Year 11 - Science
Negative human interactions with ecosystems and impacts on biodiversity
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 negative impacts of humans on biodiversity in different ecosystems.
Key Notes
- Increasing human population size requires increased land use for resources (including food and fuels) and urbanisation.
- Increased land use by humans leads to habitat destruction, e.g. deforestation and biodiversity loss.
- Increasing human population size increases production of waste and pollution, leading to biodiversity loss.
- Release of greenhouse gases contributes to climate change, including global warming, leading to biodiversity loss.
- There is very strong evidence linking human release of greenhouse gases to global climate change.
Vocabulary To Learn
- urbanisation: Urbanisation is the increase in the number of people living in towns and cities (urban areas).
- deforestation: Deforestation is the removal of trees; often to use for timber or fuel or to repurpose land for houses or farming.
- biodiversity: Biodiversity is the range of different living organisms (species) that live in a place.
- greenhouse gas: Greenhouse gases are gases that are responsible for the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation and trapping 'heat' in the atmosphere.
- climate change: Climate change is a long term shift in weather patterns.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- A common misconception is that a small increase in greenhouse gases and a small rise in Earth's temperature will not have much impact on organisms on Earth beyond polar ice melting.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.
Increasing human population size requires increased land use for resources (including food and fuels) and urbanisation. Increased land use by humans leads to habitat destruction, e.g. deforestation and biodiversity loss.
2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'urbanisation'
Urbanisation is the increase in the number of people living in towns and cities (urban areas). 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 a small increase in greenhouse gases and a small rise in Earth's temperature will not have much impact on organisms on Earth beyond polar ice melting. Correction: The lesson outlines how human activities increase the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and how this links to climate change. The lesson also outlines how climate change impacts life on Earth.
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 fish farming Study Guide
- Examples of human interactions with ecosystems, including use of peat Study Guide
- Factors affecting human food security, and possible solutions Study Guide
- Transfers of biomass between trophic levels Study Guide
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