Topic 5: On the Wild Side

By Sarah Newman
Definitions
5.1: Understand the terms ecosystem, community, population and habitat

Ecosystem - dynamic areas where living organisms and their abiotic factors are found

Community - All the organisms of all the different species living in a habitat

Population - All the organisms of one species living in a habitat

Habitat - the place where an organism lives

 Abundance and Distribution
5.2: Understand that the numbers and distribution of organisms in a habitat are controlled
by biotic and abiotic factors

Biotic Factors - living factors like competition, grazing, predation, disease, mutualism etc

Abiotic factors - non living factors like light, climate, topography, oxygen concentration,
pollution etc

Abundance - the number of individuals of a single species in an ecosystem/habitat

Distribution - where a species is found in ecosystem

Abundance and Distribution
The abundance of a population varies due to abiotic factors because:

● They are dependent on a range of certain conditions in order to survive and grow like
oxygen availability or temperature (enzymes)
● When conditions are not at their optimum, organisms can’t grow as fast or reproduce
as successfully
● Where conditions are optimal, the abundance will be biggest

The abundance of a population varies due to biotic factors because of:

● Interspecific Competition and Intraspecific Competition

● Interspecific = competition between different species
● Intraspecific = competition within a species
Abundance and Distribution
Following on from inter and intra - specific competition:

When a single species competes against each other (intraspecific) they will
compete for everything as they occupy a same niche. The population will
increase when supplies are plentiful but then the food or space will become
limiting (the limiting factor) and the population will decline.

The carrying capacity is the maximum stable population an ecosystem can

support

When different species compete, the abundance of one species affects the
other. As they are competing for same resources, the resources available to
both will reduce and so both populations will suffer from a limiting factor and
population numbers will decline
Abundance and Distribution
Predation (biotic factor) is also linked to abundance of a species:

● The population size of predators and prey are interlinked

● As prey population increases, there is more food for predators so population grows but as prey populations
fall then the predator numbers will follow
● However, it's not as simple as this as there are other factors involved like availability of food for the prey.

Distribution varies due to abiotic factors because:

● Organisms can only exist where conditions are optimal for them eg plants can only grow on certain aspects

And varies due to biotic factors because of:

● Interspecific competition - if two species are competing but one is better

adapting then the less well adapted will lose out and be forced out of the area
Niches
5.3: Understand how the concept of niche accounts for distribution and abundance of
organisms in a habitat

Niche, as we know is defined as the role an organism takes within an environment

Niches revolve around biotic interactions as well as abiotic interactions and, the abundance and distribution of
organisms is influenced by abiotic and biotic factors.

Biotic - interspecific competition, intraspecific competition, what it eats and its predators

Abiotic - shade it creates, oxygen is uses up, use of minerals

Essentially, two species occupying the same niche will compete so fewer individuals of both species will be able to
survive in the area, affecting abundance.

The distribution on the other hand is when organisms can only exist in habitats
where all the conditions that make up their role exist.
Succession
5.4:Understand the stages of succession from colonisation to climax community

Succession: A community that undergoes a series of changes over time

● Primary succession starts in areas where there has never been a community before while secondary
succession occurs in areas where there has previously been a community
● First organisms to colonise are known as pioneer species like lichen - there are very few species that can
tolerate the harsh abiotic conditions
● As succession continues, organic matter starts to build up and more species can colonise as the conditions
become less harsh
● These new species outcompete the last ones (interspecific competition)
● A climax community is eventually reached when a community becomes stable and remains unchanged unless
conditions in a habitat change.
● The nature of climax community depends on climate, soil and which species are
available.
As succession takes place,
● Soil depth and humus increases
● Water and nutrient availability increases
● Biodiversity increases
● Plant height increases
● Number of niches increase
Photosynthesis
5.5: Understand the overall reaction of photosynthesis as requiring energy from light to
split apart the strong bonds in water molecules, storing the hydrogen in a fuel (glucose) by
combining it with carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere

This may sound a little bit complicated by if you break it down it’s not bad at all:

● The overall reaction of photosynthesis is;

● Carbon Dioxide is reduced as hydrogen and electrons from water are added to it, producing a carbohydrate,
in this case glucose which acts as an energy store
● The light energy splits the water molecules in a process known as photolysis
● Then we have a waste product, oxygen
● Oxygen could be used in the process of
respiration which all living organisms do
ADP and ATP in photosynthesis
5.6: Understand how phosphorylation of ADP requires energy and that hydrolysis of ATP
provides an immediate supply of energy for biological processes

Phosphorylation - adding phosphate to a molecule, this is what happens when ADP goes to ATP, the ADP is
phosphorylated

