Envi 101 Exam 1 Review

stewardship

how something should be cared for

John Muir

preservationists

Gifford Pinchot and Teddy Roosevelt

conservationists

Aldo Leopold

A Sand County Almanac

Rachel Carson

Silent Spring

Bill McKibben

The End of Nature, environmentalist

Van Jones

worked w Obama

Wangari Maathai

Started the Green Belt Movement in Kenya

Greta Thunberg

Teen environmental activist from Sweden

sustainable development

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Sustainable Development Goals

Seventeen goals adopted by the U.N. in 2015 to reduce disparities between developed and developing countries by 2030.

natural experiment

An experiment in which nature, rather than an experimenter, manipulates an independent variable.

manipulative experiment

an experiment in which the researcher actively chooses and manipulates the independent variable

scientific theory

a well-tested concept that explains a wide range of observations

carbohydrates

energy source, monosaccharides, simple and complex sugars

lipids

fats, hydrophobic, fatty acids, store energy

proteins

nutrients to build and maintain structure, amino acids

nucleic acids

store info and instructions on how to build proteins, nucleotides, RNA and DNA

energy efficiency

a measure of how much work results from each unit of energy that is put into a system

photosynthesis

Carbon dioxide + water -> glucose + oxygen

cellular respiration

glucose + oxygen -> carbon dioxide + water + energy

tertiary consumers

top carnivores, capable of eating secondary consumers, many are also omnivores, wild dog, hyena, lion

secondary consumers

carnivores that eat herbivores, pangolin, aardvark

primary consumers

herbivores, wildabeest, mouse, ant, grasshopper, hare

primary producers

autotrophs, red oat grass, acacia, etc

trophic level

Each step in a food chain or food web

energy transfer through trophic levels

energy "loss" as you move up the trophic levels, converted to heat

scavengers

an organism that feeds on the dead bodies of other organisms, vultures

detritivore

organism that feeds on plant remains and other dead matter, earth worms, first to start decomposition process (they eat it)

decomposer

An organism that breaks down wastes and dead organisms, fungi (they break it down)

ecological niche

how a species uses its habitat and how others use the species

generalists

a species with a broad niche that can tolerate a wide range of conditions and can use a variety of resources, black bears, raccoons, invasive species

specialists

species with narrow niches and very specific requirements, koala, panda, more prone to extinction

endemic species

found only in one area, lemurs in Madagascar

resource partitioning

division of resources to avoid interspecific competition for limited resources ex. warblers with different foraging heights

indicator species

Species that serve as early warnings that a community or ecosystem is being degraded, measure the environmental conditions, ex. lichens

interspecific competition

Species compete for a limiting resource. (-/-)

intraspecific competition

competition between members of the same species

herbivory

consumption of plants by animals (+/-)

defenses against herbivory

thorns, bitter taste, poisonous, strong scents

predation

animals eating animals (+/-)

defenses against predation

chemical defenses, cryptic (hidden) coloration, flashing (bright) coloration

eyespots, camouflage, poisonous

coevolution

Process by which two species evolve in response to changes in each other

aposematism

warning coloration, used by animals that are toxic or have chemical defenses

Batesian mimicry

a harmless species mimics a harmful one

Mullerian mimicry

two or more unpalatable species resemble each other

parasitism

parasite obtains nourishment from a host (+/-), mites, lice, heartworm, reduces hosts fitness by stunting it, behavior modification, reduces ability to find a mate, make it more prone to predation

mutualism

both organisms benefit, (+/+), flowers and bees

commensalism

one organism benefits and the other is unaffected (+/0), barnacles traveling on whales or epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants)

keystone species

plays critical role in the community they live in, grey wolf

ecosystem engineers

physically changes habitat to create new habitats, beavers building dams and creating wetlands, also are usually keystone species

species diversity

The number and relative abundance of species in a biological community.

