Unit 1, 2, 3 exam prep questions Flashcards
Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Sustainable development
How is sustainable development applied to the management of a resource? (the 3 pillars)
- Economy
-decisions consider all costs - Environment
-decisions do not harm the environment - Societal
-decisions reflect the needs of society
What is the scientific method?
- Observation
- Hypothesis
- Experiment
- Results
- Publish/reproduce results
What is traditional knowledge?
Transmitted from generation to generation
What is local knowledge?
First-hand experience by a specific group of people in a short period of time
How does negative and positive feedback affect and moderate population growth and carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere?
Negative feedback is the canceling out of the input and output, which stabilizes the system
Positive feedback is when the output feeds back into the system, furthering it toward an extreme
Population growth and carbon dioxide emissions are examples of positive feedback
What is a food chain?
The flow of energy in a series of feeding relationships
What are the levels of organization found in an ecosystem?
- Species
- Population
- Community
- Ecosystem
- Landscape
What is the structure of a food chain?
- Producers
- Primary consumers
- Secondary consumers
- Tertiary consumers
- Decomposers
What laws govern the flow of energy in an ecosystem?
Energy flows in one direction
First law of thermodynamics:
-Energy cannot be created nor destroyed only transformed
Second law of thermodynamics:
-There is a loss of heat energy each time it is transformed
What evidence is there proving these laws/restrictions exist in the ecosystem?
1st law:
-Photosynthesis: solar energy being transformed into sugar
2nd: Heat being released when we exercise
What is an ecosystem?
The interactions of living and non-living aspects in a community
What is the effect of the second law of thermodynamics on pyramids of energy and biomass?
Energy decreases as you move up the pyramid
Only about 10% of energy is passed to the next trophic level
Humans have profoundly influenced the nitrogen cycle through what pathway?
The Haber Process reaction
-we are no longer reliant on bacterial reactions to fix nitrogen (turning atmospheric nitrogen n2, to ammonia NH3)
-Annual N2 fixation rates have doubled because of humans
What are the steps of the nitrogen cycle?
- Nitrogen fixation
-turning N2 to ammonia (NH3) - Nitrification
-turning ammonia to nitrate through nitrifying bacteria - Denitrification
-turning nitrate back to N2 through denitrifying bacteria - Ammonia and nitrate uptake:
-plants/bacteria take up ammonia to create amino acids and proteins - Ammonification
-wastes are transformed back into ammonia through ammonifying bacteria
What makes the phosphorus cycle so very different to the nitrogen cycle?
There is no atmospheric form of phosphorus, therefore no major atmospheric component
How is the P cycle
similar to the carbon cycle?
Both are affected by human activity
Carbon cycle: landscape alterations like deforestation reduces the movement of carbon, and fossil fuel combustion adds carbon to the atmosphere
Phosphorus cycle: Cleaning products, adding P to drinking water, fertilizers
Mutualism
Sharing benefits
ex. a bee feeds on nectar from flower, is covered in pollen, then goes to the next flower to contribute to pollination
Commensalism
One species benefits, the other is not affected
-squirrel using trees as habitats
Parasitism
One benefits, the other is harmed
How do biota respond to competition in terms of their ecological niche?
Through resource partitioning
-the alteration of an ecological niche to minimize competition
-ex: eating at night instead of day
What is a keystone species?
A species whose impact on the ecosystem is much larger than would be expected. If you were to take them away, there is a substantial change to the ecosystem
ex. prairie dogs and wolves
What is the fundamental and realized niche? How does this lead to speciation?
Fundamental: The environment an organism theoretically could use without competition or interference
Realized niche: The actual conditions of the environment
Animals will experience different environmental pressures which can lead to genetic differences, resulting in speciation
How to measure species diversity?
- Species richness
- Species evenness
- Dominance
Diversity is defined on?
- Landscapes
- Ecosystems
- Species
- Gene pool
What is biodiversity linked to?
The goods and services we rely on to fulfill our requirements
What are the types of resources?
Perpetual - unlimited
Renewable -should regenerate if given enough time
Non-renewable- limited quantity
What are the two main negative impacts humans have on the environment?
- Over-population driven by poverty
- Over-consumption of Natural Resources driven by affluence
How much land and water area a human population needs to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb the wastes
Ecological footprint
How do we use the ecological footprint to evaluate impacts on the environment?
Supply vs demand
Ecological overshoot
Our demand exceeds supply
What are the 4 spheres
- Atmosphere-air and gases
- Lithosphere-rock layer
- Hydrosphere-water
- Biosphere-organisms
The atmosphere is ____% nitrogen gas
78%
What are the 4 forms of nitrogen?
- Nitrogen gas in the atmosphere
- Ammonia
- Nitrate
- Organic forms (proteins, DNA, RNA, etc.)
Which bacteria is found in nodules found in the roots of legumes?
Rhizobium
Which bacteria is found in water?
Cyanobacteria
- Economic well being
- Ecosystem services - benefits from the natural world (pollenating, clean water)
- Cultural value (artists)
- Recreational value (going for walks, birdwatching)
- Scientific value
The importance of biodiversity
What factors contribute to variations in species diversity?
- Geographic isolation
- Latitudinal gradient
-biodiversity is strongest at the equator - Age of the ecosystem
-tropical regions are “older” because they didn’t undergo glaciation - Structural complexity of the ecosystem
A multi-dimensional view of everything an organism does
-where they live and find resources, interactions with other organisms, lifestyle, adaptations
Ecological Niche
Carrying capacity
The largest population that can be sustained without degrading resources or jeopardizing availability for future generations
True/false: carbonic acid accelerates weathering and erosion on land?
True
Where is the largest reservoir of carbon dioxide found?
In the ocean
_____ returns carbon to the atmosphere
Volcanic eruptions
True/false: Weathering, erosion, transport, and sedimentation create limestone rocks rich in phosphate?
No! Rich in carbon
Photosynthesis, respiration/decomposition, and combustion contribute to the movement of carbon between?
The biosphere and atmosphere
Sedimentation contributes to the formation of fossil fuels within?
The lithosphere
