SCI 1101 Final Exam Review

At Hakalau Forest in ________, ranchland is being restored to the forest, invasive plants are being removed and native ones are being planted, and néné are being protected while new populations of them are being established.

Hawaii

Detritivores include ______.

Millipedes and Soil Insects

What is de-extinction?

Bringing back species that have been extinct from ancestral DNA.

Heavy rains and mudslides cause a river to change course, isolating two groups of lizards from one another. If they remain isolated for a long period of time, ________.

The groups will probably diverge genetically, and speciation may occur.

When a population approaches its carrying capacity, its resources ________.

Become more scarce as population growth rate decreases.

The economic benefits of restoring the FL Everglades justify the expense.

True

Which of the following is TRUE about top predators?

A) They are likely to be producers.

B) They include bacteria and fungi.

C) They are likely to be herbivores.

D) They are often keystone species.

E) Their removal increases biodiversity.

D) They are often keystone species.

Remember the crazy video "How small is an atom"? What is the size of the nucleus compared to the size of the entire atom?

A marble inside a football field.

How do feral pigs relate to the malaria problem in Hawaii?

Pigs dig holes in the rainforest floor, creating water holes where mosquitoes can breed.

With Nalini Nadkarni's (TED) husband being a taxonomist, what does everyone in the family have named after them?

An ant species.

Oceans cover 70% of the earths surface meaning there is a lot of water compared to land. We have always believed dilution was the solution and we could never have an impact on that much ocean. What have we discovered about this idea?

We are having a big impact on the ocean.

Many organisms that undergo chemosynthesis use ________ instead of ________ to fuel the processes that convert carbon dioxide into sugars.

Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S); Sunlight.

Secondary Succession can _________.

Occur after a fire or flood.

You live in the Pacific Northwest and hear a news story about the dangers associated with pyroclastic flow. Which of the following is the news story about?

A) Tsunamis

B) Geysers

C) floods

D) mudslides

E) volcanic eruptions

E) Volcanic Eruptions.

The force driving plate tectonics is ________.

Heat in the inner layers of the earth.

Phoenix has been called one of the least sustainable cities in part due to the lush lawns, parks and ponds found in and around the city. Why does this attribute of Phoenix make it unsustainable?

The city gets less than 8 inches of rainfall a year and so they have to pump water from a lake.

Geothermal energy, wind energy, and solar radiation are all examples of _______.

Renewable Environmental Resources.

The eutrophication that has taken place in Chesapeake Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, and other locations appears to be due to ________.

Excess nutrients from fertilizers.

What actions do the Chesapeake Bay Program take to make the water quality better?

Reducing pollution by preventing agriculture and urban runoff.

Earthquakes result from _______.

Energy released from movement at plate boundaries and faults.

When you burn a log in your fireplace you are converting ________.

Chemical energy to Thermal energy.

Which of the following is an example of an ecosystem?

A) A colony of leafcutter ants, the leaves they harvest, and the fungi that they cultivate and tend to.

B) A colony of leafcutter ants, the leaves they harvest, the fungi that they cultivate and tend to, and the soil nutrients and moisture needed for their garden.

C) A colony of leafcutter ants and the leaves they harvest for their fungal garden.

D) A colony of leafcutter ants living in a forest.

E) These are all examples of an ecosystem.

B) A colony of leafcutter ants, the leaves they harvest, the fungi that they cultivate and tend to, and the soil nutrients and moisture needed for their garden

Plants and animals are able to move great distances through _______ transportation.

Global

Which of the following describes a graph of the Kaibab deer population between 1906 and 1923?

A) A J-shaped upward curve with a very rapid increase.

B) A "sine wave" curving up, down, up, down

C) A rapidly decreasing slope from left to right

D) An S-shaped curve that shows a smooth, rapid increase and then levels off

E) A straight line slanting upward, showing a steady increase over time

Scenario: In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt created the Grand Canyon National Game Preserve on the Kaibab Plateau in northern Arizona. Between 1907 and 1923, cattle grazing was greatly reduced, mule deer hunting was eliminated, and predators were killed. Over 800 cougars, 20 wolves (most had already been killed in the 1800s), and 7000 coyotes were trapped or shot. In response, the mule deer herd began to increase: By 1915, deer numbers were estimated at 25,000; 50,000 by 1920; and 100,000 by 1923.

A) A J-shaped upward curve with a very rapid increase.

This graph helps to explain ________.

Why we need to be concerned with the damage to rainforests and coral reefs.

Pablo and Johanna appear not to have given consideration to the importance of controlling for ________.

