosphate=immediate source of energy in a cell.

1. Glucose is broken down during respiration, which releases energy, which is

used to make ATP.

2. ATP carries energy to where it is needed in a cell.

3. ATP is synthesized by phosphorylation of ADP by using energy from a

reaction, which releases some such as the breakdown of glucose. The
energy is stored as chemical energy in phosphate bond. ATP synthase
enzyme catalyses this.

4. ATP diffuses to part of cell where it is broken down via hydrolysis back to ADP
and inorganic phosphate. The phosphate bond releases chemical energy,
which the cell uses. ATPase catalyses this reaction.

5. The ADP and inorganic phosphate is recycled and the process begins again.

5.7- Light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis, electrons, NADP

-Photosynthesis involves enzymes and coenzymes therefore the rate of

photosynthesis is affected by the same things that affect the rate of other
enzyme-controlled reactions.

-Coenzyme is a molecule that aids the function of an enzyme and work by

transferring chemical groups.

-NADP is the coenzyme used in photosynthesis, which transfers hydrogen from

one molecule to another so it can reduce or oxidise a molecule.

-Cyclic phosphorylation= PS1, no photolysis, only produces ATP.

-Non- cyclic= PS1 and PS2, photolysis, only produces NADP.

-Light-dependent reactions:
 Uses energy from light and hydrogen from photolysis of water to produce
NADP, ATP and oxygen, which is either used in respiration or released into
the atmosphere.

 Takes place in thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts.

 Light energy absorbed by photosynthetic pigments in the photosystems

and converted to chemical energy.
  Light energy is used to add a phosphate group to ADP to make ATP and
reduce NADP to make reduced NADP. ATP transfers energy and reduced
NADP transfers hydrogen to the light-independent reaction.

 ATP is made from ADP and inorganic phosphate.

1) Light energy excites electrons in chlorophyll:

 Light energy absorbed by PSII and PSI into thylakoid membrane.
 Energy excites electrons in chlorophyll-photoexcitation.
 Electrons move to higher energy level and move along electron
transport chain to PSI.
2) Photolysis of water produces protons, electrons and O2:
 Excited electrons from chlorophyll leave the PSII to move along
electron transport chain and are replaced.
 Light energy splits water into protons, electrons and
oxygen=photolysis to replace the electrons.
 H202H+1/2O2
3) Energy from the excited electrons makes ATP:
 Excite electrons lose energy as they move along electron
transport chain.
 Energy is used to transport protons into the thylakoids so they
have higher concentration of protons than the stroma. Forms a
proton gradient across the membrane.
 Protons move down concentration gradient into stroma via ATP
synthase. Energy from this combines ADP and inorganic
phosphate to form ATP-phosphorylation. This TP goes into the
stroma for the Calvin cycle.
4) Energy generates reduced NADP:
 Light energy is absorbed by PSI, which excites electrons to an
even higher energy level.
 Electrons are then transferred to NADP reductase enzyme with
protons to form reduced NADPNADPH.

Chloroplast

5.8- Calvin Cycle and LIR

-Light-independent reactions:
 Uses the reduced NADP and ATP from the light-dependent reactions to
reduce carbon dioxide to carbohydrates.

 Also known as Calvin Cycle and doesn’t use light energy directly but relies
in products of light-dependent reaction.

 Takes place in stroma of chloroplasts.

 ATP and reduced NADP from previous reaction supply energy and
hydrogen to make glucose from CO2.

1) Carbon Dioxide is combined with ribulose biphosphate to form 2

glycerate 3-phosphates.
 CO2 enters via stomatastroma of chloroplast.
 There it is combined with ribulose biphosphate (RuBP), which is
catalyzed by RUBISCO enzyme.
 Gives an unstable 6-carbon compound which breaks down into 2
molecules of 3-carbon compound called glycerate 3-phosphate
(GP).
2) ATP and reduced NADP are needed for the reduction of glycerate 3-
phosphate to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate.
 Hydrolysis of ATP from LDR gives energy to turn the 3-carbon
compound GP into a different one GALP.
 Reaction also needs H ions, which come from NADPH from LDR, and
it is recycled to NADP.
 Some GALP is converted into organic compunds and some
continues on to regenerate RuBP.
3) Ribulose biphosphate is regenerated.
 2 molecules of GALP can make a hexose sugar-glucose.
 5/6 molecules of GALP aren’t used for this instead they help
regenerate RuBP.
 The regeneration uses the rest of the ATP from LDR.

Uses of glucose:
• Used in respiration (to make ATP when it’s dark)
• Used to make cellulose
• Used in conjunction with nitrate to make amino acids
(remember, plants don’t eat like we do – they have to make
everything themselves!)
• Used to make nucleotides
• Converted into triglycerides and phospholipids

5.10/11-Net primary productivity, GPP and respiration.