Hydrolysis - the splitting of a molecule using water, this is what happens when ATP is hydrolysed to ADP

ATP is the most important energy transfer molecule within cells. It moves energy around the cell from energy-
yielding reactions to energy requiring reactions

Energy is required to phosphorylate ADP because an inorganic phosphate needs to be added to ADP in order for
ATP to form. During hydrolysis of ATP (where it breaks down to form ADP)
energy is released and it is this energy which is used in a countless number of
metabolic reactions.
Light Dependent Reaction
5.7: Understand the light dependent reactions of photosynthesis including how light
energy is trapped by exciting electrons in chlorophyll and the role of these electrons in
generating ATP, reducing NADP in photophosphorylation and producing oxygen through
photolysis of water

In a nutshell, the light dependent reaction:

● uses light energy in a reaction known as photophosphorylation to add a phosphate

group to ADP, forming ATP and reducing NADP to NADPH.
● Takes place in the thylakoid membrane
● Oxidises H₂O to O₂
LDR (LIGHT DEPENDENT REACTION)

This diagram will be explained in the following slide but keep referring back
to it so you understand
 LDR
1) Light is absorbed by the PSII and the energy from light raises electrons (produced from the photolysis of
water) to a higher energy state - they are now ‘excited’
2) The electrons leave their higher energy state by passing through a series of proteins along an electron
transport chain which is embedded in thylakoid membrane
3) As they do so, energy is lost and this energy is used to synthesise ATP (photophosphorylation)
4) The electrons reach PSI where they combine with the coenzyme NADP and hydrogen ions (from the
photolysis of water) to form NADPH (or reduced NADP)
5) The energy from the electron transport chain is used to synthesise ATP because as they go along the chain,
protons are pumped into the thylakoid (from the stroma) which causes a greater concentration of H+ ions
inside the thylakoid than outside the thylakoid producing a concentration gradient. The protons then move
across the conc gradient via ATP synthase and into the stroma. This is chemiosmosis
6) The energy from chemiosmosis is used to combine ADP and Pi to form ATP.

The above describes non cyclic photophosphorylation but cyclic photophosphorylation

is when only PSI is used and its when the electrons aren’t passed on to form NADPH but
are reused to produce small amounts of ATP
Light Independent Reaction
5.7: Understand the light independent reaction as reduction of carbon dioxide using the products of the light dependent
reactions (carbon fixation in the Calvin cycle, the role of GP, GALP, RuBP and RUBISCO)

Know that the products are simple sugars that are used by plants, animals and other organisms in respiration and the
synthesis of new biological molecules (polysaccharides, amino acids, lipids and nucleic acids )

The light Independent Reaction in a nutshell:

● Also called the Calvin Cycle

● Takes place in the stroma
● ATP and NADPH from LDR supply energy and hydrogen to make glucose from carbon dioxide

The glucose produced by the Calvin cycle is used in a variety of ways. It may be used directly by the plant in
respiration. It is also used to make sucrose and transported around the plant via the
Phloem. It can be polymerised to form the polysaccharides starch and cellulose
And can also be used in production of lipids, amino acids and nucleic acids
Just a little note:
The 3-PGA is what we call
GP and the G3P is GALP
 LIR (LIGHT INDEPENDENT REACTION)
● 3 lots of carbon dioxide enters leaf via the stomata and diffuses into stroma of chloroplast where it combines
with three lots of a 5 carbon compound known as Ribulose Biphosphate (or RuBP). This reaction is catalysed
by RUBISCO
● Three, 6 carbon compounds are formed but they are unstable so break down into 6x 3 carbon compounds
known as GP.
● GP is reduced to form GALP (which is 3C). The 6 hydrogens come from the coenzyme NADPH (NADP
becomes oxidised) and 6 ATPs are provided as energy to catalyse the reaction
● This might be where it gets confusing but for every 6 GALPS produced (because 3 lots of CO ₂ went into our
Calvin cycle), only one of them goes into producing glucose while the other 5 are used to regenerate RuBP (5
lots of 3 carbon compounds make 3 lots of 5 carbon compounds)
● In the regeneration of RuBP, 3 lots of ATP are used to provide the energy for this reaction

And that’s it, hopefully it’s not too confusing with the numbers, in some textbooks
they may have multiplies everything by two but that would make things slightly more confusing
Chloroplasts
5.9: Understand the structure of chloroplasts in relation to their role in photosynthesis
● The chloroplast absorbs light energy
which is used for photosynthesis to
make useful organic compounds
● The thylakoids have a high surface
area which increases the rate of
photosynthesis.
● They have a double membrane
called the chloroplast envelope
which keep reactions isolated
Productivity
5.10: Be able to calculate the net primary
productivity

Understand the relationship between gross

primary productivity and plant respiration

This is a straightforward equation which you can see on

the right hand side which links gross primary productivity
and respiration.

