Adaptations, Interdependence and Competition

Communities
An ecosystem is made up of living organisms (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components. In
an ecosystem, there are different levels of organisation:
 Individual organisms.
 Populations of individual organisms make up a single species.
 Communities are made up of populations of different species.
Organisms need resources from both abiotic and biotic components of an ecosystem to
survive and reproduce. However, resources are not infinite. Different species and different
individuals compete for resources. Whilst there is a degree of overlap, plants and animals
largely compete for different resources:
 Plants often compete for water and mineral ions from the soil, as well as for light and
space.
 Animals often compete for food, mates and territory.
There is interdependence between different species, meaning that one species may rely on
another species for different things, for example, food, shelter, pollination, and seed dispersal.
Consequently, removing one species from an ecosystem may have wider effects than one
might expect. A community is stable when all the species and environmental factors are
balanced in such a way that population sizes remain fairly constant.

Abiotic Factors
An abiotic factor is a non-living or physical factor that can affect communities. Abiotic factors
can have a huge impact on the organisms within a community. Examples of abiotic factors
are:
 Light - plants need light for photosynthesis so that they can survive. Some animals are
adapted to the dark.
 Water - all living organisms need water to survive.
 Pollutants - some organisms are killed by pollutants.
 Soil pH and mineral content - plants and soil dwelling creatures are adapted to
particular soil pHs and mineral contents.
 Wind intensity and direction - some trees will fall over in strong winds and some
animals can’t survive in the cold caused by strong winds.
 Carbon dioxide levels - plants need carbon dioxide to survive.
 Oxygen levels in water - aquatic animals get their oxygen from the water.

Biotic Factors
All living organisms have a role to play within an ecosystem as each one tries to survive and
reproduce. Biotic factors are living factors that can affect the organisms that live in a
community. Since the whole community is living within the same ecosystem, one organism's
action may have an important effect on another organism (same or different species).
 For example, in the UK, red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) live in many types of ecosystems,
including cities and woodlands. Their community usually includes lots of smaller
animals, such as rabbits, mice and birds. A fox is a predator (hunts animals for food).
When a fox comes into contact with its prey (what the predator eats), it will attempt to
catch and eat the animal (predation). Predation is an example of a biotic factor that
can affect the community because predation can change the population size of the
prey. Similarly, if there is not enough prey for the foxes, the population size of the
predators will decrease.
The main biotic factors affecting communities are:
 Availability of food - without which organisms can’t survive.
 New predators arriving - a new predator that an organism isn’t adapted to escaping
from will significantly reduce their numbers.
 New pathogens - pathogens causing a disease can kill organisms
  Competition - if one species is competing for food or water with another, then the
species that is less well adapted to obtaining the food will significantly reduce in
number.

Adaptations
Structural, behavioural, or functional adaptations allow organisms to survive in the conditions
of their natural environment. When considering how an adaptation may aid an organism,
consider which of the abiotic and biotic factors it will affect. For example...

Structural Adaptations
 Stinging nettles have developed a sting in order to avoid being eaten by herbivores.
 Trees in windy areas often have deep roots to prevent them falling over.

Behavioural Adaptations
 Animals that live in hot deserts occupy cool burrows during the day.

Functional Adaptations
 Fish that live in Arctic waters have chemicals in their blood to prevent it from freezing.

Extremophiles
Extremophiles are organisms that are adapted to occupy extreme environments.
Classic examples of extreme environments include areas in which there are exceptionally high
or low temperatures or pressures, absence of water, or presence of toxic substances, such as
heavy metals.
 Classic examples of extremophiles include bacteria occupying deep-sea vents and
water bears (scientific name: tardigrades), which, incredibly, can survive numerous
extreme conditions including absence of water or food for over 100 years,
temperatures just above absolute zero (-272 degrees Celsius) as well as up to 150
degrees Celsius, and exposure to ionising radiation.

Biodiversity and Waste Management

Biodiversity
 Biodiversity is the variety of all the different species of organisms in a given space.
 High biodiversity ensures the stability and resilience of ecosystems. This is because
the more species there are, the less dependent species are on one another for services
such as food, shelter and the maintenance of the physical environment.
 From a human perspective, our future as a species on Earth is reliant on the
maintenance of a sufficient level of biodiversity.
 For some time, and especially since the industrial revolution, humans have conducted
many activities that have caused a severe decline in biodiversity on a global scale.
 An awareness of the detrimental nature of these activities has existed for several
decades. However, for the sake of pursuing economic gain, the warnings have largely
been ignored.
 More recently, attitudes have begun to change and measures are being taken to
prevent further damage from being done and to regain pre-existing biodiversity.

