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Biology 1108 > Climate Change > Flashcards

Climate Change Flashcards

Study for Unit 2, Climate Change, of Biology 1108 at UGA

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1
Q

Liebig’s Law of Minimums (Individuals)

A

Individuals will grow only up to the point it runs out of a vital resource, even if there are surpluses in other categories

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2
Q

Liebig’s Law of Minimums (Population)

A

Populations will grow only up to the point that they run out of a vital resource

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3
Q

Carrying Capacity (K)

A

The max size of a population that an ecosystem can sustain, based solely on the resources available and not by predators or competitors

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4
Q

Can carrying capacity change?

A

Carrying capacity changes as the amount of resources changes (for better or worse)

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5
Q

Can populations surpass carrying capacity?

A

Populations can also surpass carrying capacity but will return to it to maintain equilibrium (negative feedback loop)

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6
Q

What is not related to climate change?

A

examples: hole in the ozone layers, smog/pollution, acid rain, ocean acidification

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7
Q

Climate vs Temperature

A

Climate is long term averages (upward trend of ~30 years, intensity/frequency) while weather is an individualistic, singular event

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8
Q

What is the Greenhouse Effect

A

A natural process that warms the Earth’s surface by trapping heat from the sun in the atmosphere

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9
Q

The Process of Greenhouse Gases

A

1) Sunlight reaches the Earth’s atmosphere.
2) Some of the sunlight is reflected back into space.
3) The remaining sunlight is absorbed by the Earth’s land and oceans, heating them up.
4) The Earth radiates heat back into space.
5) Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap some of this heat, preventing it from escaping

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10
Q

How to alter the Greenhouse Effect?

A

Absorbed (by the atmosphere, land or water causing warming); Reflected (bounced back into space without causing warming); Radiated out into space (passively escapes)

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11
Q

Earth’s Energy Budget

A

Energy Entering = Energy Escaping = Stable Temperature

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12
Q

Milankovitch Cycles

A

Natural and very long-term fluctuations in sun intensity caused by changes in the Earth’s orbit that changes the Earth’s temperature, ~100,000 year cycles (responsible for Ice Age)

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13
Q

Albedo

A

Reflectivity of a surface

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14
Q

High vs Low Albedo

A

High Albedo: light colored, reflects more light/energy
Low Albedo: dark colored, absorbs more light/energy

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15
Q

Top Five Greenhouse Gases

A

Carbon Dioxide, Nitrous Oxide, Methane, Fluorinated Gases, Water Vapor

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16
Q

What is Global Warming Potential (GWP) determined by?

A

Determined by how well it absorbs light energy and residence time (how long it remains in the atmosphere)

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17
Q

Global Warming Potential of Different Gases

A

Carbon Dioxide: 1 GWP
Nitrous Oxide: ~300 GWP
Methane: ~20 GWP
Fluorinated Gases: ~ 5000 GWP

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18
Q

Albedo Feedback

A

a positive feedback loop that occurs when the Earth’s surface reflectivity changes, which in turn affects the climate

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19
Q

Water Vapor Feedback

A

A positive feedback loop that occurs when the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere increases as the planet warms

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20
Q

Physics of Gases

A

warm air holds MORE water vapor; warm water holds LESS dissolved carbon dioxide gas

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21
Q

Ocean-Carbon Dioxide Gas Feedback

A

positive feedback loop where increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by the ocean, leading to changes in the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide

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22
Q

Permafrost Feedback

A

a positive feedback loop that occurs when thawing permafrost releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which then warms the planet and thaws more permafrost

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23
Q

Where is Earth warming the fastest?

A

The arctic regions

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24
Q

Carbon Cycle

A

How carbon moves and changes

Pools: Where carbon is stored in different forms
Fluxes (processes): How carbon moves between pools

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25
Q

Migration

A

Moving across the landscape (for climate change, organisms would move upwards or pole-wards)

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26
Q

Forest Migration

A

Trees have it the hardest because they have to find space
in the understory and need to make and disperse seeds to grow

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27
Q

Climate Envelopes

A

The set of environmental/climatic conditions that an organism requires in order to survive

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28
Q

Assisted Migration

A

Move plants and animals to places where we think they will be able to survive in the future to “speed up” their migration

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29
Q

Phenology Mismatch

A

When the timing of events for interacting species no longer co-occur

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30
Q

If they can’t migrate fast enough, or they have an insurmountable phenological mismatch, what are the options

A

Adapt/Evolve or Extinction

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31
Q

How much emissions stays in the atmosphere?

A

Only ~50% of emissions stay in the atmosphere, the rest go either to the land or the ocean

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32
Q

What is kelp?

A

Kelp are microalgae (convergent evolution of a plant-like body plan)

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33
Q

Abiotic Characteristics of a Kelp Forest

A

cold water all year (Northern California), highly dissolved nutrients (upwelling due to water currents), high dissolved oxygen gas

34
Q

What is the relationship between temperature of water and gas?

A

All dissolved gases are lower in warmer waters including carbon dioxide and oxygen gas

35
Q

Where do aquatic animals get their oxygen?

A

Animals like fish, shrimp, starfish, plankton etc. get their oxygen from the water

36
Q

Marine and Terrestrial Net Primary Production (NPP)

A

Measure of plant biomass

37
Q

Where are the most productive marine ecosystems located?

