5 On the wild side

I Activities 5.7 to 5.12

Activity 5.7: Feeding relationship terms – a quick check
Using a word or words from the list below, correctly fill in the gaps in a copy of the following
passage.
We have seen that the nutrition of green plants is _________________ (meaning ‘self
feeding’). In ecology, green plants are known as _________________. In contrast, animals and
most other types of organism use nutrients obtained by digestion. These they absorb into their
cells and tissues. Animal nutrition is described as heterotrophic (meaning ‘other nutrition’),
and in ecology animals are known as _________________. Some consumers (herbivores) feed
directly and exclusively on plants. Herbivores are _________________ _________________.
Animals that feed exclusively on other animals ( _________________) are known as
_________________ _________________. Carnivores that feed on secondary consumers are
called _________________ consumers, and so on.
Eventually, all producers and consumers die and decay. Organisms that feed on dead plants
and animals, and on the waste matter of animals, are saprotrophs (meaning ‘putrid feeding’),
and in ecology these feeders are known as detritivores or _________________. Feeding by
saprotrophs releases inorganic nutrients from the dead organic matter, including carbon
dioxide, water, ammonia, and ions such as nitrates and phosphates. These
_________________ nutrients are absorbed and re-used by _________________
_________________. Thus, the matter organisms require is endlessly recycled and re-used,
whereas energy inputs from the Sun are transferred from organism to organism but all is lost
into space as heat, sooner or later.

Words to use
I primary consumers I autotrophic
I carnivores I decomposers
I green plants I consumers
I inorganic I tertiary
I producers I secondary consumers

Activity 5.8: Food webs and energy flow

Since the plant material at the start of the food chain may be either living or dead, food chains
are of two types. Herbivores feeding on living plants are said to be browsing or grazing, and the
food chain of these herbivores is called a grazing chain. Herbivores feeding on dead plant
material, degrading and decomposing the organic matter in the process, are part of a decomposer
chain.
In fact, most food chains, including grazing and decomposer chains, interconnect with other
chains. This is because most prey have more than one predator. So, where chains interconnect
they form food webs. Food webs for deciduous woodland and for a marine habitat are shown on
the next page.

Tasks
1 Using information in the food webs shown on the next page, or in a food web of your own,
construct two individual food chains each with at least three linkages (four organisms).
Identify each organism with its common name, and state whether each is a producer, primary
consumer, secondary consumer, and so on.
2 Construct a simple flow diagram showing the fates of energy transferred from sunlight to
become heat in space. Your diagram should incorporate producers, consumers and
saprotrophs, and the causes or processes of energy transfer should be labelled.

Edexcel Biology for A2 Dynamic Learning © Hodder Education 2009

2 ON THE WILD SIDE: ACTIVITIES 5.7 TO 5.12

A a woodland food web beetle

oak leaf
fox
caterpillar

connections
between
death
food chains
create a
food web
shrew
dead
oak leaf

owl
earthworm
tit

B a marine food web

phytoplankton seaweeds
e.g. sea lettuce
zooplankton

limpet
common mussel
sea urchin
grey mullet

dog whelk

star fish
pollack
lobster

herring gull seal

Edexcel Biology for A2 Dynamic Learning © Hodder Education 2009

3 ON THE WILD SIDE: ACTIVITIES 5.7 TO 5.12

Activity 5.9: Setting up a ‘bottle’ ecosystem

To make the bottle ecosystem illustrated below, visit SAPS Supermarket Science at:
www-saps.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/prac_super.htm
and follow the links to ‘Making an Eco Column’.

lid

spider compartment (carnivore

– secondary consumer)

fly compartment (herbivores

– primary consumers)

rotting fruit waste and garden

compost, and eggs and larvae
of small insects such as fruit flies

terrestrial primary producers –

sphagnum moss and carnivorous
plants, such as sundew and
butterworts (should be watered
with rain water or distilled water)

aquatic primary producers

mud, sand and gravel
of freshwater ‘pond’

Alternatively, a single chamber ‘brine shrimp ecosystem’ can be set up – for instructions, follow
alternative references at the SAPS site.

Activity 5.10: Checking definitions

Complete a copy of the table by applying one or more of the terms listed below to describe each
of the features of a freshwater lake. You may need to apply the same term to more than one
feature.
I habitat I community I ecosystem I biotic factor
I population I biomass I abiotic factor

Feature of a freshwater lake Applicable term from list

the whole lake
the flow of water through the lake
the total mass of vegetation growing in the lake
the temperature variations in the lake
all the frogs of the lake
all the plants and animals present
browsing on surface growths of algae by freshwater snails
the mud of the lake

Edexcel Biology for A2 Dynamic Learning © Hodder Education 2009

4 ON THE WILD SIDE: ACTIVITIES 5.7 TO 5.12

Activity 5.11: Random sampling of plant populations, using

quadrats
Quadrats are commonly used in estimating plant populations. A quadrat may be a square frame
outlining a known area for the purpose of sampling. The choice of size of quadrat varies
depending upon the size of the individuals of the population being analysed. For example, a
10 cm² quadrat is ideal for assessing epiphytic Pleurococcus, a single-celled alga commonly found
growing on damp walls and tree trunks. Alternatively, a 1 m² quadrat is far more useful for

Use of the quadrat:

• positioned at random within habitat being investigated
• different species present are then identified
• without destroying the plants present and the microhabitats
beneath them, plant species’ density, frequency, abundance or cover
can be estimated.

density = mean numbers of individuals of each species per unit area

(time-consuming and may be hard to assess separate individuals)
frequency = number of quadrats in which a species occurs, expressed as
% (rapid and useful for comparing two habitats)
cover = the % of ground covered by a species (useful where it is not
possible to identify separate individuals)
abundance = subjective assessment of species present, using the DAFOR
scale: D = dominant, A = abundant, F = frequent, O = occasional, R = rare © educationphotos.co.uk/walmsley
(same observer must make ‘abundance’ judgements, which may be useful
as comparisons of two or more habitats, rather than objective scores) 1m

What is the optimum size of quadrat? This varies with the habitat,
and the size of plants found. Look at the example here. In the 1m
quadrat there are six species present. How many different species are
counted in the quadrat of sides 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and
90ϒcm? The optimum quadrat size is reached when a further increase
in size adds no or very few further species as present.

