Unit 4 Exam Review BIOL 102

How much water is useful to us?

Far less than 1%

Abundance of ocean water

97% of Earth's water

Abundance of freshwater

3% of Earth's water

Abundance of surface water

Less than 1% of Earth's water

Hydrologic (water) cycle

Water goes through different states; solid, liquid, or gas

Why is water nonrenewable but recyclable

It can be reused but not regenerated

Sources of global water use

Industry, domestic, and agriculture which is the biggest user

Relationship between affluence and water use

The more rich a country, the more water they use; Canada and US being the biggest users

Direct water use examples

Faucets, washing clothes, showering, toilet, etc.

Indirect water use examples

Energy and food

Average direct water use per day

80 gallons of water a day

Average indirect water use per day

2,000 gallons of water a day

Water footprint of beef

Has the biggest footprint

Water footprint of vegetables

Has the smallest footprint

Sources of fresh water

Glaciers/ice caps, groundwater, rivers, atmosphere, lakes, etc.

Groundwater/aquifer

Largest useable source of freshwater, 12%

How can aquifers be depleted

Droughts or overuse of water

What happens when aquifers are depleted

Sinkholes

Watersheds

Also called drainage basin or catchment, where land area channels rain/snow to creeks/streams/rivers, eventually flows to reservoirs/bays/oceans.

Eutrophication

Picking up pollutants, happens often with watersheds

Largest watershed in the US

The missouri/mississippi drainage basin

Dams and watersheds

Creates reservoirs

Riparian zones

Areas close enough to a body of water that they are affected by the water's presence and affects the water itself

Benefits of riparian zones with healthy vegetation

Nutrient storage, slowing runoff, bank stabilization (helps with erosion), and increased aquatic biodiversity

Why wastewater treatment is necessary

Removes contaminants and it returns water to the hydrologic cycle which is a necessary process

Point sources

Discharges pollutants directly into the water source

Nonpoint sources

Runoff that enters water indirectly from overland flow

Agricultural runoff and eutrophication

Fertilizer and pesticide pollution runoff into water

Bioaccumulation

Substances are accumulated in organism and can affect ecosystems and cause population decline

Biomagnification

Increases concentration of substance as organism moves up the food chain, can end up affecting health and reproduction of higher organisms. Consumes smaller organisms with substance and consumes substance itself.

Sources of ocean pollution

Oil spills, plastic, and fishing equipment

Deepwater horizon

Largest oil spill in history, in the golf of "america"

Coral bleaching

As CO2 rises it acidifies the ocean, causing massive die off of coral due to loss of algae.

Conservation biology

Scientific study of how to protect, maintain, manage and restore biodiversity

Number if known species

1.9 million

Most abundant species

Insects

Why biodiversity is measured by species diversity

Shows an ecosystem's health and resilience as well as providing goods and services that are relied on daily

Species diversity index

Mathematical formula accounting for richness, abundance, and evenness

Different components of species diversity index

Species richness, species abundance, and species evenness

Species richness

The number of species in a community

Species abundance

The number of individuals of each species in a community

Species evenness

The pattern of species abundance (rare or common species?)

Rivet hypothesis

If too many species are lost, the ecosystem will crash

The types of priority species

Indicator, foundation, keystone, umbrella, and flagship

Indicator species role in ecosystem

The abundance, absence, or presence reflects a certain environmental condition

How indicator species help the ecosystem

Serves as a proxy for health and stability as well as serving as a warning sign or predictor for environmental fluctuations

Indicator species examples

Mayflies, dragonflies, lichen, worms, and freshwater shrimp

Foundation species role in ecosystem

Creates structures for other marine wildlife, referred to as ecosystem engineers

Foundation species examples

Sea urchins

Keystone species role in the ecosystem

Not super abundant and have a disproportionate effect on biodiversity in ecosystem

How keystone species help environment

Fills the vital niche in ecosystems and are often predators

Keystone species examples

Bears, fish, eagles

Flagship species role in the ecosystem

Looked at as an ambassador or symbol for a habitat, issue, campaign or environmental cause

How flagship species help environment

Brings awareness and helps the ecosystem in all ways

Flagship species examples

Bald eagles, pandas, chimps, polar bears, elephants

Invasive species

Species that are not native to the environment and can cause harm or even localized extinctions