Waste Management
The human population, which is currently in excess of 7.5 billion people, has been rapidly
expanding in recent decades and shows no signs of slowing down. This phenomenon has
been termed the population explosion. Modern medicine and agricultural methods are the
underlying causal factors of this trend due to their role in greatly reducing deaths caused by
disease and hunger. The presence of more humans means that more resources are being
used, many of which are non-renewable. Furthermore, not only are there more humans than
ever before, but the desired standard of living is also higher. Consequently, we are producing
more goods. This rate of resource use is producing huge quantities of industrial waste and
pollution. Whilst the long-term goal is to limit waste as much as possible, it is important that
we try to correctly handle the waste being produced right now in order to prevent unnecessary
extra pollution. For example, if sewage is not treated properly, gut parasites and toxic
chemicals can get onto the land. Pollution affects...
 Water - sewage and toxic chemicals, which are produced by industrial practices, as
well as excess fertiliser from agriculture, all find their way into the Earth’s water
sources.
 Land - toxic herbicides and pesticides used in farming, buried nuclear waste and
household waste in landfill sites are all land pollutants.
 Air - smoke and gases are being added into the atmosphere constantly, particularly by
power stations and cars. An example is sulfur dioxide, which dissolves in atmospheric
moisture to form acid rain, which has been shown to negatively impact forest,
freshwater and soil ecosystems as well as human health. A complication with acid rain
is that it can fall far from where the gases were produced. Scandinavia, and Norway in
particular, receives a lot of acid rain from the UK.
Humans significantly affect the ecology of the Earth as the pollution they produce kills animals
and plants, which can reduce biodiversity.

Biodiversity Maintenance
Programmes have been established by scientists and governments that attempt to mitigate
the negative impact of humans on ecosystems and biodiversity.

Breeding Programmes
A classic success story is that of the Californian condor. Numbers reached as low as just 23
in 1982, shortly after which all remaining individuals were taken into captivity. Since the
reintroduction of captive-bred individuals began, the wild population has grown to over 400
birds.

Habitat Maintenance and Regeneration

Incentivising farmers to maintain field margins and hedgerows, habitats that can support a
high biodiversity.

Emission Reduction
Government-imposed targets regarding deforestation and emission reductions - Brazil, for
instance has set ambitious targets regarding the state of the Amazon rainforest, including the
complete abolishment of illegal deforestation and the reforestation of twelve million hectares
by 2030.

Recycling
Recycling waste slows down the expansion of landfill sites and reduces the need to extract
new natural resources.

Decomposition
Rate of Decay of Biological Material
Biological material in the form of waste products or dead organisms (and their matter) decays
as a result of the activity of decomposers. The rate of the decay process is dependent on the
following conditions:
 Temperature (warm is usually best)
 Moisture availability (moist is usually best)
 Oxygen availability (high availability is usually best)
It is in the interest of gardeners and farmers to promote rapid decay. Compost bins mimic the
optimal natural conditions for decay and are, therefore, a favourite tool for gardeners and
farmers. The product of these bins is compost, which can be used as a natural fertiliser.
Anaerobic Decay
When oxygen supply is insufficient, anaerobic decay takes place, resulting in the production
of biogas, which is predominantly methane. Biogas generators are devices that can produce
methane gas as a fuel for purposes such as cooking, heating or refrigeration. They can also
produce slurry, which can be used as a fertiliser.

Importantly, the temperatures

within biogas generators must be
maintained at a suitable level.
This is achieved by burying the
generators underground or
covering them in insulating
jackets. Additionally, oxygen must not be allowed to enter the site of fermentation. The inputs
depend on the scale of the generator:
 Large-scale generators take waste from sugar factories or sewage works.
 Small-scale generators are used by households and farms with typical inputs, including
excreted material from human and animals, as well as farm and garden waste.

