disasters test 1

here we go yet again

megafauna

foraging societies were efficient at hunting: many scientists think that North America’s _ were driven to extinction by early hunters.

elephants

until recently, north america had several species of _

carnivores

without the large mammals, large _ also disappeared

Australia, mammals

the megafauna of _ disappeared over 40,000 years ago, shortly after humans colonized. A great diversity of large _ was lost as well

moa

New Zealand lost all 9 species of _ within 200 years of the arrival of Polynesians in the late 13th Century

madagascar

Several species of giant lemurs went extinct shortly after humans colonized _ around 1500 years ago

savannas, grasslands

Through the use of fire, humans turned forests into _ or _

erosion

as early agricultural societies cleared more land and hunted out wildlife, soil _ and loss of wildlife habitat ocurred

zoonotic disease

domesticated animals brought many benefits, but also spread __

draft animals

__ helped farmers cultivate more land more quickly than by human power alone

industrialization

with _ and new machinery, we harnessed fossil energy and our impact on the environment grew rapidly

rivers, forests, human

We have diverted _, mined minerals, and cleared _ on an unprecendated scale, leading to large amounts of strictly _ landscapes

carbonate banks

The Bahama Archipelago is made up of the emergent tops of a series of __

6, 8

The Caribbean Indians are thought to have come up the Lesser Antilles _ to _ thousand years ago

lucayans

The bahamian indians, the _, are thought to have been driven out of the Antilles toward the Bahamas.

island people

In their indigenous language, lucaya translates to “__”. They were the ones who met Columbus when he landed in the New World.

san salvador, extinct

Colombus’ first landing in the New World was on _ _ island, Bahamas. Within 50 years of Columbus' first landfall, they were _

agricultural, uninhabited

Finding few resources and poor _ land, the Spanish settled the other islands of the Caribbean other than the bahamas, leaving them relatively _

British, African

In the 1600s, the _ gained control of the Bahamas. The islands became slowly re-settled by people of European and _ descent.

1000, 1200

Some of the earliest evidence of the Lucayan tribe has been found on San Salvador Island, dating around _ to _ years BP.

foreheads

Like many Caribbean people, the Lucayans used to flatten their _

fish, shellfish, corn

Evidence indicates that the Lucayans settled on the coasts and harvested _ and _. They also cleared land and grew crops such as squash, beans, and _

Henry Morgan

When the British gained control of the Bahamas, __ (Bluebeard the Pirate) used the islands to launch raids on Spanish ships that were carrying resources, gold, and silver back to Spain.

New Providence

The British established Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, on __ island

slave labor, rocky

For a time, the British ran plantations on some of the islands using __, however, the land is _ and challenging for agricultural use.

paleoecology

_ is the scientific study of ancient organisms and their relationships with each other and their environments across long periods of geologic time

palynology

_ is the scientific study of plant pollen, spores, and other acid-resistant microscopic organic particles called palynomorphs

topography, pinewoods

The vegetation zones of Andros Island correspond closely with its _: _ cover most of the

eastern half of the island, which is comparitively higher

fire, lightning strikes

_ plays a very important role in the vegetation of Andros: human activities are a large source of it, as well as __

pines

_ survive the fire on Andros, but the understory shrubs are killed back to the roots.

hardwood coppices

On Andros, tropical __ grow in areas protected from fire: The interior of them is too shady for pine seedlings to establish and grow

pinewoods

In areas where fire is suppressed on Andros, the understory shrubs of the _ grow into trees

farmed

Lucuyan, European, and African history on Andros are poorly known. The island was not extensively settled or _ until recently

sawgrass

the west side of Andros island transitions from pine to _. As sea level rises, pines are retreating and (first blank) is advancing inland

eastern

Tropical hardwood forest occupied most of the _ half of Andros Island

fire frequency

Upon arrival to Andros, Lucayan settlers increased the __ and promoted the spread of pinewoods across much of the island, replacing tropical hardwood forest.

