Chapter 38

Question 1

biosphere size

Answer 1

12.5 miles

Question 2

human impact on exosystems

Answer 2

1/ habitat destruction
2. introduced species
3 overexploitation
4. chemical use

Question 3

habitat destruction

Answer 3

our destruction and alteration of habitats currently pose the single greaest threat to exosystems and biodiversity *through agriculture, housing, logging, mining, environmental pollution)
ex: we alter habitats dramatically to fit our needs (we aren’t going to stop doing this, but we can be more thoughtful and lessen the effects)

Question 4

habitat destruction types

Answer 4

1. forest –> agriculture (
2. agriculture –> housing and development
3. wetlands –> housing and development
4. fragmentation of habitats
5. desertification

Question 5

forest –> agriculture

Answer 5

basically a forest ecosystem to grassland ecostystem; by changing the species of plan the species of animals also changes
rainforest destruction (soil in rainforests is poor
humans end to simplify and nature tends to diversity (we tend to plant monocultures, one specie vs polycultures, many species - weeds are one of nature's way of trying to diversify

Question 6

agriculture –> housing and development

Answer 6

urban sprawl; wetlands filter pollutants out of water as water flows through and help prevent floodin gby sowing down runoff into streams and rivers; important habitat for many species

Question 7

fragmentation od habitats

Answer 7

habitats get fragmented by logging, farming…

Question 8

desertification

Answer 8

the conversion of arid or semi-arid regions to desert by drought, overgrazing, over cultivation, deforestation, or poor irrigation practices

Question 9

introduced species

Answer 9

species that humans have moved from one ecosystem to another; also called exotic species; they are called “invasive species” if they compete with native species
-some can be beneficial (corn, potatoes…)

Question 10

invasive species

Answer 10

can outcompete the native species and cause them to go extinct often b/c they have no natural predators
ex: intentional - kudzu from japan, honeysuckle from china, european starlings

Question 11

unintentional

Answer 11

many organisms have been brought in with other goods (woods, food, on boats, on/in people)
ex: zebra mussels, emerald ash borer, asian longhorned beetle

Question 12

overexploitation

Answer 12

overharvesting a species both on land and sea (harvisting a spcies faster than it can reproduce)

Question 13

chemical use

Answer 13

we add a lot of chemicals to our environment and some are harmful to exosystems
land - pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers
air - co2, sulfur and nitrogen compounds
water - runoff from agriculture, oil spills

Question 14

biological magnification

Answer 14

some chemicals including some pesticides, accumulate in the biomass of organisms and increase in concentration as they move up a food chain/web (ex: PCBs in the great lakes) eagles were effect, zebra mussels caused problems

Question 15

greenhouse effect

Answer 15

solar radiation warms the earth’s surfaces; gases in atmosphere trap som of the heat; natural process that raises earth’s temperature about 50F; a good thing

Question 16

is the earth getting warmer?

Answer 16

yes, the average temperature rose about 1.1F during the 20th century, and continues to rise

Question 17

evidence for climate change

Answer 17

1. the ten warmest years on record have been since 1998 (benchmark is avg temp b/t about 1951-80 –> 0); 2014 was #1, #2 = 2010
2. the ice on the edges of Greenland is melting faster than it is being replenished during the winter
3. glaciers are melting on 6 continents
4. Phytoplankton in the Atlantic are moving northward into formerly cooler water (phytoplankton near Britain have migrated 10 degrees North in latitude in the last 40 years)
5. bleaching of coral reefs (25% of the world’s coral is believed to already be destroyed by global warming and pollution)
6. the atlantic ocean huricanes of 2005 (most named storms, most hurricanes, most categroy 5 hurricanes, most hurricanes to make us landfall, wilma strongest hurricane ever recorded) - scientific evidence suggests there is alink between global warming and the power, not frequence, of hurricanes, hurricanes pick up energy from warm water
7. polar bears listed as threatened species
8. arctic sea ice minimum (september 16)
9. arctic gets greeer as climate warms (plant life in thenorthern latitudes look like vegetation 4.3 miles further south in 1983

Question 18

are we responsible for climagte change

Answer 18

the amount of CO2in the atmosphere has been rising along with

Question 19

why has CO2 been increasing

Answer 19

because we are adding “new” CO2 by burning fossil fuels; fossil fuels contain carbon that has been out of this cycle for millions of years because it has been buried this entire time;

Question 20

….

Answer 20

lots of missed flash cards

Question 21

effects of dams on freshwater fish

Answer 21

dams can disrupt an ecosystem by changing a river ecosystem to a lake ecosystem (flowing and shallow vs still and deep) and block fish that are migrating to spawning grounds

Question 22

sustainable development

Answer 22

balancing human needs with the needs of the biosphere (realizing we need healthy ecosystems for our survival also; living in ways that are not only good for us but also for the rest of life on the earth) - we do this for ourselves but also for our children and grandchildren, need to think long term

Question 23

HIPPO

Answer 23

habitat destruction (especially hot spots), invasive species, pollution, population, overharvesting - Wilson says that we need to reverse these activities

Question 24

biodiversity hotspots

Answer 24

a number of organization are buying up as much land as possible to establish park or preserves in these biological rich areas; saving the habitat; Nature Conservancy and other organizations

Question 25

protected species

Answer 25

sea turtles are protected in a number of countries to help preserve these species (protecting eggs, adults from fish nets,

Question 26

environemtnal protection laws

Answer 26

united states has passed laws to protect endangered species (highly controversial but has saved a number of species); ex: bald eagles

Question 27

ecotourism

Answer 27

costa rica has set aside almost 1/4 of its land for parks and zoned reserves to preserve its rain forests for ecotourism

Question 28

restoration ecology

Answer 28

restoring the wetlands along the kissimee river in south central florida