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Ecosystems and Sustainability > Directed Reading > Flashcards

Directed Reading Flashcards

1
Q

How can you prove the Indian Savanna ecosystem is not anthropogenically derived? (P1)

A
  • Showing the ecosystem holds various endemic species native to the area
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2
Q

What does TGB stand for? (P1)

A

tropical grassy biomes

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3
Q

Why is there systematic bias against TGB research compared to amazon rainforest? (P1)

A
  • belief = ‘secondary ecosystems’ not worth of conservation
  • Seen to be ‘recent in origin’ through rainforest degradation
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4
Q

What percentage species in the Maharashtra Madagascar grasslands are endemic? (P1)

A

40%, despite the area being seen as one of the most ‘degraded grasslands’

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5
Q

What does an exponential species discovery curve imply? give example (P1)

A
  • Shows species are yet to be discovered and there is a lack of research
  • Its the case for the campo rupestre ecoregion
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6
Q

In what conditions/characteristics are species most likely to be discovered first? (P1)

A
  • Southern latitudes
  • Lower altitudes
  • Wetter conditions
    **Needs to be a conscious effort to look elsewhere to discover new species
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7
Q

How many endemic species were found in the Indian Savannas and how many are reported to be threatened by extinction? (P1)

A
  • 206 endemic species
  • 17 reported to be threatened by the risk of extinction
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8
Q

When has been the biggest increase in species described? (P1)

A

In the past two decades

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9
Q

Why does the reforestation of Savannas do more harm than good and how can we tell? (P1)

A
  • Causes decline of endemic plants such as drimia razii in the Maharashtra
  • Can see an open-canopy ecosystem since the Holocene by looking at fossil records
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10
Q

What does ericoid mean? (P2)

A

needle-like plants

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11
Q

What is the hypothesis for P2 regarding shrubification and soil C content?

A

Low productivity tundra biomass shift to higher productivity shrub vegetation may lead to a loss of the a abundant soil C

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12
Q

How does the shift from ericoid to ectomycorrhizal plants stimulate soil C loss? (P2)

A
  • woody species stimulate positive priming, stimulating decomposition of recalcitrant plant litter
  • ectomycorrhizal fungi produce and exude carbon degrading compounds
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13
Q

Give an example of a plant that has recalcitrant plant litter (P2)

A

Empetrum Nigrum - produces phenolic compounds with slow decomposing properties

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14
Q

What are some other phenomena that lead to net C loss with shrubification?

A
  • input of leaf litter into the system
  • accumulation of snow leading to increased winter soil temps
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15
Q

What do higher respiration and photosynthesis rates in shrubby vegetation imply? (P2)

A

C is fixed at a faster rate and not sequestered in the soil
- Absorbed quicker but released and not stored

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16
Q

What did P2 find regarding SOC content comparing forest and deciduous shrubs and tundra heath?

A
  • Found SOC content was lower in forest and deciduous shrubs compared to usual tundra heath - predicted to be because of increased decomposition and more C loss
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17
Q

What is causing ‘browning’ of the Arctic? (P3)

A

Summer drought and wildfires

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18
Q

How much lower was vegetation greenness in 2012 in the worst areas of the Nordic Arctic Region compared with previous years? (P3)

A

58% lower

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19
Q

What has led to increased vegetation change in the Nordic Arctic Region? (P3)

A

Increased precipitation and paludification (formation of wetlands)

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20
Q

How do pests cause vegetation change? (P3)

A

Climate-change induced expansions in the outbreak ranges of canopy-defoliating insects cause vegetation change

21
Q

How can we observe plant damage by defoliation? (P3)

A

Looking at NDVI values, NDVI decreases with increased defoliation

22
Q

What other effects can weather events have on plants? (P3)

A

Increase in:
- summer frost
- salt spray
- flood damage

23
Q

When is NDVI worse affected? (P3)

A
  • 2012 upland site found NDVI most affected when pests also defoliate the understory of the canopy
24
Q

Why is there less risk of summer frost damage in upland Arctic sites? (P3)

A

plants are more frost resistant with thicker leaves

25
Q

What problems will temperature fluctuations bring? (P3)

A
  • Snow cover will become more irregular exposing plants to ambient fluctuations in temperature
  • Fluctuations will also lead to increase in pest insects and pathogens due to increased growing season length
26
Q

How fast is climate change driving poleward range edge expansion of marine species? (P4)

A

72km per decade

27
Q

What is meant by climate velocity? (P4)

A

the rate and direction that isotherms move across the seascape

28
Q

Give two examples of time period where species have been under extreme weather conditions and its effects? (P4)

A
  1. Late ordovician (450mya) was extreme cooling and many low lat species went extinct
  2. End-permian mass extinction (250mya) lead to ocean warming killing 80% of marine life, they migrated northward until there was no more habitable space
29
Q

What is meant by acclimation and extirpation?

