Midterm 1 Flashcards
1
Q
Ion vs isotope
A
Ion: a charged atom
Isotope: an atom that has a different neutron count
2
Q
2 major forms of energy
A
Kinetic: energy of motion
Potential: energy of position
3
Q
4 characteristics of water
A
Cohesion
Ice is less dense
Transparent
Polarity (universal solvent)
4
Q
What cause the ecological and humanitarian crisis in Japan at the Fukushima nuclear power plant?
A
An earthquake followed by a tsunami
5
Q
What is unique about the snail Oreohelix?
A
Endemic to Canada
6
Q
What is the difference between environmental science and environmentalism?
A
ES is interdisciplinary and environmentalism is focused on activism
7
Q
What is ES the study of?
A
How the natural world works, how our environment effects us, and how we affect our environment
8
Q
What type of energy source causes more deaths: coal, oil, or nuclear?
A
Coal then oil, then at the bottom nuclear
9
Q
What are SMRs?
A
Small modular reactors for nuclear energy
10
Q
What are the 6 steps of the scientific method?
A
Observe
Question
Hypothesis
Predict
Test
Analyze
11
Q
What is a manipulative experiment and its benefits
A
When a factor is directly manipulated
Can show direct causation, strongest evidence
12
Q
What are natural experiments and the main issue with them?
A
They are experiments that follow the order of nature, show complexity
They rarely show causation, only correlation
13
Q
On the scale of lab manipulations to natural studies, where are field experiments found?
A
In the middle, has aspects of both
14
Q
What are the most at risk invertebrates?
A
Amphibians
15
Q
What was determined the likely cause of the extirpation of long-toed salamanders?
A
Introduced trout
16
Q
What 3 types of experiments were used to determine trout were wiping out the long-toed salamanders?
A
Field study
Mesocosm experiment
Laboratory experiment
17
Q
What did the field study of the long-toed salamanders reveal?
A
There were salamander larvae at all trout-less sites
18
Q
What did the mesocosm experiment of the long-toed salamanders reveal?
A
Fewer salamander survivors in trout tanks
19
Q
What did the laboratory experiment of long-toed salamanders reveal?
A
Trout eat 100% of hatchlings offered
Salamander larvae do not respond to trout cues in the water
20
Q
How did energy flow and matter transfer create the Fukushima destruction?
A
Energy flow from the water coming in (tsunami)
Transfer of matter caused mixing of radioactive materials everywhere
21
Q
Matter
A
All material in the universe that has mass and occupies space
22
Q
Law of conservation of matter
A
Matter cannot be created nor destroyed, only transformed from one form to another
23
Q
What is the importance of isotopes in ES?
A
Can track animal migration paths based on hydrogen isotope ratios
24
Q
Where else are isotopes used in ES? 3
A
Reconstructing past climates
Understanding past and present animal diets
Archaeology
25
Energy definition
Capacity to change the position, physical composition, or temperature of matter
Force that can accomplish work
26
What type of energy drives most living systems?
Light energy
27
What is the photosynthesis equation?
28
Autotrophs/primary producers
Produce their own food
29
Why are the beluga whales in trouble? 3
Bioaccumulation of toxins
Eutrophication
Hypoxia
30
Eutrophication
An increase in available nutrients, can lead to blooms and excess oxygen use resulting in decreased available oxygen = hypoxia
31
Who is John Muir, what did he say?
A naturalist who said that everything is connected
32
Why is the population size of mussels decreasing in Alberta? 3
Changes in river flows
Biomagnification of toxins
Loss of fish biodiversity
33
Systems definition
Networks of relationships among components that interact and influence each other
34
Open system definition
Receive input of energy and matter, and output both
35
Closed system definition
Receive input and creates output of only energy, not matter
36
What is an example of negative feedback in climate change?
Ice sheets melt = more water vapour = more cloud cover = less heat absorption
37
Ecosystem definition
All organisms and non living things that occur and interact in an area at the same time
38
Biomass
Organic material which organisms are formed from
39
Primary production
Conversion of solar energy to chemical energy by autotrophs
40
Gross primary production (GPP)
All the energy produced by autotrophs
41
Net primary production (NPP)
Energy remaining after respiration, used to generate biomass
42
Secondary production
Biomass generated by heterotrophs
43
What nutrients limit primary productivity? 3
N, C, and P
44
What are environmental goods?
