Chapter 18 + 19 - conservation and global ecology

What is the main nutrient lost to agriculture?

Nitrogen

What are the 2 main nutrients that poison the lake?

Nitrogen and phosphorus

What is Biological magnification?

The increase of toxic pollutants in an ecosystem that affect top-level carnivores

What is the greenhouse effect?

Greenhouse gases that reflect radiation back towards earth

What are 2 ways that global warming raises sea levels?

1) Expansion of water with higher temperatures

2) Melting of glaciers

What mass extinction occurred because of greenhouse warming from volcanic activity?

The Permian extinction

Did the Industrial Revolution increase or decrease the human population?

Increase

What is the ecological footprint concept?

The total land + water areas that are needed to sustain people in a nation

What is the estimate carrying capacity of Earth for humans?

10 - 15 billion

What is the marine stewardship council?

A non-profit org. that certifies sustainable fishing practices with three principles

What are the 3 levels of biodiversity?

Genetic Diversity, Species Diversity, and Ecosystem Diversity

Which animal is going extinct in the NW Atlantic?

Northern right whales.

What is the Committee of Status of Endangered wildlife in Canada? What 3 definitions about their statuses does this committee use?

A committee that meets to discuss the statuses of species in danger of disappearing.

Endangered → A species nearing extinction

Threatened → A species that will become extinct if nothing is done to prevent it

Extirpated → a species that no longer exists in Canada, but exists somewhere else still

What animal on the pacific coast of Canada is endangered ?

Killer whales

What plant contains a substance that inhibits cancer growth?

Rosy periwinkle

What are 4 Ecosystem Services that help ecosystems sustain human life?

Purification of air + water

Detoxification and decomposition of wastes

Cycling of nutrients

Moderation of extreme weathers

What are the roles of wetlands?

Help prevent flooding + removal of pollutants

What are the 3 main threats to Biodiversity? Which one is the greatest threat?

Habitat destruction, Introduced Species and Overexploitation

Habitat destruction is the greatest threat to biodiversity

Who are ecosystem engineers? Give an example.

They change a part of ecosystem.

Example: carp destroy aquatic vegetation and turn the water turgid

What is the key factor of an extinction vortex? What size population is more prone to it?

Loss of genetic variation , which is needed to enable evolution in an environment. A small population is prone to an extinction vortex.

What animal was tested on regarding that extinction vortex's happen because of low genetic variability?

The greater prairie chicken

What is the minimum viable population? What is the way of estimating the MVP+what is it based on?

The minimum population size that a species can survive with. By the effective population size, which is based on the number of individuals who will contribute offspring in the next generation

What is the declining-population approach?

Focuses on endangered population, that are going on a downward scale regardless of population size but because the environmental factors

What is a movement corridor?

A narrow strip of habitat that connects to another habitat(s)

What is a biodiversity hot spot? What are 2 examples of hot spots?

A small area with a huge amount of endangered species, as well as species specified to a specific area.

Ex. Rainforests + coral reefs