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Ecology > Final Exam > Flashcards

Final Exam Flashcards

1
Q

Biological conservation

A

Stewardship of the natural world

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2
Q

Resource conservation

A

Sustainable use of renewable natural resources

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3
Q

How have humans affected biodiversity?

A

We have caused a global biodiversity crisis, destroying biodiversity at a catastrophic rate.

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4
Q

What is coffee associated with?

A

Destruction of tropical evergreen forest

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5
Q

Is extinction bad?

A

Yes and no because it’s been a a part of natural biological change.

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6
Q

How many species have gone extinct?

A

Most species that have ever evolved are now extinct (99 percent).

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7
Q

Mass extinction

A

Events when large number of species go extinct simultaneously

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8
Q

How many mass extinction periods are there?

A

Six

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9
Q

When was Earth formed?

A

4550 Ma

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10
Q

What was the first sign of life of Earth? When?

A

Prokaryotes at 4 million years ago.

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11
Q

When do first eukaryotes occur?

A

2 million years ago.

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12
Q

When did multicellular organisms occur?

A

1-2 million years ago

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13
Q

When did the extinct events occur?

A

541 Ma to now.

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14
Q

When were humans first on Earth?

A

2 Ma

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15
Q

What happened in the first extinction? Why?

A

25% of marine families go extinct because of global cooling.

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16
Q

What happened in the second period of mass extinction occur? Why?

A

19% of marine families go extinct due to global climate change from volcanism.

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17
Q

When did the the greatest extinction began?

A

245 mya

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18
Q

What is the greatest extinction known as?

A

The Permian mass extinction known as “The Great Dying.”

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19
Q

What happened in the greatest mass extinction? Why?

A

54% of families and 96% of species go extinct due to a volcanic activity in Siberia. This affects both terrestrial and aquatic animals were at risk

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20
Q

What happened in the fourth extinction? Why?

A

23% of families, usually dinosaur-like animals and dinosaurs, experience extinction due to volcanic extinction.

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21
Q

What is the last mass extinction event?

A

Cretacious-Tertiary (K/T) event.

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22
Q

When did the last mass extinction occur?

A

65 mya

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23
Q

What happened in the last mass extinction event? Why?

A

17% of families and 76% of species go extinct due to a meteorite impact in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula

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24
Q

What species were in trouble in the last extinction? Why?

A

World goes dark and no photosynthesis, thus the high trophic levels at trouble, such as the end of dinosaurs.

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25
Q

What happens after an extinction event?

A

Periods of adaptive radiation as newly-evolved organisms now occupy now-vacant niches.

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26
Q

Adaptive radiation

A

New forms of species evolve out of a single precursor.

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27
Q

What are our ancestors 64 mya? After K/T extinction?

A

Nocturnal mammals with poor eyesight but good smell and hearing.

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28
Q

What is an adaptive radiation in Canada?

A

The Burgess Shale in BC. Layers of rocks on a mountain showing the extinct or adaptive radiation organism.

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29
Q

What is the Cambrian explosion? When?

A

Adaptive radiation that occurred after the first mass extinction event. 542 mya.

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30
Q

What are one of the most common marine fossils in Burgess Shale?

A

Trilobites, bottom feeding organism.

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31
Q

Wiwaxia

A

Fossil record in Burgess Shale with wing-like structures similar to a mollusk

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32
Q

Opabina

A

Fossil structure in Burgess Shale with five eyes and an elephant like trunk that is now extinct

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33
Q

Anomalocaris

A

Dominant predator in the Burgess Shale period

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34
Q

Who has witnessed a natural extinction?

A

No biologist

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35
Q

What are the observed extinctions caused by?

A

Anthropogenic, human activity.

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36
Q

Extinction

A

Animal is gone from Earth

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37
Q

Extripated

A

Still alive in other parts of their range, but a local absence of an animal.
ex. Karner blue butterfly in Ontario

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38
Q

Have we observed natural extirpations?

A

Yes

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39
Q

Holocene

A

The last, sixth mass extinction event that is occurring as we speak. It is known as the modern biodiversity crisis.

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40
Q

How is Holocene extinction different from the last extinctions?

A

This mass extinction comes from the actions of just one species, us, not an environmental action.

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41
Q

What are the three main elements of the Holocene extinction?

