Year 11 - Science
Examples of human interactions with ecosystems, including fish farming
Maintaining biodiversity and human impacts
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit explores trophic levels, biomass pyramids, and the efficiency of biomass transfers in ecosystems. It examines human impacts on biodiversity, factors affecting food security, and biotechnological solutions. Emphasis is on evaluating environmental changes and ethical considerations.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe examples of human interactions with ecosystems, including fish farming, eutrophication, and the introduction of non-indigenous species.
Key Notes
- Growing food helps feed the increasing human population, but can have negative impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity.
- Fish farming and animal welfare as examples of positive and negative impacts.
- Eutrophication as an example of a negative impact.
- The introduction of non-indigenous species as an example of a negative impact.
- Ways of mitigating some of these negative impacts.
Vocabulary To Learn
- biodiversity: Biodiversity is the range of different living organisms that live in a place.
- fertiliser: Fertiliser are minerals that are added to the soil to help plants to grow.
- eutrophication: Eutrophication is the process in which a body of water is overly enriched with plant nutrients. This leads to excessive growth of simple plants such as algae.
- indigenous species: Indigenous species are a species that occurs naturally in an ecosystem. They are sometimes referred to as native species.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- A common misconception is that the excessive growth of the plants in eutrophication is the cause of a reduction in biodiversity as a result of the plants using up the oxygen in the water.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.
Growing food helps feed the increasing human population, but can have negative impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity. Fish farming and animal welfare as examples of positive and negative impacts.
2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'biodiversity'
Biodiversity is the range of different living organisms that live in a place. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.
3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.
Mistake: A common misconception is that the excessive growth of the plants in eutrophication is the cause of a reduction in biodiversity as a result of the plants using up the oxygen in the water. Correction: Steps in eutrophication are outlined. Increased minerals cause the growth of plants at the surface resulting in the death and decomposition of the plants. Decomposing dead organic matter results in micro-organisms using oxygen and biodiversity loss.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Benefits and challenges of maintaining biodiversity Study Guide
- Climate change and biodiversity: changes in the distribution of organisms Study Guide
- Climate change and biodiversity: forests and oceans Study Guide
- Examples of human interactions with ecosystems, including use of peat Study Guide
- Factors affecting human food security, and possible solutions Study Guide
- Negative human interactions with ecosystems and impacts on biodiversity Study Guide
- Transfers of biomass between trophic levels Study Guide
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