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Environmental sciences > Basic of ecosystem > Flashcards

Basic of ecosystem Flashcards

1
Q

ecology definition and who invented it

A

the living community of plants and animals in any area together with non-living components of the environment such as soil, air and water, constitute the ecosystem

Ernest Haeckel in 1869 german

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2
Q

ecosystem meaning, 2 types and most diverse ecosystem in the world

A

an ecosystem is a geographic area with plants animals and other organisms, as well as weather and landscape, containing biotic(living) and non-biotic (non living)

Artificial ecosystems: natural regions affected by man-made ecosystems ex artificial lakes, cities
natural ecosystems: classified into two types: aquatic ecosystem and terrestrial ecosystem

the huge coral triangle in southeast asia

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3
Q

aquatic types and Terrestrial types

A

Fresh water: Lentic(ponds,lakes) Lotic(rivers, streams),

Wetlands(marshes, swamps)

Marine: coastal areas(estuaries, coral, reefs, mangroves), Upwelling regions, Open oceans

terrestrial

Grassland, Desset, Forest

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4
Q

autecology/
species ecology

and what is
synecology, examples

A

the study of individual species of organisms and its population

while synecology deals with the study of communities, their composition, their behaviour and relation with the environment

ex: population, community, ecosystem

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5
Q

what is coral bleach and why does it happen

A

coral bleach is when coral lose their bright colours, in water that is too warm, they die in water that is not salty enough

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6
Q

what is enocide

A

the destruction of entire ecosystems by human beings

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7
Q

what are keystone species, who invented it, examples of keystone species

A

some species if eliminated seriously affect the environment, characteristic of a keystone species is that it fills a critical ecological role that no other species can. 1960 Robert Paine found out

star fish, sea otters, beavers, wolves, bees, hummingbirds, American alligators, Tiger sharks

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8
Q

ecological pyramid and what are tropic levels and food chains

A

a model that represents the relative amount of matter and energy contained within each trophic level of ecosystems

organisms in food chains are grouped into trophic levels, divided into to producers, consumers, and decomposers etc

primary consumer
secondary consumer
tertiary consumer
apex predator
decomposers
producers

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9
Q

how is energy and matter related in ecosystem

A

energy flows through the ecosystem, while matter cycles within it, decomposers transform mater back into inorganic forms that can be recycled within the ecosystem,
while organic molecules are stored as biomass or converted into heat

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10
Q

what is a disaster, two types

A

a disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a society involving widespread human, and environmental losses and impact

natural, manmade disasters

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11
Q

natural disasters

A

any catastrophic occurrence generated by the effects of natural, that produces great loss fo human life of destruction of the natural environment, etc caused by weather or climate events etc

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12
Q

why are climate-related disasters such as droughts increasing etc

A

due to global warming the WMO states

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13
Q

earthquake and worst earthquake of 21 th century

A

a sudden release of energy in earth’s crust that creates a seismic wave(of an area refers to the frequency, type/size of the earthquake) = seismometers, and magnitude=Richter scale

india on january 26 2001, magnitude 7.7 and lasted for 2 mins (18600 death), 1,67000 injured, 1.2 million house destroyed

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14
Q

flood, and what are flashfloods

A

an overflow of water that submerges land, from overflow of water bodies such as lakes and rivers, due to heavy rains
flash floods, can develop with hours of rainfall,
deserts are vulnerable to flash floods

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15
Q

landslide, and three types of landslides

A

a landslide has range of ground movements, such as rock falls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, landslides are caused by rains, earthquakes, volcanoes, or other factors that make slopes unstable, and can happen offshore, coastal, or onshore

falls and topples: heavy blocks of materical fall after separating from a very steep slope or cliff

transitional slides: surface material is separated from the more stable underlying layer of a slope

a lateral spread: is the movement of material sideways or laterally

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16
Q

avalanche meaning
two snow avalanches- sluffs and slabs

A

a mass of material moving rapidly down a slope. triggered when material on a slope breaks loose from its surroundings

sluff- occurs when a weak layer of a snowpack is on the top. A sluff is a small slide of dry, powdery snow that moves as a formless mass

a slab - occurs when the weak layer lies lower down in a snowpack, this layer is covered with other layers of compressed snow, thus pulling all the layers on top of it down the slope

