EVS
is a set of paradigms that shapes the perception of Environmental threats, How they may impact the environment, and their importance.
Factors that can affect EVS
Culture Religion Education Experience Family and more...
Ecocentric
nature and ecology are at the center. They propose minimal disturbance of the natural processes to achieve sustainability.
Anthropocentric
People-centered approach in which people manage their environment and themselves with the help of independent regulatory authorities.
Technocentric
​Technology will keep pace with and provide solutions to all problems.
Open System
exchanges matter and energy with its surroundings (living organisms)
Transfer and Transformations
Transfer: move energy or matter from one place to the other in the same form Transformation: move energy or matter but changes state or form
Closed system
exchanges energy but not matter with its surroundings (nitrogen and carbon cycle)
Isolated System
doesn't exchange
Matter and Energy
Energy flows, Mater cycles
Feedback
Part of the system's output re-enters the system as a new input.
Negative Feedback
tends to balance, neutralize, and promote an ecosystem
Positive Feedback
increases change and creates instability an ecosystems
Tipping points
part of a system that kick-starts self-perpetuating positive feedback loops that push the systems to a new state of equilibrium.
1st law of thermodynamics
Energy cannot be created or destroyed. We transform existing energy to the energy. (Ex. in a food chain, light to chemical to heat energy)
2nd law of thermodynamics
Every energy transfer or transformation increases the entropy of the universe. (Entropy: the increase of randomness and disorder in an ecosystem)
3rd Law of thermodynamics
The entropy of a system approaches a constant value as the temperature approaches zero.
Static Equilibrium
when the components of the system remain constant over a long period of time
Steady State Equilibrium
Many small changes over short periods of time
Resistance and Resilience
Resistance: when the ecosystem continues to function during the disturbance. Resilience: ability of the ecosystems to recover after disturbance
Natural Capital
Natural resources that produce sustainable natural income of good and services
Sustainability
The ability to keep in existence or maintain. A sustainable ecosystem is one that can be maintained
Types of Pollution
organic or inorganic, persistent or biodegradable, acute or chronic, primary and secondary.
Sources of Pollution
point source (single identifiable) and non-point source (pollution from diffuse sources)
Model of pollution management
Educate, legislate, remediate
DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane)
It is an organochloride insecticide that is colorless, tasteless, and odorless. Highly effective in controlling malaria, but is a persistent pollutant.
can cause cancer and damage the reproductive system
not biodegradable.
Bioaccumulates increases of concentration in organisms and biomagnifies and accumulates through the food chain.
Biotic and Abiotic
living (biotic) and nonliving components of an ecosystem (abiotic)
3 components of the ecosystem
Producers: plants that convert energy into matter Consumers: animals that eat plants/animals Decomposers: break down waste into reusable components Decomposer Cycle
Niche
An organism's particular role in an ecosystem, or how it makes its living.
Carrying Capacity
Largest number of individuals of a population that a environment can support
Population growth curves
A graphical representation of how a particular quantity increases over time. J-shaped and S-shaped curves
J-Shaped curves
Exponential growth under ideal conditions with plenty of resources and limited competition. Population continues to grow until enviromental resistance takes effect (could be organisms have used all the resources available).
Organisms which follow this graph generally show great fluctation and a boom and bust pattern in population numbers.
Photosynthesis
green plants are able to take light energy and use it to make chemical energy to gain biomass inputs: carbon dioxide, water, light energy Outputs: Oxygen, Glucose, chemical energy IMAGE
Respiration
is the oxidation of glucose to release energy that is then used in all activities in the organism. Inputs: Oxygen, Glucose Oxidation Outputs: carbon dioxide, water, energy
Trophic levels
IMAGE
NPP
the amount of usable biomass in an ecosystem
GPP
all the biomass produced by primary producers in a given time
Secondary Productivity
The production of organic matter by the consumers
NSP
calculated by substracting respiratory losses from GSP
Sustainable Yield
the amount of biomass that can be extracted without reducing natural capital of the ecosystem.
