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comprehensive exam > Environmental Biolgoy > Flashcards

Environmental Biolgoy Flashcards

1
Q

What is environmental science?

A

The study of how the world works; examines cause and effect relationships underlying issues and problems that rise from our use of the natural world

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2
Q

What is the difference between ethics and morals?

A

Ethics seek to define fundamentally what is right and wrong regardless of cultural differences. Morals reflect predominant cultural feelings about ethical issues.

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3
Q

What are environmental ethics?

A

Environmental ethics examine the moral basis of environmental responsibility

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4
Q

What are the three types of environmental ethics?

A

Anthropocentric - human centered
Biocentric - all life forms have a right to exist
Ecocentric - environment deserves direct moral consideration

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5
Q

What is the difference between conservation and preservation?

A

Conservation should be used and managed sustainably to provide the greatest benefit to the greatest number of people. Preservation is areas of no human contact.

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6
Q

What are five types of socioeconomic environmental ethics?

A

Societal environmental ethic - how a society views the environment
Corporate environmental ethics - costs of controlling wastes, proper amounts of raw material, etc.
Industrial ecology - providing ways to produce goods and services without destroying the environment
Individual environmental ethics - recognition of individual responsibility must lead to changes in individual behavior
Global environmental ethics - degradation in any nation affects the quality of life in other nations

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7
Q

What are the four main types of terrestrial biomes?

A

Temperate, tropical, desert, and polar

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8
Q

What is a climatograph?

A

A graph that shows the pattern of seasonal changes in temperature and precipitation for a particular location.

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9
Q

What are the different types of tropical biomes?

A

Tropical rain forest, tropical seasonal forest, and tropical savanna

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10
Q

What are the different types of temperate biomes?

A

Temperate deciduous forest, temperate evergreen forest, chaparral, and temperate grasslands

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11
Q

What are the different types of polar biomes?

A

Boreal forest and tundra

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12
Q

How do mountains affect climate and weather?

A

Air temperature drops as altitude increases, rain falls on the mountain as the air climbs, the opposite (leeward) side is dry

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13
Q

How do coastlines affect climate and weather?

A

Harsh environments suitable for halophytes - transitional area between terrestrial and aquatic biomes

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14
Q

What are the differences between competition, exploitative, and mutualism?

A

Competition - both species are harmed
Exploitative - one species benefits, one is harmed
Mutualism - both species benefit

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15
Q

What is the difference between intraspecific and interspecific competion?

A

Interspecific competition - between multiple species

Intraspecific competition - between the same species

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16
Q

What is the difference between competitive exclusion and species coexistence?

A

In competitive exclusion, one species completely excludes another species from using the resource while species coexistence does not fully exclude the other from resources so they live side by side

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17
Q

What is the difference between a fundamental and a realized niche?

A

Fundamental - everywhere a species could be

Realized - where a species is based on competition and interactions with other species

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18
Q

What is resource partitioning?

A

Species use different resources or share them in different ways

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19
Q

What is character displacement?

A

Competing species diverge in their physical characteristics (evolution)

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20
Q

What are the relationships between predator and prey populations?

A

Increased prey populations, increase predator populations
Increased predator populations, decrease prey populations
Decreased predator populations, increase prey populations

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21
Q

What is amensalism?

A

A relationship in which one organism is harmed while the other is unaffected

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22
Q

What is commensalism?

A

A relationship in which one organism benefits, while the other remains unaffected

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23
Q

What are trophic levels?

A

Places in the feeding hierarchy - (producers, levels of consumers, decomposers)

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24
Q

What are keystone species?

A

Species that play an important role in the ecosystem and cause many ripples if something occurs

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25
Q

What is trophic cascade?

A

predators at high trophic levels indirectly affect populations at low trophic levels

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26
Q

What is the difference between resistance and resilience?

A

Resistance is a community of organisms resist change and remain stable despite the disturbance
Resilience is a community that changes in response to a disturbance but later returns to its original state

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27
Q

What is succession?

