Int 2 MER
Ecosystems Revision
Ecological Concepts
Examples of:
 terrestrial (land),
 freshwater (ponds, rivers, lochs)
 marine (sea) ecosystems
Food Chains and Food Webs
You need to know how to draw, add to and interpret:
 A food chain
 A food web
 A pyramid of numbers
 A pyramid of biomass
(including inverted pyramids)
The Sun is the energy source for all food chains and webs.
Producers produce their own food by photosynthesis, which converts light
energy into chemical energy.
Equation for photosynthesis:
Carbon dioxide + Water
Light energy
Glucose
(Chemical
energy)
+
oxygen
Arrows in a food chain/web show the transfer of energy.
Energy is lost at each stage of a food chain. The larger the food chain
the more energy is lost. So longer food chains are less efficient that
shorter food chains.
Energy can be lost through:
 Movement
 Heat
 Undigested waste
Developed countries tend to have long, less efficient food chains. Less
developed countries tend to have short, more efficient food chains.
e.g. Sun
rice
Human
Int 2 MER
You should also know the following terms with a named example of each:
 Symbiosis – The association between two organisms of different
species living together
o Humans and the bacterium E. coli – E. coli lives in the gut of
humans and breaks down the food releasing important
vitamins

Mutualism – An interaction between two organisms that is
beneficial to both
o sea anemone & a hermit crab – by attaching to the shell of
the hermit crab the sea anemone is able to move to relocate
thus gaining access to different food sources, the crab gets
protection from the anemones stinging tentacles.
o Pollination of flowering plants by insects
o Seed dispersal of plants by insects or animals