A
  1. Species extinctions are occurring at abnormally high rates
  2. Number of endangered species and species at risk is rising quickly in all countries
  3. Natural communities being diminished (changing the Earth’s environment)
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42
Q

What leads to a small fragmented populations?

A

Overharvesting, climate change, invasive aliens, global catastrophe, pollution, and habitat destruction.

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43
Q

What brings small, fragmented populations to extinction?

A

inbreeding depression and demographic instability.

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44
Q

What group of organisms are more at risk of extinction?

A

Large-bodied animals

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45
Q

What lead to the holocene extinction event?

A

Pleistocene epoch (the ice age).

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46
Q

When did the Ice Age last?

A

3 mya to 12,000 years ago

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47
Q

When did the Holocene epoch begin?

A

When the last glaciers retreated, which is 12,000 years ago.

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48
Q

Pleistocene overkill hypothesis

A

Migrating humans effectively hunted large animals as they could move from Asia to North America due to glaciers retreating.

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49
Q

What part of N. America did people colonize first?

A

Alaska

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50
Q

What animals/how much were extinct when people colonized N. America?

A

80% of large mammals
ex. camels, horse, bison, dire wolf, cheetah species

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51
Q

Are endemic species more vulnerable to extinction?

A

Yes because these species do not have other source populations to aid in recovery from predators or human disturbances.

ex. thyalcine from island of Tasmania in 1930s

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52
Q

What is a recent extinction from Indian Ocean?

A

Dodos, a flightless pigeons on Mauritius.

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53
Q

How did dodos go extinct?

A

Hunted for food and devastated by introduced alien species.

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54
Q

Where were the Great Auks located?

A

Seabird in eastern Canada.

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55
Q

How did the Great Auks go extinct?

A

Over-harvested by European sailors

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56
Q

How many passenger pigeons on Earth?

A

The most abundant bird with over 3-5 billion individuals in N. America.

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57
Q

How did passenger pigeons go extinct?

A

Over-harvest

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58
Q

Where was the last species of passenger pigeons?

A

One left in Cincinnati Zoo in 1914.

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59
Q

Why was the Ivory-billed woodpecker never common?

A

Breeding pairs occupied great landscapes.

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60
Q

Where was a great amount of the ivory-billed population?

A

Cypress swamps in the southeastern USA.

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61
Q

How did the ivory-billed woodpecker decline?

A

Used cypress trees for harvest for homes and lumbar and these birds were hunted to extinction (ornithologists wanted them for museums).

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62
Q

Where was the last patch of ivory-billed woodpecker restricted to?

A

Lousiana til 1944

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63
Q

Causes of anthropogenic extinction

A

Over-harvesting and habitat destruction.

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64
Q

What is the leading cause of extinction in terrestrial ecosystems?

A

Anthropogenic habitat loss

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65
Q

What is the leading cause of extinction in aquatic ecosystems?

A

Over-harvesting

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66
Q

What crops are responsible for habitat destruction of tropical rainforest?

A

Coffee, beef, and soy exports.

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67
Q

What is an invasive species in the Great Lakes?

A

Zebra mussels

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68
Q

How did zebra mussels get here?

A

From ships from the Black Sea filled from freshwater to help balance them.

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69
Q

How did zebra mussels change the waters?

A

Changed great lakes from eutrophication to ologitrophic.

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70
Q

What is a recently extinct species?

A

Slender-billed curlew through over-harvesting.

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71
Q

How did the Slender-Billed curlew go extinct?

A

Hunted and shoreline-habitats destructed through being deforested.

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72
Q

Conservation biology

A

Applies scientific knowledge to help biodiversity survive the threats posed by anthropogenic stressors.

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73
Q

What was the first wildlife park in Canada?

A

Banff National Park

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74
Q

What does the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) study?

A

Biodiversity loss and evaluate organisms of conservation concern.

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75
Q

How many designations does COSEWIC come up with?

A

Six

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76
Q

Extinct

A

A species that once occurred in Canada but is no longer found anywhere on Earth.

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77
Q

How many times has COSEWIC declared a once Canadian species extinct?

A

25 times.

ex. labrador duck and passenger pigeon

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78
Q

Extirpated

A

Formerly occurred in Canada, but now survives only elsewhere.