How many quadrats? When there is no further increase in the number

of species found, sufficient quadrats have been analysed in that habitat.
1m

70
number of species found in total

60
if more quadrats
50 than about 20 are
used, no additional
40 species are found
(in this habitat)
30

20

10
10cm quadrat
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
number of quadrats analysed 50 cm quadrat

analysing the herbaceous plant populations observed in grassland, or the populations of

earthworms and slugs that can be extracted from between the plants or from the soil below.
Quadrats are placed according to random numbers after the area has been divided into a grid
of numbered sampling squares (Figure 5.19 in Edexcel Biology for A2). The different plant species
present in the quadrat may be identified. Then the observer may estimate the density, frequency,
abundance or cover of plant species in a habitat – as outlined in the illustration above.
To avoid errors due to subjective estimations of ‘cover’, an objective assessment may be made
using the point frame quadrat (Figure 5.18 in Edexcel Biology for A2). Here, pins are lowered onto
vegetation, and the number of times a given species is ‘hit’ (expressed as a percentage of the total
number of points lowered) is a measure of the percentage cover of the species.

Edexcel Biology for A2 Dynamic Learning © Hodder Education 2009

5 ON THE WILD SIDE: ACTIVITIES 5.7 TO 5.12

Activity 5.12: Estimating species distribution by means of a

transect
Whereas some communities are relatively uniform over a given area and are suitable for random
analysis, others show a trend in variation in a particular direction. Examples include the
seashore, a pond or lake margin, saltmarsh or even an area where there is a change from dry soil
to wet land. The appropriate technique to study such a trend of variation is the transect.
Transects are a means of sampling biotic (and abiotic) data at right angles to the impact of
unidirectional physical forces. Although there may only be time to study one transect in detail
(and this may be sufficient as a demonstration of the zonation of communities), a single transect
may not provide an adequate sample or give an indication of differences from place to place.
Transects should therefore preferably be replicated several times.

Profile transect
Where transects are carried out across a habitat where the land changes in height and where
level is an important factor (such as a seashore, saltmarsh or pond margin), then the changes in
level along the transect line can be measured and recorded as a profile transect. The surveying
for this requires the use of survey poles and a field level device, as shown in the illustration on
the next page.

Line transect
The community present along a transect can be analysed from a straight line such as a measuring
tape, laid down across an apparently representative part of the habitat. The position of every
organism touching the line is recorded, either all the way along the line or else at regular
intervals. The result is a line transect.

Belt transect
A belt transect is a broad transect, usually half a metre wide. To produce it, a tape measure or
rope is laid as for a line transect, but this time the organisms in a series of quadrats of half-metre
width are sampled at (say) metre intervals. If the community changes little along the transect,
then quadrats can be placed less frequently, obviously. Along with data on the biota, data on
abiotic variables can also be measured and recorded along the transect. For example, along a
terrestrial transect, the pH of the soil might be measured.
The results of such a belt transect study of a seashore community are shown in the illustration
on the next page. The seashore (known as the littoral zone) forms part of the extreme margins of
continents and marine islands, periodically submerged below sea water, and so it is affected by
tides. Tides are the periodic rise and fall of the sea level due to the attractions (gravitational
pull) of the Moon and Sun. The shore is an area very rich in living things, of which almost all
are of marine origin.
The higher an organism occurs on the shore, the longer the daily exposure to the air that the
organism endures. Exposure brings the threat of desiccation and wider extremes of temperature
than those experienced during submersion. Exposure is an abiotic factor that influences
distribution of organisms on the seashore.

Edexcel Biology for A2 Dynamic Learning © Hodder Education 2009

6 ON THE WILD SIDE: ACTIVITIES 5.7 TO 5.12

belt transect study of a rocky shore

plants
black lichen (Verrucaria maura)

channelled wrack
(Pelvetia canaliculata)
spiral wrack (Fucus spiralis)

knotted wrack
(Ascophyllum nodosum)
black wrack (Fucus vesiculosus)

serrated wrack (Fucus serratus)

oar weed (Laminaria sp.)

animals
nerite winkle (Littorina neritoides)

rough winkle (Littorina rudis)

edible winkle
(Littorina littorea)
smooth winkle
(Littorina obtusata)
dog whelk
(Nucella lapillus)
barnacle
(Chthamalus montagu)
acorn barnacle
(Semibalanus balanoides)
common limpet (Patella vulgata)

0
high water
50
Key 100
drop in height/cm

rare 150
midshore
occasional 200
250
frequent
300
abundant low water
350
dominant 400

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
sampling stations along the transect/m

profile transect
data obtained by surveying using
survey poles and a levelling device

Edexcel Biology for A2 Dynamic Learning © Hodder Education 2009