Ecology - Answers

Organisms and their environment

Suggested Answer
1ai photosynthesis
aii Chlorophyll
aiii 100 000 – 8000 – 80 000 = 12 000
aiv Bacteria and fungi
av Percentage of energy transferred = 8000/10000 x 100% = 8%
avi Energy is lost to the environment as
- heat energy during respiration,
- lost as energy trapped in uneaten body parts (eg. bones and teeth),
- undigested matter egested (eg. faeces)
- excretory products (eg. urea).
b Group of organisms of the same species that live together in a habitat.
2ai Killer whale
aii Adele penguin
b Alage  krill  squid  Ross seal  Leopard seal (any 5 food chains)
ci The population of Leopard seal will decrease.
The destruction of breeding grounds of Ross seal will decrease its population. As
Ross seal is one of Leopard seal’s food source, there will be less food available for
Leopard seal. Hence, some of the Leopard seal might not get enough food and die
of starvation, causing a decrease in its population.
cii The population of fish will increase.
More Leopard seal will be eating the Adele penguin as Adele penguin is now the
only food source for Leopard seal. This decreases the amount of predators for the
fish, causing the fish population to increase.
3a Food chain is an one-way pathway that includes a linear network of linking
organisms. But food web is a complex pathway that indicates a number of food
chains together to show how the organisms are interlinked with each other to
survive.
bi Snakes/lizards/bats/badgers/eagles/coyotes/moutain lions
bii Sagebrush bushes/prickly pear cactus/ desert flowers
biii Squirrels and other small rodents/rabbits/insects/deer and other grazers
c The population of coyotes will increase.
Mountain lions are the predators of deer and other grazers. If moutain lions face
extinction and its population decreases, there is one less predator for deer and
other grazers. This causes the population of deer and other grazers to increase.
Since deer and other grazers is the prey of coyotes, increase in its population
indicates more food source for coyotes. This results in the coyote population to
increase.
4ai Respiration
aii Combustion
bi Decomposers
bii Moisture and warm
ci C
cii Carbon dioxide + water  oxygen + glucose
ciii Sunlight
d Flow of carbon is a cyclic process while flow of energy is a non-cyclic process.
The carbon dioxide in the air is removed during photosynthesis and is returned
back into the air during respiration, allow the flow of carbon to be drawn in a cycle.
 Ecology - Answers

But the 90% of the energy is lost to the surrounding from one tropic level to the
next tropic level, so flow of energy cannot be drawn as a cycle.
5ai Heat energy
aii Condensation
bi Transpiration
bii Amount of humidity, temperature of the surrounding, presence of wind movement,
amount of sunlight
ci Deforestation can cause climate changes because without trees, there will be no
transpiration and the water cycle is disrupted. The area becomes dry and warm.
Annual rainfall also decreases
cii Soil erosion/ Desertification and flooding
6ai A: combustion
B: respiration
C: photosynthesis
D: feeding
aii Bacteria/fungi
b Increase in human population causes an increase in carbon foot print, contributing
more to the carbon output to the environment. Increase in demand for energy to
support the technology-advanced world causes more fossil fuels to be burnt, giving
out more carbon dioxide into the air. Increase industrialisation also results more
more carbon dioxide release from it factory exhaust pipes
7a i) D (population size remains the same)
ii) A (slight increase in population size)
bi Mating period and increase food source
bii Increase in number of predators on the island and decrease availablity of food
source/a widespread disease that kill alot of the rabbits

Human influences on ecosystems

Suggested Answer
1a (Any 2 reasons)
- Cut down firewood as fuel, timber for construction
- Wood for paper
- Land for cultivation, cattle grazing & development
bi Carbon dioxide cannot be removed from the air as there is no tree to carry out
photosynthesis. There will be less carbon entering the food chain as there is not
photosynthesis to produce glucose. Most of the carbon will be trap in the air as
carbon dioxide which is not in an usable form for most living organism. This will
decrease the amount of carbon that is being reycled in the carbon cycle.
bii Soil erosion, desertification, flooding or climate changes
bii Soil erosion – as the tree canopy protects soil from impact of rain, with trees
removed, topsoil gets eroded making the soil less fertile and leading to
desertification.
Climate changes such as less rainfall because without trees, there will be no
transpiration and the water cycle is disrupted. The area becomes dry and warm.
Annual rainfall also decreases
2ai Photosynthesis
aii Arctic char/arctic cod
 Ecology - Answers

aiii Phytoplankton  zooplankton  arctic cod  ringed seal  killer whale

(any other possible answer)
b Endangeres species means species that is very likely to become extinct in the near
future because of its low population or its natural habitat is destroyed
c Killer whales population will increase.
As polar bear feeds on ringed seal, a decrease in polar bear populations will
increase in ringed seal population as there is less predators feeding on the ringed
seal. Ringed seal is also the food source of killer whales, hence when ringed seal
population increases, there is more food for killer whales, causing its population to
increase as well.
3ai Nitrates and phosphates
aii It can lead to eutrophication. Excess fertilisers that are not absorbed by crops may
be washed away by rain into nearby lakes or rivers. Nitrates and phosphates in
fertilisers encourage growth of algae and water plants. Untreated sewage with
large amount of nitrates and phosphates that stimulate the growth of algae and
water plants, covering the water surface. Submerged plants do not have enough
light for photosynthesis, causing a decrease in oxygen concentration. The oxygen
concentration is further decrease by decompositions of dead bodies of plants
decomposers. This lack of oxygen leads to death of fish
aiii Herbicides kills the weeds grow in the soil that is competing the resources such as
water, sunlight and fertilisers with the crop plants grown. Herbicides only affects the
weeds, not the crop plants, hence the crop plants will not be affected and will have
more for the resources for optimum growth.
aiv Bioaccumulation /bioamplification and increase resistance to pesticide in pest
b Artifical selection involves the selecting of the desired traits in the parent plants
when genetic engineering involves the modifidation of genes to achieve the desried
traits in the offspring
4a Teeth and bones as calcium is used built strong teeth and bones, since radioactive
strontium is used in a similar way to calcium
b Increase risk of mutation, leading to uncontrolled cell growth and early death.