Exam 2 Flashcards
- The price of gas today is very low. Which one of the following is a potential unfavorable environmental outcome that could result from today’s low gas prices.
a. lower prices could encourage drivers to take more frequent and-or longer road trips.
- This is not a consequence of urban sprawl:
a. lower incidence of obesity and high blood pressure
- How might coral bleaching in the ocean be caused by urban sprawl?
a. Cutting down trees–>decreased removal of CO2 from atmosphere–>increased CO2 in atmosphere–>increased CO2 in ocean–>decreased ocean pH–>unhappy zooxanthellae (colorful symbiotic algae)–>algae and color go away
- Which one of the following most likely describes (and provides an example of) a city with a high degree of urban blight and a low degree of urban sprawl?
a. low car ownership levels, high density housing, strained public resources, less air pollution e.g., New York, NY
- The ability of an ecosystem to replenish itself leads to
a. sustainability
- When completed, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan will
a. redirect much of the water flow southward
- We expect that as mangroves continue to be destroyed worldwide
a. coastal erosion will increase.
4.Compared to forests using sustainable forest management, commercial forests managed for maximum sustainable yield of commercially valuable species will most likely
a. have greater erosion problems.
- The growth of the global fish harvest in the last 20 years has mostly been due to increases in what?
a. aquaculture
- An example of consumptive use of a natural resource is ____.
a. wild boar (pigs) hunted for personal use (eating)
- The maximum population of a given species that an ecosystem can support without being degraded or destroyed in the long run is called
a. carrying capacity
- The maximum sustainable yield for most populations must be recalculated every year because
a. changing environmental conditions create variations in carrying capacity
- Maximum Sustainable yield is ____.
a. the maximum amount of a resource that can be taken out while the system still maintains or replenishes.
- The greatest potential for sustainable growth in fisheries is in ____.
a. aquaculture
- Which one of the following best illustrates consumptive use of a resource?
a. a farmer in Indiana shoots a wild turkey for his Thanksgiving dinner.
- Which one of the following best represents the productive use of a natural resource?
a. a woman gathers mushrooms from a forest to sell in the local produce market.
- In general, humans can harvest renewable resources of plants and animals at sustainable levels because
a. organisms naturally produce many more offspring than are needed to maintain their populations.
- Increases in ocean temperatures often result in coral bleaching, in which
a. the symbiotic relationship between corals and their algae is disrupted.
- In the state of Arizona, the use of groundwater has been aggressively managed since about 1980. Before that time, agricultural, commercial, and private demands for water were growing at levels that were not sustainable. Before water regulation of any sort, demand for water in all its forms in the state of Arizona illustrated the
a. tragedy of the commons
- The total allowable catch of a marine fish used for human food would be determined by calculating the
a. maximum sustainable yield.
- In the hydrologic cycle, water enters the atmosphere through (1) ___ and (2) ___, and its destinations when it returns to the earth’s surface are (3) ___, (4) ___, and (5) ___.
a. (1) evaporation, (2) transpiration, (3) reabsorption, (4) percolation, (5) runoff
- The percentage of the world’s water that is saltwater is (1)___. The percentage that is available freshwater is (2)___. The percentage that remains frozen in polar ice caps and glaciers is (3)___.
a. (1) 97.5, (2) 0.77, (3) 1.7
3.Where is a majority of the Earth’s freshwater stored?
a. icecaps
- Why are recharge areas important?
a. they allow reabsorption of water into the soil which ultimately feeds groundwater.
- According to the hydrologic cycle, when rain falls to the Earth’s surface, it has 3 main destinations. What are they?
a. absorption by plants, percolation into groundwater, and runoff into a nearby body of water
- The 3 steps of transpiration are:
a. (1) uptake of water by roots, (2) migration through stems, (3) release into atmosphere
- Why don’t houses in south Louisiana have basements?
a. because the water tables are too close to the soil’s surface
1.Where does acid rain come from?
a. sulfuric acid and nitric acid released into the atmosphere are absorbed into water dropleTS
- I have a fishing camp on the coast of Louisiana. For the past 30 years, I have drunk water from a well that was dug by my grandmother. Recently, though, the water has developed a salty taste. This is most likely due to ___.
a. saltwater intrusion into aquifers
- Two major approaches to non-fossil-fuel energy alternatives are renewable energy and _____
a. nuclear power
- The greatest demand for electricity would occur in homes in the state of Louisiana
a. about noon during a hot summer Wednesday
- Which of the following statements is true or accurate about the Deepwater Horizon event of 2010?
a. much of the spill was broken down by bacteria or evaporated from the water’s surface.
