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BIOL 370 > Midterm > Flashcards

Midterm Flashcards

1
Q

Hans Rosling

A

Reassessing population statistics, reasons for optimism (Factfullness - his book)

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2
Q

Aldo Leopold (1887-1948)

A

Environmental Ethics

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3
Q

John Muir (1838-1914)

A

Naturalist, Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, Sierra Club

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4
Q

Henry Thoreau (1817- 1862)

A

Civil disobedience, simple living

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5
Q

Rachel Carson (1907-1964)

A

Biologist, Silent Spring, Wilderness preservation, DDT Ban

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6
Q

Paul Ehrlich

A

Population bomb, population growth leading to environmental damage

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7
Q

Michael Soule

A

Started society for conservation biology

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8
Q

Jared Diamond

A

Historical review of environmentalists

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9
Q

EO Wilson

A

Naturalist, Conservation writing

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10
Q

Soule’s Organizational Values (5)

A

Biological Diversity has intrinsic value

The untimely extinction of species should be prevented

The diversity of species and the complexity of biological communities should be preserved

Science plays a critical role in understanding ecosystems

Collaboration among scientists, managers, policy makers is necessary

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11
Q

Normative Science

A

Developed, presented or interpreted based on an assumed preference for a particular outcome
Conservation science is at its basis normative science

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12
Q

Occams Razor (parsimony

A

Simpler explanations are more likely to be correct

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13
Q

Hitchens Razor

A

What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence

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14
Q

Aldens Razor

A

If something cannot be settled by experiment or observation, then it is not worthy of debate

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15
Q

Sagan Standard

A

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence

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16
Q

Popper’s falsifiability principle

A

For a theory to be considered scientific it must be falsifiable

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17
Q

Why do we often study vertebrates in conservation? (4)

A

Are sometimes keystone species
Individuals are large
Can be recognized
Have economic value

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18
Q

Levels of biodiversity indicators (4)

A

Regional-Landscape
Community-Ecosystem
Population-Species
Genetic

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19
Q

3 Levels of assessment for these commodities

A

Structural
Functional
Compositional

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20
Q

Factors for predicting biodiversity (5)

A 
Geography: latitude, longitude, altitude
Climate: temperature, rainfall, stability
Soils 
Primary productivity 
The human history of occupation
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21
Q

Hotspot criteria (2)

A

Irreplaceable: must have at least 1 500 vascular plants as endemics

Threatened: has to have at least 70% of its primary vegetation. 36 areas (60% of world’s species, live on 2.4% of land surface)

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22
Q

Species richness

A

simply the number of species in a community

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23
Q

Species evenness

A

Is the distribution of abundances across species

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24
Q

Species diversity

A

is a measure of the number of species and abundance of each species

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25
Q

Ecosystem level attributes (4)

A

Health
Stability
Resistance
Resilience

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26
Q

Biodiversity measures (4)

A

Richness: different scales (alpha, beta, gamma)
Evenness: diversity indices
Intactness: response to human activity
Ecological functions

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27
Q

Species richness scales (3)

A

Alpha: the number of species at a specific site (within site)
Gamma: the number of species per region
Beta: this is the gamma/alpha. Richness between sites within the region. Measures the turnover or change

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28
Q

Shannon Index

A

This is the measure of evenness in the population

A larger Shannon value means more even and more uncertainty

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29
Q

Voluntary Transaction

A

Beneficial to both parties

30
Q

Externalities

A

Hidden costs and benefits

31
Q

Common-property resources

A

Common pool resources, open-access resources

32
Q

Elinor Ostrom

A

Using resources as groups can be environmentally sound without government intervention
8 design principles for common-pool resource management

33
Q

Environmental Impact Assessment

A

Present and future effects of a project

34
Q

Perverse Subsidies

A

These are not included in the full-cost accounting of industries or economic activities

Excluded from environmental impact assessment

They are subsidies for aspects that are damaging to the environment

35
Q

Direct use values of biodiversity (2)

A

Consumptive: may be consumed by local people for their own sustenance

Productive: may be harvested to generate cash

36
Q

Indirect use values of biodiversity (4)

A

Non-consumptive use value
Public goods - not privately owned
Ecosystem productivity and services
Amenities

37
Q

Non-use values of biodiversity

A

Option value
Existence value
Bequest value (benefit future generations)
Altruistic value

38
Q

Benefits to humans of healthy ecosystems (3)

A

Provisioning services - direct use values (consumptive)

Regulating services - indirect use values (non-consumptive) regulators of air, soil, water and climate

Cultural services - amenity, education and scientific and existence values

39
Q

Environmental Ethics (6)

A

Each species has a right to exist (a tenet of Deep Ecology)

All species are independent (tenet of Gaia Hypothesis)

People have a responsibility to act as stewards of the Earth

Respect for human life and diversity is compatible with respect for biodiversity

People benefit from (and need) access to nature

People benefit from understanding the natural world

40
Q

Gaia hypothesis

A

Organic/inorganic systems form a complex synergetic system

41
Q

Deep Ecology

A

All species have an intrinsic value separate from human use

42
Q

Nature-Deficit Disorder

A

Spending time in nature is behavioural beneficial

Not recognized by the DMS

43
Q

Environmental Economics

A

Focus on economic costs and benefits of environmental policies

44
Q

Ecological Economics

A

Focus on the conservation of natural systems (sustainability)

45
Q

Threats to Biodiversity (4)

A

Population growth
Habitat destruction
Habitat fragmentation and edge effects
Pollution

46
Q

What is the most effective form of population control?