Parasitism - An interaction between two organisms that is
beneficial to one (the parasite) and detrimental to the other
(usually the host)
o Cuckoo that lays its eggs in another birds nest
o Tapeworm that grows inside and feeds off a human or a dog.
Carbon & Nitrogen cycles
Relating to the Carbon cycle you should know about:
 Photosynthesis
 Respiration
 Feeding relationships between organisms
 Contribution of Carbon dioxide due to the combustion of fossil
fuels
Respiration occurs in all living cells (in both plants and animals):
Equation for respiration:
Glucose
+
oxygen
Carbon dioxide + Water
Int 2 MER
Relating to the Nitrogen cycle you should know about:
 Nitrogen fixation
 Nitrification
 Denitrification
 Death & decay
 Absorption by plants and feeding relationships
Frequency & Distribution of Organisms
For each of the factors marked with a ‘*’ you should know how it can be
sampled, a source of error and how that error can be minimised.
Biotic (living) factors
 Availability of food
 Number of predators
 Incidence of disease
 Competition for resources
Abiotic factors/ environmental variables
 Temperature*
 PH*
 Light intensity*
 Soil moisture*
 Water flow rate*
 Precipitation
 Wind velocity
 Wind direction
Sampling techniques
 Transects
 Quadrats*
 Pitfall traps*
 Nets*
Impact of human activities on ecosystems
You need to know examples of human activities that can lead to the
following, and measures that can be put in place to reduce the problem:
 Habitat damage & destruction
 Species reduction & extinction
 Endangered species
 Loss of biodiversity
Int 2 MER
You need to know:
 examples of human activities that can lead to the following,
 examples of ecosystems that are affected,
 how the problem effects the ecosystem
 and measures that can be put in place to reduce the problem.
…for each of the following:
 Acid Rain
 Greenhouse gases
 Oil spills
 Lead
 Fertilisers & other agrochemicals
 Sewage & waste products
 Eutrophication
 Litter
Pollution & Conservation
Causes of pollution and ways of reducing/preventing pollution at:
 Local level
 National level
 Global level
Methods of monitoring pollution:
 Use of indicator species
o presence/absence of lichen species to monitor air pollution
o presence/absence of mayfly nymph/stonefly nymph to
monitor water pollution in a freshwater ecosystem
Examples of conservation at local and national levels:
 Recycling
 Legislation
 Countryside protection/management
 Species Enhancement Action Plans
e.g. Local Biodiversity Action Plans (LBAPs)
Int 2 MER
Vocabulary
You need to know the meaning of the following terms:
Abiotic
Biotic
Biomass
Biodiversity
Habitat
Niche
Population
Community
Ecosystem
Species
Adaptation
Competition
Food Chain
Food Wed
Pyramid of numbers
Producer
Consumer
Primary & secondary
consumer
Herbivore
Omnivore
Carnivore
Decomposer
Predator
Prey
Symbiosis
Mutualism
Parasitism
Photosynthesis
Respiration
Nitrogen fixation
Nitrification
Denitrification
Decomposers
Transect
Quadrat
Agrochemicals
Eutrophication
Indicator species
Int 2 MER
Local Land Use Revision
You need to be able to describe features of your local area, including:
 Natural features - e.g. woods, rivers, lochs
 Features of human origin – e.g. buildings, roads, railways,
canals, overhead cables, walls, fences, hedges, archaeological
sites, forestry plantations
You should be able to describe the climate & weather of your local area
and should know how to measure:
 Temperature
 Rainfall
 Wind velocity & direction
 Sunshine
You should be able to use signs of previous human activity, settlements
and land use practices (from local information, books and maps) to
describe archaeological and historical influences of the area.
Flora & Fauna
You need to know the difference between:
 cultivated (influenced by humans through horticulture or
agriculture) and wild plant species.
 Domestic or non-domesticated plant species
 Native, non-native and naturalised plant & animal species
Native species include:
 Oak tree
 Scottish Primrose
 Red squirrel
Naturalised species (have been introduced from another country and now
grow wild) include:
 Rhododendron
 Grey Squirrel
Weeds include:
 Ragwort (plant with yellow flowers)
Feral species include:
 Mink (mammal related to the otter)
Int 2 MER
You should know how to use, interpret and draw simple branched and
paired statement keys to identify plants or animals e.g. freshwater
invertebrates.
Local land & water use
 Agriculture
 Aquaculture
 Conservation
 Horticulture
 Forestry
 Leisure & recreation
 Housing
 Industry
You should know some examples from within your local area.
Conflicts of interest
You should know of some conflicts of interests within your local area. You
should be able to
 Describe examples of conflicts
 Evaluate potential conflicts that could arise due to future
developments
These could include:
 transport-related conflicts
 leisure-related conflicts
 commercial/industy-related conflicts
Integration & Co-operation
You should know of some examples of current integration between user
groups for the above land/water based industries.
These could include:
 Farming
 Fishing e.g. Salmon ladder at Tongland Hydro Station
 Forestry
 Conservation
 Sport
 Recreation
 Tourism
Int 2 MER
You should also know of the following examples:
 Partnership between the Royal Society for Protection of Birds
(RSPB) and the Crofter’s Union for to ensure rural development
does not effect Corncrake (a rare bird) Conservation.
 Partnership between Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the
Scottish Tourist Board for green tourism and mountain biking.
Vocabulary
You need to know the meaning of the following terms:
Cultivated species
Horticulture
Domestic
Native
Naturalised
Feral
Branched key
Paired statement key
Topography
Geology
Archaeology
Natural resource Use: Revision
Resources on Earth
Resources include:
 Land
 Air
 Seawater
 Freshwater
 All living things
 Coal
 Oil
 Natural Gas
 Metal Ores
 Minerals
 Quarried rock
You should know of a few local examples of natural resources
e.g. Quarried rock at Tongland quarry.
Int 2 MER
Renewable & Non-Renewable Resources
You need to know the difference between renewable and non-renewable
resources and should be able to categorise examples as renewable or nonrenewable.
Renewable resources are natural resources that can renew themselves
either because they are recycled through natural processes that occur
relatively quickly (for example, the water cycle) or because they are living
organisms that can grow. Used correctly, these resources will not run
out.
Renewable resources include:
 Air
 Water
 Living things
Non-renewable natural resources have a limited supply or store and so
will not last forever. As we use them, we use them up and they are not
replaced.
Non-renewable resources include:
 Fossil fuels (Coal, Oil, Natural gas, peat)
 Mineral deposits
Man-made resources would not exist if we had not made them e.g. steel,
nylon or bricks. They are raw materials for other products, but they,
themselves, were created by humans nevertheless. Natural resources,
such as iron, oil and clay, were needed to make them. Manufactured items
can then be made from these man-made resources. For example, cans can
be made from steel, clothes from nylon and houses from bricks!
Sustainable Development
……is economic and social development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs.
The concept of sustainable development was first introduced in 1987 in
the United Nations document Our Common Future (the Bruntland
Report).
Int 2 MER
There are four main factors that have caused sustainability to be an
issue:
1. World population is increasing faster than ever before.
2. People are demanding a higher and more resource-consuming standard
of living.
3. People have realised that some of the resources that we use (for
example, gas and oil) are not always going to be available in the
quantities we would like.
4. Since the 1970s we have become increasingly aware that our western
lifestyle is causing a lot of environmental problems.
You should know examples of sustainable and non-sustainable activities at:
 Local level
 recycling schemes - bottle banks, can banks etc.
 composting schemes
 waste minimisation initiatives