Tangible material that can be extracted from the environment, value in $
45
What are environmental services?
Functions and processes vital to living organisms (nutrient cycling), not easy to value in $
46
Nutrient/biogeochemical cycle definition
Movement of nutrients through ecosystems
47
Reservoirs
Where nutrients reside for varying amounts of time
48
Flux
Movement of nutrients among reservoirs
Can be influenced by human activities
49
Sources
Reservoirs that release more nutrients than they accept
i.e power plants
50
Sinks
Accept more nutrients than they release
i.e forests
51
What are 4 examples of carbon sinks?
Rainforest
Canada’s boreal forest
Coral reefs
Grasslands
52
What are 3 main processes in the hydrologic cycle?
Evaporation: land systems to air
Transpiration: release of water vapour by plants
Precipitation: rain or snow
53
What are the 2 main processes in the carbon cycle?
Photosynthesis: carbon from air to organisms
Respiration: return carbon to air
54
Where is carbon mainly found? 6
Carbohydrates, fats, proteins, bones, ocean, sediment
55
What are 2 anthropogenic alterations to the carbon cycle?
Burning fossil fuels: move carbon from ground to the air
Deforestation: carbon from organisms to the air
56
What is the most important process in the nitrogen cycle?
Nitrogen fixation by bacteria
57
Where are the nitrogen fixing bacteria found?
Roots of legumes
58
Nitrifying bacteria
Convert ammonium into nitrite and nitrate that the plants can use
59
Denitrifying bacteria
Converts nitrates in the soil back to gaseous N2
60
What are 2 anthropogenic alterations to the nitrogen cycle?
Industrial nitrogen fixation
Enhanced legume production = more fixing bacteria
61
What were the 2 main sources of nutrients that were in excess causing the Gulf of Mexico’s dead zone?
Nitrogen and phosphorus
62
Why is evolution important in ES?
It is foundational and allows us to interpret patterns in nature
63
Why would ants go and sit on the top of flowers all night?
Due to a parasite in the brain of ants that cause behavioural changes
64
Evolution definition
Change in heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations
65
Natural selection definition
The process by which traits that enhance survival and reproduction are passed on more frequently to future generations
66
What are 3 requirements for natural selection to occur?
Traits must vary in their expression
Variation in the trait must be associated with variation in survival success
Trait must be heritable
67
Adaptation
A trait that promotes the reproduction of the organism
68
Selection pressure
In a certain environment, some variants (of traits) have a survival advantage over others - drives NS
69
Directional selection
The movement of a trait to one extreme or the other (fast vs slow, black vs white)
70
Stabilizing selection
Intermediate of the traits is favoured
71
Disruptive selection
Traits diverge to either end of the original trait
72
What does the fossil record show? 5
Life has existed for 3.5 billion years
Number of species has increased throughout time
Extinction is a natural process
Several episodes of mass extinction
Modern organisms evolved from ancestral organisms
73
What could be a possible 6th mass extinction?
Anthropocene
74
Biodiversity
Total number of types of organisms in an area
- can also include the number of individuals, genes, populations, etc. in an area
75
Allopatric speciation
Formation of a species due to a physical separation of populations
76
What is a local example of allopatric speciation?
Bluebird species
77
Hybridization
Mating genetically different individuals that can lead to a new species over time
78
Example of hybridization in Alberta?
3 species of cottonwoods and their hybrids
79
What are the levels of ecological organization? 5
Biosphere
Ecosystem
Community
Population
Organism
80
Habitat use
Each organism thrives in certain habitats, but not others
81
Habitat selection
The process of organisms selecting which habitats to live in
82
Niche
An organism’s use of resources and its functional role in a community
83
Specialist vs generalist
Specialist: narrow niche and specific requirements
Generalist: broad niche that can use a variety of habitats and resources
84
Population
Individuals of the same species inhabiting a certain area
85
Population ecology
Study of the dynamics of populations
86
Population size
Number of individual organisms present at a given time
87
Population density
Number of individuals within a population per unit area
88
Sex ratio
Proportion of males to females
89
Age structure
Relative number of organisms of each age within a population
90
4 key rates that determine changes in population sizes
Natalie
Mortality
Immigration
Emigration
91
What is the equation for population growth rate?
