Environment and Society Final Exam

Aldo Leopold was a proponent of Land ethic

true

The human Body’s response to heat and cold is a great example of a negative feedback loop

true

Ecosystem services are processes that naturally result from the normal functioning of ecological systems and from which human beings draw benefits. If we had to pay for them, the cost would be enormous.

true

Human populations on islands are easy to sustain because there are plenty of resources.

false

Dog breeds are a great example of natural selection.

true

Penguin nesting sites are great examples of uniform distribution.

true

Coral snakes are red, black, and yellow.  Their color pattern is an example of cryptic coloration.

false

Primary succession starts after a forest is cleared, and a new one develops from the remaining seed bank.

false

A typical biome is defined by precipitation and temperature.

true

argued that nature deserved protection for its own inherent value

John Muir

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an academic environmental science program that heavily incorporates the social sciences as well as the natural sciences

Environmental Studies

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utilitarian view champion which says that the greatest practical benefits for the most people should be used

John Stuart Mill

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founder of the US forest service, a known anthropocentrist 

Gifford Pinchot

a social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world

`environmentalism `

potential energy held in the bonds between atoms

chemical energy

sunlight-powered series of reactions that convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose, oxygen, and water

Photosynthesis

energy of position

potential energy

energy of motion

kinetic energy

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the cell uses oxygen to split glucose into carbon dioxide and water, thereby releasing chemical energy

cellular respiration

 accidental changes in the DNA 

mutations

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native or restricted to a particular geographic region

endemic

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a species that can survive in a wide array of habitats or use a wide array of resources

generalist

the process by which new species are generated

speciation

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a species that can survive only in a narrow range of habitats that contain very specific resources

specialist

soil polygons, bingos and permafrost, No trees

tundra

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Distinct seasons, trees that loose their leaves

Temperate deciduous forest

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In northern latitudes, cone-bearing trees (i.e., pines, fir, spruce) hares, and lynx

northern coniferous forest

Arid, filled with animals that can withstand high temperatures and low amounts of moisture, succulent plants

desert

teeming with life, warm and moist, near the equator

tropical rainforest

the process by which species adapt to competition by using the shared resources in different ways

resource partitioning

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a species that has an especially far-reaching effect on a community

keystone species

a series of changes in the population size of organisms at different trophic levels in a food chain

trophic cascade

a linear series of feeding relationships

food chain

a graphical representation of the numbers of individuals in a food chain

Ecological Pyramid (Trophic Pyramid) 

The Earth is as old as science says it is, evolution and plate tectonics are just as science says. No issues at all with the age according to science.

Theistic Evolution

Genesis is to be read literally, the Earth is young 6,000-10,000 years

scientific creationism

Genesis talks about the "Eretz," or promised land, not the world's origin. The flood is likely only regional.

historical creationism

Genesis 1-2 is a blueprint for order, not a literal interpretation

progressive creationsims

The days of Genesis 1-2 are literal 24 hour days with gaps of unspecified amounts of time between them

Gap-theory creationism

What is a paradigm

a dominant worldview in science

The scientific process and knowledge is based on ________.

a systematic process of learning about and testing our understanding of the world

what is an experiment

is an activity designed to test the validity of a hypothesis

In general, natural resources ________

should be used efficiently and conserved

Environmental problems whose dimensions include differential exposure to risk from toxic wastes and air pollution or lack of access to the natural beauty of parks based on ethnicity or race are issues of ________.

environmental justice

Ruben has a new puppy and wants to feed it the best possible food. He decides on an experiment where he will feed it the very best canned food plus a dietary supplement of vitamins recommended by a veterinarian. Which of the following best describes Ruben's project?

This is not an experiment–there are no controls or replicates.

Sustainable development ________.

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means consuming resources without compromising future availability

Credited for articulating the conservation ethic and for founding the U.S. Forest Service.

