Env Sci Final Exam Study Guide

What are the biggest uses of freshwater?

The three biggest uses of freshwater are agriculture, industry, and domestic use.

Why do floods cause more destruction than in past years?

Floods are more destructive now due to climate change and land-use changes.

What are potential impacts of removing groundwater?

Removing too much groundwater causes land subsidence, lower water tables, saltwater intrusion, reduced surface water, and habitat loss.

Why do dead zones occur?

Dead zones form due to eutrophication, which is when excess nutrients cause algae blooms that deplete oxygen.

What are the different types of water pollution?

Types include nutrient pollution, pathogen pollution, chemical/toxic pollution, sediment pollution, thermal pollution, plastic/microplastic pollution, and oil pollution.

Why is discharge and leaking septic water dangerous for lagoon systems?

Leaking septic water releases excess nutrients, chemicals, low-oxygen conditions, and harmful bacteria.

What does B.M.P. stand for?

Best Management Practices.

What are the issues the Indian River Lagoon has?

Issues include algal blooms, massive seagrass loss, manatee die-offs, stormwater pollution, leaking septic tanks, fish kills, and microplastics.

What is water redirection?

Water redirection is when humans change natural water flow using dams, canals, pipes, or levees.

Why are seagrass beds important?

Seagrass beds provide food, stabilize sediments, offer nursery habitats, produce oxygen, and support biodiversity.

How much fresh water vs how easily accessed is water for humans?

2.5% of Earth's water is freshwater, but less than 1% is easily accessible.

What is potable fresh water?

Potable fresh water is water that is safe to drink.

Why is clay important for planting?

Clay particles attract positively charged nutrients, helping soil hold nutrients.

Why are animals a terrible food source for organisms going up the food chain ecologically?

Only 10% of energy passes from one trophic level to the next, making higher trophic levels less efficient.

What are the major differences between urban and rural jobs?

Urban areas have more job diversity compared to rural areas.

How is the human population calculated?

Population = births - deaths + immigration - emigration.

What is the total fertility rate?

The average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime.

What is carrying capacity?

The maximum population an ecosystem can support indefinitely, calculated based on food supply, water availability, habitat space, resource limits, and competition.

What is the difference between biomagnification and bioaccumulation?

Bioaccumulation is the buildup of toxins in one organism over its lifetime, while biomagnification is the increase of toxin levels at each food chain level.

What does LD-50 stand for?

LD-50 (Lethal Dose 50%) is the amount of a substance needed to kill 50% of a testing population.

Why are polio and measles reappearing?

Due to lower vaccination rates, misinformation about vaccines, global travel, and decreased herd immunity.

What health issues arise from relying more on cars?

Obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, poor cardiovascular health, joint problems, and higher exposure to air pollution.

What characteristics define each biome?

Biomes are defined by climate (temperature + precipitation), soil type, seasonality, animal adaptations, and overall productivity.

What are the major biomes?

Tundra, taiga, tropical rainforest, temperate forest, grassland, savanna, desert, chaparral, and marine ecosystems.

What issues do biomes face?

Deforestation, desertification, coral bleaching, species loss, melting permafrost, and water scarcity.

What are the three types of coral reefs?

Fringing reefs (along the coastline), barrier reefs (separated from shore by a lagoon), and atolls (ring-shaped over a submerged volcano).

How do fringing, barrier, and atoll reefs form?

Fringing reefs grow outward from shore, barrier reefs form as sea levels rise, and atolls form when volcanoes sink.

What are wildfires?

Uncontrolled fires in natural areas that spread quickly due to dry vegetation, heat, drought, wind, and fuel buildup.

What are the most productive ecosystems?

Marshes/wetlands (most productive), agricultural land (moderate), and open ocean (least productive per area).

What are the types of symbiotic relationships?

Mutualism (both benefit), parasitism (one benefits, one is harmed), and commensalism (one benefits, the other is unaffected).

What is natural selection?

The process where organisms with better adaptations survive and reproduce more, passing on advantageous traits.

What is the difference between evolution and coevolution?

Evolution is general change due to natural selection, while coevolution is when two species evolve in response to each other.

What are open vs closed systems?

Open systems exchange matter and energy (ecosystems), while closed systems exchange only energy (Earth is nearly closed for matter).

What are trophic levels?

Levels showing energy flow through ecosystems: Producers → herbivores → carnivores → top predators.

What is the tragedy of the commons?

When people overuse a shared resource for personal gain, leading to depletion for everyone.

What are the three types of plate boundaries?

Convergent (plates collide), divergent (plates move apart), and transform (plates slide past each other).

What is subduction?

When a denser plate sinks beneath a lighter plate at a convergent boundary, creating trenches and volcanoes.

What are species, population, communities, landscapes, biotic vs abiotic?

Species: interbreeding organisms; Population: same species in an area; Community: different species interacting; Landscape: multiple ecosystems; Biotic: living components; Abiotic: nonliving components.

What is primary and secondary succession?

Primary succession starts on bare rock with no soil, while secondary succession occurs after disturbance but soil remains.

What is species richness?

The number of different species in an ecosystem.

What are keystone species?

Species that play a critical role in maintaining ecosystem stability.

What is species evenness?

How evenly individuals are spread across species; high evenness means no species dominates.