Biology (Combined Science) · GCSE · AQA · AQA GCSE Combined Science: Trilogy (8464) — Biology — Higher · Specification point · 4.7.2.1 · Ecology · Organisation of an ecosystem
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4.7.2.1 Levels of organisation
| Content | Key opportunities for skills development |
|---|---|
Students should understand that photosynthetic organisms are the producers of biomass for life on Earth. Feeding relationships within a community can be represented by food chains. All food chains begin with a producer which synthesises molecules. This is usually a green plant or alga which makes glucose by photosynthesis. A range of experimental methods using transects and quadrats are used by ecologists to determine the distribution and abundance of species in an ecosystem. | |
In relation to abundance of organisms students should be able to:
| MS 2b, 2f, 4a, 4c |
Producers are eaten by primary consumers, which in turn may be eaten by secondary consumers and then tertiary consumers. |
Consumers that kill and eat other animals are predators, and those eaten are prey. In a stable community the numbers of predators and prey rise and fall in cycles. | WS 1.2 Interpret graphs used to model predator-prey cycles. |
Students should be able to interpret graphs used to model these cycles. | MS 4a |
Required practical activity 7: measure the population size of a common species in a habitat. Use sampling techniques to investigate the effect of a factor on the distribution of this species.
AT skills covered by this practical activity: biology AT 1, 3, 4 and 6.
This practical activity also provides opportunities to develop WS and MS. Details of all skills are given in Key opportunities for skills development (page 179).