A

Acclimation = process by which an organism adjusts to changes in its environment over time: physiological, biochemical or behavioural

Extirpation = local extinction of a species or population in a particular geographic area or region, while it still persists elsewhere in its natural range

30
Q

What does extirpation do and where does it usually occur? (P4)

A
  • It causes populations to move into new locations and vacate historical territories
  • Happens at the trailing edge of immigration where species can no longer maintain positive growth rates
31
Q

How do changing temperatures affect marine organisms? (P4)

A
  • Affect protein structures and membrane fluidity; affecting metabolism
32
Q

What does OCLTT mean? (P4)

A

oxygen and capacity limitation of thermal tolerance
- Changing temps mean fish oxygen demand is higher than oxygen content in the surrounding water
- Means there isn’t enough oxygen to distribute to tissues

33
Q

What groups of taxa are the most sensitive and which are the most resilient to change? (P4)

A
  • Larvae and Juveniles most sensitive
  • Larger marine organisms are most resilient as they are more mobile - wider range of conditions available
34
Q

Why is moving deeper for cooler temps not always a viable option for marine organisms? (P4)

A

More chance of hypoxia deeper in the ocean

35
Q

What are spatial refuges? (P4)

A
  • nearby ‘safe zones’ from extreme stressful conditions
  • occur within the spatial mosaic due to processes such as upwelling and internal waves
  • can be less than 1km apart
36
Q

How do warming ocean affect food web production? (P4)

A

reducing nutrient flow into photic zone

37
Q

What is required for sustainable leading edge invasion of a species? (P4)

A

self-persistance (involves flexibility in habitat/diet) or ongoing immigration

38
Q

What do species with small adult home ranges rely on to expand their range? (P4)

A
  • Species such as coral rely on their early life stages in currents
  • Corals have been moving northward because of currents
39
Q

What are the biotic threats of marine life migration/change? (P4)

A
  • selective pressures and predation
  • interactions between species can be altered by temp etc (less likely to detect prey for e.g.)
  • changes in habitat may lead to species consuming ‘junk food’ species that decline prey quality
40
Q

Give an example which shows how leading edge is stronger than the trailing edge? (P4)

A

Humboldt squid present at both poles but not at the equator

41
Q

Why do long-lived species exhibit a delayed response to climate change? (P4)

A

less frequent chance for evolution (long-generation time)

42
Q

How are trade-offs relevant in marine ecosystem change? (P4)

A
  • trade-offs with other metabolic processes to evolve a wider thermal tolerance
  • Putting more effort in to adaptations and not other processes e.g. (adaptations for the prey/predator to enhance its role if mortality rates from invasion are not high enough to cause extinction)
43
Q

How are temperature gradients different in the ocean than on land? (P4)

A

Temperature gradients are weaker in the ocean and organisms will have to move further/deeper to experience the same temp change as they would on land

44
Q

How has ‘Global Greening’ slowed down rising temps in global land surface air temperatures? (P5)

A

Global greening has slowed down the rise in global land-surface air temperature by 0.09 ± 0.02 °C since 1982
increased evapotranspiraton (terrestrial hydrological cycle), changing atmospheric circulation , decreased albedo etc.

45
Q

Where has LAI increased? (P5)

A

boreal eurasia, europe, india, amazonia, sahel

46
Q

Where did LAI not change air surface temperature and why? (P5)

A
  • north america and east asia
  • effects of large-scale atmospheric circulation changes mask local vegetation feedbacks
47
Q

Where is this feedback from evapotranspiration most dominant? (P5)

A

Regions where biophysical feedback has changed - important for looking at interventions in mitigation and adaptation

48
Q

How does evapotranspiration reduce surface air temperature? (P5)

A
  • Water molecules absorb surrounding environment heat to turn in to a gas, cooling the air
  • Shading and moisture release can reduce surface temp
  • Latent heat loss
49
Q

How does a lower albedo from increased LAI reduce surface air temperature? (P5)

A
  • vegetation absorbs more incoming solar radiation rather than reflecting it back into the atmosphere
  • Less solar energy is available to heat the surface and surrounding air

Ecosystems and Sustainability (7 decks)

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