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17
Q

cyclone

A

a area of closed circular fluid of motion rotating in the same direction as the earth, inward circular winds that rotate anti-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and vice versa in southern , and anticyclone rotates

air comes in from above and sinks to the grounds

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18
Q

tsunami

A

seismic sea wave, its a series of water waves caused by displacement of a large volume of body of water up to speeds of 805 km

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19
Q

drought

A

an extended period when a region receives a deficiency in its water supply, whether atmosphere, surface or groundwater

can last for months years etc, substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region

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20
Q

heat wave

A

a prolonged period of excessively hot weather accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries

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21
Q

heat exhaustion or heat stroke

A

heat exhaustion: faint or dizzy, excessive sweating, cold pale, clammy skin, nausea or vomiting, rapid weak pulse, muscle cramps

heat stroke: throbbing headache, no sweating, body temp above 103 , nausea or vomiting, rapid stong pulse may lose conscious ness

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22
Q

man made disasters, examples, nuclear

A

disasters having elements of human intent, negligence, error, failure of human-made systems, such as:

nuclear
An accident taking place in any nuclear facility of the nuclear fuel cycle including the nuclear reactor, or in a facility using radioactive sources, leading to a large-scale release of radioactivity

or accident during the transport of radioactive material

ex: nuclear, chemical, accidental, terrosims

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23
Q

nuclear disasters

A

An accident taking place in any nuclear facility of the nuclear fuel cycle including the nuclear reactor, or in a facility using radioactive sources, leading to a large-scale release of radioactivity

or accident during the transport of radioactive material

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24
Q

chemical disasters may arise from

A

due to safety systems failures: Human errors, technical errors, Management errors, accidents during transportation, toxic waste processing/disposal, terrorist attack

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25
Q

biological disasters, the symbols, and who made

A

Charles Baldwin made these biohazard symbols in 1966, biohazard disasters are natural scenarios involving disease, disability or death on large scale, among the populous there are symbols made for atomic, biological, and chemical

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26
Q

what biohazards classified into, and how many levels

A

classifies biohazards (BIOSAFETY LEVELS)
BSL, 4 levels
BSL 1: microbes that are not known to cause disease in healthy adults, minimum hazard,

BSL 2: microbes pose moderate hazards to labs and the environment varying severity to humans (HIC, Hepatitis), use of autoclaves for sterilising and biological safety cabinets

BSL3: bacteria and viruses causing severe to fatal disease in humans ex: anthrax, MERIS, COVID, stringent safety protocols such as the the use of respirators to prevent airborne infection

BSL 4: potentially fatal like ebola, Marburg
protection positive pressure suit, with a segregated air supply

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27
Q

pre-disaster management, diaster prepardness and post disaster managment

A

activities which are undertaken to prevent or mitigate the adverse effects of a disaster in short and long term.

Diaster prepardness
prevent or minimize the losses and damage in case of a disaster,

Post disaster management

Theresponse phaseincludes the search and rescue; fulfilling basic humanitarian needs of victims ; assistance by regional, national and international bodies etc. Recovery phasestarts after the immediate threat to human life has subsided.

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28
Q

Bioterroism and Biological warfare

A

intentional release of viruses, bacteria, or other germs that can sicken/kill people, livestock, or crops.

intentional use of microorganisms and toxins usually of microbial, plant or animal origin to produce disease and death among humans, live stock and crops.

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29
Q

features of a bioterrorist agent

A

Consistently produces a given effect, death or disease, at low concentrations.
Highly contagious.
Short and predictable incubation period.
Target population has little or no immunity against the organism.
Little or no prophylaxis or treatment available with the native population.

