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4. Anthropocene Flashcards

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1
Q

What does the term Anthropocene mean?

A

A new geological age which is now being used to describe the current state//

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2
Q

Why do we use the term Anthropocene ?

A

to describe a new geological age which has : a huge carbon footprint // increased greenhouse gas concentrations(methane and carbon dioxide ) // increased energy usage // increased use of nitrogen fertilisers used

overall all of these changes are occurring due to the increased human population

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3
Q

What are some major issues facing humans in the Anthropocene?

A

AIR POLUTION DISEASE-> myocardial infarction// hyper-tension// congestive heart failure // chronic obstructive pulmonary disease// WATER BOUND DISEASES-> diarrhoeal // typhoid fever// lower respiratory tract

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4
Q

What are some major issues facing the planet in the Anthropocene?

A

rising temperature / melting ice / rising sea level / shorter , milder winter / more extreme weather events // effects on ecosystems and organisms

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5
Q

What did the lancet commission on pollution and health explain?

A

2017 -> pollution is to be largest environmental cause of disease and premature death// pollution is discriminative and effects developing countries and children more

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6
Q

What is the pollutome?

A

3 different layers of pollution -related deaths
1. well characterised health effects caused by pollutants // 2. emerging but still unquantified health effect / 3. inadequate characterised health effects of emerging pollutants

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7
Q

What are the main forms of pollution?

A

AIR - PM2.5 particles of air pollution in the ozone // WATER - inadequate sanitation // SOIL// CHEMICAL // OCCUPATIONAL

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8
Q

What changes are being seen in ecosystems within the Anthropocene?

A

CHANGES IN EGG -LAYING time // CHANGES IN MIGRATION- // RANGE SHIFTS- mountain heath and willow scrub has changed // EXTICTION RISK - IPCC found 20-30% of plant and animal species are at risk of extinction

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9
Q

What are some issues with marine plastic ?

A

impacts ecosystem functioning // impacts beach quality /

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10
Q

What environmental factors can worsen marine plastics ?

A

ocean currents and prevailing winds -> spread issues across countries and across international waters

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11
Q

What does damage costs to a country depend on?

A
  1. Total volume and type of plastic waste in the sea// 2. Ocean current patterns -> in relation to their location //3. Exposure //4. Patterns of use and settlement of coast
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12
Q

What does abatement refer to?

A

reduction or removal of an issue over time

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13
Q

How can we reduce the issue of marine plastics in the ocean?

A

Reduce amount of current plastic usage on land // Reduce current stock of plastic in ocean and on land in landfill sites // Clean up plastic waste deposits on coastlines // Reduce quality of plastic waste disposals

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14
Q

What did Nordhaus 2015 pose?

A

2 solutions to marine plastic:
1. Set up smaller group of countries which are willing to pursue strong mitigation policies // 2. Commit all countries to a solution project

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15
Q

What are some characteristics of deep sea fishing?

A

Diverse// Sometimes extremely long lived // Very low survival of brought to surface// Difficult and expensive to study// Very few long term fish (fishery-independent surveys)
//Less well understood than shallow species

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16
Q

How does fishing affect deep sea populations?

A

trawling is the main method of fishing / removes most of the benthic fauna, resulting in declines in faunal biodiversity, cover and abundance

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17
Q

What can we do to protect deep sea fish biodiveristy?

A
  1. “FREEZE THE FOOTPRINT” -> prevent fishing somewhere which has not been fished yet -> However this is dependent on how you segment the ocean //2. MPA (marine protected area ) -> Identify vulnerable marine ecosystem (deep sea coral reefs / sponge beds…) / may be high fish diversity / However extremely difficult to enforce // 3. MORE SELECTIVE FIHSING GEAR-> Only catching species fish preventing reducing species richness within an area// 4. DEPTH LIMIT
    -> European commission proposed a 600m limit on trawling
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18
Q

What should a depth limit on trawling be based off?

A

AIM = Calculate ecologically important catch indices //Calculate value er unit effort of trawl // Determine if there is a relationship between trend and depth

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19
Q

What does the Simpsons diveristy refer to?

A

Measure of the number of species and their relative abundance / understands the damage to the environment worsens with depth

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20
Q

Where does trawling affect the most diverse fish assemblages ?

A

600m or deeper //limiting trawling to 600m would protect 80 species of fish

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21
Q

What is a protected area?

A

a geographic area governed and managed in ways that achieve positive and sustained long-term outcomes for the in situ conservation of biodiversity, with associated ecosystem functions and services and where applicable, cultural, spiritual, socio–economic, and other locally relevant values

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22
Q

What are some benefits of protected areas?

A

Act as refuges for species/ allowing functioning of natural ecosystems / maintain ecological processes / protect species from extinction

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23
Q

What methods have been used to minimise human impacts and reverse its consequences?

A
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24
Q

What are some different conservation approaches?