National level
 sustainable forestry practices (e.g. plant a new tree
for every tree cut down)
Global level
 Fishing quotas
 Seasonal fishing regulations
International agreements of how to tackle the issue of sustainability
were reached at:
 The Earth Summit (The United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development) in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil 1992)
 World Climate conferences
 The Rio Plus 5 conference (New York, 1997)
At the Earth Summit, Climate Change (believed to result largely from our
use of fossil fuels) was one of the few subjects where most of the
attending countries (100+) agreed to a legally binding Convention.
Int 2 MER
The Rio Plus 5 conference - was dubbed Rio minus 5 by cynics because of
the failure to reach a binding agreement on a policy to save the tropical
rainforests.
Natural Resources Used in Energy Production
Electricity generated from:
 Nuclear Power - Uranium
 Fossil fuels - Coal, Oil, natural gas, peat
 Renewable energy sources – Water, wind, wave, solar power
& Biofuels (wood & dung)
Transport fuels & electricity generated from:
 Crude oil
 Crude oil products – petrol, gas, diesel
You should know about how the use of resources has changed from the
past to the present.
e.g.
 Electricity generation has changed from use of coal, to oil
and gas, and more recently to renewable energy sources
 Transport fuels have changed from leaded to unleaded
petrol and now more environmentally friendly products are
being developed e.g. solar-powered cars

Before the industrial revolution
Britain was very much more rural and dependent on the land. The
population was greatly influenced in its everyday life by natural
processes.
 After the industrial revolution
Large numbers of people moved to rapidly growing cities, so the
connection with natural processes became less obvious. E.g. water now
came from a tap: there was no need to go to the well or river for it.
Food was bought in shops and there was no obvious link with the
farmers who had produced it.

Modern British society
Our modern society is even less aware of the original resources
required for the daily essentials. Today heat and light comes from
the flick of a switch and we often buy ready prepared meals.
Int 2 MER
Energy Production
You need to know about the similarities & differences between developed
and developing countries.
Developed Countries
France – Nuclear energy
Sweden – Biofuel (e.g. sawdust)
Iceland – Geothermal water
Developing Countries
Use of biofuel (wood & dung)
You need to know that the energy use per head (and water use per head)
of population is much greater in developed countries than developing
countries.
The average person in Britain, in an average day, uses about 175 litres of
water. Compare this to the average American, who uses 630 litres and
the average Tanzanian (from Tanzania, Africa), who uses 65 litres.
(One flush of an average UK toilet uses 10 litres of water!)
Int 2 MER
Environmental effects of different energy sources
Advantages and disadvantages of:
 Wind power
 Wave power
 Fossil fuels
And specifically their effect on the landscape, wildlife and biodiversity.
The effect of
 Waste and accidental fallout from nuclear energy. You should know
about the Chernobyl disaster (1986) and its consequences.
 Vehicle exhaust fumes
 CFCs which led to the hole in the ozone layer, causing an increase in
ultra-violet radiation resulting in an increased incidence of skin
cancers
 Greenhouse gases from fossil fuels and their contribution to:
 acid rain
 the enhanced greenhouse effect / global warming
…and





ways to reduce the effects, e.g.
Use of scrubbers in industry
Use if catalytic converters in vehicles
Reduced energy demands
Reduced car use
Implementation of energy management plans
Reducing the use of non-renewable natural resources
Oil reserves are likely to run out within 50 years!
Scotland’s gas reserves are likely to run out in 50 years.
Resource use and energy demand has increased dramatically since the
1950s (due to domestic energy demands, increased use of cars, global
transport) and is likely to continue to do so, unless people have a dramatic
change in attitude.
There are many initiatives to reduce the use of non-renewable natural
resources and promote the use of renewable resources. Agenda 21 has
prompted many initiatives at a local level.
You should know about local initiatives to promote the use of renewable
technologies e.g.
 Environmental education initiatives
Int 2 MER



Bottle banks
Compost production
Energy efficiency schemes
Some examples in D&G
 Kerbside paper recycling
 Eco-Deco Intelligent Transfer Station – processes waste to
produce pellets that are used as an alternative to fossil fuels
 Dumfries Green Transport Scheme
 Recycling points in towns & villages
Some simple ways you and your family could reduce energy consumption:
 only boiling the volume of water you need in a kettle
 using a jug kettle rather than a conventional kettle for small volumes
of water
 switch off a computer monitor when not in use
 turn a TV off rather than leaving it on standby
 unplug your mobile phone charger when not in use
Vocabulary
You need to know the meaning of the following terms:
Agenda 21
Legislation
Initiatives
Scrubbers
Catalytic converters
Greenhouse effect
Global warming
Geothermal energy
Biofuel
Renewable
Sustainability