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from organisms to ecosystems > Section 3: Ecology and Environment > Flashcards

Section 3: Ecology and Environment Flashcards

1
Q

What is Ecology?

A

“interactions between organisms and
their environments”

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1
Q

What is a Community?

A

“populations of different species
living in the same area”

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2
Q

What is the order of the ecologies? ( smallest to largest )

A

Organismal -> Population -> Community -> Ecosystem -> Landscape -> Global

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3
Q

What are two ways to measure diversity? (in ecology)

A

Species richness
Species evenness

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4
Q

What is the shannon index?

A

Shannon Diversity Index
H = − sum[ (Pi) × log (Pi) ]
H = Shannon diversity
Pi = proportion of species i in the community
It is Pi not like 3.14

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5
Q

What are the different types of Diversity ?

A

Diversity may be:
Taxonomic, Phylogenetic, Genetic, Functional, Interaction, Spatial, & Temporal.

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6
Q

What is one way interactions between species can be shown?

A

Interactions between species can be structured into networks of energy flow - food webs

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7
Q

What are foundation species?

A

Some species have outsized impacts on ecosystem dynamics. Create the structure or conditions necessary for
the ecosystem to function

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8
Q

3 reasons biodiversity is important?

A
  1. Stable
  2. Resilient
  3. Productive
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9
Q

What causes the areas around the equator to be more biodiverse?

A

Abiotic Factors
- Temperature
- Sunlight
- Temperature
- Nutrients
- Water/humidity
Biotic Factors
- Food / prey
- Predators
- Competition

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10
Q

What does species richness depend on?

A

Species richness dependents on the balance between immigration and extinction

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11
Q

What is fragmentation?

A

Human activity is creating islands. Dividing habitat creates fragments and multiples the amount of edge. Small fragments suffer the same problems as small islands

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12
Q

What is Disturbance in Dynamic extinction & colonisation?

A

Natural ecosystems are in a constant state of change
Abiotic, biotic, & anthropogenic factors

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13
Q

What is Succession in Dynamic extinction & colonisation?

A

After a disruptive event the distribution of resources will differ. Sunlight, nutrients, competition, etc.
Creates a patchwork of conditions

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14
Q

What is the role of ecosystem engineers in Dynamic extinction & colonisation?

A

Need patchwork of areas to survive. Keystone species can also create these patchworks

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15
Q

Metapopulations example?

A

GO TO LECTURE 26 - “CONSERVATION”

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16
Q

Extinction has 4 factors, what are they?

A

Into the population (inflow) - Births, immigration
Out of the population (outflow, causes extinction) - death, emigration

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17
Q

What is important of Most species having small
ranges?

A

Vulnerable to stochastic events

Fragmentation, and disruption to metapopulations

Risk an ‘Extinction vortex’

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18
Q

What does successful conservation need?

A
  1. Connectivity
  2. Macro-ecological processes
  3. Foundation & Keystone species
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19
Q

What is the problem with completely stopping habitat management?

A

Our landscapes have been altered greatly, stopping management will not necessarily return the system to its original state

Invasive species or lost connections/behaviours will reform in new configuration

Rewilding ≠ No Management

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20
Q

What are some misconceptions about rewilding?

A

We need to understand the natural ecosystem and misplaced rewilding can threaten important
native habitats
e.g., focus on reforestation (for rewilding or carbon capture) can threaten habitats like grassland, wetlands, and bog

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21
Q

Some benefits of Rewilding?

A

Tourism
Natural flood protection
Natural water purification
Natural pest control
Natural pollinator reservoir
Carbon sequestration
Natural soil
preservation/enrichment
Recreation / healthy living
Resilience to climate change

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22
Q

In Ecosystems as biochemical cycles, what is the order of the flow?

A

Photosynthetic / chemosynthetic autotrophs convert environmental energy (e.g., sunlight) and inorganic compounds into organic molecules

Heterotrophs feed on producers

Decomposers feed on dead organic matter

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23
Q

What are problems with the biochemical cycle of the ecosystem?

A

Energy flow is very inefficient (~10%)
Energy lost from the system as heat through respiration and action
Nutrients cannot be created or destroyed, only converted, and so are recycled
Energy flows through the system, being irreversibly lost to the environment as heat at each step

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24
Q

Describe the carbon cycle?