A
  1. Area based conservation (OECM)// 2. Restoration/ re-introduction // 3. Control of invasive species /4. Control of disease
    Any action / initiation/ policy
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25
How are geographic areas and species prioritised for conservation?
originally -> on geographical features or hunting areas / areas poorly suited for manufacturing or industrial use// COLONIALISM influenced policies through the inferiority of indigenous poeple// now ICUN have a list of most vulnerable species
26
How much of the earths ice free land has been altered by humans?
75%
27
How many species are threatened by extinction?
1 million species
28
What are some threats to biodiversity?
habitat loss degradation/ species overexploitation/ invasive species and disease/ pollution / climate change // modification of environment via agriculture, logging and urbanisation / food industry -> uses huge amounts of water and land
29
What are some examples of different conservation approaches?
CBD- convention on biological diveristy (2011-2020) targeted protection of 11 species // KUNNING -MONTREAL 2022-2023-> focused on the rights of indigenous people// TANZANIA -> introduced new national parks to heighten portection
30
What were some previous issues of protected areas?
shortfall in implementation/ ineffective managment / poor governance // perverse incentives// failure to adress biodiveristy loss/
31
Give a brief overview of the history of protected areas?
1914 JOHN MUIR first intriduuced them -> YELLOW STONE= first national park- THEODORE ROOSEVELT (passed 5 national parks ) -> GAME RESERVES introduced to ensure hunting continued
32
What are some socio-economic impacts of protected areas?
Displacement of homelessness// Demonisation of local people// analysed by those living close to reserves
33
What is the ICUN list based upon?
- list of selecting what areas and species to conserve 1. declining populations// 2. geographic range, size and fragmentation// 3. small population size // 4. restricted population distribution//
34
What is a flagship species?
selected to act as an ambassador , icon or symbol for a defining habitat, issue , campaign or environmental cause
35
What is an edge specie?
evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered species
36
What is a biodiveristy hotspot?
A biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity which is under threat from humans/// Can be found as focus points for conservation ///High concentrations of endemic species can be found in biodiversity hotspots
37
What factors have increased the exploitation of marine environments ?
one of the biggest trade commodities in history is fish // new preservation techniques meant fish could be smocked and transported globally // increased in technologies has allowed fisheries to increase drastically in scale
38
Give a brief outline on how whaling practices have changed over time?
1000->BASQUE HUNTING ->> OFFSHORE WHALLING IN ARTIC (whale oil used for lamps+ gear boxes->> DUTCH FLEET VESSLE -> AMERICAN FLEET -> INDUSTRIAL WHALE INDUSTRY (1800s) arguably it is whale products which underpin early industrialisation
39
What does the baseline for marine exploitation refer to?
The abundance and diveristy of marine ecosystems prior to human intervention which acts as a baseline for healthy ecosystem functioning
40
What happened in 1376 which changed fishing?
TRAWLERS were introduced // wholesale destruction of benthos began -- all living oysters were caught by 1970
41
What is the fishery aggregation device technqiue?
an object is placed into the ocean with the aim of other fishes inhabitation it to capture fish later
42
How can we prevent further ruin of marine environments?
Reducing fish capacity / Remove politicians from decision making .// Elamite discard// Reduce damaging gear (dredges and trawling)// Increase no take areas //Introduce marine protected areas
43
What are some uses of widlife?
SUBSISTENCE (using physical animal e.g. meat/ skins..)// COMMERCAIL (products and luxury) // RECREATIONAL HUNTING // WILDLIFE HUNTING
44
What are the 3 biological harvesting methords?
FIXED PROPORTION(constant proportion taken each year) // FIXED ESCAPMENT(harvests only the excess resources) // CLONSTANTE EFFORT(Setting restrictions on a certain area or time of year)
45
What are some problems which arise due to wildlife trade?
Spread of disease/ animal welfare concerns / invasive species introduction/ poor govern / lack of monitoring
46
When did crocodiles start being overexploited and why? What is it like now
Since 1800s due to fashion// today harvesting and ranching programmes are used to reduce the illegal trade
47
What different factors are included whne looking at conserving a species?
SPECIES -LEVEL // GOEVERNANCE/ SUPPLY CHAIN // END MARKET
48
What is trophy hunting?
killing wild animals primarily for sport, with the intention of displaying parts of their bodies, like horns, antlers, or skins, as trophies.
49
What is the main types of intervention?
- Translocation and re-introductions - Rescue, treatments and rehabilitation - Disease prevention and control - Eliminations of alien species - Protection - Reproductive suppression - Supplementary feeding Treatment of wound injuries
50
What is translocation?
reintroduction of populations which have ben removed and remove problem animals alike invasive and alien species #*basically means moving animals around
51
How successful was the golden lion tamarin?
RE-INTRODUCTION OF ZOO-BORN ANIMALS INTO BRAZIL - 1500 individuals have now been released with over 95% of the population now being wild-bron
52
What were the main aims of the payamino project ?
using indigenous people they protected the payamino area from industrical and commercial business alike oil companies.. // prevented edploitation of wildlife and increased education of local communities //
53
What is the major ecological threat to venezula?
illegal mining of mercury , contaminating and blocking water ways
54
What is the issue with mercury minning?
inorganic mercy undergoes microbial activity becoming methyl-mercury which is toxic to the nervous system and other animals
55
What were the great lakes in canda used to examplify?
understanding eutrophication, 1968 Johnson and vallentyne took 58 lakes and contaminated them finding EDCs convert extinction after three years// and chemical found in the contraceptive pill converted male fish to female
56
What alters observed mortality of marine stradnings?
biological factors (abundance, mortality and distribution) / physical (bias on the environment e.g. weather ) / and social factors (human error/ social bias)
57
What are some causes of marine strandings>
platic ingestion/ ship strike/ sympatric trauma / stravation / infectious disease/ fisheries interaction
58
What are PCBs and why are they important?
man-made chemicals that persist in the environment and can cause serious health effects, including cancer and developmental problems, and are banned for production and use
59
What is the relationship between garter snake and newts ?
EVOLUTIONARY ARMS RACE garter snake has evolved to tolerate ttx , newts produced ttx to protect themselves agaisnt the snakes
60
what is phenology?
the study of recurring annual life cycle evenys
61
Give an example of an animal which shows phenology?
SNOWHARE - changes its coat to match the environment and protect itself against predators

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