decreased, increased

After the Lucayan tribe went extinct on Andros, fire frequency _, but then _ after Europeans and Africans settled in the islands

inland

There is little evidence of extensive _ land use on Andros by Europeans and Africans

hardwood, saline

San Salvador Island lacks pine and is covered by _ scrub and hyper-_ lakes

san salvador, plantation

lucayan history on __ is the most extensively studied island for Lucayan archaeology. European and African history is well-known too, written documentation exists from the _ period in the 1800’s, and the island was extensively cleared and cultivated

san salvador, coast, inland

The vegetation of __ was not dramatically affected in a detectable way by the arrival of Lucayans. There is some evidence they increased fire frequency by the _, but not _

clearing, increased

There is evidence of land _ and _ fire frequency inland on San Salvador during the Plantation Period on the island

small, trophic

archeological studies on San Salvador concluded that relatively small populations can have significant environmental impacts, especially on _, vulnerable island ecosystems. Lucayans were able to decline _ levels and overfished larger fishes and crustaceans, leading to smaller average size over time for multiple species

Eleuthera Island, agriculture

Lucayan history on __ is Relatively unknown, though some Lucayan artifacts have been found along the coasts. there is limited knowledge on european and african history, but the island was used for _ during the Plantation Period in the 1800’s

palms, coast, charcoal

There is strong evidence that the Lucayans cleared _ on Eleuthera shortly after they arrived, especially near the _. _ evidence indicates that the Lucayans increased the fire frequency mostly near the coast

disturbance, coast

After the extinction of the Lucayan tribe on Eleuthera and recolonization by Europeans and Africans, there is evidence that vegetation _ and increased fire frequency moved inland, while palms recovered near the _

civilization

Some think the Maya vanished, but they still live today in their homeland. It was their _ that collapsed

highlands, lowlands

The Maya region extended from the southern _ of Guatemala and Mexico to the northern _ of the Yucatan.

seasonal

Surface streams are not present in the northern lowlands and are often _ in the highlands

low, rocky, bedrock

The forests in the northern Yucatan are mostly _ evergreen hardwoods. the soil is shallow, _, poor in nutrients, and water drains away through the _ quickly

vegetation

As is the case in most moist tropical areas, the vast majority of nutrients in the northern Yucatan are held in the _, not the soil

wetter, diverse

The southern highlands of the Maya region are _ with taller forests. forests are more lush and _, but nutrients are thin and poor in nutrients

pinewoods

Fire is common in the Yucatan forests and where the frequency of fire is high, _ dominate

slash, burn, corn

_ and _ agriculture is the most effective way to farm poor tropical soils, and is still widely used thru-out the Maya region and in other areas like the Bahamas to grow _

fruit trees, annual

in tropical agriculture, Many different types of crops are interplanted, including __ and _ crops to have the highest productivity.

raised field

In the central Yucatan, low lying swamps were converted to productive __ agriculture

pod

this is an early variety of corn used by the Mayas, known as _ corn

teosinte

Corn (Zea mays) is thought to have been domesticated from _(Zea mexicana)

cocoa

besides corn, squshes, beans, grain amaranth, and fruit; one of the most important crops to the Maya was _

cultivation, grazing

Parts of Central and South America have been converted from lush rainforest into barren savanna from excessive _ and _: nutrients cannot re-accumulate properly if the land is consistently used, and harvests will decrease

honduras, el salvador

The ancient Mayan civilization occupied the Yucatan Peninsula and parts of what is now Guatemala, _, Belize, and _

classic

the Mayan civilization is divided into 3 main periods: the pre _ (3500 BC-350 AD), the _(300-900 AD), and post _(900-1521 AD)

Kaminaljuyu

_ was the largest city in the Pre-Classic Maya period. The city reached its peak between 400 BC and 250 AD

southern, northern

After the decline of the _

cities, the _ cities rose to prominence in the classic period

uxmal, ornate

_ was one of the prominent cities during the late Classic Period. It was seen as one of the most beautiful Mayan city due to its architecture. The decorative stonework of the buildings is exceptionally _, and buildings were brightly painted

writing, mathematics

The Mayans developed the only _ system in the Americas. They had multiple symbols that stood for words or syllables, as well as a system for writing _

artists, astronomers

The great cities of the Maya were ruled by kings and nobles and had many different occupations and classes of people, including great _ and sculptors, as wells as _ who developed a calendar system

Yum Kaax

Agriculture and the planting cycle was central to Mayan religion, they even had a corn god known as __

900

The Classic Maya civilization fell into war and conflict. Most lowland cities had collapsed by _ AD. Many were abandoned and forgotten in the jungle.

toltecs

The northern lowlands came under the influence of the _, starting the Post-Classic Period.

