ENVS 202:Study Guide
94 Cards in this Set
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Describe one piece of evidence that supports the hypothesis that salmon evolved in freshwater, not in oceans, and tell how your evidence supports this hypothesis
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fossil records have been found exclusively in freshwater
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Keystone species
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a species whose role in an ecosystem are much larger/influential than would be expected from mere abundance. Their removal would change the ecosystem
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Why is salmon a keystone species
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because it supports its predators, as a food source
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indicator species
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defines a rait or characteristic of the environment.
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how is salmon an indicator species?
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as an indicator species, salmon require conditions to survive, such as water quality and temperature. The presence of salmon reflects the health of the ecosystem/ water
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what are the 3 general levels at which biodiversity is commonly conceptualized and measured?
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1. genetic diversity
2. species diversity
3. ecological diversity
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which is more diverse; a tropical rainforest or a "converted" pasture replaces a rainforest for cattle production.
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Rainforest:
- contain more species
- they have a # of layers for habitat
- pastures do have more diverse species within the soil
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Under what circumstances in nature would you most likely find exponentially growing populations, and why?
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a species with no competitors, no apex species (dominant predators)
ex: invasive species: are new/exotic species that thrive in a new ecosystem
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Cloud forests are moist, productive forests located in subtropical and tropical mountains, high above sea level. Explain why a cloud forest and their mountain ecosystems may be especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Why might lowland forests be able to adapt more successf…
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As you go up a mountain you see a thermal gradient. Down at the bottom (sea level) it is hotter. Land forests would adapt better because they can move up the mountain as temperatures get hot, or go south. Cloud forests cant move.
ex: maple trees will not be in America soon, but always …
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Trout was introduced to a lake, where only small fish like the dace minnow was. Before the trout was introduced the mean weight of the minnow was 6 grams. The trout began feeding on the dace minnow and targeted the larger ones. Smaller ones were able to live longer and became the more suc…
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lower, because the larger ones are begin pressured out and the smaller ones are adapting and producing more offspring.
This is directional selective pressure, the smaller fish are building the species up.
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how did the Kalpuya managed their natural soundings in the Willamette Valley prior to 1851. What organism were important sources of food?
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1. they practiced periodic burning.
2. This promoted easy hunting grounds for deer, ducks.
3. They relied on the Canislily bulb.
4. the burning acorns created the oak savanna.
5. they lived in the mountains around where they farmed.
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what are the 3 important anthropogenic green house gasses, and their sources
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carbon dioxide, 60%, fossil fuels
methane, 20%, agriculture, aerobic decay
nitrous oxide, 10%, fertilizer
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Rank the global carbon stores from highest to lowest
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1. intermediate and deep ocean
2. fossil fuels
3. vegetation, soil and detrius
4. surface ocean
5. atmosphere
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how can carbon exist in soil
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vegetation gets carbon from the air, it dies and is soil and accumulates over time
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limiting factors
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hold populations in check , every organism lives within a range.
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4 types of selective pressures that help weed out
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1. original variation in the trait
2. directional selection
3. stabilizing selection
4. disruptive selection
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what are the basic needs that all organisms share?
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- food (energy)
- shelter
- water
- reproduce, or you get entrophy
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climate
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temperature, moisture, light, PH
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mutation + natural selection =
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speciation and specialization
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realized niche
vs fundamental niche
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realized niche: where you actually find the organism
fundamental niche: organisms can live in certain limits of temp and moisture
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complex environments
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have many potential niches to fill.
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charismatic megafauna
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pandas, sea turtles. Humans appeal to these animals
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how are ecosystem diversity, species diversity and genetic diversity linked?
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- seeing declines in all levels
- i.e. genetic diversity, the banana is a genetic clone and all the same now.
- ecosystem diversity is changing (land use)
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what ecosystems are threatened?
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rain forests
coral reefs
glaciers
coast (estuaries)
islands
anywhere with agriculture
prairies
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Drivers of extinction
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1. habitat loss
2. climate change
3. over harvesting
4. pollution
5. competition
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Drivers of Ecosystem Degradation
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1. climate change
2. land use change
3. loss of keystone species
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dominant species
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are important by the sheer volume of ho many there are
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what are characteristics of a vulnerable ecosystem?
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1. near intensive human development
2. simple (low biodiversity)
3. "resource cursed" areas
4. geographically small areas like islands and glaciers
5. lower productivity (tundra/desert)
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what are major characteristics of salmon today?