How invasive species hurt the environment

Very competitive which makes native species decline, this lowers biodiversity

Biodiversity hotspot

A biogeographic region that is a significant reservoir of biodiversity and is being threatened with destruction

Biodiversity hotspot criteria

Over 1500 endemic plant species and over 70% of habitat disturbed by humans

How many biodiversity hotspots are there

36

How much land is covered by biodiversity hotspots

2.6%

Endemic species

A species (animal or plant) that is only found in one location (region, country, island)

The geographical areas that provide the most biodiversity

Marine coral reefs, equatorial regions (rain forests), mountainous regions, large islands

Why coral reefs are so biodiverse

Over 6,000 species of coral and so many different species of marine wildlife, the are the #1 in biodiversity.

Why are equatorial regions so diverse

They are home to most rainforests which have so much biodiversity, the closer to this, species diversity increases

Why are mountainous regions so diverse

They provide a plethora of habitats and physical conditions suitable for many different species as opposed to flatter areas

Why are large islands so diverse

Being close to mainland it brings immigration and many species with the space to do so

Forest fragments

Small patches of land that are not able to support species richness or population sizes, similar to small islands far from mainland

Mass extinction

Large numbers of species being eradicated globally

Adaptive radiations

Slow and gradual extinctions (normal)

How many mass extinctions have occurred in earth's history

5

Background extinction rate

1 species per every 1 million years

Current extinction rate

1,000 known species in the last 400 years, 1,000 times greater than background rate

Parameters that influence mass extinction

Global cycles/sea levels, ocean chemistry, atmospheric chemistry, climate, ocean o2 levels, volcanic activity, and asteroid impact

Parameters that influence the 6th mass extinction

Anthropogenic factors

Relationship between human pop growth and species extinction

As the human population grows, the same exponential pattern of species extinctions follows

Groups of taxa that have experience highest rates of extinction

Flowering plants, amphibious, and corals

Live plane report (2022) findings

There has been a worldwide decrease in biodiversity, highest rates showing to be in equatorial regions.

IUCN

International union for the conservation of nature

Major anthropogenic threats to biodiversity

Habitat loss, zoonotic disease transmission, invasive species, overexploitation, climate change from GW, pollution

Habitat loss

Mainly due to expanding agriculture, resource extraction and urbanization

Overexploitation

Overfishing, poaching (for meat, ornamentation, or sport)

Permian

98% of species lost, largest extinction to date

Cretaceous

Most recent extinction, dinosaurs went extinct

Zoonotic diseases

Can happen with direct/indirect contact. Most likely to happen with low gene diversity, and consumption.

Pollution and climate change

Introduces contaminants into natural environment and destabilizes ecosystem

Ways biodiversity can be preserved

Education on benefits of biodiversity, develop cooperative approach, effective methods of conservation, curve human population growth

Marine Mammal protection act 1972

Protects all aquatic wildlife; no killing, capture, or harassment, national

Endangered species act 1973

Mandates protection of certain species, species determined by USFWS, national

CITES 1973

Regulates sale and trade if endangered/threatened species or products, international

Conservation on biological diversity 1992

Sustainable use of biodiversity and equitable sharing of genetic resources, international

Top tier IUCN protected area categories

Level Ia, level Ib, level II

Level Ia

Strict nature preserves, main goal is to protect wildlife/habitat, human activity is heavily monitored and restricted (no hunting or fishing)

Level Ib

Wilderness area, not usually as pristine of a habitat, more visitors may be allowed

Level II

National parks, the conservation of natural or semi natural landscapes, often for human recreation

Protected areas global coverage

About 13% of earth's land but only 1.6% of oceans

If PA's are going up, why us extinction going up as well

The pressure outside of these areas are put under an increase of pressure

Debt-for-nature swaps

When a developing nation owes a wealthy nation but wealthy nation forgives it in exchange for pledging to protect natural areas

Ecotourism

Low impact travel to PAs that contribute to protection of environment while respecting locals

Single species conservation

Focusing on increasing species' size and genetic diversity, protecting and restoring habitat, certain captive species are chosen to maximize genetic diversity