- The oil spill that destroyed BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 affect all of the following catastrophically, except
a. agricultural production in the northern parts of the Gulf states
- Fossil Fuels represent
a. a large amount of paleozoic and mesozoic biomass buried anaerobically millions of years ago
- The pH’s of coca-cola, household ammonia, and the ocean are approximately 3,11, and 8. How do their hydrogen ion concentrations compare?
a. a liter of ocean water has 1000 times more H+ than a liter of ammonia, and a liter of coca-cola has 100,000 times more H+ than a liter of ocean water.
- Oil production is a misnomer for the process used by oil companies because
ago.
a. the oil was produced hundreds of millions of years
- The most sustainable way to drive a car would be to use
a. an all-electric car using electricity from a windmill or solar photocells.
- Fossil fuels are considered non-renewable sources of energy because
a. their formation is so slow
- What is the largest use of water worldwide?
a. irrigation
- In some coastal areas experiencing rapid population growth over the past few decades, fresh water wells now yield salty water. The most likely cause of this is ___.
a. saltwater intrusion
- The process of soil and humus particles being physically picked up and carried away by wind and water is called
a. soil erosion
2.The process by which nutrients are washed from the soil by water is called ___.
a. leaching
- Which one of the following must soils have to support plant growth?
a. porous structure
- What is the difference between soil degradation and soil erosion?
a. soil degradation is when soil attributes required for plant growth deteriorate, and soil erosion is when soil particles are carried away by water and wind
- You live in coastal Louisiana, and you love to host crawfish boils every April. Over the years, you’ve noticed that your property taxes have decreased. This is because your property value has decreased. You consult with your brother, who took Introduction to Environmental Sciences, and he tells you this change is because of two reasons. One: your backyard has gotten smaller and smaller as your soil has fallen into the Gulf of Mexico. Two: your front yard no longer grows azaleas or another other plants because you have been dumping the salt water you use to clean your crawfish into your flower beds. Thus, your decreased property value is because of (a)___ and (b)___, respectively.
a. (a) soil erosion, (b) soil degradation
- Radon is an odorless radioactive gas that you cannot taste or see. Exposure to this naturally occurring gas can be dangerously high in any home in North America. Homes must be specially tested for exposure levels for residents to understand their risks. If risks are high, venting systems can be installed to significantly lower indoor levels of exposure. The most likely health problem associated with long-term exposure to this radioactive gas is
a. lung cancer
- You’re arguing with your sister about a plot of land willed to you by your great-great-grandparents. The land has been taken over by tall weeds. Your sister wants to dig up all of the weeds to make the plot less unsightly, leaving only soil behind, and you think the plot should be left alone. Who’s the most right, and why?
a. you because keeping roots in the ground will prevent soil erosion, even if the roots belong to unsightly weeds.
- Nuclear bombs rely upon
a. a domino effect that causes the nuclear fission of uranium-235 in less than a second.
- Today, we are able to use nuclear fusion to
a. power a hydrogen bomb.
- The classification of soil particles that is smallest in size is ___.
a. clay
- NIMBY is
a. a publicly perceived risk of siting a toxic or nuclear waste disposal facility near their homes.
- Which does not cause soil degradation?
a. low salt content
- What event occurred in 1986 that caused a general public shift in interest in nuclear energy?
a. the Chernobyl nuclear accident
- The U.S. drought in the 1930’s that caused major ecological damages in the midwest and was worsened by soil erosion and the lack of crop rotation was
a. the dust bowl
- Which one of the following is the best way to describe the relationship between deforestation and soil erosion
a. increased deforestation –> decreased trees –> decreased roots –> decreased soil stability –> soil erosion
- In the Gallegos paper, why was predation of seeds higher in open areas than in exclosure areas, regardless of the presence or absence of arils on the seeds?
a. predators such as rodents can access and eat the seeds in open areas more easily than they can access seeds in exclosures.
- All of these are examples of primary seed dispersers, except _______
a. ants
- What is the difference between primary and secondary seed dispersal?
a. primary dispersal is removal of fruit from a tree and deposition of seeds to a particular area, and secondary seed dispersal is removal of seeds after they have been discarded by their primary disperser
- The fleshy fruit that surrounds the ant-dispersed seeds described in the Gallegos paper is called ___.
a. aril
- Which statement is not part of the findings in the Gallegos’ paper on promoting forest regeneration after deforestation?
a. secondary seed dispersal by ants substantially decreased natural regeneration in deforested area
- What is the difference between primary and secondary seed dispersal?
