Viewing All Flashcards for ENV Test 1
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€“ How the natural world works– How the environment affects humans and vice versa
Substances and energy sources needed for surviva
Arise from the normal functioning of natural services and allow us to survive– Purify air and water, cycle nutrients, regulate climate– Pollinate plants, receive and recycle waste
Began 10,000 years ago– Growing crops and livestock led to sedentary lives– Stable food supplies increased survival and children
Began mid-1700s– Urbanized society powered by fossil fuels– Sanitation and medicines– Pesticides, fertilizer
€“ Unregulated exploitation causes resource depletion– No one has the incentive to care for a resource because no single person owns the resource– Everyone takes and takes until a resource is depleted– Grazing lands, fisheries, forests, air, water
€“ Environmental activism– A social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world – Engaged in advocacy
Scientists gather information about something not well known or that cannot be manipulated in experiments– Astronomy, paleontology, taxonomy, genomics
Research that proceeds in a targeted, structured manner using experiments to test hypotheses through the scientific method
10)
Tests the validity of a prediction or hypothesis
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Conditions that can change or be manipulated
Other scientists provide comments and criticism – guards against faulty science
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A widely accepted explanation of one or more cause-and-effect relationship
A change in the dominant view
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Study of good and bad – right and wrong
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Ethics vary with social context
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Right and wrong remains the same across cultures and situation
Human-centered view– Costs and benefits are measured according to their impact on people onl
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Certain living things also have value– All life (human and nonhuman) has ethical standing– Development is opposed if it destroys life, even if it creates jobs
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Whole ecological systems have value– Values species, communities, ecosystems– Holistic perspective; stresses preserving connections
Unspoiled nature should be protected for its own inherent value– Muir believed nature deserved protection for its own inherent value (ecocentric), as well as for human happiness and fulfillment (anthropocentric)
Use natural resources wisely, to provide the greatest good to the most people for the longest time
Healthy ecological systems depend on protecting all parts of the system believed humans should view themselves and the land as part and parcel of the same communit
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Accumulated wealth of Earth’s resources
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Humans have surpassed the Earth’s capacity to support us
Using resources to satisfy current needs without compromising future availability
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Network of relationships among components that interact with and influence one another
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System’s output also serves as input for that system (a circular process)
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All material in the universe that has mass and occupies space
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Fundamental type of matter, with a given set of properties; cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical means
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Smallest possible units of matter that maintain an element’s properties during chemical reaction
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Atoms with the same atomic number (# protons), but a different number of neutrons
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Two or more atoms chemically combinedď€ Oxygen gas: O2, ozone: O3, nitrogen gas: N2(few exceptions – e.g., helium
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A molecule composed of atoms of two or more different elements
Carbon atoms joined by bonds that may include other elements (e.g., nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, hydrogen
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Contain only carbon and hydrogenď€ Make up fossil fuelsď€ Simplest is methane (key component of natural gas)ď€ Can be a gas, liquid, or soli
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Long chains of repeated molecules that are the building blocks of life
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(made of amino acid chains) produce tissues, provide structural support, store energy, transport substances, function in the immune system, act as hormones, can serve as enzyme
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An intangible phenomenon that can change the position, physical composition, or temperature of matter
Energy can change forms, but cannot be created or destroye
Produce their own food from the sun’s energy
42)
Process of turning light energy from the sun into chemical energy6CO2 + 6H20 + energy → C6H12O6 + 6O2
Oxygen is used to convert glucose (sugar) into water + carbon dioxide + energyC6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H20 + energy
Organisms that gain energy by feeding on other organisms (e.g., most animals, fungi, microbes)
45)
All organisms and non-living entities occurring and interacting in a particular area
Rate at which autotrophs convert energy to biomass; varies by ecosystem
Arise from the normal functioning of natural services and allow us to survive– Purify air and water, cycle nutrients, etc.– Pollinate plants, receive and recycle wastes
48)
Elements and compounds that organisms consume and require for survivalď€ Stimulate plant productionď€ Lack of nutrients can limit productionď€ Nitrogen and phosphorus are important for plant and algal growth
Process of nutrient overenrichment, increased production of organic matter, and subsequent ecosystem degradation
Movement of nutrients through ecosystem
Where nutrients remain for varying amounts of time (example: humans, grass, and cows are reservoirs for carbon atoms
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Movement of nutrients among pools; can change over time
