Define ecology.
Biological science that studies the relationships between living organisms and their environment; study of the structure and functions of nature.
What is meant by sustainable yield?
Highest rate at which a potentially renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply.
Explain the difference between point and nonpoint pollution. Give some examples in your explanation.
Point sources are single, identifiable sources. Examples are the smokestack of a coal-burning power or industrial plant, the drainpipe of a factory, and the exhaust pipe of an auto mobile.
Nonpoint sources are dispersed and often difficult to identify. Ex
What is meant by a positive feedback loop? Describe a problem in an environmental setting that demonstrates a positive feedback loop.
A positive feedback loop causes a system to change further in the same direction.
The melting of polar ice, which has occurred as the temperature of the atmosphere has risen during the past few decades. As that ice melts, there is less of it to reflect su
Define hydrosphere, biosphere, geosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere.
Hydrophere: Consists of all of the water on or near the earth's surface. Includes ice and water vapor.
Biosphere: Occupies those parts of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere where life exists.
Geosphere: Consists of the earth's intensely hot core,
How is a biome defined?
Terrestrial regions inhabited by certain types of life, especially vegetation. Examples include various types of deserts, grasslands, and forests.
Define autotroph, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, detritivore, and decomposer.
Autotroph: Organism that uses solar energy (green plants) or chemical energy (some bacteria) to manufacture the organic compounds it needs as nutrients from simple inorganic compounds obtained from its environment.
Herbivore: Plant-eating organism. Exampl
What is being compared at each trophic level in a pyramid of biomass, a pyramid of energy, and a pyramid of numbers?
Only one of these is in the book
Review the hydrologic cycle. Identify the source that drives it..
The water cycle is powered by energy from the sun and involves three major processes�evaporation, precipitation, and transpiration.
Define evolution, natural selection, genetic drift, geographic isolation, and discuss the importance of mutations.
Evolution: Change in the genetic makeup of a population of a species in successive generations. If continued long enough, it can lead to the formation of a new species. Note that populations, not individuals, evolve.
Natural Selection: Process by which a
What are the adaptations of humans that have made them so successful?
1. Strong opposable thumbs that allow us to grip and use tools better than the few other animals that have thumbs can do
2. An ability to walk upright
3. A complex brain
How many mass extinctions of 25-70% of species have occurred in earth's history?
5
Define species richness.
The number of different species a community and the ecosystem to which it belongs contain.
What are the differences between generalist and specialist species.
Generalist: Species with a broad ecological niche. They can live in many different places, eat a variety of foods, and tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions. Examples include flies, cockroaches, mice, rats, and humans.
Specialist: Species with
Identify and explain which of the following species would be considered a specialist species: Raccoon, Cockroach, Giant Panda.
Giant Panda. The other two option are incredibly adaptive whereas the Giant Panda has a very specific diet and area in which it lives.
List the specific roles species can play within an ecosystem.
1. native species
2. nonnative species
3. indicator species
4. keystone species
5. foundation species
A species in an ecosystem that plays a central role in the health of that ecosystem, and whose removal may cause the collapse of the ecosystem, is called what?
A keystone species
Define foundation species.
Species that plays a major role in shaping a community by creating and enhancing a habitat that benefits other species.
Give an example of interspecific competition.
Humans compete with many other species for space, food, and other resources. As our ecological footprints grow and spread and we convert more of the earth's land, aquatic resources, and net primary productivity to our uses, we are taking over the habitats
A tapeworm in the intestines of an organism, living off of energy from food that organism consumes, is an example of a what?
Parasitism
Multiple species cannot share the same ecological niche for an extended period of time due to what principle?
competitive exclusion principle
Give an example of co-evolution?
Consider the species interaction between bats (the predator) and certain species of moths (the prey). Bats like to eat moths, and they hunt at night and use echolocation to navigate and to locate their prey, emitting pulses of extremely high-frequency and
A classic example of ________ is the relationship of a clownfish has with a sea anemone.
mutualism
What is the biotic potential of a population?
Its capacity for population growth under ideal conditions.
What are the age structure categories?
1. Pre-reproductive
2. Reproductive
3. Post-reproductive
When a population has grown to a point at which its habitat can no longer be sustained without degradation, that population likely has reached its...
Carrying Capacity (K)
On a population vs. time graph, a J-shaped curve represents what type of growth?
exponential/geometric growth
Native prairie grasses show strong ______, as they are able to survive brush fires, a moderate disturbance.
resilience
Define tipping point.
The point where any additional stress can cause a system to change in an abrupt and usually irreversible way that often involves collapse.
Differentiate between climate and weather.
Climate is long-term
Weather is short-term
What is the primary limiting factor for rain forest?
Soil Nutrients
Differentiate between habitats, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes.
Habitat: Place or type of place where an organism or population of organisms lives.
Population: Group of individual organisms of the same species living in a particular area.
Community: Populations of all species living and interacting in an area at a par
Describe the relative biodiversity of marine species in the coastal, euphotic, bathyal, and abyssal zone.
Coastal: It makes up less than 10% of the world's ocean area but contains 90% of all marine species and is the site of most large commercial marine fisheries.