A

The predictable series of changes in a community

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28
Q

What is primary and secondary succession?

A

Primary succession - disturbance removes all vegetation and or soil life
Secondary succession - disturbance dramatically alters, but does not destroy, all local organisms

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29
Q

What are pioneer species?

A

The first species to arrive in a primary succession area

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30
Q

What is a climax community?

A

A community that remains in place with few changes

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31
Q

What are the periods of human population growth?

A

Pre-agricultural period
Agricultural period
Industrial period

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32
Q

What are the stages of human population growth?

A
  1. Stage one - before economic development, high death and birth rate
  2. Stage two (mortality transition) - death rate decreases, birth rate high, rapid growth
  3. Stage three (fertility transition) - low death rate, birth rate decreases, population slows
  4. Stage four (stability transition) - low birth and death rate at equal, zero growth or negative growth
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33
Q

What is the infant mortality rate?

A

Percent of infants within a population who die before age one

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34
Q

What is biocapacity?

A

Area and quality of land to supply resources

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35
Q

What is the IPAT equation?

A

The IPAT equation determines the human impact on the environment. I = PAT where I equals impact, P equals population, A equals affluence or individual consumption, and T equals technology or energy using items

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36
Q

What are the composition of gases in the atmosphere?

A

78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.039% carbon dioxide, and water vapor

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37
Q

What are the layers of the atmosphere?

A

Thermosphere (top) - extends to space; ISS orbits here
Mesosphere
Stratosphere - ozone here
Troposphere (bottom) - life

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38
Q

What is the saturation vapor pressure?

A

The amount of water the atmosphere can hold at the temperature. As the temperature increases, the saturation vapor pressure increases. Above the saturation vapor pressure, water liquifies and turns into rain.

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39
Q

What is relative humidity?

A

A measure of the extent to which air is saturated, expressed as a percentage.

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40
Q

What is dew point?

A

The temperature where humidity is at 100%

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41
Q

What is an energy budget?

A

Measures all energy entering and leaving the Earth

42
Q

What is the difference between climate and weather?

A

Climate - long-term atmospheric conditions

Weather - short-term variations local atmospheric conditions

43
Q

What is air quality?

A

Amounts of gases and small particles in the atmosphere that influence ecosystems or human well-being

44
Q

What is air pollution?

A

Gases or particles that are present in high enough concentrations to harm humans

45
Q

What specific types of air pollutants are there?

A

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) - chemicals that vaporize into the air; natural or anthropogenic
Aerosols - tiny solid and liquid particles suspended in air, size determines residence time
Primary air pollutants - chemicals or particles directly released in air
Secondary air pollutants - chemicals and particles that are formed by reaction to other chemicals and aerosols in the atmosphere

46
Q

How are pollutants dispersed in the atmosphere?

A

Diffusion - diffuse along concentration gradients
Convection - disperse more rapidly and at greater distance
Wind patterns

47
Q

What general types of air pollutants are there in the troposphere?

A

Acid depositions - acid precipitation
Heavy metal pollution - fossil fuel mercury and lead
Smog - industrial and photochemical

48
Q

How do pollutants enter the stratosphere?

A

Disperses from troposphere into stratosphere

49
Q

How does indoor air pollution differ than outdoor air pollution? How is it the same?

A

Generally more polluted than outside air

Carbon monoxides, nitrogen and sulfur oxides, VOCs, and particulate matter, pesticides

50
Q

What is a water balance coefficient?

A

General index of the availability of water in a particular region

51
Q

What biomes do positive and negative water balance coefficients suggest?

A

Positive - forest

Negative - savannas, grasslands, deserts

52
Q

What does the water budget look like?

A
  1. Water from the atmosphere into the oceans via precipitation.
  2. Water from the atmosphere on land via precipitation.
  3. Water from the land to to the oceans via runoff and groundwater.
  4. Water from land to atmosphere via evaporation.
  5. water from oceans to atmosphere via evaporation.
53
Q

What are watersheds?

