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global environmental change Flashcards

1
Q

What does global change mean?

A

planetary scale changes in the Earth system

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2
Q

What causes global environmental change?

A

solar variation, plate tectonics, volcanism, proliferation, meteorite impact, resource depletion

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3
Q

What is the main driver of global change?

A

growing human population and demand for food and energy etc

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4
Q

What is pollution?

A

introduction of contaminants into natural environment that cause adverse change

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5
Q

What can pollution be?

A

chemical or energy such as noise, heat, light

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6
Q

How many people did pollution kill globally in 2015?

A

9 million

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7
Q

How do we measure how toxic pollution is?

A

effect of a chemical will depend on the amount or concentration in the plant or animal, or in certain sensitive parts of it

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8
Q

What is lethal concentration (LC)50 ?

A

concentration of the chemical in the air or water that will kill 50% of the test animals with a single exposure

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9
Q

What is lethal dose (LD)50?

A

the single dose of chemical that, when fed to a group of test animals or applied dermally, will kill 50 5 of the animals

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10
Q

What does additive mean?

A

effects of each may simply be added together to indicate overall effect

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11
Q

What does antagonistic mean?

A

one pollutant may cancel out or reduce the impact of another

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12
Q

What does synergistic mean?

A

pollutants combine in such a way that the environmental effects are greater than would be expected additively

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13
Q

What is an example of a point source pollution?

A

a sewage outlet

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14
Q

What is an example of multi-source pollution?

A

chimney stacks

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15
Q

What is seeping?

A

fertiliser runoff

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16
Q

What is spreading?

A

volatiles in air-flows

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17
Q

What are the characteristics of acute pollution?

A

occurs when a large amount of waste matter enters the environment - usually from a point source

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18
Q

What is crude oil made of?

A

aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, polar compounds, sulphur compounds

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19
Q

What are the biotic effects of crude oil?

A

around 90% of sunlight in intercepted, division of algal cells in inhibited at oil levels of as low as 0.01 ppm, food chains are modified

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20
Q

What are the characteristics of chronic pollution?

A

low-level input into the environment - occurs either more or less continuously or as frequent pulses

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21
Q

What are pesticides?

A

highly toxic chemical substances deliberately introduced into an ecosystem to kill or reduce population size or growth of particular pests or weeds

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22
Q

What is DDT?

A

dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane

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23
Q

What was the effect of DDT on certain animals?

A

peregrine falcons were consuming it and dying

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24
Q

What are broad spectrum toxins?

A

they remain in the environment for a long time - DDT, aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor

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25
What are characteristics of chlorophenoxy?
chemistry resembles that of plant auxins, broken down in the soil in a matter of days
26
What are characteristics of organophosphates?
highly toxic to humans, biodegradable and non-persistant (readily broken down)
27
What is biomagnification?
occurs when an element or chemical compound moves from one compartment to another and occurs at higher concentrations in the second
28
What is a concentration factor (CF)?
concentration of the pollutant in the consumer/concentration of the pollutant in the diet
29
When does biomagnification occur?
when CF > 1
30
How can plastic pollution affect humans?
disruption of thyroid hormone levels
31
How many tonnes of plastic is consumed annually in the UK?
> 5 million tonnes - only 24% recycled
32
What is the size of microplastics?
< 5 mm
33
What are primary microplastics?
manufactured - direct result of human material and product use
34
What are primary microplastics?
manufactured - direct result of human material and product use
35
What are secondary microplastics?
fragments derived from the breakdown of larger plastic debris
36
What are the main causes of extinction?
habitat fragmentation, agriculture, human overpopulation, deforestation, poaching and hunting
37
What is genetic diversity?
the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species
38
What is species diversity?
the number of different species + abundance of them
39
What is species richness?
the count of species
40
What is species evenness?
quantifies how equal the abundances of the species are
41
What is ecological diversity?
variation in ecosystems found in a region or variation in ecosystems over the whole planet
42
What is gamma diversity?
total species diversity in a landscape
43
What is total species diversity in a landscape determined by?
the mean species diversity in habitats at a local scale (alpha diversity) and the differentiation among those habitats (beta diversity)
44
What is an endemism?
the limited geographic distribution of a taxonomic group, usually at family, genus or species level
45
How many areas are considered to be diversity hotspots around the world?
36
46
What is a biodiversity hotspot?
areas with high species richness and a high level of endemism
47
What is a direct use value for biodiversity?
derived from direct role of biological resources in consumption and production
48
What is an indirect use value for biodiversity?
derives from the many functions biodiversity performs in providing services critical to human well-being
49
How many plants is 80% of the food supply of the human population obtained from?
20
50
How many pure chemical substances are extracted from plant species?
119
51
What is biocontrol?
use of natural enemies to control species regarded as pests
52
What percent of weed and insect control programmes are based on biocontrol?
30% weed control, 40% insect control
53
What was total global fish harvest in 2015?
140 million tonnes
54
What is the percentage of the world's fish stocks that are at or beyond their level of maximum productivity?
66%
55
What is ecotourism?
tourism directed towards exotic natural environments, intended to support conservation efforts and observe wildlife
56
What are ecosystem preferences?
decomposition, primary productivity, nutrient cycling and fluxes of nutrients and energy
57
What are the four categories of ecosystem services?
provisioning, regulating, supporting, cultural
58
What is non use value of biodiversity?
a value associated that does not concern our use, either direct or indirect, of the environment, its resources or services
59
What is climate change?
a large-scale, long-term shift in the planet's weather patterns or average temperatures
60
What are natural causes of climate change?
solar activity, earth's orbit, continental drift
61
What are recent causes of climate change?
el nino event, volcanic eruptions, greenhouse effect
62
Who first recognised existence of the greenhouse effect?
1827 - Jean-Bapiste-Joseph Fourier
63
Who measured absorption of infrared radiation by carbon dioxide?
1860 - John Tyndall
64
Who calculated the effect of increasing concentration of greenhouse gases?
1896 - Svante Arrhenius
65
Who was the first to calculate the warming due to increasing carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels?
1940 - G S Callender
66
Who was first to express concern about climate change?
1957 - Roger Revelle and Hans Suess
67
What were the carbon dioxide levels in December 2022?
417 ppm
68
What are the greenhouse gases?
CO2, CH4, H2O, CFCs
69
How many more times effective is methane than CO2?
25
70
What are the IPCC predictions about sea level rise?
average seas level rise of 12 cm by 2030 and 50 cm by 2100
71
What plants respond positively to increased CO2 levels by increasing photosynthesis?
C3
72
What does high CO2 cause in plants?
partial closing of the stomata, reducing transpiration and making plants more efficient in water usage
73
What are some examples of C3 plants?
barley, oats, wheat, sugar beets, bentgrass
74
What are indirect effects on plants due to high CO2?
leaves may be thicker and have more starch, insects that eat plants usually limited by nitrogen supply so may have to eat more
75
What are factors that impact health?
pollution, inadequate water supplies, poor soil

biological sciences year 1 (16 decks)

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