10: Ecosystems (EST)

Question 1

What is an ecological footprint?

Answer 1

Surface area individuals/population require to obtain all resources needed and to get rid of waste (land/water occupied + land/water used to produce goods/services + land/water to get rid of waste)

Question 2

Define ecotoxicology

Answer 2

How polluting substances and radiation due to human activity has ecological consequences

Question 3

What three factors affect the toxicity of a contaminant

Answer 3

• Time (length of exposure)
• Concentration of substance
• Type of organism (may harm plants but not humans)

Question 4

Define bioaccumulation vs bioconcentration (bioamplification/biomagnification)

Answer 4

Bioaccu: tendency of a contaminant to accumulate in 1 organism
Bioconc: Concentration of contaminant increased with every trophic level of predatation

Question 5

Define the 4 methods of decontamination

Answer 5

• Phytoremediation (planting)
• Wastewater treatment
• Bioremediation (bacterias dissolving)
• Biodegradation (fertilizer to get rid of bad microbes)