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79
Q

How many organisms did COSEWIC determine extirpated?

A

22 species

ex. Atlantic walrus, karner blue, timber rattlesnake, etc.

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80
Q

Endangered

A

Species that is at imminent risk of extinction or extirpation in its Canada range.

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81
Q

How many species did COSEWIC determine to be endangered?

A

200 species

ex. whooping crane, yucca moth, American chestnut, etc.

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82
Q

Threatened

A

Species likely to become endangered unless factors affecting risk are mitigated.

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83
Q

How many species does COSEWIC determine to be threatened?

A

200 species and growing

ex. swift fox and wood turtle

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84
Q

Special concern

A

At risk of becoming threatening due to low numbers

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85
Q

How many species does COSEWIC determine to be special concern?

A

259 species

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86
Q

Data deficient

A

Available information is not sufficient to resolve assessment.

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87
Q

How many species does COSEWIC determine to be data deficient?

A

61 species

ex. atlantic cod

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88
Q

What species must have a recovery strategy?

A

Those listed as endangered or threatened

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89
Q

What is the purpose of a recovery strategy?

A

Raise population to a viable level.

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90
Q

Minimum viable population

A

Least abundance that would allow a population to persist in the wild

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91
Q

What is very important for conservation biology?

A

Keystone species because they are so influential that if lost, the entire community will change.

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92
Q

Umbrella species

A

Wide-ranging organisms that have a large home range and are components of many types of communities due to constant movement or acclimiable to many climates.

ex. polar bears moving up to northern sea communities and retreat to southern tundra; grizzly bear, timber wolf, etc.

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93
Q

How do umbrella species help in conservation biology?

A

By conserving areas that these species visit, we can simultaneously think of other factors that contribute to different environments, benefiting other organisms there.

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94
Q

Flagship species

A

Charismatic species that are used to profile the importance of conservation activities to the public

ex. panda bear using them as world wildlife image or orca; get people to care about stuff near or far away from them

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95
Q

What is the purpose of the theory of island biogeography?

A

To explain the variation in species richness on oceanic islands.

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96
Q

Theory of island bio geography

A

Over long time periods, equilibrium condition is established between immigration and extinction. Can predict species found in an island based on immigration and extinction rates (two curves) - optimum population.

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97
Q

How does immigration vary in the theory of island bio geography?

A

Distant islands have lower immigration rates of new species that near islands (mainland).

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98
Q

How does extinction vary in the theory of island bio geography?

A

Small islands support smaller populations, which have higher extinction rates than large islands.

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99
Q

Where to sustain biodiversity?

A
  1. Conserve biodiversity in areas that are used to provided the economy with natural resources
  2. Preserve biodiversity in protected areas set aside from intensive economic use
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100
Q

Example of conserving biodiversity in working areas.

A

Shade coffee
- instead of monoculture, trees grown in forest areas that are shaded by other trees (lower yield but pollinators exist more here)

Sun coffee
- monocultures where the trees are exposed to the sun all the time

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101
Q

How to set aside protected areas?

A
  • those that are self-organizing ecosystems where resident organisms are protected
  • economically important (tourism)
  • sometimes fishing and hunting allowed
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102
Q

What to maximize for protected areas?

A

Size and number; therefore, usually a trade-off between the two.

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103
Q

SLOSS

A

Should you invest in a single large or several small protected areas.

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104
Q

What are key factors for SLOSS?

A

Area, edge effects, number of protected ares, and distance between protected areas.

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105
Q

What are larger protected areas in SLOSS associated with?

A

Lower extinction probabilities compared to smaller areas

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106
Q

What do numerous protected areas aid in according to SLOSS?

A

Redundancy against catastrophic losses of endangered species.

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107
Q

Shaped in SLOSS

A

Protected areas with maximized interior habitat experience fewer edge effects

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108
Q

Spacing in SLOSS

A

Gene flow and recolonization is more likely when protected areas are in closer proximity.

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109
Q

Corridors in SLOSS

A

Facilitate gene flow and recolonization

110
Q

Where to protect biodiversity?

