Work through the list without notes. If you cannot do a statement, follow its link, then come back. Guide = study guide; Practice = practice questions.
Understanding
- I can name the three levels of biodiversity and give an example of each. (Guide: “Why diversity matters”)
- I can explain the difference between resistance and resilience. (Guide: “Diversity and resilience”; Practice Q4)
- I can explain why ecosystems with few components, or little variety among them, are often less resilient, for natural and artificial ecosystems. (Guide: “Diversity and resilience”; Practice Q1)
- I can describe how producers, keystone species and essential biotic and abiotic factors maintain diversity. (Guide: “What keeps an ecosystem diverse”; Practice Q3, Q6)
- I can define a keystone species and describe a real example. (Guide: “Keystone species”; Practice Q2)
Calculation and skills
- I can calculate the percentage fall and the percentage recovery of an ecosystem after a disturbance. (Guide: Worked example 1; Practice Q4)
- I can use removal data to identify a keystone species from its effect relative to its abundance. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice Q2)
- I can read a line graph comparing several communities and describe which is most resilient. (Guide: Figure 1)
Reasoning
- I can predict the short-term and long-term effects of removing a keystone species, a producer or an abiotic factor, step by step. (Guide: “Adding or removing a component”; Practice Q3, Q5, Q6)
- I can explain how a predator can change plant diversity indirectly, through its prey. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice Q7)
- I can evaluate whether data from a natural change prove a cause, and suggest a better test. (Practice Q7)
All ticked? Move on to Topic 8.7, Disruptions in Ecosystems, or return to the course roadmap.