(Natality-Mortality) + (Immigration - Emigration) = pop growth rate
92
Carrying capacity
Maximum population size of a species that an environment can sustain
93
What is the shape of the curve for carrying capacity?
S-shaped, logistic growth curve
94
Are perfect logistic curves seen in nature?
Not often
95
What are 2 types of limiting factors that constrain population growth?
Density-dependent factors: competition
Density-independent factors: fires
96
What is competition?
Relationship b/w 2 organisms that struggle for a resource that is limiting
97
In competition, what resources do organisms fight for? 4
Nutrients (sunlight)
Water
Space
Mates
98
Intraspecific competition
Occurs among members of the same species
99
Interspecific competition
Occurs between members of two or more species
100
Resource partitioning
Species divide shared resources by specializing in different ways
- day vs night feeding
101
Character displacement
Evolving physical characteristics of species that reflects their reliance on the portion of the resource they use
102
How does character displacement help competition?
Character displacement alters the species and therefore reduces competition
103
What is an example of resource partitioning that leads to character displacement?
Beak length in Galapagos finches; they partitioned the resource of specific seeds and adapted for which beak fit best
104
Predation definition
Process by which individuals capture, kill, and consume prey
105
Importance of predatory interactions 3
Structure food webs
Influence community composition
Agent of natural selection
106
What are 3 types of evolutionary innovations that natural selection via predation has lead to?
Cryptic colouration
Warning colouration
Mimicry
107
What is an example of an Alberta parasite?
Winter tick on moose
108
What is a defence mechanism protecting the plants from herbivory?
Chemical: distasteful parts
Physical: thorns
109
What is an example of mutualism?
Pollination
110
What status does the polar bear have in Canada?
Species of special concern
111
What is north America’s most endangered mammal?
Black-footed ferret
112
What caused the situation of the black-footed ferret?
A bottleneck that resulted in 7 individuals in Wyoming
113
Conservation biology
Describes the loss (and cause of the loss) of variety on earth
114
Species richness
Number of species in an area
115
Relative abundance
Relative dominance of one species over another
116
How is genetic diversity measured?
Variation in DNA sequences
Genome-wide structure b/w individuals or populations
117
What mammal has the lowest genetic diversity?
Cheetah, because of bottleneck
118
What are the categories that species can be classified under SARA? 4
Extinct
Extirpated
Endangered: in imminent danger of becoming extinct
Threatened: species likely to become endangered in the near future
119
What percentage of species that ever lived are now extinct according to the fossil record?
99%
120
Why might we be causing a 6th mass extinction?
Extinctions have occurred after humans have arrived on islands and continents
121
4 points of biodiversity loss on ecosystems/communities
1. BL reduces efficiency by which communities capture resources and convert them into biomass
2. BL decreases stability of ecosystem over time
3. Impact of BL on ecosystem function is non-linear
4. Diverse communities are better because they are more likely to contain keystone species
122
What are 5 causes of population decline and biodiversity loss?
Habitat alteration
Invasive species
Pollution
Overharvesting
Climate change
123
Of the 4/5 causes, which is the biggest cause of biodiversity loss?
Habitat alteration
124
What is an example of accidental and deliberate invasive species introduction?
Accidental: zebra mussels
Deliberate: food crops
125
Why are invasive species so hard to control?
No natural predators, competitors, or parasites
126
What is a local example of an invasive species?
Hawkweed
127
What is important about the sage grouse?
There is an effort to restore it’s population size due to a drastic decline over the last 60 years (80%) decline
- Alberta example of trying to conserve biodiversity
128
What factors caused the loss in sage grouse populations?
Lack of their natural diet, climate disturbance, energy developments, predation, disease
129
How is the Calgary zoo involved in the greater sage grouse (GSG)?
They have a breeding program for the GSGs
130
Can a natural population size decline result in SARA action?
Not usually, has to have clear factors that impacted it
131
Why is the greater sage grouse important?