Chichen Itza

__, one of the largest Post-classic cities, founded an empire that united most of the northern Yucatan cities for a brief period, from 1100 to 1225 AD.

diamondback

Sunrise at the spring and fall equinox casts a _ pattern on the Great Pyramid of Chichen Itza

spanish, religion

Unlike the Aztecs, the Maya had no central ruler when the _ arrived. They imposed their own culture and _, and burned their own books and documents, but the maya resisted.

Nojpeten

was the last Maya controlled city to fall in 1697, 176 years after the arrival of the Spanish

infrared, countryside

A new _ satellite with a resolution down to 1m2 can distinguish Maya sites hidden in the jungle for over 1000 years. It helped discover not just new monuments and centers, but the homes of many who lived in the _

zoonotic

the Spanish spread _ disease that the Maya had no resistance to, killing them in large numbers

7, cenotes

The Yucatan receives no rain for about _ months out of the year. farmers and villagers rely on _, collapsed caves that eventually become wells over thousands of years

endemic, nesting

cenotes host _ fish and unique aquatic communities, and are a haven for groups of _ birds

asteroid, caves

The ‘ring of cenotes’ on the Yucatan were likely created by the _ that struck it. Divers have discovered 350 _ and 1000 miles of underground tunnels connecting the cenotes together

strangler fig

According to the Maya, the cenotes were home to 12 gods, and they were connected to them by the trees, such as the __

fruiting, nesting, bats

The seasonal Yucatan rains cause eruptions of plant _, bird and other animal _, and a quick increase in crop growth. During this period, millions of of _ keep the increase of insects in check. they can eat 3 tons of insects in a night

mangrove, caribbean flamingos

in the Yucatan, _ forests occur at the intersection of salt and fresh water. Coastal lagoons are replenished by summer rains, and serve as a major breeding ground for __

LIDAR

Hundreds of untouched Maya buildings still lie under the jungle, due to the challenging nature of clearing jungle and excavating. _ began being used in 2005 to survey from above, which was revolutionary for archeologists

250, 600

From _-_ AD, the Mayan classic period was at its strongest

stalactites, 8th, 9th

Through chemical analysis of _ in a cave in Belize, scientists learned that there were large fluctuations of precipitation, from very wet to very dry, in the _ century, to mostly very dry in the _ century. This was a very large factor in the downfall of the classic period

radiocarbon dating, corn

Through __, we have learned that the Maya changed their diet over the classic period. By its end _ was the primary agricultural output, which is water-reliant and did not survive the precipitation changes at the time

Chile, Tahiti, 64

Rapa Nui is the most isolated place on Earth, it is 2300 miles from _, 2500 miles from _, and only _ square miles in size

moai, ahu

Rapa Nui is most famous for its stone statues called _, typically positioned on a platform called an _.

rono raraku, 887

The moai were carved in the middle of the island at the quarry, __, and transported a great distance to the coast. Only 288 of _ were successfully transported to the coast

pukao

the moai often feature ‘hats’, known as _, that represent a topknot of hair

El Gigangte

The largest moai is __ , is still in the quarry. It is 72 feet tall and weighs about 150 tons

eyes

Rapa Nui islanders believe that the statues came to life and walked to the ahus after their _ were put in place

size, mainland

The rate at which species colonize and persist on an island depends on the _ of the island and its

distance from a _

200, 500, extinct

Any species requires a minimum of _-_ individuals to survive over the long term. If an island has too little habitat area to support this many individuals of a species, the species is likely to go _.

habitat, higher

Small islands have smaller _ areas and therefore smaller populations much more vulnerable to extinction. Larger organisms or organisms that live _ on the food chain need more space to maintain a population of 200-500 individuals.

archipelago

Islands that are part of an _ can support more species than isolated islands, while distant islands such as Hawaii or Easter Island have very low rates of colonization

Gondwanaland

Madagascar is a portion of continental crust from _. It separated from Africa around 150 million years ago

carbonate platform

The Bahama Archipelago formed on a 150 million year old __

volcanoes

Easter Island, Galapagos Islands, many pacific islands, and hawaii (formed between 28 million and 400K years ago) formed from oceanic _

rainfall, basalt

New lava flows or newly emerged volcanic islands have no soil, no plants, and therefore, no habitat for terrestrial animals. If there is sufficient _, however, the volcanic _ weathers and begins forming soil