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Release of water vapor by plants (= evaporation of water from plants)
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Underground reservoirs of sponge-like regions of rock and soil that hold groundwater
N2 combines with hydrogen to form ammonia (NH3), whose water-soluble ammonium ions (NH4+) can be used by plants
56)
Conversion of ammonium ions first into nitrite ions and then into nitrate ions, which plants absorb
Nitrogen fixation performed by people to make fertilizers and chemicals
Genetic change in populations of organisms over generationsď€ Has resulted in millionsof species
Process by which traits that enhance survival and reproduction are passed on more frequently to future generations vs. those that do not
A characteristic that promotes reproductive success in a certain environment
Process of selection conducted under human directions
The variety of life across all levels of biological organizationď€ Includes the diversity of species (# of different species), genes, populations, and communities
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Population or group of populations whose members share certain traits and can freely breed with one another and produce fertile offspring
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Process of generating new speciesď€ A single species can generate multiple species
Species formation due to physical separation of populations –considered primary mode of speciationď€ Can be separated by rivers, mountains, etc. ď€ Over time, each population accumulates different mutationsď€ Populations can no longer interbreedď€ Now on different evolutionary trajectories
Represents history of species divergenceď€ Scientists can trace when certain traits evolvedď€ Show relationships between species, populations, or genes
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Remains, impression, or trace of an animal or plant of a past geological age that has been preserved in rock or sediment
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Cumulative body of fossils worldwideď€ Geologic processes over millions of years created many fossilized organisms
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Disappearance of a species from Earthď€ Number of species currently in existence = speciation – extinction
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Species that exists in only a certain area (such as “endemic of Texas”)ď€ Very susceptible to extinctionď€ Often occur in small populations
Rate at which one species goes extinct at a timeď€ Most historical extinctions are gradual
5 events in earth’s history killed off massive numbers of species at one timeď€ 50–95% of all species went extinct
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Study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment
Study of the dynamics of population change and the factors that affect distribution and abundance of members of a population
Study of interactions among different species
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Specific environment where an organism lives (not just “vegetation”) ď€ Includes living and non-living elements that an organism needs to surviveď€ Scale-dependent: from square meters to miles
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: organism’s use of resources and its functional role in a communityď€ Habitat use, food consumption, role in nutrient and energy flow, interactions with other organisms
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Species with narrow niches and very specific requirements
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Species with broad niches and adapted to wide array of habitats and resourcesď€ Able to live in many different places
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Number of individual organisms of a species present at a given timeď€ Can increase, decrease, cycle, or remain stable
Number of individuals within a population per unit area
Spatial arrangement of organisms within an area
Relative numbers of organisms of each age within a population
Population increases by a fixed percentage every year (J-shaped curve)
Physical, chemical, and biological characteristics that restrain population growthď€ Water, space, food, predators, and diseaseď€ Environmental resistance: the collective force of limiting factors acting togethe
Maximum population size of a species that a given environment can sustain
Limiting factors whose influence is affected by population densityď€ Increased risk of predation and disease and competition for mates occurs with increased densityď€ Logistic curve reflects density dependenceď€ Environmental resistance has a stronger effect on larger population
Limiting factors whose influence is unaffected by density ď€ Events such as floods, drought, fires, landslide
Organism’s ability to produce offspring
Animals that have longgestation periods and few offspring (“quality, not quantity”)ď€ Have a low biotic potentialď€ Large amounts of energy + resources for youngď€ Stabilize at or near carrying capacity
Animals that reproduce quickly (“quantity, not quality”)ď€ Have a high biotic potentialď€ Population size fluctuates greatly
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When multiple organisms seek the same limited resources they need to survive
Where species adapt to competition by using slightly different resources, or use their shared resources in slightly different ways
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Process by which individuals of one species (predators) capture, kill, and consume individuals of another species (prey)
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Relationship in which one organism (parasite) depends on another (host) for nourishment or other benefit
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Evolution of hosts and parasites, predators and prey, or plants and herbivores in response to each other
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A relationship in which interacting species benefit from one another (both benefit)
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Type of mutualism in which organisms live in close physical contact
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Bees, bats, birds, and others transfer pollen (male sex cells) from flower to flower, thus fertilizing eggsď€ Bees pollinate 73% of crops (e.g., beans, oranges, etc.)