Scenario: Pablo and Johanna have to do a yearlong study for their biology course. After some discussion, they decide to try comparing their dogs and the diet that they feed them to test their hypothesis that the local veterinarian's special dog food mix will enhance growth and development. Each student adopts a puppy from the local pound. Pablo plans to feed his Goldendoodle the special diet, while Johanna plans to use generic dry kibble from the supermarket for her bulldog.

Possible differences resulting from using two different breeds of dogs.

Ticks serve what role in this food web?

Parasites

The invasive European buckthorn invades a local forest preserve. Initially, the population of buckthorn rapidly increases, and then it begins to level off. This pattern of population growth most closely resembles ________.

Logistic growth

In the TED talk "Conserving the Canopy", who became an ambassador for the trees and travelled with forest handbooks all over?

Tree Top Barbie

Natural resources are ________.

The substances and energy sources that we take from the environment.

In urban ecoystems, how is air quality, including particulate matter and other airborne gases, mitigated by trees?

Trees can capture these particles.

What happens in the LHC supercollider?

Protons collide to create mini big bangs.

Which of the following is the most logical explanation for water being a greenhouse gas?

A) The ionic bonds holding water vapor together help it trap heat.

B) Water is acidic, and acids retain heat.

Water is a good conductor of electricity, and electricity contains heat.

C) Hydrogen-containing compounds trap the most heat, and water contains hydrogen.

D) The hydrogen bonds holding molecules of water vapor together help it trap heat.

Scenario: Many geologists have proposed naming the current time period of Earth's history the Anthropocene epoch. The rationale for doing so includes the fact that erosion rates and greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere have increased rapidly over the past 300 years. Almost all environmental scientists agree that increases in greenhouse gases contribute to global climate change. Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrochlorofluorocarbons, and water vapor are the main culprits. Human activities, chief among them the extraction and burning of fossil fuels for energy, have significantly increased these "greenhouse gases" in our atmosphere in the last 300 years. With rising standards of living in developing countries, emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are expected to continue to rise. If unchecked, carbon dioxide levels will reach twice preindustrial levels by midcentury and double again by the end of the century. Computer models have shown that this rise alone could raise Earth's temperatures by 3 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100.

D) The hydrogen bonds holding molecules of water vapor together help it trap heat.

By definition, parasites ________ their host.

Get nourishment from and harm.

Grazing animals such as deer are ________.

Primary consumers

According to Ed Yong (TED), parasites are in extreme abundance and are critical and common to our world.

True

Why was the earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010 so much more deadly than the earthquake that struck Tohoku, Japan, in 2011?

Japan has a stricter building code.

A system stabilized by negative feedback, with opposing processes offsetting each other, is said to be in ________.

Dynamic equillibrium

The 'ring of fire' is ______.

A belt of earthquakes and volcanoes that occur around the Pacific Ocean.

In "The Dawn of De-extinction", what is the first species they are working on to bring back that was once the most abundant bird in the world?

The Passenger Pigeon

How do residents in towns around Fukushima make sure students are safe as they return to school?

Radiation monitors outside schools, testing all food for radiation levels everyday.

Overpopulation contributes to global warming when ________.

Scenario: Many geologists have proposed naming the current time period of Earth's history the Anthropocene epoch. The rationale for doing so includes the fact that erosion rates and greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere have increased rapidly over the past 300 years. Almost all environmental scientists agree that increases in greenhouse gases contribute to global climate change. Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrochlorofluorocarbons, and water vapor are the main culprits. Human activities, chief among them the extraction and burning of fossil fuels for energy, have significantly increased these "greenhouse gases" in our atmosphere in the last 300 years. With rising standards of living in developing countries, emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are expected to continue to rise. If unchecked, carbon dioxide levels will reach twice preindustrial levels by midcentury and double again by the end of the century. Computer models have shown that this rise alone could raise Earth's temperatures by 3 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100.

It leads to deforestation, increased agriculture, and increased use of fossil fuels.

In Ed Yongs example of the parasitic wasp infecting the caterpillars, what was happening in the video when another insect tried to touch the caterpillar?

The caterpillar became a head-banging zombie bodyguard defending its parasitic wasp brothers still in cocoon.

Because of the rain-shadow effect, ________.

A dry region occurs on the downwind side of a mountain.

Temperature remains relatively stable through the year in what biome?

Tropical Rainforest

Mining operations create waste that includes toxic waste and rare-earth elements. This waste can make it into our waterways killing fish and polluting our waters. What is this waste called?

Acid Mine Drainage

What is a key "take-home message" about Easter Island?

An island population must live as responsible stewards of its resources.

What is likely southern FL best strategy to adapt to climate change including rising sea levels?

CERP - The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan

What happens to southern FL's Biscane Aquifer as too much freshwater is drawn out to meet the demands of high population in Miami?