Euphotic: Large, fast-swimming predatory fishes such as swordfish, sharks, and bluefin tuna popu
How are the 3 types of lakes (eutrophic, mesotrophic, and oligotrophic) different?
Eutrophic: Such lakes typically are shallow and have murky brown or green water with high turbidity. Because of their high levels of nutrients, these lakes have a high net primary productivity.
Mesotrophic: Lakes that fall somewhere between the two extrem
What is background extinction?
During most of the 3.56 billion years that life has existed on the earth, there has been a continuous, low level of extinction of species known as background extinction.
Species are viewed as having instrumental value and/or intrinsic (existence) value. What is the difference between the different types of value placed on species?
Instrumental: A species' usefulness to us in providing many of the ecological and economic services that makes up the earth's natural capital.
Intrinsic: Value of an organism, species, ecosystem, or the earth's biodiversity based on its existence, regardl
What are the threats to species? Which of these is the greatest threat?
The greatest threats to any species are (in order) loss or degradation of its habitat, harmful invasive species, human population growth, pollution, climate change, and overexploitation.
What is the effect of habitat fragmentation?
This process can decrease tree populations in forests, block migration routes, and divide populations of a species into smaller and more isolated groups that are more vulnerable to predators, competitor species, disease, and catastrophic events such as st
Describe the overall purpose of CITES and the ESA.
CITES: This treaty, now signed by 172 countries, bans hunting, capturing, and selling of threatened or endangered species. It lists some 900 species that cannot be commercially traded as live specimens or wildlife products because they are in danger of ex
What are the two types of forest fires? Which one is the more destructive/dangerous?
Surface fires: Usually burn only undergrowth and leaf litter on the forest floor. They may kill seedlings and small trees but spare most mature trees and allow most wild animals to escape.
Crown fires: Extremely hot fires that leap from treetop to treetop
Define deforestation and the 3 major methods (selective, clear, and strip).
Deforestation: Removal of trees from a forested area.
Selective cutting: Cutting of intermediateaged, mature, or diseased trees in an unevenaged forest stand, either singly or in small groups. This encourages the growth of younger trees and maintains an u
Describe how rangelands and pastures are different from each other and savannahs.
Rangelands: Unfenced grasslands in temperate and tropical climates that supply forage, or vegetation, for grazing (grass-eating) and browsing (shrub-eating) animals.
Pastures: Managed grasslands or enclosed meadows usually planted with domesticated grasse
What are the issues affecting national parks in the US?
1. They're too popular
2. Damage from the migration or deliberate introduction of nonnative species
3. Native species are killed or removed illegally from parks
4. Nearby human activities that threaten wildlife and recreational values in many national par
Define wilderness.
Area where the earth and its ecosystems have not been seriously disturbed by humans and where humans are only temporary visitors. wildlife
What does the acronym HIPPCO stand for?
Habitat destruction, degradation, and fragmentation
Invasive species
Population growth
Pollution
Climate change; and Overexploitation
What impact do trawlers have on ocean-floor ecosystems?
Trawlers drag huge nets weighted down with heavy chains and steel plates like giant submerged bulldozers over ocean bottoms to harvest a few species of bottom fish and shellfish. Trawling nets reduce coral reef habitats to rubble and kill a variety of cre
What is the difference between biological and commercial extinction?
Biological: When a species, is no longer found anywhere on the earth. Biological extinction is forever and represents an irreversible loss of natural capital.
Commercial: Depletion of the population of a wild species used as a resource to a level at which
What countries still practice whaling today?
Japan and Norway
(The book says that Iceland, Russia, and a growing number number of small, tropical island countries also want to reverse the ban on whaling. It is not explicitly stated, however, that these countries currently practice whaling.)
Where is the most human population growth taking place?
Developing countries
The human population growth curve will transition from a J-shaped curve to what shape in the 21st century?
S
What are crude birth and death rates?
Crude birth rate: Annual number of live births per 1,000 people in the population of a geographic area at the midpoint of a given year.
Crude death rate: Annual number of deaths per 1,000 people in the population of a geographic area at the midpoint of a
What do age structure diagrams represent?
The distribution of males and females among age groups in a population
What are some reasons that women might choose to have fewer children?
Studies show that women tend to have fewer children
if they are educated, hold a paying job outside the
home, and live in societies where their human rights
are not suppressed.
An increasing number of women in developing countries are taking charge of the
What is the root cause of food insecurity?
Poverty, which prevents poor people from growing or buying enough food
What does the term undernutrition mean?
Consuming insufficient food to meet one's minimum daily energy needs for a long enough time to cause harmful effects.
What has industrialized agriculture done to many crops?
Since 1950, U.S. industrialized agriculture has more than doubled the yields of key crops such as wheat, corn, and soybeans without cultivating more land. Such yield increases have kept large areas of forests, grasslands, and wetlands from being converted
What causes soil erosion?
Usually caused by wind, flowing water, or both. This natural process can be greatly accelerated by human activities that remove vegetation from soil.
What are some advantages to modern synthetic pesticides?
1. They save human lives
2. They increase food supplies
3. They increase profits for farmers
4. They work fast
5. When used properly, their health risks are very low relative to their benefits
6. Newer pest control methods are safer and far more effective