Unit 3 Flashcards
For populations that are isolated, random events such as a fire or flash flood can lead to which of the following outcomes?
increased risk of extermination
_________________ is a set of EPA-regulated actions that minimize pollution problems caused by construction, industrial, or land-use impacts on streams and lakes.
best management practices
______ contributes to the health and wellbeing of ecosystems, which in turn benefits human populations by providing ecosystem goods and services as well as cultural and health benefits.
Biodiversity
Human action has contributed to extinction around the world in what is being called the “_____ ______ ______.”
“sixth mass extinction.”
Evolution is defined as a change in ________ ________ in a population over time.
gene frequencies
How can CITES protect endangered species if it only regulates international trade? Do you think this is sufficient to protect endangered species? Why or why not?
CITES protects endangered species by controlling their sale or trade across national boundaries, thus making it unproductive to harvest or kill endangered species. Possible answers: Yes, it is enough because if it is difficult or impossible to legally trade/sell ivory (or what have you), then there is no point in poaching it. OR No, because it does not criminalize harvesting the species OR No, because it cannot regulate trade within a country.
All apples belong to the species Malus domestica. The wide variety of apples available in the produce department of your local grocery store is an example of __________ diversity.
genetic
Successful conservation efforts consider the needs of people who live in the area. _______ and ____-___-______ _____ can provide funding and incentives to protect natural areas; in the process, they benefit local communities.
Ecotourism, debt-for-nature swaps
True or False: The sector that uses the highest percentage of water globally is industry.
False
Dams are often constructed to create _________, large bodies of water that hold freshwater for flood control, electricity production, etc.
reservoirs
In order to implement an ecosystem approach to conservation, we must know …
how to identify when an ecosystem is in danger.
Individuals do not change their own genes to produce new adaptations – they simply ___ ______ ______ __ to the next generation if they survive to reproduce.
pass their traits on
Population size matters as well as _______ _____ and _______ _____ affect how quickly natural selection might produce a change in a population
reproductive rate, generation time
In California, snowmelt in the Sierra Nevada Mountains can provide up to _______ of the state’s water.
1/3
A ______________ (two words) is a method that can be used to assess the status of an aquatic ecosystem.
biological assesment
Why is biodiversity loss a concern?
It disrupts ecological connections, potentially diminishing ecosystem services.
Human provisions of biodiverstity
food fiber products such as cotton and wool fuel pharmaceuticals
Water scarcity can be ______ or ______.
physical, economic
Ten thousand years ago, most members of Species A were killed by a series of volcanic eruptions. However, some members escaped; all modern members of Species A are descended from those 100 individuals. This is an example of:
the bottleneck effect
>__% of modern-day extinction have been caused by humans
>75%
Wastewater can be decontaminated using high-tech methods that use advanced filtration and harsh chemicals or low-tech methods that mimic the way wetlands purify water.
Both methods use _______ to break down sewage.
bacteria
Which of the following is NOT likely to result from eutrophication?
an increase in sunlight penetration
“When exposed to pesticides, some Japanese beetles become more pesticide resistant and harder to kill.” There is something wrong with this statement. Reword it to more accurately represent what happens when pesticide application leads to a pesticide resistant population.
The problem here is with the word “become” — this implies that individuals change their vulnerability (and genetic makeup) to the pesticide upon exposure. “When exposed to pesticides, most Japanese beetles may die but some individuals survive due to natural resistance. The survivors produce the next generation, a population where many (or most) individuals possess the same trait as their surviving parents — pesticide resistance.”
248 million years ago largest extinction event on record, with 90-95% of all marine species lost
Permian extinction
True or False: Land trusts and conservation easements protect private land from future development.
True
Why do most scientists think that we are in the midst of a sixth mass extinction?
Current extinction rates are greater than the background rate
Identify some actions you could personally take that would contribute to conservation of biodiversity.
There are many possible answers here — some actions include: participating in ecotourism opportunities; volunteering time or money to conservation organizations or local natural areas such as parks or other protected areas; educating local community about ways to increase habitat protection (i.e. landowners could plant vegetation alongside streams to prevent water pollution) or decrease harmful actions (i.e. refrain from transporting species from one area to another); avoid buying exotic pets or products made from endangered species.
_____ selection favors the norm and selects against extremes.
Stabilizing
A watershed includes:
all the uphill land surrounding a river and the streams that can feed water into that river.