A

They’re not near the equator, but rather colder places

38
Q

Regulator

A

Organisms with the ability to keep internal environment constant regardless of external environment

39
Q

Conformer

A

Organisms in which their internal environment matches external environment

40
Q

Thermoregulator

A

Organisms that have internal temperature control, good for enzyme functions (range of temperatures that keep it from denaturation)

41
Q

Thermoconformer

A

An organism that allows its body temperature to fluctuate with the temperature of its environment, less energy expended

42
Q

Adaptations for being too hot

A

Sweat
Widening of blood vessels (vasodilation)
Panting
Burrow
Big Ears

43
Q

Adaptations for being too cold

A

Shivering
Vasoconstriction
Increase metabolic rate
Goosebumps
Limit blood flow to extremities

44
Q

How are metabolic rates measured?

A

Oxygen consumption

45
Q

Thermoneutral Zone

A

The temperature range in which metabolic rate does not need to rise to maintain body temperature

46
Q

Homeotherm

A

Have a very small range of tolerable internal temperatures

47
Q

Poikilotherm

A

Have a wide tolerable range of internal temperatures, with slower biological processes

48
Q

Endotherm

A

internal temp can be controlled by altering metabolic rate (birds, mammals), can thermoregulate

49
Q

Ectotherm

A

body temperature can not controlled with metabolism (reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates), can thermoregulate

50
Q

Sea Otter

A

maximize heat through thermogenesis, skips the step of making ATP and goes straight to heat, needs a lot of food to maintain both metabolism and thermogenesis, are endothermic homeotherms

51
Q

Thermogenesis

A

The process of heat production in organisms in which the body raises temperature or energy output by increasing metabolism

52
Q

Marine vs Terrestrial Mammals

A

Marine mammals have higher metabolic requirements than terrestrial mammals because water sucks the heat from them

53
Q

Homeostasis

A

A dynamic equilibrium which is actively regulated to maintain a variable at an acceptable/tolerable range (active regulatory process - negative feedback loop)

54
Q

Osmolarity

A

Salinity (increased osmolarity = salty whereas decreased osmolarity = fresh)

55
Q

Estuary

A

Where oceans and rivers meet, has fluctuations in salinity (high tide = high salinity)

56
Q

Osmoregulator vs Osmoconformer

A

Osmoregulator remains constant salinity; Osmoconformer has a positive relationship for salinity

57
Q

Cellular Respiration

A

The process by which cells convert chemical energy from nutrients like glucose into usable energy (ATP) by breaking down oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide and water

58
Q

First Law of Thermodynamics

A

Energy can be transferred and transformed, but not created or destroyed

59
Q

Second Law of Thermodynamics

A

Every energy transfer or transformation increases the entropy (disorder) of the universe; everytime energy gets transferred, there’s always a little energy that gets released as heat.

60
Q

Trophic Levels

A

The energetic relationships between organisms and how far it is energetically removed from photosynthesis (not a perfect transfer of energy)

61
Q

Autotroph vs. Heterotroph Metabolism

A

Autotrophs: Inorganic C (carbon dioxide)
Heterotrophs: Organic C (C and H)

62
Q

Trophic Efficiency

A

Each step up the trophic level, only ~10% is retained

63
Q

What are plankton?

A

Organisms (mostly microorganisms) that drift with the tides

64
Q

What are phyto-plankton?

A

plant-plankton, photosynthetic microorganisms/algae, contribute to about 1/2 of the atmospheric oxygen

65
Q

What are zoo plankton?

A

usually just small invertebrates, eat phytoplankton or other zoo plankton

66
Q

Otter Energy Budget

A

rest, feed, groom, swim; try to minimize energy intensive activities like grooming and swimming

67
Q

Net Energy

A

energy gained - energy spent

68
Q

Optimal Forge Theory

A

Maximize energy gain by maximizing net energy

69
Q

Prey Switching

A

As one prey option runs out, the organisms switches to another based on preferred order

70
Q

Trophic Cascade

A

When one trophic level changes dramatically which causes big effects throughout food webs

71
Q

Eutrophication

A

Caused by nutrient pollution by runoff leading to an excess in nitrogen and phosphorus. In waterways, there will be low levels of dissolved oxygen, excess primary producers, and death of other organisms

72
Q

Relationship Between Oxygen and Phosphorus

A

Dissolved Oxygen and Phosphorus are inversely proportional in an environment with eutrophication

73
Q

Solution for Eutrophication

A

Reduction of fertilizer, erosion control, riparian (river) buffers

74
Q

Biomagnification

A

Increase of toxins/substances in the tissue of organisms, as the trophic levels of the food web increases

75
Q

Bioaccumilation

A

Toxins build up in an individual as it ages

76
Q

Alternate Stable States

A

Ecosystems can have multiple states of stability that are difficult to transition out of (urchin barren vs kelp forest)

77
Q

Why are kelp forest preferable to urchin barrens?

A

Carbon sequestration, vertical complexity, ecosystem stability, economic importance

78
Q

Ocean Acidification

A

More CO2 in the atmosphere, more CO2 in the ocean due to diffusion, which results in the basic pH of the ocean to become more acidic

79
Q

Shell Construction

A

carbonic acid “steals” carbonate need by marine organisms for their shells so they will dissolve (takes a lot of energy to make, needed for survival)

80
Q

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) Metal

A

Stored in fatty tissue of organism that is accumulated through time and passed through blood and tissue

Biology 1108 (4 decks)

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