Tag Archives: ecology

IGCSE Bio Topic 19 – Organisms and their Environment

For self-assessment questions, with exercises and discussions, just click on the correct topic at Biology GCSE & IGCSE Question Bank. A powerpoint can be downloaded from the same site here. The s-cool revision site lets you revise the topic, summarizes the topic & tests you on it. Skoool gives you a lesson, including progress questions, for each Biology topic but you’ll need sound on for it. And both these sites –  GCSE Bitesize & GCSE Bitesize – have revision pages (that take you through the topic), a test and an activity. 

Topic 19 revision notes in downloadable word format; to be completed.

GCSE Bitesize covers Living Things in their Environment in 16m 44s.

This powerpoint covers a lot of Topic 19, as well as some of Topic 21:

Igcse biology edexcel 4.1 4.17 from Marcos Rodriguez

How wolves change rivers (a nice intro to Ecology):

19.1 Energy Flow and..

19.2 Food chains, food webs & trophic levels

What is an ecosystem? video from The Virtual School:

What is a trophic level? video from The Virtual School:

Mr W sings Food Chains.

Science Bank 10 (Energy Cycles in Nature): Part 1 – Energy transfer in nature – food chains & energy flow through them (to 5m 25s); Part 2 – the Carbon cycle (to 10m 55s):

19.3 Nutrient Cycles

A short (2m 26s) vid from Clipbank – Recycling Nutrients & Dr Yan’s Rotting Food time lapse from Bang Goes the Theory (1m14s). What happens to your body after you die? – Instant Egghead video (2m 10s).

A lesson on the Carbon Cycle from Mr Dare:

The Carbon Cycle: Carbon Cycle Video – Lesson Starter (3m), Carbon Cycle cartoon by Sofia (Climate Champion, 2006) & GCSE Bitesize – The Carbon Cycle (2m 41s).

B9 Energy Flow in Ecosystems (Combined Science)

For self-assessment questions, with exercises and discussions, just click on the correct topic at Biology GCSE & IGCSE Question Bank. A powerpoint can be downloaded from the same site here. The s-cool revision site lets you revise the topic, summarizes the topic & tests you on it. Skoool gives you a lesson, including progress questions, for each Biology topic but you’ll need sound on for it. And both these sites –  GCSE Bitesize & GCSE Bitesize – have revision pages (that take you through the topic), a test and an activity. 

Here are some key terms and definitions: Key Terms B10

GCSE Bitesize covers Living Things in their Environment in 16m 44s.

ECOLOGY (food chains, food webs & trophic levels):

What is an ecosystem? video from The Virtual School:

What is a trophic level? video from The Virtual School:

Mr W sings Food Chains.

ENERGY TRANSFER:

Science Bank 10 (Energy Cycles in Nature): Part 1 – Energy transfer in nature – food chains & energy flow through them (to 5m 25s); Part 2 – the Carbon cycle (to 10m 55s):

NUTRIENT CYCLES:

A short (2m 26s) vid from Clipbank – Recycling Nutrients & Dr Yan’s Rotting Food time lapse from Bang Goes the Theory (1m14s). What happens to your body after you die? – Instant Egghead video (2m 10s).

The Carbon Cycle: Carbon Cycle Video – Lesson Starter (3m), Carbon Cycle cartoon by Sofia (Climate Champion, 2006) & GCSE Bitesize – The Carbon Cycle (2m 41s). Finally, Mr W sings ‘7 ways to reduce carbon’:

How wolves change rivers (a nice intro to Ecology):

B10 Human Influences on the Ecosystem (Combined Science)

For self-assessment questions, with exercises and discussions, just click on the correct topic at Biology GCSE & IGCSE Question Bank. The s-cool revision site lets you revise the topic, summarizes the topic & tests you on it. Skoool gives you a lesson, including progress questions, for each Biology topic but you’ll need sound on for it. 

Here are key terms and some definitions: Key Terms B11

Eutrophication – a short video from The Virtual School:

Mr W sings Seven ways to reduce carbon.

Science in Focus – The Human Impact – a 19m video and here’s a short (less than 5 minute) video clip from BBC iScience – Acid Rain.

