IB Bio Resource Management

What is coal used by humans for?

Electricity

How is coal used to produce electricity?

Coal boils water causing steam to rise. When that steam rises it causes a fin to spin. The spinning of the fan generates electricity because it causes the movement of a magnetic field which generates an electrical field.

Why is the burning and mining of coal bad?

When coal is burned it releases mercury and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This releases mercury is ingested and inhaled by organisms, causing neurological disorders.
The same goes for mining as it causes tiny particles to scatter

What is cooper used by humans for?

Copper is a good conductor, so it is used for electrical wires and cook wear

Why is cooper bad for the environment?

It is a toxic heavy metal. In its ionic form it is incredibly toxic. When mining the rock around it needs to be dissolved, meaning that tons of it gets turned into copper ions. This kills everything within a mile or two.

What do humans use wood for?

Wood is used for buildings and infrastructure. It can also be used for warmth.

Why is harvesting wood bad for the environment?

Deforestation takes away habitats
Erosion can happen which leads to soil slippage
the soil gets into lakes and causes algae blooms, creating dead zones
Trees are not photosynthesizing so more co2 is in the air
Burning also releases co2

What are fish stocks?

The amount of fish available of a commercially viable species

What environmental issues surround collecting these resources?

Overfishing

What does a a cost/benefit analysis take into account?

How much damage
how mush good from resources
cost to clean up extraction

What does commercial fishing serve as?

A case study for human impact on the environment

What does the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) do?

Recommend catch levels for fish stocks
however, they are not a regulatory authority so they can only recommend.

What is bycatch?

Organisms that are caught and killed accidentally

What is a purse seign?

A way of catching fish

How does a purse seign work?

A net attached to a boat wraps around a school of fish and draws them in. The net gets tighter and tighter until they can be pulled in.

What is the bycatch with the purse seign?

Moderate as only species schooling get caught

What is a Gill net?

A gill net is a monofilament net that is designed so that fish cannot see it.

How does a Gill net work?

The fish run into the net and get tangled since they cannot see it.

What is the bycatch level of the Gill net?

Extremely high. It is illegal in California because many animals get caught and die in lost gill nets.

What is a longline?

It is a method of catching fish where a line about 1-3 miles long is attached to a boat. This long line has smaller lines of 15-25 ft attached with hooks on them.

What is the bycatch level of the longline?

It is moderate. The hook size is very specific so on species of that size will get caught. The issue is with the length of the line and how long it takes to reel in. The animals are already dead by the time the sailors reel the line in

What method has the lowest bycatch and why?

Professional rod and reel fishing. They can release the unwanted fish and they will survive. It is used for small quantities for large or rare fish or for live market fish

What is an otter trawl?

It is a net attached to a boat that drags along the ocean floor. The fish get scared and swim into the water column. The net moves faster than the fish so they get caught.

Otter Trawl bycatch and downsides

Moderate since fixed area
Disrupt habitat so fish no longer live there

Tagging

Used to see how big population is

Sound waves

Used to determine what type of fish and what number under the water

What can be used to calculate fish age?

Ear bone
Scales
Hubs fish heads

Ear bone

Grow a new ring every year like a tree
Not visible to the naked eye
Fish must be dead

Fish scales

Scales have rings too
Not visible to the naked eye

Hubs fish heads

Research arm of sea world
Breed White Sea bass and put microchips into their heads
People catch and cut off the heads to send back

What is sustainable yield?

The max number of species that humans can collect without damaging the population
As many individuals as new individuals are born

Maine lobster

Has max and min size for capture so best reproduce and pass on genes