B. Primary dispersal is removal of fruit from a tree and deposition of seeds to particular area, and secondary seed dispersal is removal of seeds after they have been discarded by their primary disperser.
- The dangers of widespread DDT use are largely due to two main characteristics of DDT, its
a. biomagnification and persistence
2.What is a major food at least half of the world eats?
a. rice
- You are tired of watching your crops die in the field from several pest species. You decide that next year you are going to use every type of ecological pest control you can find to address your problem. Over the winter you get ready, ordering pheromones that interfere with the reproduction of the pests, sterile male flies that will try to reproduce with some of the pest flies that you have, and wasps that lay their eggs in the larvae of another of your pests. It is expensive, but you think this should work well. Which of the following forms of control are you not using?
a. cultural control
- Most of the wheat, rice, and corn raised in the world has resulted from genetic engineering of one sort or another, either by crossing certain varieties or deliberately transferring genes using transgenic techniques. These methods select for plants that produce their own defenses against pests with chemicals or physical barriers. Helping to feed the world, this represents an example of
a. genetic control
- Because of biomagnification, the most toxic organisms in any ecosystem will be the
a. secondary consumers
- In any food web, biomagnification will result in the highest concentrations of toxins in the
a. highest trophic level
- Photovoltaic cells are commonly used to power
a. calculators
- Golden rice (GR2) is a genetically modified rice that produces:
a. beta carotene and iron
- Genetic engineering:
a. produces GMO’s
- Which of the following would inhibit the production of biogas in a fermentation chamber commonly used by small farmers?
a. leave the lid off of the top of the fermentation chamber
- Farmers in the Midwestern United States routinely rotate between soybean and corn crops. Sometimes it is said that they do this because the soybeans introduce nitrogen into the soil. Although this is true, farmers also rotate their corn and soybean crops as a form of.
a. cultural control.
- Which one of the following is NOT an environmental benefit of a bioengineered crop?
a. reduced allergies
- Compared to solar generated electricity, hydroelectric systems
a. are advantageous because they run as well at night as during the day.
- A woman has a large garden and decides this year she will not let the pests get beyond control. At the earliest sign of insect pests, she applies an organic insecticide and continues to apply it every month throughout the growing season. The next year the woman decides not to use any insecticides, thinking that she must have eliminated the pests with the prior year’s treatments. Unfortunately, the pests reappear in numbers greater than she has ever seen before, and her crops are destroyed. Investigating this phenomenon, she learns that she has just experienced a phenomenon known as
a. resurgence
- Deciding to use a natural enemies approach to control the mites that infect her crops, a farmer purchases 10,000 ladybugs in the spring and spreads them over her 100 acre fields. This represents the use of natural
a. predators
- A sick tomato plant is devastated by tomato wilt, a type of fungus that infects the soil with spores and returns every year to attack more tomato plants. One effective way to combat this fungus using ecological/cultural pest control is to
a. plant something other than tomatoes in this part of the garden next year.
- Which is not a consequence of producing genetically engineered crops?
a. Increased pesticide use
- Researchers genetically engineer a crop to produce chemicals that attract the natural enemies of a pest. This approach combines
a. genetic and natural enemies control
- The development of golden rice is an attempt to:
a. Increase the levels of vitamin A in rice
20 . Environmentally speaking, why is it better to eat fish or chicken than beef?
C. Fish and chicken require less feed grain than beef, pound for pound
- Many people in the developing world who depend on rice in their diet suffer from diseases related to deficiencies of
C. vitamin A and iron
- Using a broad spectrum chemical pesticide would be counterproductive if you were relying on
a. Natural enemies control
- Biotechnology may be able to promote sustainability by
C. reducing the use of pesticides
- Raising young children who crawl about the floor, Mom does not want to spray chemicals of any sort in or around the home. However, she is well aware of West Nile virus spread by mosquitoes and Lyme disease spread by ticks. Therefore, Mom decides to take a different strategy. Carefully examining and repairing the window screens, window enclosures, and doorways, she closes up any cracks or tears where bugs might get in. This loving mother is protecting her children by using
C. Cultural Control
- What is the difference between ascorbic acid and abscisic acid?
a. ascorbic acid is vitamin C and an antioxidant; abscisic acid is a hormone that causes stomata closure.
2.Premature aging of the skin and cataracts are on the increase due to increased
a. exposure to ultraviolet light.
- Crop damage from ozone formation is most likely to occur
a. downwind of a large urban center in the summer.