A

In biodiversity hotspots

111
Q

Conservation management

A
  • reducing poaching and harvest
  • prevent unauthorized vehicle use
  • replace missing natural factors, such as fire and large animals
  • education
  • manage reintroduction
112
Q

Blue lists

A

Quantify the successes of conservation successes

113
Q

American bison success story

A
  • overhunted this dominant N.American herbivore to a few hundred individuals
  • today stable number of 30,000 wild bison
  • not many habitats left for them
114
Q

Grey seal

A

Overhunted to a few thousand animals in Atlantic Canada during the 50s; however, protection from hunting lead to a recovery of 450,00 (quotas).

115
Q

Grey whales

A

Hinted to several thousand by 1950, and many countries banned whaling to allowing a comeback to 20,000+.

116
Q

Wild turkey success story

A

Extirpated from southern Canada, but after reintroductions, 7 million turkeys exist. Supports sport hunting for conservation biology.

117
Q

American ginseng success story

A

An understory species that only grows in hardwood forests (need soil factors). Wild populations were depleted for trade with China due to the rhizomes having medicinal properties. Currently listed as endangered by COSEWIC, but slowly being reintroduced back into Canada.

118
Q

Where is Easter Island located?

A

Middle of Pacific Ocean; very isolated from eveyrthing

119
Q

Moai

A

The giant stone heads

120
Q

What was Easter Island colonized first from?

A

Polynesian navigators that would take wooden boats over the ocean to explore different islands in 300 CE.

121
Q

What was the endemic species on Easter Island?

A

Palm tree

122
Q

What were the palm trees used for on Easter Island?

A

Trunks for dwellings/boats and leaves for thatched roofs.

123
Q

Where was the stone moai moved from and where?

A

In the 1500s from the south side (extinct volcano) to the flatlands.

124
Q

When was there an ecological collapse on Easter Island? What?

A

On the 1700s where populations decline due to palm trees no longer existing.

125
Q

What happened to the people after the 1700s on the Easter Island?

A

Split into two groups that attacked one another due to resource limitations.

126
Q

What is Easter Island a metaphor for?

A

Earth because it is a self-contained ecosystem that depends on the photosynthesis of plants and other resources found in our land.

127
Q

What does life on earth depend on?

A

The materials available on Earth and the solar energy fixed on photosynthesis.

128
Q

Resource ecology

A

Links between ecological knowledge and natural resource management

129
Q

Sustainable development

A

Human economy that could run indefinitely

130
Q

Ecologically sustainable economy

A

Sustainable development while maintaining biodiversity

131
Q

Ecosystem services

A

Things that the world does for us without ever paying a dime

ex. atmospheric composition and hydro logical cycle

132
Q

What is the estimated value of the world’s ecosystem?

A

16-54 trillion per year with an average of 33 trillion USD per year.

133
Q

What are ecosystem services that may be valued?

A

Gas regulation (atmospheric composition); water regulation (drinking and flow); etc.

134
Q

Why is ocean responsible for low value of money from ecosystem services?

A

Carbon capture

135
Q

What drives high value of ecosystem services?

A

Purification of water

136
Q

What is the failure of conventional economics?

A

Doesn’t account for the value or costs of ecological damage (air pollution, water pollution, reduced soil fertilily, declining biodiversity, etc.)

137
Q

What does ecological economics do?

A

Places value on relationships between economies and ecosystems by creating values (energy and materials) and costs (repairing environmental damage).

138
Q

How do population and resource use relate?

A

Grow together

139
Q

Where is most of the world’s consumption growth?

A

Global North

140
Q

Where is most of the world’s population growth?

A

Mainly Global South.

141
Q

What are we depleting?

A

Non-renewable resources like fossil fuels and metals. Even those these are natural, our way of mining and using them is not sustainable.

142
Q

How are we using sustainable resources?

A

In non-sustainable ways like forests and fisheries.

143
Q

What does sustainability depend on?

A
  1. Decreased use of non-renewable energy
  2. Increased use of renewable energy of materials like wind turbines and solar panels
  3. Increased production efficiency (better engineering and economics)
  4. Improvement of social equity (economies in different parts have different issues affecting their people)
144
Q

Where do most of the renewable resources come from?

A

Sunlight

145
Q

Give renewable resources connected to sunlight

A
  1. Direct solar energy (passive solar
  2. Wind energy
  3. Ocean current energy
  4. Hydroelectricity
146
Q

What is the maximum sustainable yield?

A

The theoretical upper limit of harvest resources that will result in the largest sustainable long-term yield.

