Anthropocene Flashcards
1
Q
What is biogeography?
A
The study of spatial diversity and patterns of life
2
Q
What are the two divisions of biogeography?
A
Historical
Ecological
3
Q
What is historical biogeography?
A
Distribution of organisms over time and space
4
Q
What is ecological biogeography?
A
How distribution is affected by environment and interactions
5
Q
Give examples of geologically separated species with a common ancestor
A
Ratites (flightless birds)
Nothofagus (southern beech)
6
Q
What are the six biogeographic regions?
A
Nearctic (america)
Palaearctic (Eurasia)
Indomalayan
Neotropical (s America)
Afrotropical (Africa)
Australian
7
Q
What are biomes?
A
Ecosystems that are structurally similar that occur under specific climate conditions
8
Q
What is climate?
A
Temperature
Precipitation
Evaporation
Humidity
Sunlight
Wind
9
Q
What does climate vary with?
A
Latitude ~angle of incidence + movement of air masses and ocean currents
10
Q
What are the two divisions of biomes?
A
Terrestrial
Aquatic
11
Q
What are the subdivisions of aquatic biomes?
A
Oceans
Fresh water - wetlands (marshes, swamps, seasonal ponds, rich biodiversity), lakes (eutrophic, oligotrophic), rivers & streams, estuaries
12
Q
What is a eutrophic lake?
A
Nutrient rich
Lots of algal activity ~ anoxia
13
Q
What is a oligotrophic lake?
A
Nutrient poor
Clear water
High O2
Little productivity
14
Q
How are rivers and streams affected by humans?
A
Dams, channel straightening
Waste disposal pollution
15
Q
What are the key features of estuaries?
A
Transition of freshwater to marine realms
Highly productive
Polluted by river input ie nitrogen
16
Q
What are the subdivisions of the ocean biome?
A
Intertidal zones (rich in nutrients, oxygenated, polluted by oil)
Neritic zones (corals, very productive, protect land from storms)
Open ocean (pelagic or benthic, deep sea vents)
17
Q
What are the eight subdivisions of terrestrial biomes?
A
Tropical rainforest
Tropical savanna
Desert
Chaparral
Grassland
Temperate deciduous forest
Temperate boreal forest
Arctic and alpine tundra
18
Q
What are the key characteristics of tropical rainforests?
A
Equatorial
>200cm precipitation annually
20-25 degrees C (little seasonality)
Very diverse
Infertile soils - nutrients and carbon stored in plant biomass
19
Q
What are the key characteristics of tropical savanna?
A
Tropics
25-30 degrees C
50-127cm precipitation
Dry season with <5cm precipitation
Grazing mammals
Grasslands with scattered trees
20
Q
What are the key characteristics of deserts?
A
25-40 degrees latitudes
<25cm precipitation annually
Plant adaptation to converse water ie thorny leafs, succulents
Seasonal or sporadic biological activity related to rainfall
21
Q
Why are deserts so hot and lacking water?
A
On the down arm of the Hadley cell
22
Q
What are the key characteristics of chaparral biomes?
A
32-40 degrees latitude
West side of continents (maritime influence)
35-70cm precipitation annually
Summer drought
Plants resistance to fire and drought
Mainly shrubbery
23
Q
What are the key characteristics of temperate grassland biomes?
A
Hot summers (38) and cold winters (-40)
50-90cm precip annually
Grazing animals
Nutrient rich soil therefore now mostly agricultural
24
Q
What are the key characteristics of temperate deciduous forest biomes?
A
Moderate climate -30 to 30
Distinct winter frosting
75-150 cm precip annually
Moist summer season
Well developed understory
25
What are the key characteristics of coniferous boreal forest biomes?
45-60 degrees latitude
Long severe winters and short rainy summers
Mean annual temp 0 degrees
40-100 cm precip mostly snow
Nutrient rich soils
26
What are the key characteristics of tundra biomes?
Arctic or high mountains
Permafrost underlying tundra vegetation
15-25cm precip annually, ground usually wet (low evaporation, can’t drain)
Severe winters -34 degrees
Treeless, marshy plain
27
What is an ecocline?