 Autotroph- Make their own organic compounds.

 Heterotroph- Organisms that obtain their energy by consuming other
organisms.
 Herbivores/primary consumers- Eat plant material (producers).
 Carnivores/secondary consumers- Feed on primary consumers and eat other
organisms.
 Food chain- Flow of energy through an ecosystem.
 Trophic level- Position in food chain.
 Detritivores- Organisms that feed on other dead organic matter such as
plant detritus.
 Decomposers- Species of bacteria or fungi that feed on dead remains.

-Net Primary Productivity is the balance of glucose a plant has left over to use
for growth. NPP is proportional to biomass

-Gross Primary Productivity is the amount of glucose a plant generates through

p/s so it is reliant on photosynthesis. (E.g.-High temp or precipitation=High GPP)

-Respiration is the amount of glucose a plant uses in respiration.

NPP=GPP – respiration
-GPP=rate at which energy is incorporated into organic molecules by
ecosystem. It is dependent on photosynthesis so hotter and more water means
higher GPP.

-NPP=rate at which energy is transferred into organic molecules that make new
biomass.

Efficiency= NPP/total light x 100

-Not all the energy from one trophic level is transferred to the next:
 Plants cannot use all the light energy as some can be the wrong
wavelength, some can be reflected and some passes straight through the
leaves.
 Some light cannot be used as it hits part of the plant such as the trunk,
which cannot photosynthesise.
 Organisms do not eat some parts so the energy is not taken in.
  Some parts of the food are indigestible so just pass through the organisms
and come out as waste and is passed to decomposers.

The rest of the energy is taken in which is known as GP but it is still not all
available.
 Some is lost to the environment when organisms use the energy for
respiration or movement and heat or faeces. Also, if parts of plants and
animals are not eaten.
 The rest becomes biomass so it is stored for growth=NP which is available
to the next trophic level after taking away the respiratory loss.

5.12-Evidence for climate change

-Long term changes in global weather patterns.
-Global warming=Type of climate change which is the rapid increases in global
temperature seen over time.

1) Temperature records (correlation):

 If temperature increases more ice melts so sea levels rise showing
climate change and a correlation.
 Looks at O2 isotopes in ice cores as water freezes bubbles of air are
trapped so an estimate of the average temperature when the ice
formed can be found.
 Reliable but short-term record.

2) Dendrochronology (correlation):
 Method of finding out how old the tree is using the tree rings of xylem-
most produce one/year.
 Thickness of rings depend on climate- warmer means they will be
thicker (better growth conditions).
 Can take cores and date the rings and look at their thickness and
what the weather/climate was like that year.

3) Pollen from peat bogs (correlation):

 Can be used to see how temperature has changed.
 They accumulate in layers so the age of preserved pollen increases
with depth.
 Take pollen grains from different layers and identify plant species.
 Only mature plants produce pollen so only shows plants that were
successful at that time.
 If species found from warmer conditions found it shows that temp has
increased.

4) CO2 Levels (causation):

 As greenhouse gases increase so do CO2 levels and more is absorbed
and re-emitted to earth therefore increasing the temperature
5.13-Causes of anthropogenic climate change, greenhouse gases and effect.

-Human activity has caused global warming by enhancing the greenhouse

effect, which is when greenhouse gases absorb outgoing energy.
-It is essential in keeping the earth warm BUT too much warms the planet up.
-2 main greenhouse gases:
1) Methane:
 Concentration is increasing as more is belong released into the
atmosphere as more fossil fuels are being extracted, more decaying
waste and more cattle.
 Can also be released from natural stores such as frozen stores-
increasing temperature causes the stores to thaw and release
methane.

2) Carbon Dioxide:
 Concentration is increasing as more fossil fuels like coal and oil are burnt
which releases CO2.
 The concentration is also increased by the destruction of natural sinks such
as trees. These store carbon compounds in them so are released when
burnt or when decomposers break them down and respire.

5.14-Extrapolating data and limitations of climate change models.

-Data about climate change can be extrapolated to make predictions about

change in the future.

-Different scenarios can be put into a global climate models to see how
different aspects of global climate such as temperature will be affected in each
scenario.

-The models of future climate change, based on extrapolated greenhouse

gases have limitations:
 Don’t actually know how the greenhouse gas emissions will change.
 Don’t actually know how much the emissions will cause the global
temperature to rise by.
 The change in atmospheric greenhouse gas due to natural causes isn’t
known.
 Don’t know the attempts there will be to manage the atmospheric
concentration or how successful they will be.
 Do not know what effect increasing gases will have on the climate due to
the complex feedback systems.