- Wilkinson’s paper describes how ozone pollution is reducing food supply. This is not one of the explanations discussed in the paper:
a. effects in the metabolism of nitrogen fixing bacteria, reducing plant growth
- The effects of ozone known to occur to relatively unstressed plants, as described in Wilkinson’s paper, do not include:
a. avoidance of natural pollinators like bees
- What is the difference between an antioxidant and a ROS scavenger?
a. An antioxidant prevents oxidation of a molecule, and an ROS scavenger neutralizes the ROS’s in a system.
- Captain Charles Moore, in his TED talk about plastic pollution in the seas, does not mention this
a. there are high hopes in cleaning the oceans and making them plastic free
- Which one of the following is most likely to contribute to ‘‘drunk’’ and confused bees, according to Marla Spivak?
a. low concentrations of pesticides
- Jessica Green told us about how to make buildings more bacteria-friendly because there are situations in which bacteria could be desirable to building dwellers. Which one of the following answer sets is NOT an example of (1) an advantage plus (2) a disadvantage of this approach?
a. (1) the bacteria could strengthen the office dwellers’ immune systems by exposing them to novel types of bacteria, (2) The offices could become contaminated with bacteria, including desks, chairs, mousepads, etc.
- Dr. Marla Spivak, in her TED talk, mentions bees are disappearing due to multiple, interacting causes. This is not one of them
a. Natural competitors
- Why did the 2 young female students, Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao, grow bacteria on phthalates as the sole carbon source?
a. To select for bacteria that could break down the phthalate
- The top 3 sources of energy in the U.S. are:
a. petroleum, natural gas, coal
- Current levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide are
a. nearly 400 ppm, higher than they have been in 800,000 years.
- When an automobile heats up in bright sunlight with windows rolled up, the glass in the car functions most like
a. carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
- Hundreds of millions of years ago, in the formation of fossil fuels , large amounts of
a. organic detritus were trapped underground
- Fossil fuels are considered non-renewable sources of energy because ___.
a. they form so slowly, over millions of years
- The most effective way to reduce GHG emissions is to increase
a. Energy efficiency and renewable energy
- If you rode a helium balloon from the earth’s surface to the top of the stratosphere, you would notice that the temperatures
a. dropped and then started to rise in the stratosphere about halfway up your trip.
- Most of the weather of the world is based upon changes in the moisture, pressure, and/or temperature of the
D. troposphere
- Everyday, tremendous amounts of the sun’s energy strikes the Earth. Why doesn’t the Earth overheat?
The energy is ultimately radiated back to space
- Natural climate variability ranging over months to decades is primarily the result of
ocean-atmospheric interactions, especially the La Nina/El Nino southern oscillation (ENSO).
- Examining your flight plans for a trip from Atlanta, Georgia, to Seattle, Washington, and back, you notice that the total time in the air for the flight to Seattle is much longer than the flight back to Atlanta. Then it occurs to you that this is probably because of the impact of
The jet stream
- Which of the following gases by virtue of its enormous amount in the atmosphere has the greatest impact on global climate change?
Carbon dioxide
Which one of the following best illustrates a type of adaptation to global climate change ?
building taller levees to hold back storm surges along ocean coastlines
- Fossil fuels are considered non-renewable sources of energy because ___.
the fossil fuel supply can never be depleted beyond the point where it can regenerate itself
- Which one of the following global climate changes is most associated with increased hurricane activity?
Warmer oceans
- Increasing levels of greenhouse gases have caused a
rise in ocean temperatures but a decrease in ocean pH
- Burning fossil fuels, cutting down large forests, and not replanting the areas with trees will
increase atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide.
- Dianna Cohen told us about the large gyres (or patches) of plastic in our oceans. She suggested that we add a 4th R to the Reduce, Recycle, Reuse mantra. What was it?
Refuse
- In her TED talk about plastic pollution, artist Dianna Cohen talks about adding an ‘‘R’’ to the ‘‘reduce, reuse, recycle’’ principle. This extra ‘‘R’’ stands for
a. Refuse single use and disposable plastic
- In their TED talk, young scientists Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao talked about plastic degrading bacteria; however, they never mentioned this:
Plastics take a couple of years to biodegrade
- What is the difference between an antioxidant and a ROS scavenger?
An antioxidant prevents oxidation of a molecule, and an ROS scavenger neutralizes the ROS’s in a system.
- Overpopulated countries should switch to vegetarianism because there is a 10% increase in available energy at each rise in the ___ of the biomass pyramid.
Trophic level
