Ch. 24 Practice Flashcards
What is the current human population of the Earth?
A bit over 7 billion
______ ______ is the maximum population that a particular environment can support for an indefinite period.
Carrying capacity
Acid deposition
Weakens trees and makes them more susceptible to disease and insects
Increase in ocean temperatures due to global warming
Loss of coral reefs, potential loss of coastal wetlands
Ozone depletion
Limits crop and tree growth, and kills plankton that sustain ocean life
Contamination by human-made organic compounds
Interruption of hormone function in some animals
Birthrates and death rates for human populations are usually reported as rates per ______ people.
1,000
What metals are dangerous to human health?
The heavy metals, including lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, tin, chromium, zinc, and copper
Any undesired alteration of the environment, often caused by human activities, is known as ______.
Pollution
Fossil fuels are derived from:
Remains of plants and animals that died millions of years ago
In what ways does biodiversity within ecosystems support biogeochemical cycles?
- Removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
- Uptake of excess soil nitrogen
- Provision of phosphate
- Provision of freshwater
The maximum population growth rate under ideal conditions is called a population’s ______ potential.
Biotic
______ can be described in terms of numbers of different species.
Biodiversity
In what ways do exotic species get introduced to new ecosystems?
- Accidental transport
- Agriculture
- Colonization
Chemicals that treat cancer have been obtained from the ______ of Madagascar.
Rosy periwinkle