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intro to environmental science > Poop > Flashcards

Poop Flashcards

1
Q

There were only a few million people on earth until what two things happened about 8,000 years ago?

A

Agriculture and domestication

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2
Q

What is an area where trees cover called?

A

Forest

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3
Q

Tropical rain forests contain 1/2 of all what?

A

Species on earth

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4
Q

Where is the largest tropical forest located?

A

Amazon rain forest

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5
Q

Where is the largest overall forest located?

A

Europe/Asia (coniferous)

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6
Q

What type of forest has trees that “die of old age” and are relatively undisturbed by humans?

A

Old-growth forest

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7
Q

Do old growth forests contain a high or low level of diversity?

A

High

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8
Q

What product plays a part in more activities of the modern economy than any other commodity?

A

Wood

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9
Q

What kind of countries produce less than half of all industrial wood, but account for 80% of consumption?

A

Developed countries

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10
Q

Industrial logging in N. America and Europe occur in what type of forest?

A

Managed forest

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11
Q

From what area does most unsustainable logging occur?

A

Tropical forests

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12
Q

What is the growth and harvest of trees as a commercial product called?

A

Forestry

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13
Q

What is the removal of trees without replacement?

A

Deforestation

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14
Q

About how many acres per second is removed from the rainforest?

A

1 acre

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15
Q

What are the causes (3) for tropical deforestation?

A

Logging, Nutrient poor soils, & changing rainfall patterns

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16
Q

What percent of old-growth forest remains intact in the United States?

A

> 10%

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17
Q

What two types of birds are dependent on old-growth forests?

A

Northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet

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18
Q

What is clear cutting?

A

Harvesting of all trees in an area

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19
Q

What are the disadvantages to clear cutting?

A

Loss of habitat and soil erosion

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20
Q

What is clear cutting with reserves?

A

Patches of trees left standing in an otherwise clear cut area

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21
Q

What kind of harvesting method leaves “seed trees” left standing for several years to be later harvested?

A

Shelterwood harvesting

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22
Q

What kind of harvesting method cuts trees in successive strips at different times?

A

Strip cutting

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23
Q

What kind of harvesting method cuts trees in scattered groups?

A

Selective harvesting

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24
Q

What are the current issues with logging in the US?

A

Subsidized logging doesn’t cover costs, and emphasis on road building

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25
Q

What are the negative effects to overgrazing?

A

Erosion, loss of native forage species, and desertification

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26
Q

What was the first national park in the US?

A

Yellowstone

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27
Q

What phenomena caused the population boom 8,000 years ago?

A

Agriculture and domestication

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28
Q

What is the rule of 70?

A

70 years / % growth = doubling time in years

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29
Q

What did Malthus propose?

A

Excess population growth causes poverty and war

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30
Q

What did Marx propose?

A

Exploitation oppression causes poverty, which then leads to excess population growth and war

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31
Q

What are the vital statistics about people called?

A

Demographics

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32
Q

What three components make up demographics?

A

Birth rates, death rates, and distribution of population

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33
Q

What is the number of births/deaths per thousand persons?

A

Crude birthrate/deathrate

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34
Q

What is the number of births per average woman over her lifetime?

A

Total fertility rate

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35
Q

What is it called when the birth rate = the death rate?

A

Zero population growth (ZPG)

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36
Q

What is the primary cause of population growth in recent history?

A

Declining mortality rate

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37
Q

What is the oldest age attainable by a member of a species?

A

Lifespan

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38
Q

What is the average age a newborn can expect to reach in any given situation?

A

Life expectancy

39
Q

What has caused the lower mortality rate?

A

Better health, sanitation, and nutrition

40
Q

What is pronatalism?

A

Attitude that encourages child bearing

41
Q

What are three reasons for a lower rate of birth?

A

Higher education and freedom for women, high cost of childbearing, and ideal family size changing

42
Q

What is the conscious decision regarding the number and spacing of children?

A

Family planning

43
Q

What are biotic components?

A

Living (plants, animals, fungi, bacteria)

44
Q

What are abiotic components?

A

Nonliving (rocks, soil, air, water, energy)

45
Q

What is an individual life form?

A

Organism

46
Q

What are multiple life forms of the same species?

A

Population

47
Q

What are multiple species within a given area?

A

Community

48
Q

What does the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere all add up to being?

