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BIOL 370 > Midterm > Flashcards

Midterm Flashcards

(72 cards)

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1
Q

Hans Rosling

A

Reassessing population statistics, reasons for optimism (Factfullness - his book)

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2
Q

Aldo Leopold (1887-1948)

A

Environmental Ethics

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3
Q

John Muir (1838-1914)

A

Naturalist, Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, Sierra Club

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4
Q

Henry Thoreau (1817- 1862)

A

Civil disobedience, simple living

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5
Q

Rachel Carson (1907-1964)

A

Biologist, Silent Spring, Wilderness preservation, DDT Ban

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6
Q

Paul Ehrlich

A

Population bomb, population growth leading to environmental damage

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7
Q

Michael Soule

A

Started society for conservation biology

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8
Q

Jared Diamond

A

Historical review of environmentalists

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9
Q

EO Wilson

A

Naturalist, Conservation writing

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10
Q

Soule’s Organizational Values (5)

A

Biological Diversity has intrinsic value

The untimely extinction of species should be prevented

The diversity of species and the complexity of biological communities should be preserved

Science plays a critical role in understanding ecosystems

Collaboration among scientists, managers, policy makers is necessary

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11
Q

Normative Science

A

Developed, presented or interpreted based on an assumed preference for a particular outcome
Conservation science is at its basis normative science

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12
Q

Occams Razor (parsimony

A

Simpler explanations are more likely to be correct

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13
Q

Hitchens Razor

A

What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence

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14
Q

Aldens Razor

A

If something cannot be settled by experiment or observation, then it is not worthy of debate

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15
Q

Sagan Standard

A

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence

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16
Q

Popper’s falsifiability principle

A

For a theory to be considered scientific it must be falsifiable

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17
Q

Why do we often study vertebrates in conservation? (4)

A

Are sometimes keystone species
Individuals are large
Can be recognized
Have economic value

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18
Q

Levels of biodiversity indicators (4)

A

Regional-Landscape
Community-Ecosystem
Population-Species
Genetic

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19
Q

3 Levels of assessment for these commodities

A

Structural
Functional
Compositional

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20
Q

Factors for predicting biodiversity (5)

A 
Geography: latitude, longitude, altitude
Climate: temperature, rainfall, stability
Soils 
Primary productivity 
The human history of occupation
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21
Q

Hotspot criteria (2)

A

Irreplaceable: must have at least 1 500 vascular plants as endemics

Threatened: has to have at least 70% of its primary vegetation. 36 areas (60% of world’s species, live on 2.4% of land surface)