147
Q

What do maximum sustainable yield curves look like?

A

Logistic population growth with resource on the y axis and year on the x axis.

148
Q

When to get the most sustainable harvest?

A

In the middle of the logistic population growth curve.

149
Q

What are problems with calculating maximum sustainable yield?

A

Environmental conditions change and population models require estimation.

150
Q

Natural regneration

A

Spontaneous recovery after harvest

ex. after clear-cut, prescribed burning, and planting seedlings

151
Q

What grows quicker and slower after a clear cut?

A

Quick = foliage (5 years)
Slow = above-ground biomass for the pulp and paper industry (30 years)

152
Q

Working down the resource

A

Selective harvest of large individuals or species in a community that can lead to over exploitation.

153
Q

What happens after working down a resource?

A

Once the large individuals are harvested, remaining ones are fast-growing and productivity may be maintained. R-strategists. However, the resulting community may be very different.

154
Q

Working down a resource at Lake Erie

A
  • total harvest of all fish from lake Erie has been fairly consistent over time
  • most valuable species were exploited (big ones most costly): lake herring and sturgeon
  • collapse
  • worked down the resource
  • more niches occupied by other animals were the smaller species were harvested (yellow perch and rainbow smelt)
  • seems sustainable but not as the ecosystem is changed
155
Q

What does foresty sustain in Canada’s economy?

A

6% of the economy employing half a million people

156
Q

What are forest plantations defined by?

A
  • lower biodiversity in trees found
  • different spatial dynamics (planted at certain distances to exploit upward growth)
  • grow with the smallest amount of dead wood possible leading to many bird species going missing
157
Q

How does the productivity of forest plantations compare to regenerating stands?

A

More productive

158
Q

How to document how old growth forests are different from planted ones?

A
  • find the oldest trees and get pictures
  • cut down and measure them (extra not used for any value)
159
Q

How does the forestry system differ from the marine one?

A

Most products made from forest industries are due to planted ones whereas marine resources are from harvesting wild species (not ones we organize).

160
Q

How to help in marine sustainability?

A

Harvest limits

161
Q

Anadromous salmon

A

Those that move from salt water to fresh water environments
- being placed in rivers after grown

162
Q

How did Atlantic cod go from indefinite to almost extinct?

A

Overharvesting in the 90s and refrigeration allowed for great amounts of stock; however, now they are so low in numbers with so little species it is not advised to exhaust your resources.

163
Q

Why do we continue to over-harvest resources?

A
  • view ourselves as empowered
  • self-interested
  • are socio-technologically empowered (better resources to find food)
  • cornucopia world view (assume infinite growth is possible)
  • follow false economy ignoring ecological value
164
Q

What are chimney swift?

A

Aerial insectivore; fly around in the air to eat their food.

165
Q

What are chimney swifts closely related to?

A

Nighthawks and bats as they are all aerial insectivores.

166
Q

How has the population of aerial insectivores have changed since 1970s?

A

Down 43%

167
Q

Where do chimney swifts live and breed?

A

In chimneys; in the old world they created holes out of dead wood and leaves.

168
Q

When do chimney swifts spend their time in their homes?

A

Only at dusk, overnight (kinda the only time they touch the ground).

169
Q

Where do chimney swifts migrate in the winter?

A

Tag data showed they went to Africa in the winter.

170
Q

How are the digits of chimney swifts? Why?

A

All four forward facing digits to cling onto chimneys.

171
Q

Where was the chimney swift found in Canada?

A

Fleming Hall in Queen’s University

172
Q

What was found in Fleming Hall?

A

Poop left behind the birds; and it was used first in 1928 to 1993.

173
Q

What was found in the poop at Fleming Hall?

A

Found insect parts, letting them identify the diet of the chimney swift during this period.

174
Q

Paleoecology

A

Deals with populations, communities, and ecosystems of the past.

ex. tree ring analysis helps us understand past growth conditions

175
Q

What does paleoecologists use?

A

Fossils and other kinds of data to reconstruct historical ecosystems.

176
Q

Uniformitarianism

A

If we understand how organisms respond to environmental factors today, we can infer features of past communities and ecosystems.

177
Q

Superposition

A

Sequence of sedimenatry deposits are arranged with the oldest at the bottom and the youngest at the top.