Practical
You are required to carry out the following practical as part of the AQA Biology course - it
involves investigating the effect of temperature on the rate of decay of fresh milk by measuring
pH change.
The effect of temperature on the rate of decay can be observed using milk. As milk takes a
long time to decay, lipase and sodium carbonate are added to speed up the decay. As milk
decays, its pH reduces. This can be observed with an indicator called Cresol red.
The steps required to carry out this experiment are as follows:
 Use a water bath to heat all of the components to a given temperature.
 Mix the milk, sodium carbonate and Cresol red. The resulting solution should be
purple.
 Add lipase to the solution and start timing.
 When the solution turns yellow stop timing.
 Repeat using different temperatures.
 The independent variable is the
temperature, and the dependent variable is
the time taken for the solution to turn
yellow.
Environmental Change
Environmental changes that affect species, their
distribution and, in extreme cases, their longevity
include:
  Temperature - for example, polar bears hunt seal on floating sea ice. If the temperature
increases and this ice melts, the polar bears are no longer able to hunt their main food
source.
 Water availability - wildebeest migrate annually from the Serengeti plains of Tanzania
north into Kenya to track seasonal changes in rainfall patterns.
 Composition of atmospheric gases - carbon dioxide dissolves in water and increases
the water acidity. Acidic water hinders coral's ability to build a skeleton, so increased
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere prevents coral growth.
Causes of these environmental fluctuations include:
 Transitions between seasons
 Human interaction
 Geographic activity

Food Production
Food Security
Food security will be achieved when the whole global human population has access to enough
safe and nutritious food to ensure that they stay healthy. Currently, the most pressing
obstacles to this goal are:
 Increasing birth rates, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
 New pests and pathogens, which can reduce the efficiency of food production.
 The increase in frequency of extreme meteorological events associated with climate
change.
 Conflicts, which often result in reduced accessibility to food and water.
 Increasing costs of agricultural inputs, such as fertiliser, which are essential for
ensuring that food is produced at sufficient yields.
 Diet shifts in developed countries, which are resulting in the accumulation of a massive
quantity of food miles, as food is transported across the world in order to meet
demands.
Sustainable methods can increase food production now and also safeguard resources for
future generations. Scientists and farmers are making efforts to discover methods that are
sustainable and can increase food production to a level where everyone has food security.

Farming Techniques
The efficiency of food production can be improved by:
 Shortening food chains - only approximately 10% of energy passes from each trophic
level to the next. Therefore, it is obviously much more efficient to consume crops rather
than herbivores.
 Limiting energy transfer from livestock to the environment - intensive farming, where
animals are kept indoors in crowded conditions, ensures that the animals stay warm
and reduces the amount of energy they expend on maintaining body temperature. It
also restricts the ability of individuals to move, thus reducing energy wastage. The
benefits of intensive farming are that the increased efficiency results in cost reductions
for both farmers and consumers. However, many people consider this practice
unethical as the animals' living conditions are poor.
 Feeding animals foods high in protein to boost growth rates.

Sustainable Fisheries
Overfishing has led to the drastic decline of many fish stocks across the globe. Declining fish
stocks mean that:
 Fishermen struggle to make enough money to live
 Food security is threatened
 Food chains are affected
 Populations of fish are at risk of disappearing
Sustainable fishing of the oceans means that fish stocks do not dip below levels at which they
continue to breed. This is achieved by:
 Controlling net size, which allows the smaller, younger fish to slip through the net so
that they can survive at least until maturity.
 Setting fishing quotas - by restricting the number and size of fish that can be legally
caught, the risk of overfishing is greatly diminished.

Biotechnology
Biotechnology is the use of biological processes to develop or make products. Modern
biotechnology techniques make it possible for large quantities of microorganisms to be grown
for food.
 Mycoprotein is a food source that is largely produced by growing the fungus fusarium
in large vats called fermenters.
 The fungus grows using glucose syrup as a food source, in aerobic conditions.
Eventually, the biomass is harvested, before finally being purified and used to make
meat substitutes, such as the brand Quorn.
 Mycoprotein is high in protein and fibre, low in fat, and suitable for vegetarians.
Genetic modification is another possible solution to the ever-increasing strain on food
supplies, as GM crops have the potential to provide more food as well as more nutritious food.

Global Warming
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
 Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere naturally as the waste product of
respiration. However, many other unnatural processes, such as the burning of fossil
fuels, also release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
 Our increased use of fossil fuels could cause the quantity of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere to reach alarming levels.
 Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere naturally by green plants and algae
during photosynthesis. We say that the carbon dioxide has been “sequestered”. Other
natural stores of carbon include bodies of water and peat bogs.