A

Areas of land that drain to form rivers and lakes; also called drainage basins; separated by mountains and plateaus

54
Q

What are the differences between open and closed watersheds?

A

Open watershed drain into the ocean but closed watersheds do not

55
Q

What is the difference between a perennial and intermittent stream?

A

Perennial - flows year round

Intermittent - only flows at certain times

56
Q

What is a channel?

A

The normal pathway of a waterway

57
Q

What is a floodplain?

A

Area surrounding the channel that periodically floods

58
Q

What are the zones of a stream?

A

Riparian zone - area of transition between stream and terrestrial systems
Hyporheic zone - area of saturated sediment next to stream and immediately beneath

59
Q

How do humans impact waterways?

A

Dams and diversions - reduce water flow and disrupt system

Channelization and artificial levees - reduces flooding, speeds water flow

60
Q

What general types of pollution impact waterways?

A

Point-source - a specific location such as pipes/factories

Non-point-source - a variety of sources across

61
Q

What is the difference between lakes and ponds?

A

Lakes are greater than 5 hectares while ponds are smaller than five hectares

62
Q

What is the difference between open and closed basins?

A

Open basins are drained by a stream or river whereas a closed basic has no outlet stream (percolation or evaporation only)

63
Q

What is a lentic ecosystem?

A

Ecosystems of lakes and ponds

64
Q

What are the zones of a lake ecosystem?

A

Littoral zone - shallow area near shore with rooted vegetation and most primary production
Benthic zone - water and sediment on bottom
Pelagic zone - water not close to bpttom

Photic zone - water with enough sun for photosynthesis
Aphotic zone - little or no sunlight

65
Q

What is groundwater?

A

Water that resides in rocks and soil beneath the ground

66
Q

What are the areas of groundwater?

A

Water table - underground depth where rock and sediment are completely saturated
Recharge zone - area from which water enters water table from surface
Discharge zone - groundwater flows to surface

67
Q

What are wetland types?

A

Marshes - periodically or continuously flooded, herbaceous plants
Fens - wetlands fed by groundwater, grasses and patchy woodlands
Swamps - fed by flowing water, shrubs and trees
Bogs - rainfall is source of water, low nitrogen and phosphorus plants
Estuaries - partially enclosed bodies of water where freshwater meets ocean water
Oceans - salt water covering over 71% of the earth

68
Q

What are gyres?

A

Patterns of surface circulation on the oceans

69
Q

What are currents?

A

Circulations of ocean water that affect climate patterns

70
Q

What are vertical currents?

A

Caused by differences in temperature and salinity, exchanges water from the surface and the depths; also called thermohaline circulation

71
Q

What are United States water rights?

A

Eastern - adjacent landowners have rights

Western - bought and sold like property; no immediate rights

72
Q

What is biodiversity?

A

variety of all life forms, combinations, and organization in an area defined spatially and or temporally

73
Q

What is the latitudinal gradient for biodiversity?

A

species richness increases nearer to the equator

74
Q

What are the types of biodiversity?

A

Ecological biodiversity - diversity of ecosystems, communities, and habitats
Landscape biodiversity - variety and abundance from place to place
Community biodiversity - number of species, relative abundance, arrangement in space
Genetic biodiversity - variation in genes that exists within a species
Population biodiversity - measured by genetic diversity and genetic variation

75
Q

What is the importance of biodiversity?

A

Helps respond to disturbance and change, provides humans with service, and improve good production

76
Q

How do human activities increase extinction rate?

A

habitat loss and destruction, habitat fragmentation, overharvesting, invasive species, pollution, altered patterns of disturbance, climate change

77
Q

What is the difference between endemic and invasive species?

A

Endemic - prevalent in or specific to a certain region

Invasive - found in many areas, not limited by a specific habitat feature

78
Q

What are consequences of biodiversity loss?