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An assemblage of species living in the same place at the same time
101)
Rank in the feeding hierarchyď€ Producers (autotrophs)ď€ Consumers (heterotrophs)ď€ Detritivores and decomposers: organisms that consume non-living organic matter (scavenge waste products or dead bodies or break down leaf litter and other non-living material)
102)
Autotrophs (“self-feeders”): organisms that capture solar energy for photosynthesis to produce sugars• Primary consumers: organisms that consume the producers (2ndtrophic level)ď€ Herbivores such as deer and grasshoppers• Secondary consumers: organisms that prey on the primary consumers (3rdtrophic level)ď€ Carnivores (wolves, birds) that consume meat • Tertiary consumers: predators that feed at higher trophic levels (hawks, owls, other predators)
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Linear path taken by energy and nutrients from organism to organism (feeding relationship)ď€ Ecological systems are far more complex
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Visual map of feeding relationships and energy flowď€ Includes many organisms at various levels (several possible feeding relationships in a community)ď€ Even food webs are usually still too simple
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Changes in the population sizes of organisms at different trophic levels in a food chain; occurs when predators at higher trophic levels indirectly promote populations of organisms at lower trophic levels by keeping species at intermediate trophic levels in check
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When a community resists change and remains stable despite the disturbance
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When a community changes in response to a disturbance, but later returns to its original state
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Predictable series of changes in a community following a disturbance
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Disturbance eliminates all vegetation and/or soil lifeď€ Community built from scratchď€ Ex: Retreating glaciers, drying lakes, flowing lava• Pioneer species: first species
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First species to arrive in and colonize an area (e.g., lichens and moss)ď€ New organisms arrive, whichincrease vegetation/diversity
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Non-native (exotic) organisms that spread widely and become dominantď€ Can substantially alter a community and have major ecological effectsď€ Growth-limiting factors (predators, disease, etc.) for these species are removed or absentď€ Example: Fish introduced for sport outcompete and exclude native fis
Effort to return an area to a prior “natural” stateď€ Informed by the field of restoration ecologyď€ It is usually difficult, time-consuming, costlyď€ Thus, it is best to protect natural systems from degradation in the first place
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Major regional complex of similar communities recognized mainly by:ď€ Identified mainly by its dominant plant type and vegetation structureď€ Biome type is largely a function of climate (temperature and precipitation)ď€ Similar biomes occur at similar latitude
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Study of how people use resources to satisfy the demand for goods and services
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People acquire their daily needs directly from nature; they do not purchase or trade
Buyers and sellers interact to determine production and distribution of goods and services
Government determines how to allocate resources
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Comprises aspects of both capitalism and socialism; governments intervene to some extent
Competition between people free to pursue their own economic selfinterest will benefit society as a whole (―free market‖ guided by an ―invisible hand‖
Costs of a proposed action are compared to the benefits that result– If benefits > costs: pursue the action
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Costs and benefits of a transaction affect people other than the buyer or seller
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Costs borne by others not involved in a transaction(difficult to account for and eliminate)
Believe civilizations cannot overcome environmental limitations in the long run
Retain some principles of neoclassical economics, such as economic growth, but modify them to address environmental challenges
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Essential services that support life and make economic activities possible– Essential for survival and quality of life– Can be integrated into cost-benefit analyses
126)
Occurs when markets do not account for externalities and non-market values
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Formal set of general plans and principles to address problems and guide decisions
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Policy made by governments that consists of laws, regulations, orders, incentives, and practices
Policy that pertains to human interactions with the environment – Regulates resource use or reduction of pollution– To promote human welfare and/or protect resources
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Parties that fail to control pollution or carry out other environmentally responsible activities and instead rely on others to do so– Private voluntary efforts are often less effective than efforts mandated by public policy
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Promote fairness by preventing resource use that harms others
Created the Council on Environmental Quality – Required Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for any federal action that might impact the environment– NEPA requires government and businesses to evaluate the environmental impacts of development
€“ Conducts research, monitors environmental quality, sets and enforces standards for pollution, assists states in meeting standards, educates the public– Functions depending on view of current president
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Arises from longstanding practices or customs held by most cultures
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Arises from conventions or treaties among nations
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Established in 1944; one of the world’s largest funding sources for economic development
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Seeks to promote Europe’s unity and economic and social progress
Represents multinational corporations to promote free trade
Entities that influence international policy
Government sets strict limits and threatens punishment for violations of those limits
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Tax on environmentally harmful activities and products (aimed at providing marketbased incentive to correct for market failure)
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Government giveaway of money or resources to promote environmentally sustainable activities (such as a tax break)
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Government creates a market in permits for environmentally harmful activities– Companies and industries buy, sell, and trade rights to conduct these activities (example: permit trading to decrease emissions of air pollutants)
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Type of permit-trading system in which the government sets amount of acceptable pollution and issues permits to polluters to emit only a certain fraction of that amount
145)
Tells consumers which brands use environmentally sustainable processes or ingredients