Gradual boundaries between biomes
28
What happens to biomes during periods of climate change?
Ecocline gradients are squeezed or stretched and biomes shift north or south
29
What are factors that control the distribution of organisms?
Plate tectonics
Climate
Evolution
Dispersal
Competition
Succession
Disturbance
Human impacts
30
What is ecology?
The study of the interaction of organisms with their environments (biotic and abiotic factors)
31
What is an ecosystem?
A geographic area where plants, animals and other organisms interact with each other and weather and landscape
32
What are the factors of ecological concepts/ecosystems?
Population growth
Competition
Species interactions
Tropic relationships
Diversity
33
What is the importance of population growth?
Concept of exponential growth is unsustainable
Each population within an ecosystem will have a carry capacity K
34
What are the factors that influence carry capacity and therefore population size?
Density dependent: limited resources, toxic waste production, infectious diseases, predation, stress, migration
Density independent: extreme climate, natural hazards
35
What are limiting resources?
Food (in a human sense, resource vs distribution)
Energy
36
How do infectious diseases impact population?
Increasing population, moving into unexploited habitats, crammed conditions, pollututed air
37
What predation affects human population?
Conflict over resources ie Ukraine
38
What causes migration?
Immigration and emigration are responses to stress and conflict
39
What affects does climate change cause for population?
Severe storms, flooding, drought, wildfire
Reduced resources ie water and food
Loosing of habitat
40
What causes competition between species?
Shared ecological niche
41
What is an ecological niche?
The role a species plays in an ecosystem
42
What allows different species to occupy similar niches in different locations?
Convergent evolution ie mouse vs marsupial mouse
43
What are the possible outcomes of competition between species?
Extinction of one species
Resource partitioning
Character displacement
44
What is character displacement?
When two similar species evolve in such a way as to become different form each other by accentuating their initial minor differences
45
Give an example of resource partitioning?
North American warbler birds
46
Give an example of character displacement.
Darwin’s finchers in Galápagos Islands
47
What are the two types of species interactions?
Predator/prey
Symbiotic
48
What happens biologically in response to predator/prey relationships?
Oscillations in the population sizes of the predator and prey with an offset
Coevokutiom
49
What is symbiosis?
A biological relationship in which two species live in close proximity and interact regularly in such a way to benefit one or both of the organisms
50
Give an example of a symbiotic relationship
Oxpecker feeds of ticks, flies and maggots that cling to the hide of African black rhinoceros
51
What is the hierarchy of trophic systems?
Primary producers ie plants and algae (photosynthesis)
Primary consumers
Secondary consumes
Tertiary somsumers
52
Why is energy lost through the food web?
Lost as heat, respiration, waste
53
What is succession?
The gradual alteration of an ecosystem over time (becoming more complex)
54
What are the distinct processes of classical succession theory?
Nudation - creation of initial bare surface
Migration - seeds or vegative spread
Ecesis- establishment of plants
Competition - for water and space
Reaction - modification of the habitat by vegetation (soil development)
Stabilisation - final climax community include in animals
55
What can disturbance do to succession?
Whole process may have to start over ie lava
Shift the process back one or several stages I.e. fire
Result in a different succession direction ie mining
56
Give an example of secondary succession
198p mt St Helens
Krakatoa - all animal life destroyed. 2/3 is,and destroyed. Rapid colonisation succession due to high temp, little seasonality, nutrient cycle, volcanic soils, presence of nearby islands
57
What is a plagioclimax?
Subclimax state or a human suppressed succession
58
Give examples of plagioclimax
All forms of farming/cultivation
Scottish highland (timber felling)
59
What are the five possible interruptions which may result in sub climaxes?
Biotic - grazing
Edaohic (soil change) - felling trees, change of pH
Plagio- man cutting grazing and burning
Hydroclimax - impeded drainage
Topoclimax - changes in relief ie land slide
60
how many species are there on earth?
>10 million
only 1.75 million discovered
61
What were the three divisions of human evolution?