Salt water seeps into the underground aquifer mixing with freshwater.

What is the invader causing all sorts of trouble in New Orleans, LA?

Subterranean termites

What percent of organisms that have ever lived on earth are extinct?

99%

Endemic species ________.

are found in only one place on the planet.

Further development may not be the best option for Phoenix considering there is no water to supply it. According to the article, do future plans fall in line with this idea?

No, in fact Bill Gates is planning to build 80,000 new homes.

Which of the following would reduce nutrient pollution in the Mississippi River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds?

A) Closing or update sewage treatment plants that lack a process for removing nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater

B) Allowing storm runoff from streets and parking lots to enter waterways rather than capturing it in lagoons because the lagoons can contaminate groundwater aquifers

removing the "buffers" around streams because they acidify the water

C) Applying fertilizer to lawns and crops just before heavy rainstorms because the fertilizer would then infiltrate the soil rather than staying at the surface, where it can contaminate waterways

D) Removing wetlands that are contaminating the waterways with nutrient pollution from wildlife waste and decaying vegetation such as cattails

A) Closing or update sewage treatment plants that lack a process for removing nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater.

A population is ________.

A group of individuals of a single species that live and interact in one area.

One dependent variable in this study will be ________.

Scenario: Pablo and Johanna have to do a yearlong study for their biology course. After some discussion, they decide to try comparing their dogs and the diet that they feed them to test their hypothesis that the local veterinarian's special dog food mix will enhance growth and development. Each student adopts a puppy from the local pound. Pablo plans to feed his goldendoodle the special diet, while Johanna plans to use generic dry kibble from the supermarket for her bulldog.

How much the dogs grow

Which of the following BEST embodies the qualities of a scientific theory?

A) Dangerous wildfires in California could be avoided by better fire prevention strategies.

B) Prairies that have larges herds of bison show greater plant diversity than prairies without bison.

C) All gases, liquids, and solids consist of atoms.

D) Squirrels in central Illinois prefer to build their nests in oak trees instead of hickory trees.

E) Students who study for their environmental science exams will perform better on those exams than those who do not.

C) All gases, liquids, and solids consist of atoms.

A niche specialist is ________.

More likely to go extinct than a niche generalist

Microbes in our digestive tract that help us digest food demonstrate a(n) ________ association.

Symbiotic

Which of the following describes mass wasting?

A) The destruction of sedimentary rock by earthquakes

B) Blockage of sunlight by volcanic ash

C) Flood damage resulting from a tsunami

D) Downslope movement of soil and rock due to gravity

E) Deterioration of an atom because of radioactivity.

D) downslope movement of soil and rock due to gravity.

Plastics are _______.

Moldable, petroleum-based hydrocarbons.

In a manipulative experiment ________.

Researchers manipulate the independent variable.

At a ________, tectonic plates push apart from one another as magma rises upward to the surface.

Divergent Boundary

Which statement best describes the relationship between temperature and productivity of terrestrial biomes?

Warmer biomes tend to have higher productivity than colder biomes, given sufficient moisture.

The global average footprint per person has increased from 2.2 to 2.7 hectares since 2008, including the footprints of many developing nations such as India and China. This means that ________.

Our collective lifestyle is even more unsustainable than before.

Which of the following parasites is known to infect mammals including humans but can only reproduce in cats?

A) Mammalosis

B) Rat Fungus

C) Toxo

D) Sea monkeys

C) Toxo

Passenger pigeons were so numerous, flocks use to be a mile long and darken the sky when they flew over. What was it that caused them to become extinct?

Hunted for their meat because it was the cheapest source of protein.

Zooplankton populations in Lake Erie and the Hudson River have declined by up to 70% or more since the arrival of zebra mussels because ________.

Zebra mussels prey on zooplankton.

The carrying capacity is the ________.

Maximum sustainable population that a given environment can support.

How much water does it actually take to produce your morning latte (considering everything that really goes into it)?

50 gallons

In a controlled experiment, ________.

The researcher controls for the effects of all variables except one.

The non-material benefits such as inspiration and spiritual well-being people gain from ecosystems is which type of ecosystem service?

Cultural Service

The independent variable in this study will be ________.

Scenario: Pablo and Johanna have to do a yearlong study for their biology course. After some discussion, they decide to try comparing their dogs and the diet that they feed them to test their hypothesis that the local veterinarian's special dog food mix will enhance growth and development. Each student adopts a puppy from the local pound. Pablo plans to feed his Goldendoodle the special diet, while Johanna plans to use generic dry kibble from the supermarket for her bulldog.

The type of food the dog receives.