A

Carbon and other chemical nutrients cycle through the system, changing in form and availability but ultimately being conserved

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25
Q

Explain Energy/Nutrient Budgets:

A

Energy and nutrients are not equally distributed locally or globally

Abiotic & biotic factors affect where resources are located and how easily they can be extracted / converted

But greater availability does not necessarily mean a more valuable ecosystem…

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26
Q

Define Gross Primary Production (GPP):

A

Amount of energy converted into organic material by autotrophs

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27
Q

Define Net Primary Production (NPP):

A

GPP minus the energy used by the autotrophs themselves through respiration etc

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28
Q

Define Net Ecosystem Productivity:

A

Total amount of biomass added to the ecosystem across all organisms

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29
Q

What are limiting factors?

A

The resources which prevent continued biomass accumulation. Even if other resources are plentiful, organisms cannot grow if they are missing even just one key resource. Bogs have plentiful water and sunlight, but lack nutrients as low oxygen slows decomposition
(Carbon & nutrients locked away in the peat)

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30
Q

What is a benefit of limiting factors?

A

Limiting factors often define ecosystems And lead to evolutionary innovation. Specialists often only persist because environmental conditions limit their competition.
Evolution of species specialised to managing a
lack of key resource, e.g.,
- Nitrogen fixing plants capture gaseous nitrogen
rather than relying on soil nitrogen
- Carnivorous plants extract nitrogen from
captured insects

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31
Q

What effect does human activity have on limiting factors?

A

Human activity can mess with this balance…
- Draining bogs removes limiting factors
- Allows decomposition and biomass turn over
- Bog ecosystem replaced with grassland/forest
- Carbon once locked away returns to circulation
- Nutrient run off affects other ecosystems

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32
Q

What are the Knock - on effects of peat drainage?

A

Increased water run off
- Increases erosion
- Increases nutrient influx to nearby ecosystems
…leads to Eutrophication
Increased decomposition/respiration
- Returns stored carbon into the atmospheric cycle
…contributes to Climate Change
- Increase growth of generalist species
…leads to loss of species and habitat homogenisation

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33
Q

What are examples of the new ecosystems humans are creating?

A

Agroecosystems
- Croplands / rangelands
- Dominated by growing crops or livestock
Urban ecosystems
- Cities, towns, villages, etc.
- Dominated by human habitation & industry
Semi-natural ecosystems
- Residential woodlands / parklands
- High levels of human activity / disturbance

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34
Q

Effects of forest clearance:

A

The majority of modern agricultural land has been created by clearing forests.
Deforestation interrupts the water and carbon cycles, with less photosynthesis and evapotranspiration, and more erosion.
Reducing water retention/availability and increasing temperatures.
Thinner, dustier, soils without roots holding them together are easily washed away

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35
Q

What is Eutrophication?

A

Agricultural lands are often ‘improved’ by adding fertilisers to promote the growth of crops or livestock forage.
Runoff from agricultural land introduces nutrients into surrounding ecosystems.
Clear water streams, rivers, & lakes are limited by nitrogen & phosphorus – controlling algae growth…
Excess nutrients lead to overgrowth of algae, a loss of light, increased decomposition as plants die, and a lack of oxygen

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36
Q

What are Marine dead zones?

A

GO TO LECTURE 28 - “Building ecosystems”

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37
Q

Define Bioaccumulation?

A

Toxins build up in an organism as consumption is greater than excretion

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38
Q

Define Biomagnification?

A

Toxins build up in higher tropic levels as consuming multiple prey

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39
Q

What are novel communities?

A

Humans are creating new ecosystems by changing land use, but we are also moving species to create new communities. Introduced species, Accidental or intentional. New predators, diseases, & competitors

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40
Q

What are the two irish examples of novel communities?

A

Oak processionary moth
Sika Deer

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41
Q

What are Homogenising communities?

A

Ecosystems around the world are becoming more similar to each other as we move species.
Introduced generalist species outcompete or hybridise with specialist native species. Loss of species & genetic diversity

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42
Q

What are climate changes effects on Phenology?

A

Timing is very important for many ecological processes.
Organisms need to coordinate their arrival and activity with each other and environmental conditions.
In some species time is measured by temperature whereas in others its daylight Climate change only affect temperature

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43
Q

Examples of phenology?

A

Bees and birds

More detail : GO TO LECTURE 28 - “Building ecosystems”

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44
Q

What is a population ?

A

a group of individuals of the same species living in the same area

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45
Q

What makes a species common ?

A
  1. Range size
  2. Local vs global abundance
  3. Temporal scale
  4. Local vs global biomass
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46
Q

What is a good example of restricted distribution ?

A

The Bristol whitebeam is a plant that is only found in the Avon Gorge, within the city of Bristol in the U.K.

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47
Q

What is a good example of global distribution ? (more than 1 example)

A

Fire moss, this is found on every continent including antarctica, another would be the brown rat or the peregrine falcon

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48
Q

What is a temporal shift ?

