Overview Flashcards
How did the study quantify ocean heat uptake
used measurements of atmospheric O2 and CO2
how many joules of heat did the ocean gain per year between 1991 and 2016
1.33 x 10^22 joules
What is the planets energy imbalance per square meter of Earth’s surface
0.83 watts/m2
what degrees will Earth rise by 2100
3 deg
what are salmon travelling to Alaska’s lakes to spawn carrying
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) - industrial pollutants (can be 7x higher)
what would salmon carrying PCB’s harm
top carnivores: bears, eagles, humans
what insects have few scientists tracked
- moths, beetles, hover flies etc
what birds to neonicotinoids affect the most
birds that migrate short distances
what does the breakdown of primary plastics in the environment result in
microplastics
where are micropastics found
all oceans, many freshwater systems, accumulating in sediment, on shorelines, suspended in surface waters, and being ingested by plankton, fish, birds, and marine mammals
what % of bird and mammal abundances decline
bird: 58%
mammal: 83%
what are the most illegally trafficked animal in the world
pangolins
what is illegal trade in wildlife and natural resources valued annually
$213 billion annually
what is illegal trade in wildlife worth annually
$20 billion annually
what % of deforestation is illegal timber trade responsible for in major tropical countries
90% of deforestation
what (from most to least) is the most responsible for the threatening of species (5)
- habitat loss
- exotic species
- pollution
- exploitation
- disease
ecological options for the future (4)
- possible fixes for global warming (7)
- reduction in human population numbers
- large expansion of terrestrial and marine protected areas
- ecological role-models, educators, leadership
what is the projected earth population in 2100:
a) at 2011 growth rate
b) 2 child families
c) 1 child families
a) 18.5 billion
b) 8.7 billlion
c) 1.4 billion
what was the births/women in child in 1968, in 1978 (beginning of one child policy) and in 2015 (after one child policy)
1968: 5.9 births/women
1978: 3 births/women
2015: 1.7 births/women
where are there incentives for women to have large families
france, estonia, and russia and India
What did henry dave thoreau do
poet about saving trees
rachel carson
silent spring
DDT killing insects and birds
linkage density food web
average number of links per species
- total links divided by total number of species
connectance
actual number of links (L) divided by the total number of possible links (N) (L/N)
N = n(n-1)/2
how many salmon can a bear transfer into the forest over a 6 week spawning period
700 salmon over 6 weeks
what is the average transfer of salmon carcasses per km/year along spawning reaches of rivers
1000 carcasses per km per year
how many kg of carcass remnants left in BC forests by bears
2.4 million kg
what % of the nitrogen in riparian vegetation come from salmon
80%
what are the global trends in species abundance (3)
a) taxonomy and body size
b) aquatic vs terrestrial
c) geographical correlates of species richness (lat, depth and alt)
what are the explanations for trends in global species richness (6)
- primary productivity
- competition
- climate variability
- spatial heterogeneity
- environmental age
- geological time
equator of ocean vs up north/south. productivity and species richness. Marine.
equator: high species richness low productivity
up n/s: low species richness, high productivity
what temp is optimal for species richness in ocean
4 deg celcius
hadley cell, ferrel cell, polar cell
hadley cell: near equator, hot moist air rises. forms cumulus clouds, cools and causes rain at equator
ferrel cell: subsidence zones. Cold dry air sinks
polar cell: cold dry air falls
how many gigatons of carbon in biosphere
550 gigatons
how many gigatons of carbon in plants
450 gigatons
how many gigatons of carbon in bacteria
70 gigatons
how many gigatons of carbon in animal
2 gigatons
how many gigatons of carbon in marine biota
6 gigatons
how many gigatons in archaea
7 gigatons
spatial heterogenetiy theory
few plant species, lead to few herbivore species, lead to few predator species (vice versa)
what is the storage effect
ecological mechanism that reduces the potential for competitive exclusion more strongly in the tropics
how much does the storage effect reduce the ratio of interspecific-to-intraspecific competition by for each degree of latitude closer to the equator
reduces interspecific-to-intraspecific competition by 0.25% for each degree of lat closer to the equator
- because of the longer growing seasons: lower recruitment synchrony between species and enhancing niche partitoning
essential features of equilibrium theory (3)
- number of species moves toward an equilibrium of extinction and colonization as a function of island area and distance
- at equilibrium, actual species composition is in continuous state of change as some species go extinct and new species colonize: high turnover rate
- can predict number of species but not composition of species
speciation occurs with: tripartite theory
- decreased extinction
- increased isolation
- decreased immigration
- increased area??
biggest cause of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon
cattle ranching
65-70%
what % of the abundances of species are affected by forest edges (positive or neg)
85%
where did species that live in the centre of the forest reach peak abundances from forest edges
200-400m from the forest edge
what kind of animals experienced a larger reduction in suitable habitat than other forest-core species
smaller-bodied amphibians, larger reptiles, medium-sized non volant mammals
What greenhouse gases were derived from air bubbles trapped in ice in antarctica
CO2, methane, nitrous oxide
- naturally falls and rises every ~ 100,000 years
- now peak rise that isn’t natural
how many CO2 molecules in –> methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbon
methane: 32 CO2
nitrous oxide: 150 CO2
CFC: > 10,000
radiative absorption per ppm increase atmospheric [] (CO2, methane, N20, CFC)
CO2: 406 ppmv (part per million by volume)
methane: 1880 ppbv (part per billion by volume)
nitrous oxide: 330 ppbv
CFC’s: ~ 0.38 ppbv
what % is does black carbon contribute to GW
20%
what % does water vapour contribute to global warming?
60%