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amadromous: salt and freshwater fish
salmon need a base layer of gravel to spawn
baby fish need pockets bc they cant swim in the high velocity water.
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Atmosphere
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Is thin, climate change is in the troposphere. It is mostly made of nitrogen. without the greenhouse affect there would be no humans, because it moderates our heat. Green house gases absorb long wave radiation and radiates it, = warming of the earths surface.
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Water Vapor
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water in the atmosphere is not changing. It moderates temperature and is the most important GHG.
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Weather
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is day to day
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What are natural forces influencing climate?
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volcanic activity
solar radiation fluxes
vegetative cover
ocean currents, el nina el nino
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anthropogenic forcing factors influencing climate
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GHG emissions
aerosol emissions
destruction of natural carbon
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two key (human) responses to climate change
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adaption/ mitigation
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adaptation
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strive to cope with climate change by chaining the way we live love and do business
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mitigation
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decreasing the force of climate change by reducing GHG emissions
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Sea Level Rise
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thermal expansion
glacial ice melting
affects coastal communities
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Jevons Paradox
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as technology progress, the increase in efficiency with which a resource is used tends to increase the rate of consumption of that resource
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environmentalist
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accounts for social and political factors
have particular reasons for biases
appeals to emotion/ charismatic megaphona
care about sustainability
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environmental science
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engage in broader specifics to explain what is going on
uses science to help solve environmental problems
logic to solve the problems
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environmental racism
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is placement of low-income or minority communities in proximity of environmentally hazardous ordegraded environments, such as toxic waste, pollution and urban decay.
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environmental justice
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usually occurs when something unjust is happening. Disproportionate effects i.e. certain citifies do not contribute to increase in sea level yet they will be hurt first
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Gaslands movie
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placed in the city Alberta, about natural gas drilling. mining is the most affective method of recovering. For the last 7 years Canada has been supplying oil to US. Tarsans production will double soon.
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temperature inversion:
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a layer of warm air lies on top of cooler air and blocks normal convection currents= traps pollutants in the air
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synergistic effects
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the combo of several processor factors is greater than the sum of the individuals effects.
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acid rain
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acidic rain, snow or dry particles deposit from air due to increase in acids released by anthropogenic or natural resources. normal rain ph levels is 5.6. Ph levels below 7= acidic
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heat island/ dust domes
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Concrete/brick cities surfaces absorb solar energy. Lack of vegetation/water= slight evaporation = solar energy is turned into hear and temperatures in cities is 5-9 F warmer, this is a heat island. Stable air masses due to heat islands sit over the city and concentrate pollutant, these a…
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mutagens
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agents (chemical or radiation) that damage and alter genetic material (DNA) in cells
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allergens
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substances that activate the immune system and cause an allergic response
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Point vs Non point Pollution
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Point Pollution: location of highly concentrated pollution discharge. (factories, power plants, sewage treatment, plants, oil wells)
Non point pollution: from all over, scattered sources of pollutants, such as runoff from farm fields, and construction sites
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biomagnification
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The increasing concentration of a substance, such as a toxic chemical, in the tissues of organisms at successively higher levels in a food chain. As a result of biomagnification, organisms at the top of the food chain generally suffer greater harm from a persistent toxin or pollutant than…
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the ozone hole
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is an annual thinning of the ozone layer over Antarctica, caused by stratospheric chlorine. CFCs break down the stratospheric ozone. Montreal protocol is the most successful environmental regulation of all time
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Presentation on Urban Agriculture
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the benefits are to localize it, eliminates CO2, creates jobs, food security is stronger. Options, vertical farming, minion biodiversity in seed banks, hydroponics.
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Presentation on grey wolves
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end of 60s there were no more wolves in the US. Now they are mostly in Idaho. The reintroduced wolf is not the original one, the new one is bigger. Main food source is elk.
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presentation on the effects of jimmy influence in the hydrology of the Willamette river.
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The dams are used primarily to produce hydroelectricity, to maintain reservoirs for recreation, and to divert water into deeper, narrower channels in order to prevent flooding.
