DP Environmental Systems and Societies Questionbank

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

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

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

Outline why estuaries are highly productive ecosystems.

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

Define the term biome.

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

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.

Explain the relationship between ecosystem stability, diversity and succession.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

Distinguish between zonation and succession.

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

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

Outline two ecosystem services in a named biome.

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

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

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

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.

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

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