The majority of Earth's fresh water exists ________.

In the form of ice.

Which of the following organisms in the figure is depicted as being at the highest trophic level?

A) White-tailed deer

B) White oak

C) Eastern chipmunk

D) Rat snake

E) Deer mouse

D) Rat Snake

Individuals of a single species fighting over access to a limiting resource would be an example of ________.

Intraspecific Competition

Our TED talk showed a lot of ways in which science can be distorted. The second example showed that in lab studies, red wine can reduce your chance of breast cancer. What is wrong with this study?

Effects of something in a lab means nothing about how it will affect your body, red wine actually increased your chance of breast cancer.

________ capture solar energy and use photosynthesis to produce sugars.

Producers

Zebra mussels ________.

Are an invasive exotic species that clogs water intake pipes at factories, power plants, and wastewater treatment facilities

Overall, it appears that terrestrial biomes with more available fresh water ________.

Tend to have more productivity than those without much fresh water

____________ is the term used for introducing one alien species to fight another.

Bio-Control

Biodiversity is partially influenced by net primary productivity (NPP). Where can the highest terrestrial rates of NPP be found?

Tropical Rainforests

Choose the correct type of feedback loop - A warmer atmosphere cause more evaporation, more cloud cover which reflects solar energy back out of the atmosphere causing the atmosphere to cool down.

Negative Feedback

In Costa Rica, what do the Long Tailed Manakin birds do that no other animal is known to do, in order to find a mate?

The males cooperate with only one of the birds actually getting to win the female.

In some areas, cattle on an open range may compact fragile soils while grazing. This can damage plant roots, leading to fewer, smaller plants, which may in turn cause cattle to graze more and work harder to obtain food. This is an example of a ________.

Positive Feedback Loop

What did we see the world population pass in 2011?

7 billion

Why are cane toads a particularly nasty invasive species in Australia?

they are poisonous and so can kill anything that eats them.

Given the ratio shown in the figure, approximately how many hawks would be sustained by a large grassland that contains 100,000 grasshoppers?

1,000

Which of the following is the most likely result of the American toad's becoming extirpated from this forest?

A) Earthworm populations would decline because of the lack of a food source.

B) Red-bellied woodpecker numbers are likely to decline because of the resulting decrease in beetles and other insects.

C) Toadstools and other fungi would thrive because toads would no longer compete with them for space.

D) Rat snake populations would decline because rat snakes eat toads.

E) Spiders are likely to experience a population increase because more insect prey would become available.

E) Spiders are likely to experience a population increase because more insect prey would become available.

What are the Senate plans for ANWR and why would this be a problem?

Oil drilling; its a problem because it is the largest tract of protected wildlife refuge in the US.

Which of the following terms best describes the practice of environmental science?

A) elitist and unnecessary

B) highly specialized and focused

C) abstract and theoretical

D) integrative and interdisciplinary

E) theoretical and controversial

D) Integrative and interdisciplinary

Extinction is ______.

A natural process.

The Everglades restoration project in Florida ________.

Restoring natural levels of water flow by undoing numerous channeling and drainage projects.

By damming rivers and creating reservoirs, we are ________.

Increasing evaporation

How did the introduction of gray wolves into Yellowstone ultimately change the rivers?

Less erosion from elk, more pools were created, the regenerated forests stabilized the banks, among others.

Which of the following is the best example of an ecosystem service?

A) The regulation of gas prices

B) A college environmental club cleaning up the shoulder of a highway

C) A park ranger checking fishing licenses

D) Soil microbes fixing atmospheric nitrogen

E) A city cutting down a tree that is dying

D) Soil microbes fixing atmospheric nitrogen.

Economic aggressions in China have resulted due to their dominance in rare-earth metals. What is one way researchers have found to decrease this dependence while also cleaning up our environment?

Purchasing rare-earth elements from mining companies.

During photosynthesis within plants, ________.

Water and carbon dioxide are consumed.

Which of the following reactions represents cellular respiration?

A) Sugar + Carbon Dioxide + Energy → Water + Oxygen

B) Water + Carbon Dioxide + Energy → Sugar + Oxygen + Water

C) Water + Carbon Dioxide → Sugar + Oxygen + Water + Energy

D) Nitrogen + Oxygen + Sugar → Methane + Carbon dioxide

E) Sugar + Oxygen → Water + Carbon Dioxide + Energy

Sugar + Oxygen → Water + Carbon Dioxide + Energy

In "Conserving the Canopy" we learned that there is incredible biodiversity in the canopy of the Rainforest. How do the plants that grow on the trees get their nutrients?

They absorb nutrients into their leaves through the mist and fog and along with the tree, absorb even more carbon from the atmosphere.