DP Environmental Systems and Societies Questionbank

With reference to Figures 9(a) and 9(b), describe one abiotic change and one biotic change in a beaver meadow community undergoing succession.

With reference to Figure 10(b), explain the threats to the future existence of a small and sustainable population of wolves as a result of their protection in limited area.

Distinguish between the terms niche and habitat with reference to a named species.

With reference to the data in Figure 4(b), suggest two conclusions which can be drawn from the camera trap data.

Justify whether or not Mesquite should be cleared from the Swakop River Valley.

Define the term species.

Oystercatchers and avocets both feed on small animals in the mud of the wetlands. State the most likely relationship between these two species.

Outline the role of limiting factors in S and J population curves.

Identify two possible reasons why species B and C were not present in the litter layer when it was resampled six months later.

Distinguish between a mutualistic relationship and a parasitic relationship.

Identify one abiotic factor which may affect the population of insects in a forest.

Evaluate the possible use of grass carp in controlling the growth of water hyacinth in Inle Lake.

Outline the similarities and differences between predation and competition.

Explain how predation may lead to stability in a population of the prey species.

Explain how predation may lead to long-term population decrease or extinction of the prey species.

Identify two possible effects of removing trout on this ecosystem.

Using Figure 1 below, calculate the annual rate of population increase for elephants in Zimbabwe from 1985 to 2005.

Figure 1   Elephant Population: Kenya compared to Zimbabwe, 1973 – 2011

Distinguish between negative and positive feedback using examples from environmental systems.

Define the term carrying capacity.

Identify three reasons why carrying capacity can be difficult to estimate.

Outline how this relationship may be of benefit to the populations of both species.

With reference to Figure 4(d), suggest the impact on the marine food web if tuna numbers were to decline.

Identify four impacts on an ecosystem that may result from the introduction of an invasive species of herbivore.

Explain how both positive and negative feedback mechanisms may play a role in producing a typical S population growth curve for a species.

Using Figure 7, state the St Lawrence beluga whale population in 1920 and 1940.

1920:

1940:

Calculate the percent decrease in beluga whale numbers from 1920 to 1940.

Suggest why the St Lawrence River beluga whale population has not recovered despite being given protected status in 1983.

With reference to Figure 9(a), explain why the realized niche of the mottled sculpin has changed in recent years.

State the trophic level labelled X in Figure 1.

With reference to the concepts of bioaccumulation and biomagnification, outline how the concentration of DDT has changed along the food chain.

With reference to Figure 8(c) state the impact that an increase in the mackerel population might have on the Atlantic puffin population.

Identify two reasons why the future size of the Atlantic puffin population is difficult to predict.

To what extent might Iceland be viewed as a role model for sustainability by other countries?

With reference to Figure 6, draw a food chain that includes four trophic levels.

Identify two ways that human activity in Algonquin Provincial Park may affect the food web.

With reference to Figure 7(a), outline one reason why there are more beaver remains in wolf faeces during summer.

Explain how a community of trees in a woodland may be considered a system.

Suggest the procedures needed to collect data for the construction of a pyramid of numbers for the following food chain:

Describe how the second law of thermodynamics operates in relation to the transfer of energy within the Silver Springs ecosystem.

Distinguish between a pyramid of numbers and a pyramid of productivity.

Outline why top carnivores are vulnerable to non-biodegradable toxins.

State its trophic level in the ecosystem.

Identify four factors that would affect the primary productivity of forest plantations in the Copperbelt Province.

With reference to Figure 7, state the most common ecosystem in Zambia.

State the source of energy for this ecosystem.

Explain how the use of non-biodegradable pesticides on farmland may affect the human food chain.

Elephants eat a variety of vegetation: grasses, shrubs, leaves and small tree seedlings. Describe the impact on a grassland ecosystem of the main large herbivore being removed.

Distinguish between a pyramid of numbers and a pyramid of productivity.

Explain the transfer of energy through an ecosystem. Support your explanation with a labelled diagram.

Describe the role of primary producers in ecosystems.