Age of hominids - splitting from apes (7-5Ma)
Age of homo sapiens (250,000)
European early modern humans - out of africa hypothesis (60-50,000)
62
what was the climate since 5Ma?
climate fluctuations with progressive cooling trend
63
What and when was the palaeolithic phase?
450,000-8,000 yrs
hunter gatherer culture
early hominids and homosapiens
low population density
64
What is egalitarian?
every person performs essential functions for the survival of the group
65
What is the ecological changes since 20,000yrs ago?
Holocene megafaunal extinction
~50% of large bodied mammals died
~4% of mammal species
66
Give examples of species extinction during the holocene megafaunal extinction
Europe - woolly mammoth, cave lion
mediterranean - dwarf elephant, giant rat, giant swan
N America - mastodon, cheetah, llama, giant beaver
Australia - giant wombat, marsupial tapir
67
What are the two theories for the holocene megafaunal extinction event?
animals died off due to climate change (post glacial shifts of biomes)
prehistoric overkill hypothesis (hunting by humans, fire/clearances, introduction of new species and diseases)
68
What happened during 50,000 years to the homosapiens?
emergence of fish hooks, arrows, bows, art and jewellery
69
What is attributed to the cause of homosapien art, jewelry etc?
Better communication (development of voice box)
brain organisation change
less time spent on survival
culture - less egalitarian
70
What is humanity and its culture largely controlled by?
Climatic conditions
71
What did the mid holocene climate optimum do to help human evolution?
8000yrs ago
temperate forests
stable temperature needed for agriculture
72
What was the neolithic revolution?
Shift from gathering to cultivation and domestication
73
How did agriculture spread worldwide?
Independently founded across the world at multiple locations at the same time
74
What were the three key process of the neolithic revolution?
Domestication of plants (rice, wheat and corn, rye)
Domestication of Animals (dogs 130,000 yrs, cattle, oxen, pigs, sheep)
Invention of the wheel (facilitating transport)
75
What were the primary effects of the neolithic revolution?
urbanisation
social stratification
occupational specialisation
increased population densities
increased incidence of disease
76
What was the effect of urbanisation of agricultural empires?
Increased effciency > population growth > more space needed > more natural resources required > inevitable environmental costs
77
Give examples of ancient agricultural empires
Egypt
aztecs
roman empire
78
What makes a successful culture?
Those that can adapt to and manage their environment
79
What is the environmental mismanagement and collapse of Easter Island?
Most isolated inhabited island
diverse vegetation
settled by the polynesians <900AD
Population of 1550 people by 1500AD
Forest clearance for construction material peaked in 1400, vegetation change to grassland, increased soil erosion
Trees completely disappeared by 1600
No trees = no canoes for fishing (or nets/ropes made by bark) = overfishing of nearshore fisheries
seabird overexploited and disappeared, soil erosion = crop production decline, houses can't be built = people moved into caves
warfare over dwindling food resources = slavery and cannabilism
1722 population decline due to dutch explorers. 1836 smallpox. 1862 50% of remaining population ensalved by peruvians to work in mines
1872 111people left. island becomes vast sheep ranch, chilean based scottish funded company, 40,000 sheep introduced
80
What does deforestation mean for biodiversity and cycles?
Decrease in biodiversity
disruption of the ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles
81
Why is scotland a case study for anthropogenic environment?
oceanic climate (but climatically diverse - coasts to mountains)
diversity of coastal, lowland, wooded, upland and mountain landscapes
Based on bedrock parent material, climatic conditions, topography, glacial history scotland should look like alaska
Caledonian forest decline 4500yrs, initally climate related. pine decline through deforestation, overgrazing, climate change
grazing of domestic livestock severely limited the scope for regeneration
impoverished soil, disruption of hydrology, less diverse, key species to ecosystems lost, disruption of food web
82
When did the caledonian forest peak?
7000-5000 yrs aago
mosaic of woodland types, open temperate grasslands, scrub, open heaths and bogs, abundant wildlife
83
Give examples of native extant scottish animals
red deer
beavers - several reintroductions
red squirrel
wildcat
84
give examples of native extinct scottish animals
lynx
wolves
boar
elk
auroch
brown bear
85
give an example of non native extant scottish animals
domesticated sheep
86
when was the first cotton mill?