GPP is the total rate at which the ecosystem capture and

store carbon as plant biomass, for a given length of time
while NPP is the amount of energy made available by
plants to animals, only at the herbivore level, and is
expressed as kg/m2/yr
 Energy Transfer

5.11: Be able to calculate the efficiency of biomass and energy transfers between trophic
levels

Transfers from light to producers is not very efficient because:

● Some of it is reflected
● Energy isn’t absorbed by chlorophyll but used to evaporate water off leaves
● Some of is transmitted straight through the leaf

The % efficiency of photosynthesis can be calculated as GPP divided by the amount of

energy from light (and multiplied by 100)
Energy transfer
Transfer of energy from producers to primary consumers is also little. Only about 2-10% of energy in producers
goes to make new herbivore biomass. Where does it go?

● Not all available food is eaten eg roots, twigs, thorns etc

● Some undigested food remains is faeces eg cellulose
● Much of food absorbed is used for photosynthesis

Transfer of energy from primary consumers to secondary consumers is more efficient. This is because most of a
herbivore can be eaten and the protein rich diet is easily digested

To calculate the % of energy transfer efficient at any point in the food chain you calculate:

% efficiency = energy transferred to next level x100

Total energy in
Evidence for climate change
5.12: Understand the different types of evidence for climate change and its causes,
recognising causal and correlational relationships

Temperature Records:

● Since the 1850s, temperature has been recorded by a thermometer

● These are reliable but short term records of global temperatures

Dendrochronology

● The study of tree rings, every year, a tree grows a new ring. These rings can be studied to identify what the
climate was like at time of growth
● The rings are thicker when climate is warmer as there is more
photosynthesis so greater growth rate

● Scientists can take cores through tree trunks then date each ring by
counting them back from when the core was taken
Evidence for climate change
Pollen in Peat Bogs:

● Pollen is preserved in peat bogs and peat bogs accumulate in layers so the age of the preserved pollen
increases with depth
● Scientists can take cores from peat bogs and extract pollen grains and then identify the plant species the
pollen came from
● Only fully grown plants produce pollen and they need optimal environmental conditions for them to grow
(specific niche), so scientists can identify this plant which the pollen came from and know what the climate
was like at time of growth
● So, what we would see is a gradual increase in pollen from a plant species that's more successful in warmer
climates would show a rise in temperature
Evidence for climate change
Ice Cores:
● As water freezes, bubbles of air become trapped within the ice. The ratio of different oxygen isotopes in the
trapped air is measured as well as the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
● What we would see is that more recent ice cores would have a greater concentration of carbon dioxide.

You will need to be able to interpret data on different data records and recognise correlations (either
positive/negative where there is a relationship between two variables) or causations ( where a change in one
variable causes a change in another variable)
Anthropogenic Climate Change
5.13:Understand the causes of anthropogenic climate change,
including the role of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane)
in the greenhouse effect
● Anthropogenic - caused by humans
● Climate change - change to the long term climate patterns of Earth
● Global Warming - An increase in the Earth’s mean surface temperature

Greenhouse Effect:

The sun radiates energy and the Earth absorbs some of this energy, causing it to warm
up. And in turn radiates energy back into space as infrared radiation. Some of the energy
that is radiated from the Earth’s surface is absorbed by gases in the atmosphere, warming
it.The gases that stop the infrared radiation from escaping are called greenhouse gases.
They create the greenhouse effect which keeps Earth warm
Anthropogenic Climate Change
Humans enhance this greenhouse effect and less heat is lost to space.

Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is increasing as more fossil fuels are burnt and
more carbon sinks are being destroyed like rainforests.

Atmospheric methane concentration has more than doubled and this is because more is
being released from fossil fuels, decaying waste, permafrost stores and agriculture
Predicting future climate change
5.14: Understand that data can be extrapolated to make predictions and that these are
used in models of future climate change

Understand that models for climate change can have limitations

● Extrapolate current data - the IPCC has done this to produce a number of emission scenarios
● Use data from many sources to create climate models and predict what the climate could be like in the future
● Models have limitations:
❖ We don’t know how greenhouse gas emissions will change
❖ There are many variables to consider
❖ There is lots of unknown data involved and what ifs
 Climate Change Effects - changing abiotic factors