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29
Q

delivery mechanism

A

Aerosol spray : easiest method of dispersal. Highest number of people victimized
Food & Water contamination : more cumbersome. People victimized are less & large quantities of agent required
Spores : Through envelops (Anthrax) easy dispersal.
Infected People/ Animals : People or animals in the prodromal or latent illness where the organism can’t be identified. Very difficult and very few people will be infected

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30
Q

pollution and airpollution(man-made and natural)

A

Pollutionis the introduction ofharmfulmaterials into theenvironment
such as volcano, or human activity

Air pollution is the introduction of harmful chemicals into the atmosphere.
or exhaust from vehicles, such as CO S02 and lead

volcanoes erupt, they eject volcanic ash, and gases into the atmosphere, volcanic ash can discolor the sky for months

30
Q

primary and secondary air pollutants

A

caused by primary sources/secondary sources.
primary pollutants that are a direct result of the process

pollutants eg dioxide emitted from factories

secondary pollutions: are the caused intermingling and reactions of primary pollutants. Smog created by the interactions of several primary pollutants is known as a secondary pollutant

31
Q

Major pollutants of air,
visible and invisible air pollutants

A

ozone, particulate matter, CO, NO, SO2, lead, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), CFCs, mercury, (PANs)

visible: like smog over a city is an example of visible pollution; smog makes breathing difficulty, especially for children and older adults

invisible air pollutants: are less noticeable,such as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides

32
Q

smog

A

smog is air pollution that reduces visibility, mixture of smoke and fog, when sunlight reacts with nitrogen oxides, and one volatile organic compound VOC in the atmopshere

33
Q

effects of air pollution, and what is AQI and a good number

A

respiratory, and heart problems, Asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphesems, heart attacks, strokes
child health problems, during pregnancy causes miscarriages as well birth, autism, asthma, and spectrum disorder in young children

air quality index, and 0-50 is good, but
106 is most places

34
Q

acid rain

A

harmful gases like nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are released into atmosphere during the burning of fossil fuels, thus when it rain rains the water droplets combine with these air pollutants, thus acid

35
Q

water pollution, and comes from what 2 ways

A

such as chemicals trust, microorganism in into water from factories

comes from
point sources, dispersed sources

36
Q

what causes algal bloom

A

agricultural runoff typically includes fertiliser or toxic chemicals, thus can cause algal bloom

37
Q

oil spill

A

any uncontrolled release of crude oil, gasoline, fuel or other by products into the environment

38
Q

mercury effection on kids

A

interferes with brain development of the newborn

39
Q

effects of water pollution

A

Diarrhoea, skin diseases and other infections, Bioaccumulation occurs ad heavy metals like mercury move etc up the food chain from fishes

40
Q

how does oil pollution affect the ecosystem

A

oil floats on water cutting off oxygen for plankton, oil causes tissue damage in coral and coral larvae, causes defect in bluefin tuna, affects seabirds

41
Q

land pollution

A

the deposition of solid or liquid waste materials on land underground, contaminating the soil and groundwater, when it rains they material is dissolved materials forming leachate. this contaminates groundwater

42
Q

land degration

A

caused presence of xenobiotics, human-made chemicals caused by industrial activity, and agricultural chemicals, xenobiotics are defined as chemicals to which an organism is exposed that are extrinsic to the normal metabolism of that organism

43
Q

Recalcitrants

A

pollutants that persist in the environment, they are capable of long-range transportation bioaccumulation, in human and animals , and biomagnifications in food chain

44
Q

Land pollution release what gases

A

release CO2 and and CH4

45
Q

Noise pollution and effects

A

regular exposure to elevated sound levels, generated inside many industrial facilities and some other workplaces, highway, airplane traffic, causes noise induced hearing loss(NIHL)
can cause high blood pressure
heart disease, sleep disturbances, and stress