Gifford Pinchot

________ are composed of amino acids.

Proteins

________ are the primary water‑insoluble components of cell membranes.

lipids

The greatest source of water in the hydrological cycle is ________.

oceans

One example of artificial selection is ________.

broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and brussels sprouts bred from *Brassica oleracea*

Zebra mussels ________.

are an invasive exotic species that clogs water intake pipes at factories, power plants, and wastewater treatment facilities

Individuals of a single species fighting over access to a limiting resource is one example of ________.

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intraspecific competition

________ capture solar energy and use photosynthesis to produce sugars.

Producers

Desert and tundra both ________.

have relatively low precipitation

The statement, "hiking up a mountain in the southwestern United States is like walking from Mexico to Canada," is meant to demonstrate that ________ change(s) rapidly as you change altitude and latitude.

biomes

The process by which several researchers review another researcher's manuscript prior to publication to ensure research quality is referred to as ________.

peer review

Which of the following represents an example of aerobic cellular respiration?

glucose + oxygen → water + carbon dioxide + energy

The wavelengths of solar energy that are absorbed by plants in photosynthesis are ________.

within the visible spectrum

The greatest human impact on the carbon cycle has been through ________.

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combustion of fossil fuels

The two processes that determine the world's current biodiversity are ________.

extinction and speciation rates

Endemic species ________

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are found only in one place on the planet

 Extinction is ________.

a natural process

Net primary productivity ________.

the energy used by plants to make biomass after respiration

A population is a group of ________.

individuals of a single species that live and interact in one area

The trophic level of "producers" includes ________.

any organism producing biomass directly from photosynthesis

Which of the following would be most vulnerable to extinction?

an orchid endemic to a mountaintop forest where logging is occurring

An example of a positive feedback loop ________.

melting arctic snow exposing dark surfaces that heat up and cause further melting

The greatest planetary pool of nitrogen is ________.

 the atmosphere

The carrying capacity is the ________.

maximum sustainable population that a given environment can support

The functional role of a species in its community is its ________.

niche

________ are typical primary consumers in a temperature deciduous forest

Deer

In a population of field mice, an example of an adaptive trait that could help with reproduction and/or survival would be ________

having a bit more fur to withstand cold weather

Populations lacking any environmental resistance tend to increase by ________.

exponential growth

Which of the following is true about top predators?

They are likely to be keystone species

Zooplankton-eating fish are ________

secondary consumers

Which terrestrial biome has the most biodiversity?

tropical rainforest

Geothermal energy, wind, and solar radiation are all examples of ________.

renewable environmental factors

By definition, parasites ________ their host.

feed on and harm

Costa Rică is most concerned with what the road may do to their wildebeest migration.

False

Existence value is the worth of something's beauty or emotional appeal.

false

Environmental Policy pertains to human interactions with the environment. It regulates resource use or reduces pollution to promote human welfare and protect resources.

true

India, in the 1970's, initiated the one child policy.

false

The one child policy has lead to a shrinking workforce.

true

Low infant mortality rates are closely tied to rural societies.

false

Traditional agriculture uses large-scale machines and fossil fuels to boost yields, and it also uses irrigation, fertilizers, and pesticides, as well as often plant monocultures.

false

Soil influences ecosystems as much as climate, latitude, and elevation.

true

Species Richness is the extent to which species differ in number of individuals.

false

Wild species produce up to $150 billion/year of drugs that save thousands of lives.

true

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a party that fails to invest in controlling pollution or carrying out environmentally responsible activities

free-rider

a developing school of economics that applies the principles of ecology and systems thinking to the description and analysis of economies

ecological economics

a developing school of economics that modifies the principles of neoclassical economics to address environmental challenges

environmental economics

a government grant of money or resources to a private entity to support and promote that industry

subsidy

a method in which costs for a proposed action are compared to the sum of benefits for that proposed action.

cost-benefit analysis

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the period of a woman's life from puberty to menopause where she could become pregnant

reproductive window

a measure of the "stuff" one accumulates throughout life

affluence

maximal fertility rates of reproduction

constant fertility

the TFR that maintains a stable population size

replacement fertility

theoretical model of economic and cultural change that explains the declining birth and death rates that occurred in Western nations

demographic transition

a storehouse for samples of the world's crop diversity

seed bank