Matter Cycles
IMAGE
Carbon Cycle
IMAGE
Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen in the atmosphere, nitrogen fixing-soil bacteria, nitrifying bacteria, and denitrifying bacteria
Types of interactions
Predation, herbivory, parasitism, mutualism, disease, competition
Interactions
regulate population size and impact the balance of the food web
S-shaped curves
More likely when resources are limited (limiting factors). - Exponential growth is only possible for a short period of time
More likely to be accurate until the population approaches carrying capacity.
Tri-cellular model
Hadley Cells (larger cell, greatest heating), Ferrel Cells (flow in the opposite direction) Polar Cells (smaller cells)
Biomes
is a collection of ecosystmes that are classified according to their predominant vegetation.
Five categories of Biomes
Aquatic: Freshwater, Marine Forest: Tropical Rainforest Grassland: Savanna Desert Tundra: Arctic
Nutrient cycle for Desert Biome
Soil is the largest store, then Biomass, then litter.
Nutrient Cycle for Temperate deciduous Forest Biome
Biomass is the largest store, then soil, then litter.
Nutrient Cycle Grassland Biome
Litter is the largest store, then biomass, then soil.
Zonation
is the change in a vegetation community along an environmental gradient (spatial and terminated by changes in the abiotic factors)
Sucession
is the predictable change in a vegetation community over time (starts with a pioneer community) a group of species whom all inhabit new land together. Primary: occurs in areas that never have been occupied Secondary: occurs in areas has been a natural or human-made disturbance
Sucession Stages
Colonization: initiated by pioneer and r-strategists species Energy and nutrient cycling is limited. NPP is high, GPP is low. Establishment: the 'ecosystem' starts to compose. Soil becomes deep enough for invertebrates. Competition: The environment is less extreme and more sustainable—k-strategist start to dominate. Climax Community: is in steady state equilibrium. NPP is low and GPP is high.
K-Strategist (K-selcted species)
Produce very few offspring, but they increase their quality of them by investing in a lot of parental care.
More survival rate To be able to do this the environment needs to be stable. In succession, stability increases with time so K-strategists are more common in the climax community.
R-strategist (r-selected species)
Focus on the increased quantity of offspring
With little or no parental care, survival chances are low
The ability to reproduce in large numbers of offspring quickly is beneficial in unstable, unpredictable environments. The early stages of succession are unstable, harsh environments thus r-selected species are common in the pioneer stages.
Why are Cilmax Communities stable?
Stability is related to the complexity of the system. More complex = more stable. Stability tends to give an ecosystem a higher level of resilience
3 main sampling techniques
Random, Systematic, Stratified sampling
Random sampling
a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion
Systematic Sampling
select some starting point and then select every kth element in the population
Stratified sampling
researchers divide subjects into subgroups based on characteristics that they share
Stratified systematic sampling Stratified random Sampling
Quadrat
is an appropriately shaped plot used to identify an area you wish to study
Transects
Line transects: a line place according to a sampling strategy and then the vegetation that touches the line can be recorded Belt transects: A belt of sampling
Testing Abiotic Factors
Turbidity, flow velocity, wind speed, slope angle, and soil
Testing Turbidity
To measure the transparency of a water body. Measured using a Secchi Disk which enters the water until is no longer visible.
Testing flow velocity
The speed at which a river flows. Measured using a flow meter, and simple flow. Which you put it on the water and the speed at which it rotates tells you the speed of the river.
Testing wind speed
Measured using an anemometer.
Testing Slope angle
Measured using a clinometer.
Capturing motile organisms
Traps, Nets, Pitfall Traps, Aerial Photography, Kick-sampling, Sweep Nets.
Lincoln Index
an indirect method by which the size of an animal population can be estimated. capture/mark/release/release/recapture
Assumptions:
the proportion of marked animals in the second sample is the same as the proportion of marked animals in unmarked animals
Enough time has elapsed to allow full mixing of marked and unmarked animals
The population is closed and that there is no immigration
Enviromental gradient
the gradual change in the biotic factors through space.