Greenhouse Effect
The greenhouse effect describes the ability of greenhouse gases to act as a natural, insulating
layer in the atmosphere, re-radiating most of the heat energy which has been reflected off the
Earth’s surface back towards Earth.

 The consensus amongst

climate scientists is that the
greenhouse effect is causing
global warming.
 As the atmospheric
concentrations of
 greenhouse gases (like carbon dioxide and methane) rise, there is a risk that the
greenhouse effect could become too strong and the temperature could rise too high.
 Despite an overwhelming body of evidence, the topic of global warming remains
controversial with many rejecting the suggestion that humans are responsible.
The consequences of global warming include:
 Melting of ice, particularly in the polar regions, as the earth warms, causing sea levels
to rise. This could flood coastal habitats forever, losing the land and their associated
biodiversity.
 Changes to the way sea ice changes through the year is affecting the survival of
animals at both poles - sea ice fragmentation, for instance, has led to observations of
drowning polar bear cubs in the Arctic Circle.
 Increased frequency of extreme meteorological events, such as floods, droughts,
severe storms and wildfires.
 Rising sea surface temperatures, which cause bleaching of sensitive corals.
 Ocean acidification, which harms corals.
 Migration patterns and the distribution of species may be altered - malaria-carrying
mosquitoes, for example, have already spread to numerous European countries.
The rate at which the Earth's climate is changing makes rapid adaptation key to avoiding
extinction. This is particularly challenging for large-bodied animals that typically have longer
generation times and, therefore, will struggle to adapt at the required rate.

Land Use and Deforestation

Land Use
The growth of the human race (or species) has meant that there is less space and fewer
resources for other organisms on Earth. Building, dumping waste, farming and quarrying all
take up space and deplete (use up) resources.
Peat is a deposit of partially decayed plant matter, which accumulates in bogs. Here, carbon
remains in the plants instead of being released into the atmosphere. However, the destruction
of peat bogs has become more common, resulting in the burning or decay of peat. This
releases the stored carbon into the atmosphere in the form of the greenhouse gas, carbon
dioxide. Peat bogs are being destroyed for the following reasons:
 To free up land for farming, which requires the bogs to be drained. This draining
process stimulates peat decay.
 To burn the peat for fuel.
 To sell the peat to gardeners as garden compost.
Peat demand can be reduced by gardeners using peat-free compost, such as manure or bark
chippings. In addition to releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, another negative
impact of peat bog destruction is the loss of biodiversity associated with the habitat.

Deforestation
Deforestation is the cutting, clearing and removal of forests in order to free up land for:
 Cattle and rice fields, thus boosting food production.
 Growing crops with the aim of producing ethanol-based biofuels.
 There are many negative consequences associated with deforestation:
 The burning of trees and decomposition of wood increases the rate of release of
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
 As less photosynthesis is taking place, the rate of removal of carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere decreases.
 Loss of biodiversity.
 Loss of ecosystem services provided by forests, such as erosion prevention, flood
control and food provision.
 Additionally, forests are often chopped down to be replaced by agriculture, with the
purpose of growing rice or farming cattle. These activities produce methane, which is
a greenhouse gas.
Levels of Organisation
Feeding Relationships
Feeding relationships within a community are often shown using food chains.
 Food chains nearly always begin with a producer that produces its own food. This is
usually a green plant or algae that can carry out photosynthesis.
 Producers are eaten by animals called primary consumers, which in turn are eaten by
secondary consumers, then tertiary consumers etc.
 Predator-prey graphs show the cyclical nature of predator and prey populations in
stable communities.
A classic example of such predator-prey cycle dynamics is that of the Canada lynx and
snowshoe hare.

 An increase in the
numbers of snowshoe hare
means more food is
available for the lynx, so the
lynx numbers also
increase.
 The increase in the number of lynx then means that the snowshoe hares have more
predators, so the number of hares decreases.
 The lynx then have less food available so their numbers also decrease.
 The decreasing numbers of lynx allows the hare numbers to increase again, and the
cycle repeats.

Assessing Ecosystems
Population sizes are often of interest to ecologists.

Practical
You are required to carry out the following practical as part of the AQA Biology course - it
involves measuring the population size of a common species in a habitat. Quadrats (square
frames), can be used to estimate a population size.
 Divide the habitat up into a series of quadrat-sized cells. Randomly select a given
number of cells, then go out into the habitat and place
the quadrat in these positions.
 To evaluate the contents of the quadrat, either count
the number of individual organisms of interest or
record the percentage of the quadrat taken up by an
organism. The samples from the quadrat are used to
estimate the total population in a given area, using the
formula estimated population = number counted ×
total survey area.