46
Q

thermal pollution

A

thermal pollution is a rapid change in temperature in a natural body of water,
this pollution is most often caused by heated discharge from an industrial facility, results disruptions in natural systems and stress, disease or even death for affected organisms

47
Q

causes thermal pollution

A

natural phenomena such as wildfires, volcanoes, and underwater thermal vents can cause thermal pollution. from often the result of an industrial process or facility using large amounts of water from a natural source and releasing heated wastewater

48
Q

effects of thermal pollution

A

decreases the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water
aquatic life like fishes, their larvae and eggs gets damaged
kills some species of fish and macro-invertebrates that have a limited tolerance for temperature change, and migration of living entities
contributes to global warming

49
Q

what happened with Middle East regarding tured to desalination

A

2020 study revealed that mixing cooling water to dilute briny wastewater created a headed plume 25 percent warmer than natural seawater temperature placing stress on local benthic organsism

50
Q

radioactive pollution

A

radioactive contamination is defined as the deposition/introduction of radioactive substances into the environment, due to nuclear explosions and testing of nuclear weapons, decommission mining of radioactive ores.

51
Q

effects of radiation

A

Exposure to very high levels of radiation, such as being close to an atomic blast, can cause acute health effects such as
Skin burns
Acute radiation syndrome (“radiation sickness”)
Skin cancer
Cardiovascular disease.
Chronic respiratory disease,
Lung cancer

52
Q

what is pollution control

A

reducing or eliminating the release of pollutants into theenvironment.

53
Q

steps to reduced pollution

A

reduce, eliminate, treat, segregate, dispose

54
Q

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)

A

is the highest authority in India for protection for the environment. It is the nodal agency for which the Central Government of India has authorized in the planning, promotion, coordination and execution of India’s environmental policies and program.

Wildlife Trust of India, Central Pollution Control Board, Indian Board for Wildlifeetc.

55
Q

air pollution management

A

establishes goalsrelated to air quality.

Air quality managers need todeterminehow muchemissions reductionsare needed to achieve the goal

use emissions inventories, air monitoring, air quality modeling and other assessment tools to understand the air quality problem fully

The process involves all levels of government

56
Q

how to reduce air pollution

A

Conserve energy - at home, at work, etc
Carpool, use public transportation, bike, or walk whenever possible.
Use environmentally safe paints and cleaning products
Avoid excessive idling of your automobile.
Avoid burning leaves, trash, and other materials.
Use Energy-Efficient Devices- Look for the ENERGY STAR label when buying home or office equipment.

57
Q

water pollution management

A

Surface Water Pollution Control & Groundwater
``
Pollution Control
Water supplies
Public water supply: waters suitable for human consumption, with treatment

Agricultural supply: waters suitable for irrigation and livestock watering
with no treatment

Industrial/commercial supply: waters suitable for industrial and commercial uses with or without treatment.

58
Q

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)

A

has specified drinking water quality standards in India to provide safe drinking water to the people.
its imp that drinking water sources be tested at regular intervals and ensure that water is meeting the standards or not, the extent of contamination needs to be checked

59
Q

standard ph of drinking water and bacteria in water

A

6.5 to 8.5
ecoli, coliforms,

60
Q

soil control pollution

A

To reduce land emissions, reduce, reuse, and recycle, globalisation

need to incorporate recycling minimize landfill waste, protectnatural resources, preserve wildlife, reduce noise, reduce energy use, and slow global warming

farmers need to use organic fertilisers, and integrated pest control etc

61
Q

water treatment and recycling technologies

A

primary water treatment tech:
-screening, filtration and centrifugal separation
-sedimentation and gravity separation
-coagulation
-filtration

secondary water treatment tech:
aerobic process, anaerobic process

tertiary water treatment technologies
distillation, crystallization, evaporation, solvent extraction, Oxidation, precipitation, ion exchange, micro- and Ultra Filtration, Reverse Osmosis, Adsorption, Electrolysis, Electrodialysis