178
Q

What did fossils reveal about the world?

A

That it is really, really old.

179
Q

What did fossilized trees give about Eocene epoch?

A

Over 45 mya, fossilized conifer showed us arctic forests in northern Canada (Nunavut).

180
Q

What did fossils show about animal populations?

A

Very large organisms.

181
Q

What does the rock art in Amazon forest show?

A

Art of organisms that first occupied this world before. many were mega-populations (giant sloths and camels).

182
Q

What was a big environmental change in Canada?

A

Just 15,000 years ago most of it was covered in ice.

183
Q

Dendrochronlogy

A

Paleoecological study of tree rings, which are produced annually.

184
Q

What is shown in trees for fast growth?

A

Larger xylem vessels = larger rings = good growing conditions.

185
Q

What is ring width influenced by?

A

Temperature, drought, and pests.

186
Q

How are tree rings measured?

A

With an increment borer:
- part A = straw
- twist the metal into the center of the tree and take it out and it shows the ring length/size/number
- surface sanded down to see the rings
- image analysis software calculates the ring conditions

187
Q

What reflects growth conditions in a tree?

A

Ring width

188
Q

What do narrrow rings reflect?

A

Dry or cold years

189
Q

When do narrow tree rings usually appear?

A

After volcanic eruptions

190
Q

What can tree rings help to tell us?

A

When environmental conditions occur and how they affect trees.

ex. floods in Maintoba bur oak or fires in New Mexico

191
Q

How can tree ring records be made for longer periods?

A

By combining information from preserved dead trees in lake sediments or buildings. Reconstructing up to 10,000 years old.

192
Q

What are rings like in marine organisms?

A

Hard-bodied corals, mollusks, and fish otoliths (fish ear bone; laser to cut down) lay down tissues yearly.

193
Q

What can sediments come from?

A

Autochtonous material (from inside lake, organisms and their remains or rocks) or allocthonous materials (from outside the lake like pollen grains).

194
Q

Where are sediement cores collected from?

A

Lake bottoms and glasses driven into the bottom.

195
Q

Short cores vs long cores.

A

Short cores to study recent centuries and long cores to study periods back past the end of the last Ice Age.

196
Q

How to date layers of sediment cores?

A

Counting seasonal layers or based on radioactive isotopes by laying a ruler stick against them (1 meter = 100 years).

197
Q

Palynology

A

Paleoecological study of pollen

198
Q

How are pollen grains different from most plant tissues?

A

Resists decomposition

199
Q

What does pollen indicate about species in an area?

A

Lots of autographs and vegetation (herbivores).

200
Q

What did the forests look like 8000 years in Canada?

A

Just spruce trees creating a boreal forest.

201
Q

Diatoms

A

Microscope unicellular photosynthetic organisms that produce cell walls. Made of silica and thin, producing different bodies.

202
Q

What do diamtoms tell us about?

A

When in sediments, they tell us about abiotic envrionments of the past since those silicia cell walls preserve very well.

203
Q

Do diatoms have same niches?

A

Nope, each species has an optimal condition with different pHs being a perfect growth condition.

ex. know the pH of the lake depending on the majority of the diatom

204
Q

What does lake salinity reflect? How to observe it?

A

Precipitation and evaporation. Diatoms reflect to different levels of salinity.

205
Q

When is a lake very salty?

A

Much salt concentration and very high temperatures. Even more if the lake is smaller (intense drought).

206
Q

What did diatom records of lake reveal about drought?

A

Drought is more pronounced and more frequent earlier (2000 years ago). Lakes show higher salinity in dust bowl years; wetter as we get near this dday and age (1930s).

207
Q

Why are polar regions sensitive to climate change?

A

Positive feedback mechanisms
1. high surface albedo (reflectivity); white is cool and black is more warmer
- with melting ice, albedo decreases (less radiation reflected) leading to the rate of warming
2. glaciers are big and heavy thus as they move and decrease in size they change the location of Earth’s water (gravitational pull; leading to less spherical)
- water moves away from glaciers and towards the center

208
Q

How does diatom relate to arctic lakes?

A

Varies with degree of open water during the summer; indicating a decrease in ice cover. Very rapid changes in the diatoms here.

209
Q

Can ice have rings?

A

Yes can collect like sediment and determine environments.