A

Educating women and getting them in the workforce

47
Q

Factors of Human Development Index (3)

A

A long and healthy life (life expectancy)
Access to education (expected years of schooling both child and adult)
A decent standard of living (gross national income adjusted for the price level of the country)

48
Q

Greatest threats to vertebrates

A

The indirect threats of habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation
Followed by the direct threats of overexploitation and invasive species

49
Q

Fragmentation Effects (4)

A

Creates edges, barriers, conduits on habitat
Limits dispersal and alters the movement of individuals
Sub-divides, isolates, or intersects populations
Can cause speciation events

50
Q

Kinds of agricultural conversion (4)

A

Shifting cultivation
Family farms
Plantations
Commercial agriculture

51
Q

Other Threats to Biodiversity (4)

A

Climate change
Overexploitation
Invasive Species
Disease

52
Q

Effects of climate change (4)

A

Carbon and temperature
Climate change feedbacks
Effect on oceans - acidification, warming, increasing sea level
Effects of biodiversity - species abundance and behaviour

53
Q

Table 5.1: Some effects of Global Warming (6)

A 
Increased temperature fluctuations
Melting glaciers and polar ice 
Rising sea level 
Earlier spring activity 
Shifts in species range 
Population declines
54
Q

Climate change positive feedback effect (4)

A

Ice-albedo effect: warmer atmosphere = more ice melt = decrease albedo = warmer atmosphere

Methane Release: Warmer ocean = more methane release

Peat Bogs: peat dries, decomposes, and may burn to release CO2 and methane

Cloud Feedback: high clouds enhance greenhouse effects (low clouds reflect back sunlight, having cooling effects)

55
Q

Climate Change negative feedback (3)

A

Absorption by plants and oceans - carbon sinks

Radiant cooling - released heat from the earth

Interactions: increased temperature = increased plant growth = increased cloud cover = higher albedo

56
Q

Climate Change Effects on Oceans (3)

A

Acidification (CO2 dissolved in water is mildly acidic)

Ocean-warming feedback - increased temperature = increased CO2 solubility

Rising sea level

57
Q

Climate Effects on Biodiversity (2)

A

Extinction - polar animals, cold water species

Behaviour - ranges shift towards poles or higher altitudes

58
Q

Overexploitation

A

Many commercially harvested marine species are overfished

Many species affected by overexploitation from the world wildlife trade

59
Q

Invasive Species (4)

A

European colonization: starlings house sparrows, trout, bass, carp, etc

Agriculture: Farmed salmon, honey bees, earthworms

Accidental Transport: Zebra mussels

Biological Control: cane toads, foxes in Australia

60
Q

Impacts of Invasive Species in BC (5)

A

Competition with native species: gray squirrels, wall lizards, gorse, English Ivy, Scotch Broom

Predation and Parasitism: bullfrogs

Ecosystem Processes: promote wildfires

Abiotic Impacts: soil structure

Vulnerable Ecosystems: Aquatic environments, islands

61
Q

Disease as a Conservation Threat

A

Contributes directly to population decline, but rarely causes extinction

More often interacts with other threats: invasion, habitat loss and degradation, climate change, overexploitation, loss of genetic variation

Importance might be underestimated and increasing

62
Q

Big Five Mass Extinctions

A 
End Ordovician (444 Mya) - 86% species
Late Devonian (360 Mya) - 75% species 
End Permian (250 Mya) - 96% species 
End Triassic (200 Mya) - 80% species
End Cretaceous (65 Mya) - 76% species
63
Q

How do we measure extinction? (3)

A

Background extinction rates
Predictions from Island Biogeography Model
Species-area curves

64
Q

Seven Forms of Rarity

A

Habitat Breadth: Narrow or Wide
Geographic Range: Large or small
Abundance: Common or rare

Dangerous combination: Narrow breadth, small range and rare abundance

65
Q

Effective Population Size

A

Number of breeding individuals
Affected by sex ratios
More sex equal population has a larger effective population size

66
Q

Gene diversity

A

how many loci in a particular genome are a polymorphic

67
Q

Heterozygosity

A

what proportion of individuals in a population are heterozygous

68
Q

Nucleotide diversity

A

how many nucleotide segments are there in the population

69
Q

Inbreeding depression

A

decreased fitness due to increased homozygosity of deleterious alleles

70
Q

Outbreeding depression

A

uncommon in animals

hybrid vigour

71
Q

Loss of Heterozygosity (H)

A

H0 is the original proportion of the population that is heterozygous
Proportion after 1 generation is H1 = H0(1 - (1/2Ne))

72
Q

Extinction Vortex

A

Reduced Numbers - Small fragmented isolated populations - inbreeding (loss of genetic diversity) - reduced adaptability, survival and reproduction - repeat

BIOL 370 (2 decks)

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