CH9-11: CIGUATERA, ECOSYSTEM CHANGES, CLIMATE CHANGE Flashcards
Point where oil production is at its max (1/2 of resource is extracted) before it inevitably declines
Shows that oil reserves are finite
Discovery peaks before production peaks
Hubbert’s Peak Theory
What will happen if we run out of oil?
can’t maintain current quality of life
rebuild cities
leave suburbs because no affordable transportation
cars and airplanes only for the elite
must find other energy source (oil is almost everything)
What is human growth and a higher standard of living based on?
fast and cheap growth of oil energy
How do we fix our damage to earth? (David Attenborough)
Slow human growth
Use renewable energy (sunlight)
Have a healthy ocean (restrict fishing)
Change to plant based diet
Save forests for carbon absorbers and biodiversity
What was the stable period where humans figured out the predictable rhythm of season and created farming?
Holocene
How must we rediscover to save our planet and work with nature?
How to be sustainable and be part of nature
anything we can’t do forever and causes systems to collapse from exploitation
Unsustainable
a type of food poisoning caused by algal toxins that have been passed up the reef food chain
Ciguatera
describe how ciguatera makes it up the food chain
- tiny dinoflagellate on coral, algae, and seagrass produce ciguatoxin as defense
- reef fish feed on surfaces with these dinoflagellates
- larger fish eat reef fish
- humans eat large fish
Where does ciguatera toxin accumulate in?
fat tissue
buildup of a substance in a single organism over time
bioaccumulation
contaminant concentration increases as it moves up the food chain (apex predators have the highest conc of toxin because of rule of squares)
biomagnification
what systems do ciguatera primarily affect?
gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neurological
burning sensation with cold contact
cold allodynia
How does ciguatera transfer from humans/reoccur?
sexual transmission
reoccur with exercise
passed through breastfeeding
complete loss of species
extinction
local extinction of a species with extant populations elsewhere
species extinct in specific location but still living in other parts of the world (ex: Guam - Koko bird, Guam Kingfisher)
Extirpation
Are humans a part of the food web?
Maybe - we consume a lot but don’t really put our energy back into the ecosystem
How man prehistoric mass extinctions have we experienced?
5 (maybe currently going through 6)
what is the current (6th) mass extinction called?
Tertiary Period
what caused the past mass extinctions?
natural, cataclysmic phenomena: (asteroid, volcano, ocean anoxia, glaciation)
“human era” because of humans significant influence on nature
Anthropocene
What is the Anthropocene marked by?
human caused extinctions
less biodiversity
spread of non native species
habitat loss and modification
alteration of natural geochemical cycles (burning fossil fuels, climate change)
What are the major causes of extinction?
invasive species
habitat destruction
overharvesting
pesticides
natural disasters (natty and anthro)
climate change (natty and anthro)
Why are island species prone to extinction?
restricted to local areas
small populations
unique habitats and niches
low biotic potential
easy prey
homogenous earth, nothing distinct because introduced species can be anywhere
Homogenocene
Why do species frequently become pests on islands?
Ecological Release
Niches Available
Competitively Dominant
Effective Predator
when a species is free from predators and competitors (no pop regulation so rapid pop increase and disturbs ecosystem)
Ecological Release
resources are available for exploitation or not used by native species
Niches Available
outcompetes native species for resources (use it more effectively or have adaptations that inhibit competitors liked diseases or more aggressive)
Competitively Dominant
successfully preys on native species (unlimited food source that is unaware of their danger because they did not evolve with them there)
Effective Predator
What are the 3 ways to control invasive species?
biological control
pesticides
integrated pest management
use of natural predator or disease to control pest
bad because may switch hosts and prey on native species
biological control
chemicals that kill pests/decrease growth rate
often over applied or misapplied
plants evolve resistance = needs higher conc of toxins or more potent chems
pesticides
toxic, carbon based chems that are slow to breakdown (super long half life)
persistent organic pollutant
chemical or substance with the ability to damage genetic material (mutations, malignancies)
genotoxicity
northeast part of tumon bay flows with red water in april because of rapid planktonic algae growth (increased nutrients flowing into bay causes phytoplankton to grow)
NATURAL toxin production
San Vitores Blood
mercury poisoning
as mad as a hatter
uses natural predators and pest-deterrent plants to reduce pest abundance in crops
mostly in agriculture systems because hard to do in wild
Integrated Pest Management
protects species that are under threat of extinction
Endangered Species Act of 1973
restricts trade and travel of endangered species and their byproducts
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
the area of habitat needed to sustain a stable population of a species; area occupied by endangered species
this land cannot be used or touched by humans
critical habitat
Why causes the flaws that make scientists think climate change isn’t real?
Cherry picked results
Inappropriate curve fitting
Insufficient model evaluation
IPCC
Intergovernmental panel for climate change
Temp tipping point?
1.5C
Why 1.5C?
Anything over that can have more adverse impacts (sea level rise 10cm more if go past 1.5C)
What are the big 3 problems for the environment?
Climate change
Rising sea levels
Ocean acidification
Gases responsible for absorbing and re-radiating sun energy (trap heat) in atmosphere
Greenhouse gases
If these gases increase, more heat will be trapped
CO2 and water vapor
What is the most significant contributor to climate change?
Oceans
Climate change was worse and more severe before, what’s different now?
Humans (a species) are causing it and fast