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22
Q

Species richness

A

simply the number of species in a community

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23
Q

Species evenness

A

Is the distribution of abundances across species

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24
Q

Species diversity

A

is a measure of the number of species and abundance of each species

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25
Ecosystem level attributes (4)
Health Stability Resistance Resilience
26
Biodiversity measures (4)
Richness: different scales (alpha, beta, gamma) Evenness: diversity indices Intactness: response to human activity Ecological functions
27
Species richness scales (3)
Alpha: the number of species at a specific site (within site) Gamma: the number of species per region Beta: this is the gamma/alpha. Richness between sites within the region. Measures the turnover or change
28
Shannon Index
This is the measure of evenness in the population | A larger Shannon value means more even and more uncertainty
29
Voluntary Transaction
Beneficial to both parties
30
Externalities
Hidden costs and benefits
31
Common-property resources
Common pool resources, open-access resources
32
Elinor Ostrom
Using resources as groups can be environmentally sound without government intervention 8 design principles for common-pool resource management
33
Environmental Impact Assessment
Present and future effects of a project
34
Perverse Subsidies
These are not included in the full-cost accounting of industries or economic activities Excluded from environmental impact assessment They are subsidies for aspects that are damaging to the environment
35
Direct use values of biodiversity (2)
Consumptive: may be consumed by local people for their own sustenance Productive: may be harvested to generate cash
36
Indirect use values of biodiversity (4)
Non-consumptive use value Public goods - not privately owned Ecosystem productivity and services Amenities
37
Non-use values of biodiversity
Option value Existence value Bequest value (benefit future generations) Altruistic value
38
Benefits to humans of healthy ecosystems (3)
Provisioning services - direct use values (consumptive) Regulating services - indirect use values (non-consumptive) regulators of air, soil, water and climate Cultural services - amenity, education and scientific and existence values
39
Environmental Ethics (6)
Each species has a right to exist (a tenet of Deep Ecology) All species are independent (tenet of Gaia Hypothesis) People have a responsibility to act as stewards of the Earth Respect for human life and diversity is compatible with respect for biodiversity People benefit from (and need) access to nature People benefit from understanding the natural world
40
Gaia hypothesis
Organic/inorganic systems form a complex synergetic system
41
Deep Ecology
All species have an intrinsic value separate from human use
42
Nature-Deficit Disorder
Spending time in nature is behavioural beneficial | Not recognized by the DMS
43
Environmental Economics
Focus on economic costs and benefits of environmental policies
44
Ecological Economics
Focus on the conservation of natural systems (sustainability)
45
Threats to Biodiversity (4)
Population growth Habitat destruction Habitat fragmentation and edge effects Pollution
46
What is the most effective form of population control?
Educating women and getting them in the workforce
47
Factors of Human Development Index (3)
A long and healthy life (life expectancy) Access to education (expected years of schooling both child and adult) A decent standard of living (gross national income adjusted for the price level of the country)
48
Greatest threats to vertebrates
The indirect threats of habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation Followed by the direct threats of overexploitation and invasive species
49
Fragmentation Effects (4)
Creates edges, barriers, conduits on habitat Limits dispersal and alters the movement of individuals Sub-divides, isolates, or intersects populations Can cause speciation events
50
Kinds of agricultural conversion (4)
Shifting cultivation Family farms Plantations Commercial agriculture
51
Other Threats to Biodiversity (4)
Climate change Overexploitation Invasive Species Disease
52
Effects of climate change (4)
Carbon and temperature Climate change feedbacks Effect on oceans - acidification, warming, increasing sea level Effects of biodiversity - species abundance and behaviour
53
Table 5.1: Some effects of Global Warming (6)
``` Increased temperature fluctuations Melting glaciers and polar ice Rising sea level Earlier spring activity Shifts in species range Population declines ```
54
Climate change positive feedback effect (4)
Ice-albedo effect: warmer atmosphere = more ice melt = decrease albedo = warmer atmosphere Methane Release: Warmer ocean = more methane release Peat Bogs: peat dries, decomposes, and may burn to release CO2 and methane Cloud Feedback: high clouds enhance greenhouse effects (low clouds reflect back sunlight, having cooling effects)
55
Climate Change negative feedback (3)
Absorption by plants and oceans - carbon sinks Radiant cooling - released heat from the earth Interactions: increased temperature = increased plant growth = increased cloud cover = higher albedo
56
Climate Change Effects on Oceans (3)
Acidification (CO2 dissolved in water is mildly acidic) Ocean-warming feedback - increased temperature = increased CO2 solubility Rising sea level
57
Climate Effects on Biodiversity (2)
Extinction - polar animals, cold water species Behaviour - ranges shift towards poles or higher altitudes
58
Overexploitation
Many commercially harvested marine species are overfished | Many species affected by overexploitation from the world wildlife trade
59
Invasive Species (4)
European colonization: starlings house sparrows, trout, bass, carp, etc Agriculture: Farmed salmon, honey bees, earthworms Accidental Transport: Zebra mussels Biological Control: cane toads, foxes in Australia
60
Impacts of Invasive Species in BC (5)
Competition with native species: gray squirrels, wall lizards, gorse, English Ivy, Scotch Broom Predation and Parasitism: bullfrogs Ecosystem Processes: promote wildfires Abiotic Impacts: soil structure Vulnerable Ecosystems: Aquatic environments, islands
61
Disease as a Conservation Threat
Contributes directly to population decline, but rarely causes extinction More often interacts with other threats: invasion, habitat loss and degradation, climate change, overexploitation, loss of genetic variation Importance might be underestimated and increasing
62
Big Five Mass Extinctions
``` End Ordovician (444 Mya) - 86% species Late Devonian (360 Mya) - 75% species End Permian (250 Mya) - 96% species End Triassic (200 Mya) - 80% species End Cretaceous (65 Mya) - 76% species ```
63
How do we measure extinction? (3)
Background extinction rates Predictions from Island Biogeography Model Species-area curves
64
Seven Forms of Rarity
Habitat Breadth: Narrow or Wide Geographic Range: Large or small Abundance: Common or rare Dangerous combination: Narrow breadth, small range and rare abundance
65
Effective Population Size
Number of breeding individuals Affected by sex ratios More sex equal population has a larger effective population size
66
Gene diversity
how many loci in a particular genome are a polymorphic
67
Heterozygosity
what proportion of individuals in a population are heterozygous
68
Nucleotide diversity
how many nucleotide segments are there in the population
69
Inbreeding depression
decreased fitness due to increased homozygosity of deleterious alleles
70
Outbreeding depression
uncommon in animals | hybrid vigour
71
Loss of Heterozygosity (H)
H0 is the original proportion of the population that is heterozygous Proportion after 1 generation is H1 = H0(1 - (1/2Ne))
72
Extinction Vortex
Reduced Numbers - Small fragmented isolated populations - inbreeding (loss of genetic diversity) - reduced adaptability, survival and reproduction - repeat

BIOL 370 (2 decks)

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