UNIT 4 -“Ecosystems”

DEFINITIONS:
 Define Ecosystem : An Ecosystem is a network of interactions between all living
organisms and the non-living organisms around them.
 Define Ecology : It is the study of ecosystems. Eco means “ecosystems”.
 Define Food webs : A food web is a visual way to show what the organisms in a
habitat eat.
 Define Bioaccumulation : The longer the organisms lives, and the more DDT it
takes in, the more DDT gets in its body. This is called Bioaccumulation.
 Define Biomagnification : When the concentration of DDT in the body of an
organism increases as you go up the food chain, it is called Biomagnification.

→Topic 4.1 “The Sonoran Desert” Page 131

Ǫ1- Name the 2 producers in the diagram (on page 130) of a food web in the Sonoran
Desert.

Ans: Prickly Pear Cactus, and Brittle brush.

Ǫ2- Explain why the food webs could not exist without producers.

Ans: The producers use energy from the sun to make food by photosynthesis. This makes
energy available for all other organisms in the food web.

Ǫ3- What do the arrows in the food web represent?

Ans: The arrows represent energy in the form of chemical energy in food, passing from one
organism to another.

Ǫ4- Give 2 examples of interactions between organisms in the desert that are not to do with
feeding.

Ans: The Gila woodpeckers use saguaro cacti to make nests and fruit bats pollinate the
saguaro cacti.

Ǫ5- Explain the difference between an ecosystem and a habitat.

Ans: A habitat is a place where an organism lives. An ecosystem is a network of

interactions between living and non-living things. An ecosystem contains many different
habitats.
→Topic 4.3 “Intruders in an Ecosystem” Page 141
Ǫ1- In your own words, explain what a ‘native species’ is.

Ans: A species that has always lived in that country : a species that “belongs” in a country.

Ǫ2- Name some native species in your country.

Ans: Arabian Oryx, Sand Gazelle

Ǫ3- Suggest why it is very difficult to eradicate an introduced species once it has settled
into a new place?

Ans: Individuals of the species will have spread all over the country, so it can be very difficult
to find them all and kill them. People may become fond of the introduced species and not want
it to be killed.

Ǫ4- Buffle grass is native to Africa, Asia and Middle . It was planted in Arizona in the 1930s,
as food for cattle. Now, it is spreading rapidly through the Sonoran Desert.

What is the name for a plant, such as bufflegrass, that is growing in an ecosystem where it
does not belong?

Ans: It is an invasive species.

Ǫ5- Bufflegrass grows in dense patches. It takes in water and nutrients from the soil.

Look at the picture given in Topic 4.1, showing interactions in the Sonoran Desert. Suggest
how bufflegrass could affect some of the native species in the desert.

Ans: They are likely to suggest that native plants including the Saguaro will not be able to
grow. This will then affect other species that rely on the saguaro.

→Topic 4.4 “Bioaccumulation” Page 142

Getting started:
Ǫ1- What is a decomposer?

Ans: A decomposer is an organism that breaks down dead bodies or waste from animals
and plants.

Ǫ2- What kind of substances can decomposers break down?

Ans: Organic substances – ones that have been made by living organisms.

Ǫ3- What kind of substances are decomposers unable to break down?

Ans: Substances that have not been made by living organisms – for example ; metal, glass,
rocks, most plastics etc.

Page 14C
Ǫ1- How many times greater is the concentration of DDT in a cormorants body than a
minnows body?

Ans: Minnows concentration is 0.50 ppm,

cormorants concentration is 26.40 ppm.

The cormorants concentration is 52.8 times greater than the minnows concentration.

Ǫ2- Explain, in your own words, why the concentration in the cormorants body is greater
than the minnows.

Ans: DDT does not break down indie the cormorants body, so all the DDT that the
cormorant eats in its lifetime builds up in its body. Cormorants eat a lot of minnows, so all
the DDT from all the minnows accumulates in its body.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS:

4.1 Tropical rainforests are very complex ecosystems. Many different species live in a
tropical rainforest.

 Use the photographs to describe 2 habitats in a tropical rainforest ecosystem.

 Ans: A tree branch ; the pool in a bromeliad.

 Suggest the advantages to bromeliads of growing in their particular habitat.

Ans: They get a lot of light, they are safe from being eaten by herbivores on the ground.

 Suggest the advantages to the frog of living in their particular habitat.

Ans: It has a constant supply of water, it is protected from predators.

 Explain the difference between an ecosystem and a habitat.

Ans: An ecosystem is a network of interactions between organisms and non-living parts

of the environment.

A habitat is a place where an organism lives. An ecosystem contains many different

habitats.

4.2 Coral reefs are formed by tiny animals called Coral Polyps. Their hard skeletons provide
many different habitats where other species can live.