What really happens to the plastic you throw away:

The Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch:

C1 Species & Communities (SL & HL)

C.1 species and community from Bob Smullen

Bio C1 Species & Communities in 5 minutes from roxprice:

Mr Andersen explains the niche in 5 minutes:

Community Ecology: Feel the Love – Crash Course Ecology #4 with Hank Green:

Community Ecology II: Predators – Crash Course Ecology #5 also with Hank:

Sampling strategies (Scot. Environment, 6m 45s); Transect, Quadrats and Percentage Cover to investigate the Distribution of Clover (6m 40s); Plant Sampling Techniques (Botany Web Series, 3m); and Quadrat Sampling (2016) IB Biology from Mr Alex Lee.

This is a fantastic 5m video demonstrating KEYSTONE SPECIES: how wolves change rivers.

C2 Communities & Ecosystems (SL & HL)

C.2 communities and ecosystem from Bob Smullen

Bio C2 Communities & Ecosystems in 5 minutes from roxprice:

Ecosystem Ecology: Links in the Chain – Crash Course Ecology #7 with Hank Green:

or here is Energy Flow in Ecosystems from Mr Andersen:

SUCCESSION

Mr Andersen explains Succession in 6 minutes:

and Hank Green takes 10 minutes in Ecological Succession: Change is Good – Crash Course Ecology #6:

Videos on Surtsey and primary succession: The Formation of Surtsey (Encyclopedia Britannica); Surtsey Still Surprises (58s); Stages of Primary Succession (3m 30s).

C3 Impacts of Humans on Ecosystems (SL & HL)

C.3 impact of humans on ecosystems from Bob Smullen

Bio C3 Human Impact in 5 minutes from roxprice:

5 Human Impacts on the Environment: Crash Course Ecology #10 with Hank Green:

ALIEN SPECIES

Invasion of the deadly Cane Toad (4m video); Giant Cane Toad (1m); and for fun: Cane-Toad, an animation short, Pixar-style

The threat of invasive species – Jennifer Klos (5m from TED-Ed); Are Invasive Species Breaking Ecosystems? (4m); Invasive Species, Rats in Pacific Islands (NatGeo, 2m)

25 most invasive creatures on earth (10m); Island solutions: Eradicating invasive species for biodiversity restoration (3m)

BIOMAGNIFICATION

DDT Let’s Put It Everywhere 1946 (5m 45s); DDT A Threat to America’s Bald Eagles (3m); Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification in Marine Ecosystems (4m)

MARINE PLASTIC

What really happens to the plastic you throw away:

The Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch:

and some good news! – India has banned all forms of disposable plastic in its capital (1m video).

C4 Conservation of Biodiversity (SL & HL)

C.4 Conservation of Biodiversity from Bob Smullen

Bio C4 Conservation Biodiversity in 5 minutes from roxprice:

INDICATOR SPECIES

Biological sampling & recording: Kick sampling (7m 48s from FSC); Kick Sampling (1m)

BIODIVERSITY

Why is Biodiversity so important? (TED-Ed 4m video)

E.O. Wilson on Biodiversity in one minute; How Do the Many Islands of the Philippines Contribute to Its Biodiversity? (2m).

Loss of Biodiversity from Mr Andersen (7m 24s)

CONSERVATION

Conservation & the race to save Biodiversity (12m video)

Conservation and Restoration Ecology: Crash Course Ecology #12 (10m)

C5 Population Ecology (HL only)

C.5 population.pptx from Bob Smullen

Option C.5 Estimating Population in 11m 28s from Megan Couser and Bio C.5 Population Ecology in 5 minutes from roxprice:

Population Ecology: The Texas Mosquito Mystery – Crash Course Ecology #2 from Hank Green:

MARINE RESOURCES

An excellent 8m video on the effects of overfishing: What happened to the Grand Banks cod?

State of the Planet’s Oceans: Decimation of the Atlantic Cod Fishery (4m 12s)

EMPTY OCEANS: Is The World Running Out Of Fish? (17m)

Jeremy Jackson: How we wrecked the ocean (a TED talk in 18m)

No Fish Left Uncounted – Full Episode (27m)

Sustainable Use of Marine Resources (2m 21s)

HUMAN POPULATION

Hans Rosling: global population growth, box by box in a 10m vid; human population growth: Crash Course Ecology #3 in 10m.

Number of humans on the planet today? – see worldometer.