Transects
Transects can be used to investigate the effect of a factor on the distribution of a species - for
example, the effect of light intensity on the percentage of grass cover.
 A transect line is a tape that is stretched across the habitat of interest.
 Here we can use a transect line from a tree to an open area.
 Place a quadrat at regular intervals along the
line.
 At each position, record the light intensity
using a light meter and estimate what
percentage of the quadrat is covered in grass.
 The independent variable is the light intensity
and the dependent variable is the percentage
of grass cover.

When discussing organism abundance, the following

terms may be used:
 Mean - the average value of a series of
numbers. The arithmetic mean is calculated by adding up all the values and then
dividing by the number of recordings that have been made.
 Mode - the most common value in a series.
 Median - when a series is arranged in numerical order, the median is the middle value.

Material Cycling
The recycling of materials is essential as they provide the building blocks for future organisms.
Two cycles are particularly important for living organisms - the carbon cycle and the water
cycle.

The Carbon Cycle

 Carbon is removed from the atmosphere by producers to be used in photosynthesis to
make glucose.
 On consuming the plant matter (or other animals, considering that plants represent the
base of food chains) animals consume carbon compounds.
 Respiration happens in cells in both plants
and animals, returning carbon (in the form
of carbon dioxide) to the atmosphere.
 When the animal and plant components of
the cycle die, decomposers return the
carbon locked in their bodies back to the
atmosphere via decay.
 Combustion of fossil fuels is another
source of carbon entry into the
atmosphere.
The Water Cycle
 Water evaporates from the Earth’s
surface before rising up into the
atmosphere.
 Once in the atmosphere, it cools and
condenses into either rain or snow,
which eventually returns to the
Earth’s surface as precipitation.
 The rain or snow will either become
surface runoff (water flowing off land)
or will travel through the earth as
ground water.
 Plants take up water through their
roots.

Trophic Levels
Food chains show feeding relationships (and
energy flows) within a biological community. An organism’s trophic level describes where it
fits into (and feeds in) a food chain. Trophic levels are given numbers:
 Level 1 - at the base of all food chains, there are green plants and algae. These are
called producers and use light energy from the Sun to synthesise their own food.
 Level 2 - herbivores that eat green plants and/or algae are called primary consumers.
 Level 3 - carnivores that eat herbivores are called secondary consumers.
 Level 4 - carnivores that eat other carnivores are called tertiary consumers.

A predator is a consumer that

eats other animals; the animals that are eaten are called prey. Apex predators sit at the top of
the food chain and are are not preyed upon. Decomposers, such as bacteria and fungi, are
responsible for recycling organic matter within an ecosystem and represent the final stop for
all food chains. They break down dead material by secreting (producing) enzymes, which
partly digest the waste products, producing small and soluble food molecules. These small
soluble molecules can then diffuse into the decomposer.

Pyramids of Biomass
A pyramid of biomass can be constructed to represent the relative amount of biomass at each
trophic level in a food chain. Biomass is the total (dry) mass of living material in an organism
multiplied by the number of organisms. It is often calculated at a trophic level for each stage
of the food chain. Pyramids of biomass are almost universally pyramid-shaped, in contrast to
pyramids of numbers, which can take many different forms. Pyramids of biomass can be
constructed to represent the relative amount of biomass in each level of a food chain. Trophic
level 1 is at the bottom of the pyramid.

Biomass Transfer
At each trophic level in a food chain, energy is wasted. Less biomass and energy is passed
on to the next organism in the food chain. If there was no wastage, all of the energy that
entered a trophic level would be used for growth. However, there are several reasons why this
is not the reality:
 Not all food is digested; some is stored as the waste material faeces, before being
egested.
 Large quantities of glucose are used in respiration to produce energy. Highly mobile
animals require a lot of energy to sustain their movement, which comes at the cost of
having less energy available to invest in growth.
 Warm-blooded animals need to expend energy to maintain a suitable body
temperature.
 Some material is excreted: carbon dioxide and water in respiration; urea and water in
urine.
 Producers only manage to trap approximately 1% of light energy from the sun.

A general rule for transfer

efficiency between all trophic
levels is that 10% of energy from trophic level n will be available to the next trophic level. This
progressive loss of energy usually means that there are less individuals at the higher trophic
levels.