ENVIR ST 260 1st Edition Lecture 11 Outline of Last Lecture I Notes on Exam II Precipitation and Temperature in Ecosystems III Climate versus Weather IV Measuring Changes in Climate and Weather V Next Week Outline of Current Lecture I Wild Rockies Field Institute II Human Impacts H I P P O Acronym Current Lecture Wild Rockies Field Institute think outside the classroom What we do Academic field based courses for college students Hands on experiential learning 6 courses a variety of academic departments WRFI Mission broaden the nature of a liberal arts education through experiential learning Teach critical thinking Foster understanding for Natural and human communities An interdisciplinary approach to applying your education You can take what you learn into the field and apply it to what you re learning in the classroom Welcome to your classroom Rigorous Academic Inquiry Backcountry Travel Field Trips Wild Rockies Field Institute Personalized learning experienced faculty happy students Small group size 10 students 5 1 student to instructor ratio Academic credit the nitty gritty These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Upper division college credit form the University of Montana Consult with your advisor to determine how the credits transfer towards your degree 700 students from over 240 institutions have completed WRFI courses Academic departments include Environmental Studies Geography Natural Resources Native American Studies Science and Philosophy Semester courses 15 credits in 9 weeks Montana Afoot and Afloat Human Land Relations Colorado Plateau Desert Canyons and Cultures Wild Rockies Summer Program Short summer Courses what are your plans next summer Cycle the Rockies Energy and Climate change in Montana Environmental Ethics Restoration Applying and Paying for a WRFI course Finances Check with your Financial Aid Office about accessing your Federal aid for off campus programs Several scholarships available through WRFI Payment plans and alternative funding options also available Application process Find the application on our website email or snail mail either works Rolling admission first come first serve up to 10 students Get your application in ASAP Lunch and Learn Information Session Tuesday October 14 12pm 1pm Science Hall Room 15 WRFI Contact Bethany Applegate Instructor and outreach manager bethany wrfi net 406 549 4336 Information will be on Moodle Human Impacts H I P P O Acronym Habitat Loss Invasive species Pollution Population of humans Overharvesting Habitat loss and fragmentation Example People are encroaching on space in the tropical rainforest in South America Overtime habitat loss leads to fragmentation isolated pockets of habitats In between highways and subdivisions and cities are small habitats This causes problems because larger animals have to cross through highways and subdivisions This impacts small things such as plants as well Sometimes pollinators don t fly well and getting from patch to patch of plants on isolated landscapes can be problematic the plants genes won t flow Seed dispersal won t get very far Altering an ecosystem s process also effects habitat There is habitat loss on the gulf coast because we ve trenched the Mississippi river to make it easier on boats and to subdue flooding By not letting the river take its own course we re not getting the outflow of silt that maintains and builds coastal landscapes Invasive Non native species Clicker Question The arrival of a non native species is always a problem on the existing ecosystem T F Most people said False A lot of times environmental conditions are not going to allow an invader to really take hold They re not ALWAYS a problem They re more likely to not be a problem Invasive Species Invasive species can survive in a new location often lacking their natural predators or competitors Lion Fish They re typically found in the Indian and Pacific Ocean but now they re popping up all over the Eastern Seaboard and moving down the coast of South America There are two theories as to how they got there Hurricane Andrew It did a lot of damage to an aquarium where they had a tank full of lion fish that disappeared during the hurricane they may have gotten lose into the ocean Flush Down the Toilet A lot of people keep big aquariums and then get bored with it and dump them down the drain or set them free in the ocean This is a poor approach to getting rid of something that s not native We ve now released this predator into the environment and there are a lot of negative consequences They take out beta fish Their spines are poisonous so if you touch one it s harmful problematic for divers There are efforts to round up the Lion Fish Clicker Question How did the brown tree snake arrive on Guam Pet trade Stowaway Introduced to hunt rats Most people said C however that is not the correct answer The most likely introduction was that they were stowaways Guam has a military base and tree snakes may have come on ships or planes It only takes a few snakes to establish a breeding population Brown Tree Snake Impacts of Brown Tree Snake 10 of 12 forest bird species extinct 50 of lizard species on island extinct Indirect negative impact on plants Fruit bats are great pollinators but the snakes are eating them too In this case we ve moved a species into an environment in which it has become really well established and is impacting the whole ecosystem Not every species we move is going to become an invasive species Just ones with favorable conditions will We are moving things all over the place at a really scary rate Species can migrate naturally but the human impact is moving them scary fast Human impact has escalated the rate distance and frequency of these introductions Pollution Smog and air pollution is problematic in a lot of cities It has an effect on the people there as well as an impact on the environment we see isolated cases where there are impacts on biogeochemical cycles Garbage collects in waterways Harm done to wildlife Sea turtles eat plastic bags because they look like jelly fish Pollution is clear cut we are a messy species and with our technology we are throwing out nasty stuff into the environment Population humans The human population was growing slowly and steadily but is now rapidly growing With less people there wouldn t be as great of a negative impact There d be less population less