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evolution
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the theory on how random changes in genetic material/competition for scarce resources causes species to change gradually
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adaptation
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along with natural selection modifies species. It is the occurring of traits that allow a species to survive in its environment. It affects populations rather than individuals
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Resource Partitioning
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niche evolution, one species is more efficient in using the available resources and the other is excluded
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diversity and abundance
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diversity is the number of different species per unit area and abundance is the number of individuals of a species in an area
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positive feedback
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too much means an unstable system
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negative feedback
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maintain stability in a system. ex: too many fish in a pond= food scarcity
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Matter
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Matter is recycled it doesn't disappear. Matter is recycled (transformed or recombined). Energy is the force that holds matter together.
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photosynthesis
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solar radiation is captured by green plans ardent energy converts into chemical energy. The plants chlorophyll absorbs light energy, releasing of chemical energy is cellular respiration: leads to carbon dioxide + water creation
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what links species?
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food chains, food webs, trophic levels
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hydrologic cycle
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path of water through the environs water stored in oceans > solar energy evaporates it> winds distribute water vapor > living organism emit water ? reenters atmosphere or lakes/streams > back to ocean water maintains flow of nutrients through the ecosystem.
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nitrogen cycle
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nitrogen is important to living things. 78% of air is nitrogen. Nitrogen reenters the environment in many ways, the number one way is through the death of organisms
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what are the principle substances of ecosystems ?
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water
carbon
nitrogen
phosphorous
sulfer
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what are the two key elements for living things
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nitrogen and phosphorus
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is it a positive or negative feedback loop to have too many nutrients?
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positive feedback, it can destabilize the ecosystem
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Biodiversity
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# and variety of species in an ecosystem. It helps maintain an ecosystems stability/recover from disturbances. Biodiversity is dependent on local conditions, these are # of predators, or recent drought as well as larger regional patterns of tempature and precipitation. Broad types of biol…
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Biological Productivity
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the rate at which photosynthesizing plants produce biomass. varies from warm to cold climates
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what is weather like higher up a mountain
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lower temp and higher precipitation
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what happens when evaporation increases greater than precipitation
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dry conditions
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desserts
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Sparse but diverse vegetation.
hot or cold but always dry
desert animals are especially adaptive
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temperate grasslands
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enough rain for abundant grass but not for forests. It has rich soils.
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temperate (deciduous & coniferous) forests
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occur above the tropic of cancer.
north america, europe, russia
deciduous: broad leaf trees
coniferous: cone bearing, evergreen. Most wood in North america
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coral reefs
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increase biological productivity. Its organism live symbiotically with photosynthetic algae. Reefs are shelter. They are in shallow water so sunlight can reach it. Very endangered because sediment from coastal development, farming, sewage, coral bleaching.
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genetic diversity
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the measure of the varieties of versions of the same genes within individual species. Serves as a way for population to adapt to canting environments.
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species diversity
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describes the number of different kinds of organisms than individual communities. Consists of species richness and evenness. Richness is count of species. Evenness unifies how equal the abundances of the species are.
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ecological diversity
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richness/complexity of a biological community. the # of niches, trophic levels and ecological processes that capper energy, sustain food webs and recycle materials within this system.
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how do humans benefit from biodiversity.
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nutrient cycling, food production, dollar energy absorption and air and water purification, disposal of waste ad soil formation.
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Fragmentation
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is a threat to biodiversity. losing habitat mass and dividing populations
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What does the lowest layer of the atmosphere do?
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air continuously redistributes heat/moisture
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where does weather occur in the atmosphere
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the troposphere
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clean air consist of?
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78% nitrogen
21% O2
1% carbon and water vapor
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convection currents
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in the troposphere, constantly the redistributing heat and moisture around the globe.
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what occurs in the stratosphere
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UV absoprtion here is essential
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atmosphere capturing energy
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of the solar energy that reechoes the outer atmosphere 1/4 is reflected by clouds/gas and 1/4 is absented by carbon dioxide water vapor, ozone, methane. 1/2 of solar radiation reaches the earth.
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Greenhouse effect
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trapping of heat by earths atmosphere, is transparent to incoming visible light waves and absorbs outgoing long wave infrared radiation
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evaporated water
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stores and redistributes heat
continuous evaporation needs warm sunshine + plenty of water
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ocean currents
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result from wind pushing on the ocean surface, surface moves and deep water wills up to replace it
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allergens
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substances that activate the immune system
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mutagen
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agents (chemicals/radiation) that damage or alter genetic material DNA cells
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ENVS 202:Final