Outline how soil can be viewed as an ecosystem.

Explain two ways in which mangroves improve the water quality for primary producers within marine ecosystems.

With reference to Figure 5, describe how loss of a coral reef ecosystem could impact a neighbouring seagrass community.

Outline two ways in which the food web is likely to change as a result of succession.

Outline why estuaries are highly productive ecosystems.

Using Figure 6(c), identify a food chain in the St Lawrence River ecosystem that has five trophic levels.

With reference to Figure 8, explain why the beluga whale is more at risk from toxic pollutants, such as heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), than most other organisms in its food web.

Suggest why the St Lawrence River beluga whale population has not recovered despite being given protected status in 1983.

With reference to Figure 9(a), outline how the round goby both positively and negatively affects the St Lawrence River ecosystem.

Identify four ways in which solar energy reaching vegetation may be lost from an ecosystem before it contributes to the biomass of herbivores.

Suggest a series of procedures that could be used to estimate the net productivity of an insect population in kg m^–2 yr^–1.

Identify two ways that human activity in Algonquin Provincial Park may affect the food web.

Identify one other input to the mineral storage in the “A” horizon in Figure 2(b).

Identify one other output from the mineral storage in the “A” horizon in Figure 2(b).

Explain how a community of trees in a woodland may be considered a system.

Quantitative models are frequently constructed to show the flow of energy and cycling of matter in natural systems.

To what extent can these models be useful in assessing the sustainability of named food production systems?

State the process represented in the box labelled X.

Define net primary productivity.

Describe its role in the carbon cycle of the system.

With reference to the cattle in the area, explain how the maximum sustainable yield could be calculated.

Describe the similarities and differences between the terms sustainable yield and sustainable development.

Construct a labelled flow diagram to show the processes that link soil with the following three storages:

The atmosphere
The lithosphere
Living organisms

Annotate each labelled flow with an example of the matter involved.

Identify one way in which energy may leave this ecosystem.

Identify in the spaces provided the missing flows and storages labelled 1–4 within the diagram.

Overgrazing may lead to soil degradation. Identify one impact that overgrazing may have on a named flow and a named storage within the nitrogen cycle.

(i) Impact on flow:

(ii) Impact on storage:

Define net secondary productivity.

Explain how the first and second laws of thermodynamics are demonstrated as energy from the sun flows through the primary producers in a food chain.

Label the diagram above to complete the processes and flows in the nitrogen cycle.

Distinguish between a transfer and a transformation in the nitrogen cycle.

Describe two ways in which humans may impact the nitrogen cycle.

Explain the transfer of energy through an ecosystem. Support your explanation with a labelled diagram.

Describe the role of primary producers in ecosystems.

Compare and contrast the impact of humans on the carbon and nitrogen cycles.

Discuss strategies that can be used to improve the sustainability of food production systems.

Using Figure 4(a), identify an ecosystem that has an average net primary productivity above 30 000 kJ m^–2 a^–1.

Outline why estuaries are highly productive ecosystems.

With reference to Figures 1(b) and 1(c), identify the biome found at the highest altitude in Madagascar.

With reference to Figures 6(a), 6(b), 6(c) and 7(b) identify two ways in which vegetation cover has changed over time in Iceland.

With reference to Figures 9(a) and 9(b), explain the impacts of beaver dams on biodiversity within Algonquin Provincial Park.

Outline how four different factors influence the resilience of an ecosystem.

Explain one factor that may make a species less prone to extinction.

State the ecological processes illustrated by the data in Figure 3.

Suggest two reasons why there are differences in the number of plant species found on Krakatau and Tarawera.

State the biome for the area shown in Figure 1(b).

Outline whether an invasive species such as Mesquite is likely to be r-strategist or K-strategist.

Outline one climatic and one edaphic (soil) factor which affect the final climax community in an ecosystem.

Figure 7 lists biomes and ecosystems in two different columns. Distinguish between a biome and an ecosystem.

Draw a sketch graph showing a typical survivorship curve for a “K-strategist” species.