Individuals with inherited traits that are best suited for their environment leave more offspring than those who are less suited.
natural selection
About ____ of all packaged food and household products in the United States contain palm oil.
half
A________is a nonprofit organization set up to protect and care for private nonprofit land.
land trust
Conserve Biodiversity Ecosystem Approach
Techniques used include:
Restoration – The repair and rehabilitation of ecosystems to close to their original state
Remediation – Restoration that focuses on the cleanup of pollution in a natural area
Emphasis is often on biodiversity hotspots
A species that naturally occurs in only one place is called:
an endemic species.
The variety of life (biodiversity) on Earth is tremendous, but we have identified only a fraction of the species that exist. ______ make up the largest group, but we know much more about smaller groups such as plants and vertebrates.
Insects
Extinction can occur when a ______ cannot adapt to changes in its environment.
population
____ ________ causes health problems and can contribute to scarcity when it contaminates local water sources.
Poor sanitation
The main difference between high-tech and low-tech methods of wastewater treatment is that high-tech methods:
use toxic chemicals to purify water.
with more than 60% of river flow withdrawn, these areas will face water shortage in the near future
approaching physical water scarcity
Today, ______ _____ appears to be causing another mass extinction.
human impact
______ are the complete loss of a species from an area. They may be local (gone from an area - _______) or global (gone for good).
Extinctions, extirpation
How many different tree species were found in Peru’s Manu National Park?
more than 1,000
watery supplies are abundant and there are no economic constraints to access it
little or no water scarcity
439 million years ago >20% of families lost, including 85% of all marine species
ordovician extinction
According to recent estimates, what percent of the species on Earth have yet to be discovered?
86%
A broken pipe leaks raw sewage into a river causing major pollution of the water downstream. Does the pipe represents a point or nonpoint source of pollution?
point
Explain how the decline of the forest elephant affects other species that share its ecosystem.
Elephants are a keystone species that modifies the environment in ways that make it more habitable for other species, thus increasing biodiversity. Without savanna elephants, the grasslands would transition to shrubland or forest (a problem for the many grassland species who live there). Without forest elephants, many plant species would not be dispersed and the physical structure of the forest would change.
True or False: Human recreation, hunting, and fishing are prohibited in wildlife refuges and wilderness areas in order to protect the threatened species and ecosystems within.
False
Which of the following would be the best land use for a riparian area in terms of reducing runoff pollution?
A forested area with lots of native trees and shrubs
The scientific field that relies on species’ genetics to inform conservation efforts.
Through DNA analysis, conservation biologists determine the amount of genetic diversity within a population, or the kinship between separate groups (i.e., whether they are part of one extended population or represent distinct populations that don’t interbreed), or even whether a given population is part of an endangered species.
conservation genetics
You are investigating a die-off of fish in the local mountain lake, Lake Pleasant. It is fed by Hilltop Stream, and the Happy Valley River comes out of the lake and heads down toward Happy Valley. Do any of the following have something to do with the die-off? Justify your answers.
- The manufacturing plant is not in the same watershed so it does not contaminate the lake.
- The cattle feedlot is on the river, which is at a lower elevation than the lake, so it does not impact the lake.
- The new subdivision may cause sediment and fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides to enter the lake.
- The older neighborhood adds fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, possible household chemicals, automobile wastes, possible sewage and drug contamination of the waters.
How does ecosystem conservation differ from single-species conservation?
The ecosystem approach involves restoring and protecting an entire habitat and all the species within it.
A liquid contaminant spills in the middle of a large, flat field during a dry month in a region containing permeable soils. What is the most likely direct threat of this spill to human health?
Contamination of an unconfined aquifer containing wells that supply drinking water to houses
Water pollution can cause ___________________.
eutrophication
hypoxia
decreased sunlight penetration
What would it cost to buy all of the ecosystem services we get for free from nature?
Approximately $44,000,000,000,000
Why might a population, isolated by the founder effect, be more vulnerable to extinction than the original population from which they came?
The founder effect usually produces isolated populations that contain less genetic diversity than the original population. These less diverse populations are less likely to have individuals present that might possess needed traits in the face of environmental change.
Suppose a native Guam bird species began to show evasive behaviors that allowed it to avoid the brown tree snake. Describe a potential coevolution scenario that might have allowed this adaptation to emerge in the population.
Suppose there are individuals who are naturally more wary of movement or disturbance in the trees. They would be less likely to be eaten by the snake and would survive to reproduce. If this trait was controlled by genetics, the surviving birds would pass the evasive behavior trait onto their offspring. Over time, the population contains more and more birds with evasive behaviors as the snakes eat the ones without this trait (who don’t survive to reproduce) and leave behind birds with the trait (who do survive to reproduce). The snakes could eliminate the birds without the evasive behavior completely, leaving only a population of birds with the evasive behavior trait. Essentially, the snake is the selective pressure that favors evasive behavior.
