Old Material (to study for final) Flashcards
Memorize by final exam 12/11
Ecosystem Services
Resources provided by environmental systems that benefit people
Exs:
- trees provide oxygen, thermoregulation, food, habitats, lumber
- water provides hydration, habitat, thermoregulation, and transportation
What is science?
A way of knowing and discovering how nature works by examining the structure of the natural world
Steps of the Scientific Method
Question, Hypothesis, Experiment, Collect Data, Conclusion, Report Findings, Peer Review
Define Hypothesis
A testable explanation for an observation
What is reliable science?
Peer-reviewed, well-documented methods, scientific consensus
What is the peer review process?
Submit work to a journal to show your peers exactly what you did so they can review it and make sure the methods are valid and sensical
This requires a lot of transparency
Energy
The ability to do work
What are the two kinds of energy? Examples?
Kinetic energy (in motion): flowing water, car driving
Potential energy (stored): coal, gasoline, molecules in food
Evolution
Process through which life forms change genetically over time, which occurs across generations through heritable traits
Natural Selection
Individuals with certain genetic traits are more likely to survive and reproduce under a specific set of environmental conditions
What are the various kinds of interspecies interactions?
Competition, herbivory, predation, parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism
Competition
Using similar resources
Neg (-) effect on both species
Ex: hyena and vulture fighting for dead carcass
Herbivory
Consumption of plants by animals
+ for animal, - for plant
Ex: cows eating grass
Predation
Predator vs prey dynamic
+ for predator, - for prey
Ex: lion hunting zebra
Parasitism
Parasite obtains nourishment from a host through prolonged close contact
+ for parasite, - for host
Ex: mites, lice, heartworm, common cuckoo (hijacks nest of the reed warbler)
Mutualism
Benefits both species
Ex: bees and flowers (pollen)
Commensalism
Benefits one species but has no effect on the other
Ex: whales and barnacles
Ex 2: epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants)
Density Dependent Factors
Rely on population density
Ex: competition for resources, diseases, predation
Density Independent Factors
Doesn’t have to do with population
Ex: climate change, habitat destruction, natural disasters, pesticides
What are Hadley Cells? How do they impact climate?
Large atmospheric circulations where warm air rises at the equator, cools and moves outwards, then sinks at medium latitudes (30 degrees north and south), before moving back towards the equator and pulling moisture from the surface as it goes
This leads to rainforests at the equator and deserts just north and south of them
What is Primary Productivity? Where is it highest/lowest?
Rate of biomass production through photosynthesis (essentially how much plant life there is)
Varies across ecosystems depending on nutrients, light, water, heat, etc.
Highest in swamps, marshes, estuaries, tropical rainforests, and temperate forests
Lowest in deserts, arctic, and open ocean
Bioaccumulation
A particular animal/individual has a build-up or high concentration of contaminants
Biomagnification
The phenomenon where those that are higher on the food chain have higher levels of contaminants
Ex: DDT in water gets into algae, then goes to zooplankton, minnows, larger fish, and finally fish-eating birds
Environmental Impact Equation
I = PAT
Impact = Population size x Affluence x Technology
Affluence = resource use
Tech = how goods/services are developed
What are CAFOs? What are some problems associated with them?
Concentrated animal feeding operations
Concerns: zoonotic disease spread, antibiotic resistance, waste runoff, fecal contamination, methane
What are fisheries? Concerns with them?
Concentration of wild aquatic species suitable for commercial harvesting
Concerns: overfishing, habitat destruction (caused by nets), bi-catch
What is aquaculture? Concerns with it? Potential innovations?
Farming fish
Concerns: waste, relying on wild populations to feed farmed fish, disease spread
Innovations: cameras to track feeding, using tides to disperse waste, nets
What are farm subsidies? Concerns with them?
Government payments or support intended to help farmers stay in business
Concerns: Majority of funding goes to wealthy farmers with the biggest yields (that also have the biggest environmental impact), distorts planting decisions, + can be costly for American taxpayers
Soil Conservation Programs
Pays farmers to take some of their land out of agriculture to prevent soil erosion and help build up nutrients in the soil
Addresses some of the concerns with farm subsidies
Carbon Cycle
Pulled from atmosphere by plants (photosynthesis)
Stored in plants, soil, animals, and ocean
Carbon released back into atmosphere through respiration
How have humans altered the carbon cycle?
Releasing historically stored carbon by burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and over tilling
Nitrogen Cycle
Majority is in atmosphere
Captured by plants through lightning strikes and nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil or on their root nodules
Phosphorus Cycle
Majority in contained in rocks
Dissolved as water runs over said rocks
Water is absorbed by plants
What can happen if farmers water their crops too much?
Soil Salinization: accumulation of salts in upper layers of soil, stunting plant growth
Waterlogging: accumulation of groundwater leads to rising water table and lack of oxygen in soil
What are some alternatives to synthetic pesticides? Potential concerns?
Cultivation Controls - altering planting times and crop rotation
Biological Controls - using living things (like parasites, predators, bacteria, and viruses) to address pests
Concerns: can’t control population (control becomes pest), difficult to mass produce/apply, time lags
What are Hydroponics? Benefits? Drawbacks?
Growing plants without soil by exposing their roots to nutrient-rich water
Benefits: year-round growing, water conservation, no runoff, efficient light, no pesticides, reuse abandoned spaces
Drawbacks: high electric bills to power lights
Cross Breeding
Combining two sexually compatible species to create a new variety that has the desired traits of the parents
Uses existing traits
Transgenesis
Adding new genes to the genome of a plant (that may come from a different species)
Must be done in a lab
Gene Editing
Changing the genome of an organism using enzymes (editing what’s there, but not adding anything new from a different species)
Invasive species
Non-native species that disrupt the ecosystem by outcompeting native populations or transmitting disease
What are some examples of invasive species?