It is indicative of a healthy grassland area and for the other organisms that rely on this location too
- grassland areas are at high risk
132
What are the 2 EPO’d animals protected federally?
GSG
Western chorus frogs
133
What is the purpose of Kim Pearson’s work?
Looked at the environmental impact in the 5 years after the Kenow wildfire
134
What is the one intervening step that Kim’s group is doing at the wildfire site?
They are only trying to prevent the introduction of invasive species; they are leaving everything else up to nature
135
In terms of forest regrowth, what has changed since 2000?
Before 2000, 85% regrew
After 2000, only 70% regrew
136
What was a main difference in the Kenow wildfire compared to most other wildfires?
It became more active at night and spread more rapidly than most other wildfires because they usually die down at night
137
What animal was removed before the wildfire came through the national park?
A herd of bison
138
What are the 3 takeaways from the Kenow wildfire?
- resulted in extreme ecological changes
- renewal is occurring, but may look much different than we are used to
- good opportunity to study how nature responds
139
Who is Edward Wilson of Harvard?
Father of modern studies in biodiversity
140
How does biodiversity influence ecosystem stability?
Biodiversity can increase stability and resilience of ecosystems
Can also increase resistance to invaders
141
Why is biodiversity especially important for humans?
Provides drugs and medicines
142
What is an example of biodiversity being used for human survival?
Vaccines being tested on horseshoe crabs
143
What is a local example of biodiversity being used medicinally?
A toxic Canadian prairie plant that has anti-mitosis activity (cancer therapy)
144
How does biodiversity support economies?
Ecotourism: Costa Rica, Belize
Recreation
145
What is nature-deficit disorder?
NDD is the idea that we (especially children) are spending less and less time outside and that can reflect behaviourally
146
What is a potential support for NDD?
Outdoor recess time can reduce the risk of nearsightedness in children
147
What do conservation biologists try to understand?
Factors and processes that influence the loss, protection, and restoration of biodiversity
- scientific basis for managing and protecting biological diversity
148
What is the tragedy of commons and an example?
Individuals with access to a public resource (common) act in their own interest and deplete the resource
- deforestation, fishing
149
What is the curve shape of a logistic population growth curve? What does it demonstrate?
It is S-shaped
Demonstrates exponential growth until carrying capacity factors limit that growth and it flattens off to an S
150
What kind of feedback loop is a logistic growth curve? What is its importance?
Negative feedback loop, regulates the population
151
What is an example of an animal experiencing a logistic growth curve?
Any animal where the population size increases too much and then disease, or lack of habitat reduce its population size
- mice exponentially growing in population, disease or predation regulates and levels off the size
152
What is the ecological footprint?
Tracks the use of surface areas for human demand
153
What is the relationship between ecological footprint and biocapacity?
As humans’ ecological footprint has increased, biocapacity has decreased
154
What factors are responsible for the continued decline in biocapacity?
Mainly an increase in human population (need more resources)
This increase in human population also results in pollution that further reduces biocapacity
155
What prediction of Darwin’s theory was tested here? What is the result?
Variation in the expression of a trait is associated with its variation in survivability
The more elongated the tail, the more desirable and therefore the more that survive compared to the shorter tail and the control
156
How are ES issues topical and complex?
They are topical in the sense that they can often be quantified and understood relatively well scientifically, but they increase in complexity when policies are attempted to be enacted
157
What is an example of a local topical and complex ES concern?
Oreohelix, endemic to Canada - cypress hills park
- know it is endemic
- attempt to navigate all policies, ethics, and implications
158
What are 3 ways that humans have influenced the nitrogen cycle in southern Alberta?
Eutrophication of waterbodies
Combustion of fossil fuels
Excess available nitrogen (fertilizer)
159
How can isotopes be used to track movement of nitrogen?
Isotope fingerprinting
- animals retain 15-N but excrete 14-N, so there will be a higher concentration of 15-N isotope higher up the food chain, compared to lower on the food chain
- isotopic signatures are also different in different geographic areas so this can be tracked throughout movement
160
Why are the local grasslands deemed carbon-capture colossuses?
They store about 34% of the world’s carbon, underground
- major carbon sink