210
Q

Compare the times provided by paleocology analysis.

A
  1. Dendrochonolohgy = 100s-1000s years
  2. Pollen and diatom sediment analysis = 100s-10000s years
  3. Ice sediment = 100000s years
211
Q

What is ecology essential for?

A

Understanding the existence and evolution of life and how the biosphere workds.

212
Q

What does fundamental research help us with?

A

It’s basis research that helps us understand the natural world (what makes an animal successful). It provides us with insight into the station and the role of humans. It provides unforeseen applications.

213
Q

What are examples of fundamental research?

A
  • the structure of DNA from Franklin, Wilkins, Watson, and Crick
  • insulin discovery (Best and Banting)
  • Carolyn Bertozzi and vaccine
  • Thomas Brock and microbes lead to the discovery of Taq polymerase
  • Donna strickland and laser work led to eye surgery advancement
  • James gosling produced JAVA computing language
  • Jane Goodall and the studies of human social behaviour (chimps) by living with them
  • David Schindler and phosphorus eutrophication
  • John Eng research on animal venom led to exendin-4 and ozempic
214
Q

What does applied research focus on?

A

Focuses on understanding and resolving environmental problems like lack of sustainability and the loss of biodiversity.

ex. can we grow biofuels on mine waste

215
Q

Explain Trevor Pitcher’s applied research.

A
  • captive rearing advancements
  • capturing eggs in the field and bringing it to his hatchery in Lasalle
  • rearing the young eggs to get them past type 3 survival ship curve
216
Q

Explain Mennill’s applied research.

A
  • bio acoustic techniques for animal conservation
  • understand the declining population trends
  • new microphones with a plexiglass plate that acts as a reflector and recorder picks up migratory birds sounds
  • smaller birds like white-throated sparrow and warbler fly at night to avoid predators and stars as navigational cues
217
Q

Explain Matt Watson’s applied research.

A
  • used microphones to listen to flight calls as different light location (illuminated and pitch black) in Essex
  • city lights slow nighttime bird migration
  • tunes higher in light areas and more species at the lit sights
  • used to flying by stars in the sky (accustomed to an unmoving source)
218
Q

Why is human development unsustainable?

A

Population growth, resource use, pollution, and biodiversity loss.

219
Q

What is the population of humans in 2050?

A

10 billion

220
Q

How does human population growth look like?

A

Exponential

221
Q

How many rate do human populations grow?

A

By 1.14 percent per year

222
Q

How does pollution effect environments?

A

Nickel roast-yard in Sudbury lead to zero vegetation-free land to this day.

223
Q

What levels does unsustainable biodiversity loss affect?

A

All three
- genetic diversity is diminished
- many species almost extinct
- some communities are rare

224
Q

Math environmental impact of humans on biosphere (I)

A

I = P X A X T

P = population size
A = Per capita affluence (how much money)
T = technical development

225
Q

What do calculations of environmental impact show?

A

Those of wealthy countries with high technological development have highest impact.

226
Q

How does Canada population compare to India and China?

A

Way less

227
Q

How does Canada’s per capita GDP compare to India and China?

A

Much much higher

228
Q

How to calculate per capita?

A

Take the national GDP (gross domestic products; all of wealth in a country) and divide by per person.

229
Q

How to get technological developments for I?

A

How much energy is used up by a country? divided by the population in the country

230
Q

How does our technological developments in Canada?

A

Much much higher than other countries when we divide it by per person.

231
Q

What does environmental impact of Canada show us?

A

Parts of the world where affluence and technological developments are high not usually where population sizes are massive.

232
Q

Ecological integrity

A

The ability of an ecosystem to support and maintain ecological processes and a diverse community of organisms.

233
Q

What feed into ecological integrity?

A

Pollution, anthropgenic disturbance, and management.

234
Q

What would ecological integrity affect?

A

Natural disturbances like wildfire and windstorms and natural stressors like climatic factors and biotic stressors.

235
Q

What are indicators of high ecological integrity?

A
  • high resistance to stressors
  • high resilience to disturbance
  • complex structure, function
  • top carnivores present
  • large species present
  • nutrient cycling sustainable
  • low anthropogenic influence
  • native species, not aliens
236
Q

What is not implicated in ecological integrity?

A

Natural environment stressors

237
Q

What environments can have high integrity?