Why are many of the biodiversity hotspots around the world on islands?
Populations of island species are isolated.
Groundwater in aquifers is naturally replenished __ _____ ____ ____ ___ _______.
as water soaks into the ground.
65 million years ago 70% of species were lost
Cretaceous extinction
dependable supply of water, flood control, electricity generation, recreation • habitat destruction, water conflicts, evaporation
dams
______ ______ helps us understand the diversity of life and how populations change over time. It does not study creation or the origin of life.
Evolutionary biology
What are some of the things that communities in the United States do to deal with their wastewater?
In the United States, some kind of treatment of wastewater is required. The most common method is to filter the incoming wastewater and then let the solids settle out. After that, the liquid is sent through a series of ponds where bacteria help breakdown the material; some chemical treatment may also be done. Some communities build wetlands to clean the water and provide places for wildlife. Some use it to water parklands and golf courses or for other irrigation. Some coastal areas simply pump it out to sea, with or without treatment; others pump it into the aquifer to prevent saltwater infiltration. Some areas use reverse osmosis and UV light disinfection to render the wastewater potable.
a population contains a variety of individuals, but some variants are more common than others random mating occurs, but some unlucky individuals don’t find mates. subsequent generations may have different gene frequencies
genetic drift
external factors that threaten forest elephants
Poaching to feed a growing market for elephant ivory
Habitat fragmentation due to road building that has made elephant herds once protected by the dense maze of vegetation easily accessible to poachers
The ________________ regulates industrial pollutants and sets allowable levels of pollutants that can be present in environmental waters or released over a certain period of time.
Clean Water Act
_____ conservation programs focus on protecting the habitat within an ecosystem, which helps protect all the species that live there.
Ecosystem
The uppermost water level of the saturated zone of an aquifer is found is known as the_________ __________.
water table
Those with major effects on ecological functions whose absence would affect many other species in the ecological community
keystone species
Genetic diversity in a population is the raw material on which _____ _________ operates. The more diverse a population, the more likely there will be individuals present who can withstand or even thrive if environmental conditions change.
natural selection
_______ is water that has few dissolved ions, such as salt.
Freshwater
Which of the following countries has the lowest per capita water availability in the world?
Saudi Arabia
Many temperate forests have increased in size because ________________.
harvesting timber has been banned
The water table can be considered the bottom of
the unsaturated zone
protects all marine mammals (no killing, capture, or harrasment without authorization)
Marine Mammals Protection Act (1972)
US National Law
_____ ______ are hard-to-eradicate, non-native species that cause ecological, economic, or human health problems.
Invasive species
When populations diverge because of isolation, food availability, new predators, or habitat fragmentation such that their members can no longer freely interbreed, new species may arise
speciation
True or False: Hypoxic waters are waters with extremely low levels of oxygen.
True
The more _____ _____ in the population, the greater the chance some will survive.
genetic diversity
Local community members are protesting a proposed development because it would destroy a population of sunflowers they believe is a listed endangered species. Developers claim that this flower is found throughout the area and is not endangered. How would conservation genetics help settle this dispute?
Conservation genetics could determine if this was indeed an endangered species or is of the more common variety that is not endangered.
Extinction is nothing new but aside from mass extinction events, the ______ _____ of extinction is low.
background rate
focus of conservation biology
protecting individual species and maintaining or restoring entire ecosystems.
The leading human cause of species endangerment is __________ __________.
habitat destruction
Globally, _________ is our biggest user of water and also the sector with the largest amount of waste
agriculture
aside for long-term conservation of the habitat and species that live there. They offer varying levels of protection.
Protected Areas
What is the number one contributor to species extinction?
habitat destruction
The typical purpose of desalination is to produce water that can be
consumed directly by people
On average, which of the following sources of household activity uses the greatest amount of water per day?
Flushing the toilet
Since the early 1990s, more than 8 million hectares of rain forest (about the size of ______) have been cleared in Southeast Asia for oil palm plantations.
Maine
In regions of the Amazon rainforest where extensive deforestation has occurred through controlled fires, leaving the ground blackened and charred, which component of the water cycle is directly affected?
Transpiration
Regulates the sale and trade of endangered or threatened species or products (175 signatory nations)
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (1973)
One major difference between sewage treatment facilities that use wetlands and traditional sewage treatment facilities is that
sewage treatment wetlands do not produce potable water.
Water Cycle
