ESCI Exam II

You are at the grocery store and choose to buy organic apples over other apples since you learned organic fruit is not sprayed with pesticides like neonicotinoids, which can harm bees and other pollinators. You are ocntributing by

Buying products that have less impact on threatend species

Which of the following is the greatst human-made cause of declining biodiversity?

Alteration of habitats

Liionfish are native to the tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. After aquarium enthusiasts imported them to the US< some of the lionfish gained access to coastal waters. Over the past several decades, populations of lionfish have grown tremendously in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Carribean. Away from the predators of their home range, Lionfish have consumed numbers of native fish and damaged coral reefs. Select the human impact on biodiversity that best applies to this example.

Introduction of invasive species

One human impact on biodiversity is the overexploitation of resources. Which best exemplifies this?

Overhunting of the passenger pigeon

Many people dislike mosquitoes because they bite and have the potential to spread disease. However, humans should not eradicate all mosquitoes because they play important roles in ecosystems and have

Intrinsic value

How is the sixth mass extinction different from previous mass extinction events on Earth?

The sixth mass extinction is being driven by human activity

If populations of white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) continue to decline, one approach to prevent extinction would be captive breeding. How does this process work?

The remaining animals are moved into captivity to try to increase the population, after which they are reintroduced into the wild

Ivory is banned from importation into the United States. This is a result of

the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

A mining company plans to build a highway through a forest in northern Canada that is important for caribou migration. What could ensure the safe migration of caribou without having to cancel plans for this highway?

A wildlife corridor

A unique series of connected forest ecosystems exists on public lands in the western United States. It has been found to contain three species of rare toads. What designation would be best to preserve the toads in this ecosystem?

A national wildlife refuge

Select the phrase that best completes this statement: A demographer is a social scientist who

Studies human population dynamics

What even 10,000 years ago powered population growth?

Switching from “hunting and gathering” to an agricultural society

Total fertility rate refers to the

Average number of children born to a woman in her reproductive years

A total fertility rate of ______ children is known as replacement fertility

2.1

Which statement is correct regarding total fertility rates (TFR)?

The TFRs in developing countries are often above 3.0

In response to a low total fertility rate, the government of which nation has attempted to encourage women to have more children?

Singapore

Which term defines a prolonged period of low mortality with high fertility, leading to explosive population growth and a very large population of young people?

Youth bulge

Which rates characterize the stability transition phase of the demographic transition?

Low death rates and low birth rates

An increase in _________ for women and girls can contribute to a decrease in total fertility rate.

Education level

Which of these was a goal set out by the agreement known as the Cairo Consensus?

Family planning services such as birth control for women

The amount of water required for the growth, production, and processing of foods would be considered

The embedded water

The Ogallala aquifer, a glacier, and the Pacific Ocean would all be considered

Resevoirs

An underground area where water can accumulate, often creating a source of drinking water, is referred to as a(n)

Aquifer

A damaged septic field is leaking waste into a nearby stream. This discharge would be described as a

Point source

Which of the following would be considered a nonpoint source of pollution?

Urban runoff

The process of desalination can be summarized as the

Removal of salt from water

Ocean ecosystems can become endangered by __________, as seen in the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

oil spills

Eutrophication in aquatic systems ultimately leads to __________ in freshwater systems.

A decrease in oxygen

What type of infrastructure is common in developed countries to improve water quality but is still needed in many developing countries?

Wastewater treatment plants

An ecosystem experiences three consecutive years of higher-than-normal temperatures and lower-than-normal precipitation. Which of the following would most likely result from this condition?

Drought conditions

Select the phrase that correctly describes the transition that occurred about 10,000 years ago from hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies.

The transition involved people residing in one location and cultivating plants and domesticating animals for consumption.

Organic matter refers to

Decaying plant and animal residues

Which of the following describes synthetic fertilizer?

An industrially produced nutrient for plant growth

Select the example of a GMO

A corn variety which produces an insecticide using a gene from a bacterium

Select the correct description of salinization

Water vapor evaporates from soil, causing mineral salts to draw upward and accumulate in the topsoil, eventually building up to amounts damaging or lethal to plants.

Desertification refers to the

Loss of more than 10% of land’s productivity due to factors such as drought, extreme erosion, and soil infertility

Conservation agriculture employs which of the following methods?

No till practices

Which statement is correcr regarding the production of convention (grain-fed) meat-based foods and the production of plant-based foods?

Less energy is required to produce plant-based foods compared to the production of meat-based foods

Agricultural production has changed over the last 100 years by _____ the scale of farming and _____ diversity of food resources.

Increasing, decreasing

Synthetic fertilizers greatly increase crop yields. However, excessive applications of nitrogen fertilizers can cause which of these problems?

Increased nutrient runoff leads to eutrophication of aquatic environments