A

Those with high or low productivity and high or low biodiversity.

ex. rainforest and tundra have a high ecological integrity

238
Q

What is the goal of environmental monitoring?

A

To detect threats to environmental quality and find ways to mitigate these threats

ex. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

239
Q

What does Sarah Baldo do?

A

Monitors water quality in Essex

240
Q

What does environmental monitoring require?

A

Repeated measurements of variables related to abiotic environment, or structure and function of ecosystems.

241
Q

What are the key questions in environmental monitoring?

A

To choose appropriate environmental indicators (what do we measure and what is the scale).

242
Q

Environmental indicators (allow cost-effective work)

A

Relatively simple measurements that represent complex aspects of environmental quality

243
Q

Residue environmental indicator example.

A

Pollutants and toxins like DDT accumulate in organisms and bio-magnify in top predators.

244
Q

What is an abundance environmental indicator?

A

How abundant a species is (population ecology), which helps to determine the health of communities.

ex. grizzly bear, spotted owl, orca, and pileated woodpecker (good as they are umbrella species; move to different environments).

245
Q

What do woodpeckers eat?

A

Ants or larvae from trees.

246
Q

Abundance environmental indicator example (woodpecker).

A

Populations of one third of terrestrial bird species breeding in Canada’s boreal region are declining (residents, short distance and long distance migrants).

247
Q

Abundance environmental indicator example (insects).

A

All insects declining.

248
Q

Abundance environmental indicator example (whooping crane).

A

On the brink of existence in 1993 where they were hunted or had lead poisoning from bullets; however, increased to 600+ numbers due to captive breeding and population management (only increase if praire resources available).

249
Q

Case study of acid rain observation

A

Long-term monitoring of rain pH showed increasingly acidic rainfall in Ontario

250
Q

Case study of acid rain causes.

A

Chemical testing revealed sulphuric and nitric acid emissions as source problems.

251
Q

Case study of acid rain consequences.

A

Many freshwatter ecosystems saw crashing plankton and fisj populations + trees dropping more leaves earlier.

252
Q

Case study of acid rain action

A

Reduction of sulphuric and nitric acid emissions federally.

253
Q

Case study of eutrophication observation.

A

Water sampling since 1960s reveled increasing eutrophication in Ontario lakes.

254
Q

Case study of eutrophication causes

A

Whole-lake experiments in Experimental Lakes Area confirmed phosphorus was limiting

255
Q

Case study of eutrophication consequences

A

Algal blooms lead to anoxic deep water killing fish and becoming bad drinking water.

256
Q

Case study of eutrophication action

A

Remove phosphorus from detergents and improve water-treatment tools

257
Q

Case study of organochlorides observation

A

Eagles, osprey, and falcons showed steep population decline in th 50s and 60s (weak eggs broken early).

258
Q

Case study of organochlorides causes

A

Local use of DDT coorelated with die-offs where biomagnification injured top predators.

259
Q

Case study of organochlorides consequences

A

Die-off at high trophic levels changed trophic pyramids worldwide

260
Q

Case study of organochlorides action

A

Government banned DDT use.

261
Q

Case study of fragmentation observation

A

Animal populations were divided by highways and other anthropogenic structures

262
Q

Case study of fragmentation causes

A

Traffic collisions caused mortality; some animals reluctant to cross un-vegetated route

263
Q

Case study of fragmentation consequences

A

Lower biodiversity at genetic and species levels

264
Q

Case study of fragmentation action

A

Create highway overpasses and underpasses

265
Q

Case study of climate change observation

A

Increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases detected by chemists

266
Q

Case study of climate change causes

A

Anthropogenic production of these chemicals at unprecedented rates

267
Q

Case study of climate change consequences

A

Decreasing agricultural production, increasing severe weather and rising ocean levels.

268
Q

Case study of climate change action

A

Curb greenhouse gas production

269
Q

What are ecological careers?

A
  • work in academia
  • work in the government
  • work in private sector
  • work in non-government organizations
    ex. Canadian Wildlife Federation and Sierra Club
270
Q

How to get involved in volunteer research experience?

A
  • find faculty members with research that interests you (websites)
  • through email or office hours reach out to the or their grad students
  • offer to volunteer a couple of hours a week

Ecology (3 decks)

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