5.15: Understand the effects of climate change on plants and animals

1. Changing rainfall patterns:

● Some areas will get more rain, others will get less
● This affects development and life cycles as some species need certain conditions to become active or dormant
which will then impact on their survival
● Also affects distribution - species will migrate to areas to get away from their wetter or drier climate

2. Seasonal Climate

● Global warming changes timing of seasons and organisms are adapted to the timing of these seasons so they
can survive where there is ample food for example
● Changing seasonal cycles also affect development and distribution
Temperature and Enzyme activity
5.16: Understand the effect of temperature on the rate of enzyme activity and its impact on
plants, animals and microorganisms

● Change in temperature changes the rate of enzyme catalysed reactions

● Increase in temp = higher rate of photosynthesis, faster growth however, enzymes
could get denatured and influence the sex of some organisms or their hatching
● A decrease in temp = slows reactions, slowing development and could lead to
migration of species to warmer areas.
● Overall there will be massive changes in species abundance and distribution

An increased temperature increases reaction because more kinetic energy is

provided so molecules move faster and increases the chance of a successful
collision
 Genetic Variation
● Each gene has different alleles.

Evolution Therefore, different individuals

may have different alleles.
● During prophase I of meiosis,
chiasmata (crossing over) occurs
5.17: Understand how evolution (change in the allele whereby sections of DNA are
swapped between sister chromatids.
frequency) can come about through gene mutation and natural ● During metaphase I of meiosis,
selection there is independent assortment of
the homologous pairs of
● Evolution is a change in allele frequency and individuals vary within a chromatids.
● Mutation - gene and chromosome.
population due to genetic variation.
● Random fertilisation.
● Some individuals are better adapted to their environment than others
● Individuals that have alleles better adapted for the environment are more
likely to survive and reproduce
● More members of that population have the beneficial allele and over time,
this causes a change in allele frequency
Scientific Community
5.18: Understand the role of the scientific community (Scientific journals, the peer review
process, scientific conferences) in validating new evidence, including proteomics and
genomics, that supports the accepted scientific theory of evolution

When a scientist discovers something or they needs to publish their results, then peer review would occur where
scientists would examine the paper very critically, ensuring work was valid - looking at whether or not it included
proper controls, used statistics, considered the work of other scientists and if his conclusions were justified or not. If
all was well then the paper would be published or be presented at a scientific conference

In terms of evolution, the study of DNA (genomics) and the study of proteins (proteomics) is used to identify
relationships between past and present organisms. Different techniques can be used to identify these relationships:

● DNA hybridisation
● DNA profiling
● DNA and protein sequencing
Genomics and Proteomics
DNA Hybridisation:

● DNA is heated to break the strands and then combined with another DNA strand (usually from another
organism) to make hybrid DNA.
● Because there will be different bases, full complementary base pairing will not occur and this means that
hydrogen bonds won’t be made throughout both strands
● Requires lower temperature as a result
● DNA relatedness is therefore measured by the temperature needed to denature the hybrid DNA

DNA Profiling:

● Restriction enzymes cut DNA at specific sequences producing series of different sized DNA fragments which
can be visualised using gel electrophoresis (series of bands)
● The difference and similarities between the fragments will provide information about the genetic differences
between individuals and between species.
Genomics and Proteomics
● By comparing the sequence of bases in DNA or the amino acid sequence in proteins of different species, it’s
possible to determine how closely related organisms are in evolutionary terms
● If two species have few differences in amino acid sequence they evolved from a common ancestor more
recently than organisms with more differences.
Speciation
5.19: Understand how isolation reduces gene flow between populations, leading to
allopatric or sympatric speciation

The formation of a new species is called speciation. For speciation to occur there must be a reproductive isolating
mechanism preventing successful inbreeding between different species.

Reproductive isolation may occur as a result of 2 processes:

1) Allopatric Speciation
2) Sympatric Speciation
Allopatric Speciation
● Most common method of speciation
● When two populations become geographically isolated, preventing them from mating
● When two populations diverge they become adapted to their new selection pressures
through natural selection of beneficial alleles and mutations
● Changes in allele frequency lead to differences accumulating in the gene pool
● Eventually populations will be reproductively isolated, unable to breed together
Sympatric Speciation
● When two populations become reproductively isolated in same environment.
● Some of the isolating mechanism that could account for this are:

1) Ecological isolation - species occupy different parts of habitat (different surroundings)

2) Temporal Isolation - species exist in same area but reproduce at different times
3) Behavioral Isolation - species exist in same area but don’t respond to others courtship calls
4) Physical Incompatibility - species co-exist but there are physical reasons like different genitalia
5) Hybrid inviability - hybrids produces but don’t survive long enough to breed
6) Hybrid sterility - hybrids survive to reproductive age but can’t reproduce