Zebra mussel: sharp, clog pipes and rudders
Round goby: reproduce fast = outcompete natives
Emerald ash borer: burrows into tree = killing it
Spotted lanternfly: feeds on sap = kills tree
Autumn olive: displaces native plants
Clearcutting
Cutting down everything in an area (most environmentally damaging way of harvesting trees)
Shelterwood and Group Selection
Harvesting select trees at specific intervals (shelterwood = smaller, group = larger)
Opens up areas of light for new plants to grow (that are protected by the larger trees)
Single Tree Selection
Harvesting specific trees or kinds of trees, such as a certain species or a diseased tree
National Forest System
National forests - used for logging, grazing, farming, recreation, oil extraction
Bureau of Land Management
Large tracts of land used for mining, oil extraction, and grazing
Requires permits
National Park Service
National Parks - used only for recreation such as camping, hiking, fishing, and boating
National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by Fish and Wildlife Service - used to conserve fish, wildlife, and plants with minimal recreation (like photography, birding, fishing)
Ecological Restoration
Bringing a landscape back to a former condition, ideally to what it was before human disturbance
Rehabilitation
Rebuilding the community to a useful, functional state
Doesn’t aim to restore it to its original condition
Least invasive kind of restoration
Remediation
Mild or nondestructive chemical, physical, or biological methods used to remove pollution
Bioremediation - use of living things (ex: sunflowers near Chernobyl)
Reclamation
Extreme techniques used to clean up severe pollution in severely degraded or barren sites
Ex: Onondaga Lake
Geology
Study of dynamic Earth processes on surface and in the interior
What are the three zone of earth?
Core - hot iron + nickel
Mantle - less dense semi-liquid (magma)
Crust - complex mineral composition (continental and oceanic)
Sedimentary Rock
Made of sediments (bits of weathered rock) that accumulate in layers through compaction
Metamorphic Rock
Existing rock that has been exposed to heat, pressure, and/or fluids and is transformed
Igneous Rock
Existing rock is melted into magma, which is then formed into rock through heat, pressure, and eventually cooling/crystallization
What are Greenhouse Gasses? Examples? Sources?
Trap heat in atmosphere like blanket
Nitrous oxide
Water vapor
Methane - agriculture, CAFOs, fugitive emissions
Carbon dioxide - industry, construction, electricity, heat (basically anything that burns fossil fuels)
Paris Climate Agreement (2016)
Countries sign on and are expected to lower their GHG emissions
Goal of limiting earth’s average temp increase to below 2 degrees
COP 28
Move away from fossil fuels
Loss-and-damage fund (larger countries giving money to smaller ones that are affected more by climate change despite contributing less)
Clean Air Act (1970)
Regulates 6 major air pollutants:
Carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, lead, particulate matter, and ozone
What are some clean air legislations? What are their effects?
Emission controls such as filters in power plants
Cap and trade - reduces sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere (can also be done for carbon)
What percentage of water is fresh?
3% (mostly contained in ice)
What are wetlands? What services do they provide?
Areas where the soil is covered in water or fully saturated either all year or seasonally, giving rise to hydrophytes
Importance: recreation, natural filters, flood management, nutrient storage, biodiversity
What causes Dead Zones? Potential Solutions?
Agriculture and livestock runoff = eutrophication (excess of nutrients and algae) = hypoxia and dead fish
Solutions: reduce inputs and synthetic fertilizers; use cover crops to prevent soil erosion and encourage nutrient uptake
Safe Drinking Water Act
Recent changes?
Set regulations/national standards for safe drinking water
Biden recently regulated PFAS (aka forever chemicals) found in common household objects
Solar Energy
Panels with photovoltaic cells convert solar into electricity
Can be installed on homes or in open spaces
Solar Grazing = solar panels + livestock to maintain grass height
Wind Energy
Kinetic energy captured by wind turbines (usually in offshore farms)
Concerns about birds can be addressed by: colored turbines, placement away from migration routes, detection systems
Hydropower
Produce electricity from flowing water (in dams with turbines)
Produces a lot of consistent energy without CO2 emissions
Cons: climate change = droughts, land destruction to build dams, few suitable locations, expensive, affect downstream ecosystems
Biomass/Biofuel
Made from living materials such as wood and agricultural products
Ethanol in made from sugarcane (Brazil) or corn (40% of it produced in US is for this purpose)
Concerns: emits CO2, deforestation, grassland conversion, space and resources needed for agriculture (including pesticides + fertilizers)
Geothermal
Heat stored in the rocks, soil, and fluids of the mantle is harvested via heat pump systems or repurposed petroleum drilling tech
Coal
Solid made from land plant remains
Pros: abundant and cheap
Cons: dirty, air pollution, destruction for mines, dangerous working conditions
Oil
Used to make chemicals, paints, and plastics
Harvested in offshore drilling operations
Cons: oil spills in ocean, destruction of Canadian oil sands, indigenous displacement
Nuclear Power
Controlled nuclear fission that occurs in a reactor
Pros: no carbon, lots of power, safety and regulation = less accidents
Cons: risky, radioactive waste, expensive, negative perception, strategic locations
Natural Gas
Small organic compounds accumulate at top of coil/oil deposits and are harvested via fracking
Cons: mini-earthquakes, pollution, risk groundwater contamination
LNG: dependency + middle man dynamic in Germany