One of these species is a single-celled alga that makes a toxic substance called ciguatoxin.
Herbivorous fish eat at the alga. Carnivorous fish eat the herbivorous fish. Humans often
eat the carnivorous fish.

 Thousands of different species live on Coral reefs. Use the information to suggest
why so many species can live there.

Ans: There are many different habitats in the reef, these provide suitable habitats for
many different species

 What is meant by a toxic substance ‘ ?

Ans: It is poisonous.

 Use the information to construct a food chain.

Ans: Single-celled alga → herbivorous fish → carnivorous fish → human.

 Ciguatoxin does not break down inside a fish that has eaten it. Instead, it builds up
in the head, liver and skin of the fish. What is the name for this process?

Ans: Bioaccumulation.
  People who have eaten fish containing ciguatoxin can become very ill. Suggest why
eating a carnivorous fish is more likely to make you I’ll than eating a herbivorous
fish?

Ans: The concentration of ciguatoxin is higher in a carnivorous fish because the

concentration builds up along the food chain / reference to Biomagnification.

4.3 Look on page 150

 Explain what is meant by an ‘introduced species’ ?

Ans: A species that has been moved to a country / place / ecosystem where it does not
naturally live.

 Explain why the scientists used 2 different patterns when they put the plants in the
field.

Ans: To count visits to winged loose strife with and without purple loose strife, so they
could compare the number if visits, this was how they changed their independent
variables.

 Describe how the presence of purple loose strife affected the number of insect
visits to winged loose strife.

Ans: It reduced the (mean) number of visits from 35 to 26 / by 9.

 Do the results supper the scientists ‘hypothesis'? Explain your answer.

Ans: There are fewer insects visits and fewer seeds produced. This means that seed
production follows successful pollination.

 Suggest two ways the scientists could improve their experiment. Explain each of
your suggestions.

Ans: They could repeat it to check if the results are always the same, they could time
the insect visits for longer than 15 minutes because one 15 minute period may not be
representative of what happens over a long period of time.

EXTRA ǪUESTIONS :
Ǫ1- Which factors are necessary for the survival of a desert ecosystem?
  Light : The bright sunlight helps the plants to photosynthesize, producing foods that
other organisms can eat.
 Temperature : The temperature is often very high during the day, but much lower at
night. Some animals are nocturnal, which helps them to avoid over heating or frying
out. It is cooler underneath the soil, so some animals – such as the tarantula – dig
burrows for shelter during the day.
 Soil : Rocks and soil provide minerals for the plants to grow, as well as building
materials for ground-nesting birds.
 Water : All organisms need water to keep their cells alive. Rain, when it comes,
allows them to become more active and reproduce.
 Air : The desert air provides Carbon dioxide for the pants to use in photosynthesis,
and oxygen for all the organisms to use in respiration.

Ǫ2- Describe the habitat of a desert ecosystem.

Ans: - The habitat of a saguaro cacti is the open desert.

- The habitat of a Gila Woodpecker is a saguaro cactus (where it makes its nest) and
the air and ground in the open desert (where it collects food) .
- The habitat of a desert ant is underneath the rocks and soil and on the surface of the
soil.
- Termites live at the base of saguaro stems.
- Sap beetles live inside the saguaro flowers.
- Kangaroo rats live in burrows and come out to look for food at night.

Ǫ3- Describe the habitat of a Mangrove Forest.

Ans: - Mangroves are trees that can grow with their roots in sea water. They form forests
along the coasts of many tropical countries.

- Young fish live among the mangrove roots, safe for larger fishes that might eat them.
Mud skippers, climb out onto the mud when the tide is out, feeding on whatever
they can find.
- As the mangrove leaves fall onto the mud, they are decomposed by bacteria.
Prawns and crabs eat the partly decomposed leaves.
- Crab-eating macaques, a type of monkey, climb through the trees and catch crabs
on the tree roots and mud.

Ǫ4- What do you know about DDT?

Ans: DDT is an insecticide. This means that it kills insects. DDT was first produced in the
1940s. It was used to kill insects that transmit diseases. It was especially useful for killing
mosquitoes that transmit malaria, and fleas that transmit a disease called typhus. DDT
was also used to kill insects that eat crops.

Ǫ5- What are the effects of DDT on the environment?

Ans: We know that DDT does not break down. It is a persistent chemical. It stays in the
environment for many years. It is not broken down by decomposers. When DDT is sprayed,
some of it is carried up high into the air. It can be blown for very long distances, far away
from where it is used.

When DDT gets into an animals body, it stays there for the whole life of the organism – it
never breaks down. DDT is very harmful to many kinds of animals. It is toxic.