DP Environmental Systems and Societies Questionbank

Using Figure 1(c), state one ecosystem found at sea level in Dominica.

With reference to Figures 2(a) and 2(b), suggest two reasons why the red-necked amazon population has recovered more quickly than the imperial amazon population following Hurricane David in 1979.

Outline the impact that a reduction in the tiger population may have on other populations in the food web shown in Figure 8(c).

Outline one factor which limits the primary productivity of an ecosystem in London.

With reference to Figures 2(b) and 3, identify an ecosystem found in London.

Identify four factors that make the use of the insecticide DDT controversial.

Explain how models of ecosystems might be used in species conservation.

Explain how negative and positive feedback mechanisms may influence the growth of decomposer populations in the soil.

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

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:

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

State the trophic level labelled X in Figure 1.

Describe the role of primary producers in ecosystems.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.