Outline one reason for the shape of the curve from part 3(a)(i) above.

Explain the role of climate in the distribution and relative productivity of a named biome.

Distinguish, using examples, between the processes of succession and zonation.

Explain the relationship between ecosystem stability, diversity and succession.

Atmospheric and plate activity have affected the distribution and diversity of systems within the biosphere.

Explain the role that the atmosphere has in the distribution of biomes.

Discuss how global warming may affect the distribution and diversity of ecosystems.

Define the term biome.

With reference to Figure 2 identify three factors that could explain the high biodiversity in Ecuador.

Discuss the role of humans in the destabilization of ecological systems.

Outline two ecosystem services in a named biome.

Outline two reasons why the species within pioneer communities in Figure 1 are more likely to be r-strategists than K-strategists.

Outline two reasons why the climax community in Figure 1 is more stable than the intermediate community.

Distinguish between zonation and succession.

Outline two ways in which the food web is likely to change as a result of succession.

Outline two ways in which the soil quality in the pioneer stages of the succession model shown in Figure 1 will differ from that in the climax ecosystem.

Explain how regional differences in the hydrological cycle influence the formation of different biomes.

Suggest a range of practical procedures that could be carried out to measure the abiotic and biotic impacts of an oil spill in an aquatic ecosystem.

Suggest one reason for the zonation seen in Figure 5(b).

Outline why estuaries are highly productive ecosystems.

Suggest why the St Lawrence River beluga whale population has not recovered despite being given protected status in 1983.

Using Figures 9(a) and 9(b), identify one feature of the round goby that shows it is an r-selected species.

Outline the factors that contribute to total biodiversity of an ecosystem.

Suggest a series of procedures that could be used to estimate the net productivity of an insect population in kg m^–2 yr^–1.

Identify two reasons why the future size of the Atlantic puffin population is difficult to predict.

The number of wolves in Algonquin Provincial Park is estimated to be between 250 and 1000. Outline two reasons why it is so difficult to estimate the number of wolves accurately.

Suggest the procedures needed to collect data for the construction of a pyramid of numbers for the following food chain:

Describe a method for measuring the abundance of plant species in volcanic areas.

With reference to the data in Figure 4(b), suggest two conclusions which can be drawn from the camera trap data.

Describe two possible methods that could be used to collect data for a baseline study for an environmental impact assessment.

Avocets, seen in Figure 2, often gather in large populations of up to a few thousand birds before migrating.

Figure 2

A non-governmental organization has been contracted to investigate the impacts of a landfill site on the surrounding terrestrial ecosystem.

Suggest how the investigation should be designed to ensure reliability and validity.

Describe how the biomass of a field of crops might be measured.

Calculate the Simpson’s diversity index for the insect species found in Figure 1.

$D=\frac{N\left(N-1\right)}{\sum n\left(n-1\right)}$

Identify two possible reasons why species B and C were not present in the litter layer when it was resampled six months later.

Describe a method measuring changes in the abiotic factor you have identified in 2(b)(i).

Identify one method that may have been used to estimate the size of this gorilla population.

Identify the data required to calculate the value of net secondary productivity for a named population.

Describe how biomass data from a named biome could be collected.

Figure 3: Table to show the species richness of Yasuni National Park

[Source: Margot S. Bass, Matt Finer, Clinton N. Jenkins, Holger Kreft, Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia, Shawn F. McCracken,
Nigel C. A. Pitman, Peter H. English, Kelly Swing, Gorky Villa, Anthony Di Fiore, Christian C. Voigt and Thomas H. Kunz,
‘Global Conservation Significance of Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park.’ PLoS One, January 19, 2010.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0008767]

Describe a method that may have been used for collecting the tree data in Figure 3.

With reference to Figures 10, 11(a) and 11(b), describe a method to monitor the impact of the release of untreated sewage into the St Lawrence River ecosystem.

Explain how ecological techniques can be used to study the effects of human activities on the biodiversity of a named ecosystem.