1733 england
87
what was the technological effects of steam power?
mechanisation
locomotion and steamboats
labour economy replaced by industry
migration to urban centres
88
what happened to population during the industrial revolution?
birth rates > death rates
increase in standard of living, improved medicine, sanitation, disease control
89
why is 1952 a suggested GSSP?
onset of mass nuclear bomb testing
clear marker that is global and synchronous (radioactive isotopes)
coincides with the great acceleration
90
what were key parts of the global acceleration?
containerization of cargo
inexpensive international air transport
computers and the internet
satellite communications
globalisation of economics
91
what is an indictor of technological advancements?
movement of species due to shipping - heterogenous vs homogeneous shelled animal assemblages in ocean sediments
92
What is the equation for the environment impact of population growth?
I=PAT
where
I = impact on the environment resulting from consumption
P = population number
A = consumption per capita
T = technology factor
93
What is the definition of carrying capacity for human population?
the number of people that an area can support given the quality of the natural environment and the level of technology of the population
94
what is the estimated population by 2100?
11 billion
95
what is a reason for some regions of the world having declining population?
Declining birth rates linked to socio-economic factors
96
what are four population-influenced environmental problems?
increased energy consumption
habitat loss/endangered species
resource depletion
global warming
97
what is the increase of urbanisation annually?
4%
98
what are the consequences of increasing urbanisation?
local pollution increases
urban expansion - damage to coastal ecosystem, consumption of prime farmland
99
what are problems related to urban societies?
water pollution
air pollution
waste disposal
100
what are the numbers of people affected by water pollution?
220 Mil without access to clean water
420 Mil without access to sanitation
2 Mil children die from diarrhoea annually
101
what are the numbers of people affected by air pollution?
1.1 Bil in cities with unhealthy air
300,000-700,000 premature deaths annually
50 Mil cases of childhood respiratory infections
millions exposed to high lead levels = IQ loss
102
what are the numbers of people affected by waste disposal?
20-50% of solid waste is uncollected
uncontrolled dumping of hazardous , toxic waste
103
where are the highest population growth rates found?
in high biodiversity regions = least developed countries
104
what is a biodiversity hotspot?
a biogeographic region that is both a significant reservoir of biodiversity and is threatened with destruction
105
what is the relationship between population and biodiversity hotspots?
hotspots cover 12% of global land area
home to 20% of global population (1.2 bil in 2000)
population growth is ~0.6%/yr greater than rest of the world
population density in hotspots is greater than world average
106
give examples of deforestation
iguazu falls, Argentina/Paraguay
British Columbia Conifer Forest, Canada
Mexico-Guatemala Border Region
107
what are reasons for deforestation?
clearing of forests for planting, animals (agriculture), roads, cables
108
what are the impacts of deforestation?
important carbon sinks
unmodulated regional climate
erosion
loss of biodiversity
loss of natural resources
food and resources
109
what is global soil erosion driven by?
cropland expansion
110
what are types of pollution?
urban air pollution
marine pollution (runoff, shipping, oil spills, ocean dumping)
111
what are the main candidates for defining the start of the anthropocene?
15,000yrs = holocene megfaunal extinction
6,000yrs = agricultural revolution (impact on global CO2 and CH4)
1840 = coal burning industrial revolution
1950s = great acceleration, bomb testing
112
What was the climate in the phanerozoic?
currently at lowest temp in 2Ma
up to 15 degrees warmer in the Eocene
113
What is the worrying force of climate change?
rate of warming is more serious than the rate of change
114
what is the rate of climate change now vs in the past?
current: 100yrs for 1.55 Wm-2 change
last glacial termination: 10,000yrs for 2 Wm-2
115
What is the PETM?
Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum
Abrupt global warming
Was once used as an analogue for anthropogenic climate change
116
what is a major threat of climate change to human civilisation?
agricultural societies have only existed in stable environments.
any climate impact was during hunter-gatherer time
117
what is a planetary boundary?
how far components of the earth system can change without endangering modern civilizations
118
what are planetary boundaries based on?
limits of holocene variability
119
What are the planetary boundaries?
