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Date	November 2018	Marks available	3	Reference code	18N.3.HL.TZ0.15
Level	Higher level	Paper	Paper 3	Time zone	TZ0 / no time zone
Command term	Outline	Question number	15	Adapted from	N/A

Question

The graph shows a theoretical model that divides species into five ecological groups (I to V) related to the degree of tolerance to an increasing pollution gradient.

[Reprinted from Marine Pollution Bulletin, 40, A. Borja, J. Franco and V. Perez, 'A marine biotic index to establish the ecological quality of soft-bottom benthos within European estuarine and coastal environments', pp. 1100–1114, Copyright (2000), with permission from Elsevier. https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/marine-pollution-bulletin]

The biotic index is calculated using the formula shown.

${\text{BI}} = \frac{{\Sigma \left( {{{\text{n}}_{\text{i}}} \times {{\text{a}}_{\text{i}}}} \right)}}{N}$

Identify the group that is most intolerant to pollution.

[1]

Deduce the meaning of n_i in this formula.

[1]

b.i.

Deduce the meaning of a_i in this formula.

[1]

b.ii.

Outline how organisms in Group V could be used to measure pollution in an environment.

[3]

Markscheme

«group» I ✔

number of individuals of a species ✔

b.i.

tolerance rating of that species ✔

b.ii.

a. group V organisms «could» contain indicator species ✔

b. group V organisms can survive in polluted environments «while others cannot» ✔

c. they have a high tolerance/BI index
OR
«relative number of» indicator species can be used to calculate the value of a biotic index ✔

d. the more group V present could indicate more pollution ✔
OWTTE

e. absence of group V could indicate a cleaner environment ✔

Examiners report

[N/A]

b.i.

[N/A]

b.ii.

[N/A]

Syllabus sections

Option C: Ecology and conservation » Option C: Ecology and conservation (Core topics) » C.4 Conservation of biodiversity

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Option C: Ecology and conservation » Option C: Ecology and conservation (Core topics)

Option C: Ecology and conservation

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Examiners report

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