A

Ecosystem

49
Q

What is the concentration of a utilitarian conservation?

A

Usefulness

50
Q

What is the concentration of a biocentric conservation?

A

“right to exist”

51
Q

What is the number of organisms an area can support under specified conditions?

A

Carrying capacity

52
Q

What is a resource that can be maintained long-term without degrading the environment or compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs?

A

Sustainable resource

53
Q

What is a set of principles for reducing long-term harmful human impact to the natural world?

A

Environmental ethics

54
Q

During what time period did the population increase most steeply?

A

Industrial revolution

55
Q

What is another name for a biome?

A

Regional ecosystem

56
Q

What is a biome?

A

contiguous areas with similar climatic conditions on the Earth

57
Q

What biome has cooler temperatures, moderate annual precipitation, coniferous trees, and is the largest biome untouched by humans?

A

Boreal forest

58
Q

What biome has the lowest stability?

A

Tundra

59
Q

What biome has the most threatened plant life?

A

Grasslands

60
Q

What biome performs important ecological servies such as water purification and flood storage?

A

Wetlands

61
Q

What is the top most layer in a thermally stratified lake?

A

Epilimnion

62
Q

What is a thermocline?

A

Thin but distinct layer in a body of water where temperature changes more rapidly with depth

63
Q

What is the dense, bottom layer in a thermally stratified lake?

A

Hypolimnion

64
Q

What water biome has the coldest water temperature, lowest amounts of dissolved oxygen and darkest conditions?

A

Benthos community

65
Q

What is the #1 human caused reason for reduced biodiversity?

A

Habitat destruction

66
Q

What is the #2 human caused reason for reduced biodiversity?

A

Introduction of exotic species

67
Q

What is the loss of genetic diversity due to a small number of individuals colonizing a new area?

A

Founder effect

68
Q

Which category of species is not protected in the 1973 endangered species act?

A

Vulnerable

69
Q

What section of the endangered species act prohibits “take” on privately owned lands?

A

Section 9

70
Q

What international treaty deals with the loss of biodiversity?

A

CITES

71
Q

What is the name of the first national wildlife refuge established by Teddy Roosevelt in 1903?

A

Pelican Island

72
Q

What are the 6 steps to the scientific method?

A
  1. ID a problem or question and make an observation
  2. Form hypothesis
  3. Set up test and make predictions
  4. Collect data
  5. Interpret data
  6. Reject or fail to reject hypothesis
73
Q

What is inductive reasoning?

A

Making broad generalizations from specific observations

74
Q

What is deductive reasoning?

A

Making a logical conclusion from a general statement

75
Q

What was the moral and aesthetic preservation movement based on?

A

The biocentric approach. Using the land with love and respect.

76
Q

What does the law of conservation of matter state?

A

Matter can’t be created and it can’t be destroyed

77
Q

What is kinetic energy?

A

Energy due to motion

78
Q

What is potential energy?

A

Energy of object due to position

79
Q

What law states that energy cannot be created and it cannot be destroyed but it can be transformed or transferred?

A

The first law of thermodynamics

80
Q

What is a cell membrane made of mainly?

A

Phospholipids

81
Q

What is the mitochondria?

A

Powerhouse of the cell

82
Q

What is a ribosome?

A

Primary site of protein synthesis

83
Q

What process releases energy from chemical bonds of glucose?

A

Cellular respiration

84
Q

What is a material that stores carbon for and extended period of time?

A

Carbon sink

85
Q

How are humans altering the carbon cycle?

A

Burning fossil fuels

86
Q

Natural phosphorus comes from where?

A

Weathering rocks

87
Q

How are humans altering the phosphorus cycle?

A

Adding fertilizers to soil

88
Q

What is the single environmental factor in shortest supply relative to a population’s needs?

A

Limiting factor

89
Q

What is an area outside the geographic range where a population is absent?

A

Zone of intolerance

90
Q

What is Mullerian mimicry?

A

Defensive mechanism in which 2 harmful species evolve the same coloration pattern

91
Q

What kind of curve represents exponential growth?

A

J curve (ideal living conditions)

92
Q

What kind of curve represents logistic growth?

A

S curve (population slows as it reaches carrying capacity)

93
Q

What is the transition area between two biomes?

A

Ectone. (high predation rates)

intro to environmental science (1 decks)

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