Summary
OCR Biology A level 6.3.1 Ecosystems summary notes
Summary notes of topic 6.3.1 Ecosystems of OCR Biology A level Module 6. Detailed electronic notes with diagrams.
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o Labour intensiveo Special equipment
o Electricity costs
o Start up costs
Process can fail due to microbial contamination
Offspring susceptible to same pest/disease
No/little genetic variation (narrow gene pool)
Cloning animals
Somatic nucleus
Fused with Nuclear transfer
Empty egg cell
From another animal
Electrostimulation
Cell/embryo then grown in vitro (test tube/petri dish)
Early embryo split
Embryos replaced in surrogate mothers
How supply obtained:
Female animal superovulated
Treated with hormone FSH
Collect from ovary
Why is it necessary to treat the surrogate mother with hormones
Ensure she is in correct phase of cycle
Prepare uterus for implantation of embryo
Increase thickness of uterus lining
Embryo splitting
Advantages
All offspring inherit the gene
Certain all will make particular produce
Faster/more obtained in same time
Disadvantages
No genetic variability
Makes goats susceptible to environmental factors e.g
disease
Cloned animals have short life spans
Success rate very poor
More expensive/needs more technology/labour intensive
For endangered species
Increase rate of reproduction
Does not require species eggs
Does not require fertile female
Does not require female for pregnancy/uses surrogate
Female not put at risk in travel
6.3.1 Ecosystems
Define the term ecosystem;
A relatively self contained unit
, Interacting community of organisms and their environment
Dynamic
Ecology:
Study of the interactions between organisms and their environment
Habitat:
The place where an organism lives
Population:
Group of organisms of the same species
Live in the same place at the same time
Can interbreed
Community:
All the organisms of different species
Living in the same habitat
That interact with each other
Ecological Niche:
The role an organism plays in an ecosystem
Their non-living elements change, their living elements grow and die
Despite dramatic changes in individual elements, ecosystems can be resilient and stable
Biotic Factor
A factor created by a living organism within an environment which affects the life of another organism
o Predation
o Parasitism
o Mutualism - two organisms of different species live in close association and benefit from the
relationship
o Interspecific competition - between species
o Intraspecific competition - within species
Abiotic Factor
A non-living, chemical or physical component in the environment
o Light intensity
o Water supply
o Humidity
o Wind speed
o Temperature
o Oxygen and carbon dioxide concentration
o pH of water and soil
o Availability of inorganic ions
o Forest fire
Trophic level
An organisms feeding level/position in a food chain
Producer
Organisms which provide total energy input in an ecosystem
Autotroph
An organism that produces complex organic molecules from simple inorganic molecules using energy from
light
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