5.15- Effects of climate change

1) Metabolism and temperature:

 Metabolism=sum of all chemical reactions in an organism.
  Increasing temperature affects the rate of enzyme activity and increases
growth rate.
 More heat means more kinetic energy so molecules move faster making
enzymes more likely to collide with substrate. The energy of these collisions
also increases which means the collisions are more likely to result in a
reaction.
 Rise in temperature causes enzymes to vibrate more.
 If temperature goes above the optimum the vibration breaks the bonds
holding the enzyme so the active site changes shape and it is denatured.

 An increase in temperature can increase photosynthesis for plants.

 It can also increase the growth of cyanobacteria, which can grow and
produce more algal blooms and toxins.
 If it is too high then photosynthesis decreases and so does crop
production.
 Organisms that need certain temperatures will migrate.

2) Rainfall Patterns:
 A change in rainfall patterns affect the development of the life cycles-
plants can enter too early or too late.
 Loss of species that are not adapted to the wetter or drier conditions.
 Increased desertification of rainfall decreases.

3) Seasons:
 Effects the development and life cycles of organisms.
 Changes in seasons will affect food availability for organisms.
 Affects the distribution of some species as food may be produced early
and then organisms will arrive when there is a lack of food available so
reduces the numbers of these organisms.

5.17- Evolution via mutation and natural selection

-Evolution-Change in allele frequency over time.

-Evolution can occur via natural selection:

1) Individuals within the population varies due to gene mutations (change in
DNA base sequence)
2) Some individuals are better adapted when there is a selection pressure.
3) Individuals with the advantageous allele survive and reproduce passing
this allele on so a greater proportion of the next generation will have the
advantageous allele.
4) Therefore, the frequency of the beneficial ale increases from generation
to generation.
5.18- Evidence for evolution

-Genomics-Determines the base sequence of an organism’s genome and the

functions of its genes so comparisons can be made.
 Evolution is caused by a gradual change in the base sequence of
organisms DNA.
 Organisms that diverged away from each other more recently should
have more similar DNA as less time for it to change.

-Proteomics- Study of proteins such as the size and shape and amino acid
sequence.
 Sequence of amino acids is coded for by the DNA sequence in a gene.
 Related organisms have similar DNA sequences and so similar amino acid
sequences in their proteins. So should have similar proteins if diverged
recently.

-Scientific community has to validate new evidence about evolution.

1) Scientific Journals:
 Used to share new ideas, theories, and evidence.
 Allows others to repeat and see if they get the same results showing if it is
reliable enough.

2) Peer Review:
 Before it is published other scientists review the work to check it is valid
and support the conclusions.
 Checks the experiments have been carried out to the highest possible
standards.

4) Conferences:
 People invited to present their work via presentation or lecture and
others can ask questions.
 Easy way for latest evidence to be shared and discussed.

5.19- Isolation and speciation

-Isolation reduces gene flow, which leads to speciation.

-Speciation-when two groups of organisms become genetically unique so they

are no longer able to breed and produce fertile offspring.
-Species- a group of similar organisms that can reproduce to produce fertile
offspring.
 Speciation occurs when populations of the same species become
reproductively isolated reducing the gene flow so natural selection acts
on each population separately creating a new species.
 Reproductive isolation may occur due to geographical isolation or due to
random mutations producing changes in the phenotype preventing
populations from mating.
  Allopatric-Due to geographical separation.
 Sympatric-Reproductive barrier (mutations).

-Allopatric Speciation:
1) Geographical isolation leads to two different conditions e.g. different
climates.
2) Populations will experience different selection pressures and different
changes in allele frequencies:
 Different alleles will be more advantageous in different populations
so natural selection will act on these alleles increasing its
frequencies.
 Allele frequencies also change as mutations occur independently in
each population.
3) Changes in phenotype frequencies due to changes in allele frequencies.
4) Eventually populations will become genetically distinct so wont be able to
breed with one another and become separate species.

5.21/22- carbon cycle and reducing CO2

-Plants absorb carbon when they carry out photosynthesis.

-Carbon is passed on to animals when they eat the plants and to decomposers
when they eat dead organic matter.
-Carbon is returned via respiration.
-Dead organic matter can turn into fossil fuels if there aren’t any decomposers.
-Fossil fuels are burnt and the carbon is released-combustion.

-Biofuels:
 Fuels produced from biomass.
 Often made from crops, which can be replanted-sustainable.
 Biofuels are burnt to release energy=CO2.
 No net increases because the amount rereleased is the same as what
was taken in to grow it.

-Reforestation:
 Planting of new trees.
 More trees means more CO removed via p/s.
 CO2 converted into compounds and stored so kept out of the
atmosphere reducing global warming.