62
Q

improper disposal of muncipal solid waste can create:

A

unsanitary conditions, can lead topollutionof theenvironmentand to outbreaks of vector-borne disease—spread byrodentsandinsects. caused by residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial activities

63
Q

waste group in three categories

A

primary sector: mining forestry, agriculture, animal breeding, fishery

production and transformation industry (foods, equipment, product of all types)
consumption sector (households, enterprises, transportation, trade, constructions, services, etc)

64
Q

where does the waste go

A

to a treatment plant for material recovery, (sorting, composting, biomethanization) or energy recovery (grid or kiln incinerator)

65
Q

BBMP

A

carries out collection, street sweeping, transportation, processing and disposal of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) from generators.
has door-to-door collection, has to be processed before landfilling

66
Q

three types of house hold wastes

A

wet, dry ,hazardous waste, and medicine waste

67
Q

recycling

A

Recycling or salvaging is the word covering both reuse (use for the same purpose) and reclamation/recovery of materials or energy.

68
Q

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

A

related to waste management, and it created awareness among the people about the proper treatment of solid waste. Aka Clean India Mission, it is a country-wide campaign initiated by the Government of India on 2 October 2014 to eliminate open defecation and to create Open Defecation Free villages. which gained traction

69
Q

Noise pollution

A

Silence zone- 40-50 dB
Residential zone-45-50 dB
Commercial Zone-55-65 dB
Industrial Zone-70-75 dB
As well as damaging our hearing by causing — tinnitus or deafness — constant loud noise can damage human healthin many ways, particularly in the very young and the very old

70
Q

how to reduce noise pollution

A

Turn off Appliances at Home and offices when not in use
Shut the Door when using noisy Machines
Use of earplugs or earmuffs can bring down loud noises to a manageable level.
Community law should check the use of loudspeakers, outdoor parties as well as political public announcements.

There should be control on noise level (Silent zones) near schools, hospitals.
Better maintenance of machines to reduce noise pollution and improve efficiency.

Implement sound insulation. Design buildings with soundproofing materials and techniques.
Educate and raise awareness.- Control traffic noise.
Create more green spaces to act as natural sound buffers.
Limit noisy activities.

71
Q

Thermal pollution management

A

waste heat in water which can cause undesirable changes in the natural environment.
Effects: decreases oxygen level in the atmosphere, leading to health effects of human beings.
Control: heated water can be treated by cooling ponds, spray ponds, cooling towers-dry/ wet.
Heated water from the industries can treated before discharging directly to the water bodies.

Industrial treated water can be recycled for domestic use or industrial heating.

72
Q

radioactive waste

A

practically all radioactive waste is contained and managed, with some clearly needing deep and permanent burial

Radioactive waste would be managed in a manner so as not to cause any undue radiation risk to the workers, the public (present as well as future generation) and the environment.

with international guidelines, a comprehensive and consistent set of standards are being practiced all over the world for waste management system.

prevention:
Select reagents and procedures that minimize the volume and toxicity of all wastes.
Avoid ordering excess radioactive materials than requirement.
Non radioactive wastes must never be mixed with radioactive wastes.
Promotion of non-radioactive tracers and methods for many common assays, and procedures used in biomedical assays.

Substitute with short-lived radionuclides where feasible.
Reduce the activity and volumes of materials used in the experiment to achieve minimal waste generation.
Replace hazardous chemical solvents with formulations not hazardous or mixed wastes.
Limit the number of users of radioactive materials.
Limit the number of areas where radioactive materials are used.

73
Q

waste management hierarchy

A

more preferable to least preferable
pollution prevention, reuse, recycling, treatment, disposal

74
Q

which is the higher fuel consumed in india

Identify from the following list not a fossil fuels source in
developing country?

A

coal, wood

Environmental sciences (3 decks)

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