Rist Flashcards
___________ is the branch of biology that deals with relationships of organisms to one another and their physical surroundings.
ecology
__________ is a complex of living organisms, their physical environment, and all their interrelationships in a particular unit of space
ecosystem
The following are examples of which ecosystem services?
nutrient cycling
soil production
global water cycle
supporting services (these are the foundation of ecosystem services)
The following are examples of which ecosystem services?
food/pollination
fresh water
wood and fiber
fuel
provisioning services
The following are examples of which ecosystem services?
climate regulation
flood regulation
disease regulation
water purification
regulating services
The following are examples of which ecosystem services?
aesthetic
spiritual
educational
recreational
cultural services
A healthy ecosystem is one that is __________, that is, it has the ability to maintain structure and function over time in the face of external stress.
sustainable
___________ is the ability to meet current and future needs of ecosystem services
sustainability
T/F: a healthy ecosystem is one that is sustainably productive
true
How can we provide economic arguments for promoting sustainability and investing resources to maintain ecosystems?
by valuing ecosystem services
T/F: biological communities that are RICH in species are substantially HEALTHIER and MORE productive than those depleted of species, therefore we can use biodiversity as an indicator of ecosystem health
true
_______ is the global authority on species extinction risk.
IUCN
T/F: species extinction rate is occuring at 10 to 100 times the natural rate.
false – 100 to 1000 times the natural rate… really bad :(
Name 5 big threats to biodiversity
- habitat change/loss
- overexploitation
- climate change
- pollution
- biological invasions
T/F: threats to biodiversity occur over various time and spatial scales, and thus require action at levels ranging from local to international (overexploitation is more local level, whereas climate change is international)
true
T/F: healthy ecosystems have social AND economic value, so it is critical to recognize that we can allocate resources to maintain them sustainably
true
T/F: biodiversity is declining which indicates our ecosystems around the world are in trouble/not healthy/not sustainable/not productive
true
What are the 2 main goals of livestock production systems?
- produce enough safe and nutritious food to meet the needs of growing population
- maintain economic productivity
How do livestock production systems act as an intermediary and impact ecosystems, the human population, and resources?
Livestock production systems require services from the ecosystem in order to operate (land, water, crops/food)
They also GENERATE resources (food and manure)
how does climate change impact livestock production?
- different availability of livestock forage/feed (Some things are unable to grow some places d/t changes)
- heat stress (change in water consumption, feed intake, production levels, and reproduction)
- change in vector-borne disease patterns
We want to develop livestock production systems that do what 3 things:
- improve/maintain animal health and welfare
- reduce impact of livestock on climate/ecosystems
- mitigate impact of climate change/unhealthy ecosystems on livestock
T/F: companion animals receive resources from our ecosystem (food), provide resources to our ecosystem (working dogs), experience the impact of unhealthy ecosystems (heartworm, algal bloom toxicity), and even sometimes negatively impact our ecosystem (free-roaming cats and horses, released exotic pets).
true
T/F: sustainability in veterinary medicine is a vast field that has a plethora of knowledge for how we can practice veterinary medicine more sustainably.
false – this is an emerging field and we have tons more to contribute in the near future.
Describe the MEDICAL approach to infectious disease
Hint: 3 questions to ask and answer
- what are the symptoms?
- what body systems are affected?
- how severe is this disease?
this approach is important for diagnosis and treatment of disease
The following describes which approach to infectious disease?
“What is the cause of disease, who does it effect, where does transmission occur, and what patterns of disease do we see?” This is important in disease prevention and control within populations
epidemiologic
The ecological approach to infectious disease is important for prediction of when and where disease will occur. What 2 questions are commonly asked with this approach?
- why do the patterns of disease occur as they do?
- what variables are important in influencing disease patterns?
______________ is a set of biotic and abiotic conditions in the environment that define the limit of a species’ ability to survive.
niche
Overlap in time-space of niches determines what…
the dynamics of infectious diseases
____________ is the study of underlying principles that influence spatial and temporal patterns of diseases
disease ecology
Describe how a greater bird diversity leads to less spillover of WNV into human and equine populations.
Some bird species are more competent than others at maintaining WNV.
Having a greater bird diversity would mean that mosquitos have MORE opportunity to bite NON-COMPETENT birds, which would lead to lower WNV transmission within the bird populations, and subsequently less amplification of the virus in mosquitos and lower spillover into human and equine population