A

degradation of ecosystem function, loss of ecosystem services, economic loss, health impacts, social disruption, loss of food source, loss of tourism and recreation, loss of medicine sources, loss of aesthetics and spiritual ties with nature

79
Q

What is land-use planning?

A

A planning endeavor to evaluate the needs of the population as well as land characteristics and values

80
Q

What is the history of human agriculture?

A
  1. Hunter-gatherers
  2. Begin agriculture with stone tools
  3. Early selective breeding
  4. Agronomy - multiple disciplines improve agriculture
  5. The Green Revolution - improved plant breeding and techniques, modern fertilizers, pesticides, increased productivity
81
Q

What is agroecosystems?

A

funnel energy into plants and animals useful to humans

82
Q

What is a downside of agroecosystems?

A

prone to nutrient loss through irrigation (leaching), increased erosion, and lack of restoring the land between cycles

83
Q

What is soil fertility?

A

ability of soil to support plant growth

84
Q

What are the three different types of water that soil holds?

A

Gravitational - water that flows through soil
Hygroscopic - water bound to soil particles
Capillary - water held in micropores

85
Q

What is field capacity?

A

amount of water that a soil can retain against the pull of gravity

86
Q

What is a potential evapotranspiration?

A

an estimate of the average amount of water that would evaporate from a hypothetical agricultural field over the course of a year

87
Q

What are the environmental impacts to domestic animals?

A 
manure is rich in nutrients
some pathogen concerns
methane production (global warming, energy source)
transmission of diseases
clear land for pastures
88
Q

What are genetically modified organisms?

A

an organism whose DNA has been altered by combining the DNA of multiple species; can improve yields, disease and pest resistance, addition of nutrients; very controversial

89
Q

What are the differences between chemical and biological pest controls?

A

Chemical - effective yet some threat to human health

Biological - use of predators and parasites to control

90
Q

What is integrated pest management?

A

use of chemical, biological, and cultural pest control to minimize crop loss

91
Q

What are the various aspects of integrated pest management?

A 
Pest resistant crop species and genotype
Careful monitoring of pest populations
Cultivation practices that discourage pests
Natural control of pest populations
Prudent use of pesticides
92
Q

What are municipal sewage treatment plants three stages?

A

Primary - physical reduction
Secondary - break down by microorganisms
Tertiary - reduce nutrient waste

93
Q

How does household wastewater get disposed?

A

From pipes out of the house it leads to a septic tank. From the septic tank, a nonperforated pipe leads to a drain field. Some may have a distribution box that channels the wastewater. In the drain field, the water travels through perforated pipes through gravel or crushed stone. A vent pipe is also in the drain pipe.

94
Q

How do landfills work?

A

Landfills are lined with impervious clay and plastic to prevent leeching. The trash is then compacted and covered. When full, the landfill is capped with clay. Methane is produced.

95
Q

What are leachates?

A

Liquids that leak from landfills

96
Q

How does waste incineration work?

A

Wast is burned at high temperatures to reduce volume and weight and filters and scrubbers are in place for pollutants

97
Q

What are hazardous wastes?

A

Wastes that are flammable, corrosive, explosive, and/or toxic. There are three categories: source specific, nonspecific source, and discarded commercial chemical wastes.

98
Q

What are current disposal methods for hazardous waste?

A
  1. Permanent retrieval storage sites - continuously monitored landfills
  2. Chemical processing
  3. High-temperature incineration
  4. Bioremediation - break down by living organisms
  5. Superfund sites
99
Q

What are the benefits and downsides of electronic waste recycling?

A

Benefit - some useful parts are saved and reused
Downside - at present, these are in places where no safeguards exist and the burning of these parts cause hazardous conditions for human populations and local ecosystems

100
Q

What is radioactive waste?

A

Material that is contaminated by isotopes of elements that emit destructive forms of radiation; these must be monitored for long periods of time and come from hospitals, labs, nuclear power plants, and weapon labs.

comprehensive exam (6 decks)

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