Climate change (CO2 conc, radiative forcing)
novel entities
stratospheric ozone depletion
atmospheric aerosol loading
ocean acidification
biogeochemical flows (P and N)
Freshwater change (green, blue)
land system change
biosphere inegrity (genetic, functional)
120
What planetary boundaries have been surpassed?
climate change
novel entities (human made pollutions)
changes in nutrient cycles
loss biodiversity
changes in land and freshwater use
121
what is the temperature increase since the industrial revolution and the future predictions?
1.1 degrees since industrial revolution
0.5-4 degrees
122
what are the three strategies for addressing climate change?
mitigation
geoengineering
adaptation
123
What are ways of mitigation?
switch to renewable energy sources
decarbonisation of transport
decarbonisation of heating
carbon capture and storage
124
what sectors will be difficult to decarbonise?
shipping, aviation
125
what is mitigation at a personal level?
save energy at home
walk, bike, public transport
vegtables>meat
less waste
reduce, reuse, repair, recycle
electric vehicles
125
what is the environmental cost of the green transition?
hydroelectric dams (fragmenting river ecosystems and disrupting flows of sediment and nutrients)
nuclear energy (radioactive waste storage and risk of meltdown
critical metal demands (increased mining, deep sea floor)
126
what are ways of geoengineering?
increase planetary albedo
reduce the greenhouse effect
solar radiation management
negative CO2 emission technologies
127
what are ways of solar radiation management?
use giant reflective structures in orbit around the earth
putting aerosols into the stratosphere
add aerosols to the troposphere to seed cloud formation
128
what are ways of negative CO2 emission technologies?
reforestation
direct air capture and carbon storage (DACCS)
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)
Enhanced terrestrial weathering
129
what are issues with reforestation?
limit land use for other purposes (food production)
as climate changes, so will the distribution of areas able to sustain forests
uncertain impacts on soil carbon storage, and wider ecosystems
130
what is adaptation?
the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effect to moderate harm or take advantage of beneficial opportunities
131
what are types of adaptations?
infrastructural and technological - engineering, changes to the built environment and technology changes
institutional - changes to laws, political policy, economic organisation
behavioural and cultural - individual, household and local community responses
nature based solutions - managing ecosystems to benefit both society and overall biodiversity in response to climate change
132
give an example of infrastructural and technological adaptations
construction of sea walls to protect against coastal erosion
drainage network changes for flood mitigation
changes to new building designs to better cope with extreme weather
133
give examples of institutional adaptions
changes to city planning regulations to better suit future climate
changes to insurance schemes in anticipation of increased incidents of damage by extreme weather
134
give examples of behavioural and cultural adaptations
changes to diet in response to food prices, availability, climate impact
changes in livelihood, agricultural practices of small scale farmers
seasonal migration
135
give examples of nature based adaptations
wetland restoration to help mitigate downstream flooding risks
provision of trees in agricultureal areas to provide shade for livestock
136
what are the roles of earth sciences in climate solutions?
documentation of the crisis - remote sensing, traditional on the ground monitoring, assessing/modelling climate change, communication of science
Solutions - energy transition, energy generation, carbon capture
137
what is remote sensing?
satellites, geophysics
drought, pollution monitoring
measuring atmospheric levels
monitoring ecosystem degradation
138
what is traditional on the ground monitoring?
ground truthing , lidar
ecosystem and biodiversity surveys
139
what is assessing/modelling climate change?
reconstructing the past to provide a modern context
data and models - examining dynamical processes
modelling future future trends
140
what is the energy transition solutions?
sourcing of raw materials
sustainable mining of rare earth metals (remediation and environmental restoration)
nuclear site assessment and storage of radioactive waste
141
what is the energy generation solution?
geothermal
engineering geology (dams, windfarms)
142
what is the carbon capture solution?
subsurface direct geological storage
carbonate minerals in basalt
geochemical solutions
tree planting
143