species richness

the number of different species in a community

species evenness

comparative abundance

primary productivity

rate of biomass production through photosynthesis

ecosystems with high primary productivity

swamps, marshes, tropical rain forest, estuaries

ecosystems with low primary productivity

desert, open ocean, tundra

grasses

Photosynthetic tissue because little energy is required for support tissues (stems)

shrubs

A plant with multiple woody, persistent stems (no central trunk) and a height under 4m

trees

Will invest more resources in stems and other supporting structures, increased height and access to light

tropical rain forest

near equator, high rain fall totals and high temperatures

tropical seasonal forests

biome characterized by deciduous and evergreen trees, rainy and dry seasons

tropical savannas and grasslands

mainly grasses with some trees and shrubs, minimal rainfall, high temperatures, plants have long roots

deserts

precipitation is rare, many animals are nocturnal, adaptations to survive extreme heat/cold and prevent water loss

temperate grasslands

mid-continental regions, moderate temps, lots of nutrients and carbon in soil, good for agriculture, grass has deep complex roots

temperate shrublands

shrubs common, plants adapted to survive drought and fires, hot dry summers, cool damp winters

temperate forests

generally dominated by rainfall, deciduous forests (lose leaves seasonally, stop producing chlorophyll) and coniferous forests (needle bearing evergreen)

boreal forests

mainly conifers, colder temps, slower growing forests

arctic tundra

high latitudes and cold temperatures, high winds, short growing season, 24 hour sunlight

alpine tundra

lower latitudes in the higher mountains of the world, low lying plants, strong UV radiation

ecological succession

gradual change in species composition

primary succession

occurs in an area where no biotic community previously existed, life starts with pioneer species, lichens, lava field and exposed rock

secondary succession

occurs at a location that was previously occupied by a community that then went under a disturbance, from fire, tornadoes, moving, agriculture

exponential population growth

Growth of a population in an ideal, unlimited environment, represented by a J-shaped curve when population size is plotted over time, early colonizers

logistic population growth

population growth that levels off as population size approaches carrying capacity

density dependent factors

limiting factor that depends on population size, competition for food, disease, water, space, predation

density independent factors

limiting factor that affects all populations in similar ways, regardless of population size, destruction of habitat, change in climate/temp

r-strategists

produce large numbers of offspring but provide few resources for their support. rabbits, smaller animals, quantity over quality, early maturity

k-strategists

produce relatively few young but invest considerable resources into their support, humans, larger animals, quality over quantity, late maturity

genetic drift

gradual changes in gene frequencies due to random events

bottleneck effect

drastic reduction in population size

gene flow

movement of alleles from one population to another, from migration routes

metapopulation

collection of populations that have occasional gene flow between geographically separate units

environmental health

external factors that cause disease including elements of the natural, social, cultural, and technological worlds

disease

abnormal change in the body's condition that impairs important physical or psychological functions

zoonotic disease

disease passed between animals and humans. ebola from bushmeat trade and flu from birds

white nose syndrome

a fungal infection that dehydrates hibernating bats, causing them to wake too early in search of water and food and they die

antibiotic resistance causes

CAFOs, farmers give cows antibiotics preemptively, resistant genes get passed on

bioaccumulation

increased concentration of contaminants in the tissues of a specific animal

biomagnification

buildup of a contaminant as you go up the food chain

precautionary principle

idea that we should ban things before negative effects take place. EU does this, US wants to see bad things happen first

Malthus

excess population growth-->resource depletion, pollution, overcrowding-->poverty, starvation, crime-->war

Marx

exploitation and oppression-->poverty-->resource depletion, pollution, overcrowding, excess population growth and starvation, disease, crime-->war

I=PAT

Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology

population change

(births + immigration) - (deaths + emigration)

total fertility rate

The average number of children born to a woman during her childbearing years.

Demographic Transition Model

Stage 1=Low growth, Stage 2=High Growth, Stage 3=Moderate Growth, and Stage 4=Low Growth. A country moves from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates through time.

Age-structure diagram (population pyramid)

males and females in young, middle, and older age groups in a population

factors that affect birth rates

importance of children in labor force, cost of raising kids, pension systems, urbanization, education, age of marriage, birth control, cultural norms