Exam 1 Flashcards
ecosystem
living organisms interacting with each other and abiotic components in an area
ecosystem services
The services of ecosystems that benefit humans
Provisioning services
products or goods such as water, fish, and timber. You have to take it out of the ecosystem to use it.
- Food, clothing, medicine, building, shelter, wood.
Supporting services
are indirect or changes occurring over a long period of time
Ex: oxygen production through photosynthesis, habitat for living organisms, nutrient cycling, soil formation
Supports the whole ecosystem
Regulating services
Benefits obtained from regulation of ecosystem processes
ecosystem functions such as flood control and climate regulation
ex: flood control, erosion control, pollination, storm protection and disease control
Cultural services
non- material benefits such as recreational, aestetic and spiritual benefits
Art, parks, mental health, physical health, beauty
Boosts in cognitive performance, such as attention and memory, due to viewing nature
Describe how values of ecosystem services might be assessed and what factors could be considered in
determining values.
How often do we use these services?
Public goods provided- clean air, water, oxygen
Goods and services we pay for directly- food, timber, national parks
Cost of care/ cost of cleanup
Revenue from tourism
Amount of jobs it provides
What is it worth to people?
Conflicts with services
Clean air and water vs right to release pollutants
Health vs economy
Pipelines through Native American sacred lands
biodiversity
is the variability among living organisms. It includes diversity within
and among species and diversity within and among ecosystems. Biodiversity is
the source of many ecosystem goods, such as food and genetic resources, and
changes in biodiversity can influence the supply of ecosystem services.
Describe what types of ecosystem services are public goods and evaluate whether and how these should be protected.
Public goods provided- clean air, water, oxygen
Public good- doesn’t diminish anyone’s enjoyment which means that any number of people may enjoy them without affecting other peoples’ enjoyment.
Ex: aesthetic view
Semi-public goods like parks or hiking trails
no one person has an incentive to pay to maintain the good. Thus, collective action is required in order to produce the most beneficial quantity.
Explain the history of Rauvolfia serpentina (snakeroot) becoming a valued medicinal resource in industrialized cultures and what it is used for today.
Snakeroot has been used by indigenous cultures in india and nepal to treat insanity, epilepsy, insomnia and anxiety (also used to treat snakebites which wasn’t effective) Also used for poison arrows.
Snakeroot used by Ghandi in meditation
Treats: hypertension, paranoia, schizophrenia, insomnia
Reserpine- chemical compounds analyzed in 1940s to determine the source of the sedative effect and synthesized to make medicine. Originally extracted from root of Rauvolfia serpentina
Ethnobotany
study of indigenous people and their use of plants
Describe some differences in plant use and awareness by indigenous cultures compared to industrialized societies.
Indigenous cultures know a lot more than we do/ can transfer knowledge (new discoveries). They understand connection between production and consumption
Indigenous cultures used the inner fruit of the gourd to eat and then hollow it out for storage
Carnivorous plant digest insects (butterwort)
Make yogurt-like drink (leaves of butterwort)
They care about fragile ecosystems
Cultures may be vulnerable to economic & environmental changes
indigenous peoples
people in non-industrialized societies in their native lands practicing their traditional practices.
Describe the ecological disparity between plants and animals, especially how food is acquired.
Animals can move away for survival. Plants cannot so they produce chemicals for protection. If they can’t produce these chemicals they might die out. Plants can be harvested more readily.
Plants produce food while animals consume food
Plants transform gases (co2) and inorganic nutrients (N,P) into living tissue
Plants produce chemical compoins
Explain how plant-animal interactions lead to useful products for humans.
plants put energy into making secondary compounds to protect themselves or attract animals
these chemicals can be used for medicine
Describe the types of evidence that inform us about historical use of plants and plant products.
Scientific literature/ historical texts
temples/ religious buildings
Preserved containers/ pots, tools, cosmetics, medicine, etc.
pictures/ paintings
Starch granules on bone cueva de los corrales, argentina (2000-1500 years BP)
use of plants (evidence includes fossils, pollen, charcoal, murals, etc)
Burials- present-day Israel and Palestine, family buried on a bed of flowers.
feces
starch granules on bones
Describe where and how Richard Schultes, an ethnobotanist, studied the plant use of indigenous cultures.
Father of ethnobotony
Spent 12 years cataloguing rubber trees and identifying medicinal and psychoactive plants in the Amazon (1950s)
When and lived with the people to understand them
Distinguish angiosperms from gymnosperms, focusing on whether seeds are protected.
gymnosperms= conifers. Include evergreens, spruce, pine trees, etc. They have seeds instead of spores that are uncovered or naked.
Angiosperms arise after gymnosperms with mammals. Flowery plants. Have seeds but their seeds are covered.
Describe the contribution of roots to plant growth and health.
roots absorb both water and nutrients from the soil to help with plant growth.
Symbiotic relationships between plants and fungi, bacteria and plants.
Clusia lorentensis
Strangler fig (Moraceae family)- seed lands in the canopy of the tree, grows around the tree and strangles it.
Clusiaceae family- roots grow from the top
Orchids- have aerial roots, grow on other plants (epiphytic) and may absorb moisture from the air
Root buttresses- Evolutionary adaptation in some environments- spread out from the tree trunk providing stability for shallow-rooted trees.
Roots sometimes modified to store starch (food storage)
List the components of the shoot system and describe the contribution of each to plant growth (you do not need to know all the technical terms unless I specifically mention them).
The shoot system is the part of the plant that comes up from the ground and holds the plant toward the sun (leaves and stems)
Asparagus is a stem
Support structure (woody or herbaceous)
Conduction of water and nutrients from roots
Conduction of photosynthates (sugar products) around the plant
Modification= some species:
Photosynthesis (cactus) green part in the center
Water storage (cactus)
Herbivore deterrence
Asexual reproduction
Climbing (linked to bean plant competition)
Describe some modifications of leaves and name *examples of useful products from leaf modification.
Leaves control photosynthesis and store sugars
In some species, they are herbivore deterrence
Ex: cactus has modified leaves for this= spines
Succulents store water (ex: Aloe vera)
Contains oil and other secondary compounds
Tendrils for attaching to substrates (pea plant)
Attraction of pollinators by resembling flowers (poinsettia)
Store carbohydrates underground (onion= modified leaves aka balbs)
Carnivorous habits (ex: pitcher plants) to absorb nutrients
Describe how tubers and rhizomes are modified stems and name *examples of useful products from each.
Underground stems - asexual reproduction (no sex)
Tuber: spherical, storage (potato, cassava)
Rhizome: horizontal (ginger, bamboo, irises)
How do we know they are stems? Stems have nodes (“eyes”), internodes, axillary buds
Tuber has nodes
Runner/ stolon- aboveground stems that run along the grounds (mint, strawberries) (we eat the leaves and the fruits)
Explain why turmeric is a valued plant and know which part is used.
Rhizome (stem)
Active ingredient is curcumin, a natural plant chemical
Medicinal purposes
Dye- food, textiles
Food- curry ingredient
Cultural- good luck and fertility