AP Environmental Science: Unit 9 Review - Global Change

The Greenhouse Effect

• greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
• increase of greenhouse gases - can lead to a variety of environmental problems, rising sea levels from melting ice sheets, ocean water expansion, disease vectors spreading

Global Climate Change

• effects of climate change - rising temperatures, melting permafrost, rising sea levels, displacement of coastal populations
• pros: new marine habitat cons: deeper communities that may no longer be in the photic zone of seawater

Ocean Warming and Acidification

•  ocean warming - caused by the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
• can affect marine species in a variety of ways, including loss of habitat, metabolic and reproductive changes
• ocean acidification - the decrease in pH of the oceans, primarily due to increased CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere
• can lead to the damage of coral reef and organism shells, due to loss of calcium carbonate

Invasive Species

• invasive species - species that can live and sometimes thrive outside of their normal habitat, often generalists
• solutions - physical removal/ prevention through inspecting boats, shipping crates, luggage for exotic species

Endangered Species

• potential causes -  extensively hunted, outcompeted by invasive species, specific and limited habitat requirements
• species that are generalist are less likely to face extinction compared to specialists
• selective pressures - resource availability, environmental conditions, biological factors
• solutions - criminalizing poaching, protecting animal habitats, legislation

Human Impacts on Biodiversity

• HIPPCO - habitat destruction, invasive species, population growth, pollution, climate change, and over exploitation
• habitat fragmentation - large habitats are broken into smaller, isolated areas
• global climate change - can cause habitat loss via changes in temperature, precipitation, and sea level rise
• overfishing - led to the extreme scarcity of some fish species, which can lessen biodiversity in aquatic systems
• solutions - creating protected areas, use of habitat corridors, promoting sustainable land use practices, restoring lost habitats, creating legislation (CITES, Endangered Species Act)