A

not all available patches where that species goes is occupied at once (depends on the time of year)

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49
Q

What dominates the global biomass ?

A

Humans and livestock dominate global mammal biomass

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50
Q

What is a population ?

A

a group of individuals of the species that:
-live in the same area
-interact and interbreed

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51
Q

What are the different patterns of dispersion ?

A

-Clumped
-uniform
random

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52
Q

What creates patterns of dispersion ?

A

Abiotic factors are:
- temperature, sunlight, nutrients, water/humidity
Biotic factors
-food/prey, predators, competition

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53
Q

What is the concept of density dependent mortality ?

A

the risk of predation depends on density in some cases (perch is a good example -fish), at higher densities there are fewer places to hide and more likely to be spotted by predators

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54
Q

What is a good example of a boom and bust cycle ?

A

snowshoe hare and Canadian lynx, sometimes one is doing better/has a bigger population than the other

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55
Q

What are life history traits ?

A

traits which make up an organism’s schedule of reproduction and survival
e.g. number of offspring age at first reproduction life span

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56
Q

What is Semelparity?

A

breed just once in life

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57
Q

What is iteroparity?

A

breed repeatedly through life

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58
Q

What is an ecosystem ?

A

the sum of all organisms living in a given area and the abiotic factors in which they interact

59
Q

What are disruptive influences and environmental conditions controlled and regulated by ?

A

They are regulated by keystone species, foundation species, and ecosystem engineers

60
Q

What do low trophic levels regulate ?

A

they regulate productivity and land use

60
Q

What do high trophic levels regulate ?

A

regulate consumption and behavior

61
Q

How are food chains usually set up ?

A

they are not linear and there are many complex interactions, the more connections on a food web the more resilient to disturbances it is

62
Q

What kind of interactions are there on a food web ?

A

There are positive and negative interactions -
-mutualism
-competition
predation/herbivory
-parasitism
-commensalism

63
Q

What does competition drive ?

A

it drives evolution, adaptation and niche utilization

64
Q

What is another species interaction that drives evolution and adaptation (besides competition) ?

A

predation/herbivory/parasitism

65
Q

What is the act of rewilding ?

A

re-establishing natural ecological processes and ecosystem functions, using natural management strategies
-reintroducing native species (keystone, foundation and ecosystem engineers)

66
Q

What is the Intrinsic value for conserving nature?

A

Abstract value independent of human requirements, nature has a right to exist.

67
Q

What is the Instrumental value for conserving nature?

A

Value dependent on desired endpoints, nature can provide goods & services.

68
Q

Define Ecosystem services:

A

All the processes through which natural ecosystem and the species they contain help sustain human life on Earth

69
Q

Define Natural capital:

A

Elements of nature that produce value – directly and indirectly – to people, including the stocks of forests, rivers, soil, minerals, & oceans

70
Q

List the benefits of conservation:

A

Tourism
Flood protection
Water purification
Pest control
Pollinator reservoir
Carbon sequestration
Soil preservation/enrichment
Recreation / healthy living
Resilience to climate change
Genetic resources
Natural products/medicine

71
Q

What are the four ecosystem services?

A

supporting, regulating, provisioning, cultural
in Increasing direct human functionality

72
Q

Define each of the four ecosystem services:

A

GO TO LECTURE 30 - “Natural Capital”
very good diagram!

73
Q

What are the six natural capitals?

A

financial, built, natural, social, human, intellectual

GO TO LECTURE 30 - “Natural Capital”
very good diagram!

74
Q

Why are mangroves important?

A

Globally important transitional habitat between land and oceans
Complex network of abiotic and biotic interactions
Many unique species
Buffer zone between terrestrial & aquatic ecosystems
Particularly important as nurseries for many different species of marine fish

for more GO TO LECTURE 30 - “Natural Capital”

75
Q

What is the importance of biodiveristy on medicine?

A

Highly biodiversity countries like Panama are
increasingly recognising the potential wealth contained in their species
Many ethnomedical and pharmacological uses listed
GO TO LECTURE 30 - “Natural Capital”

76
Q

What are the ecosystem services of vulture?

A

GO TO LECTURE 30 - “Natural Capital”

77
Q

What are the ecosystem services of beavers?

A

GO TO LECTURE 30 - “Natural Capital”

78
Q

What are 5 bird conservation successes in ireland?

A

Buzzards recolonized naturally (1933)
Golden eagles reintroduced (2001)
White tailed eagles reintroduced (2007)
Red kites reintroduced (2007)
Osprey reintroduced (2023)

79
Q

What is a niche?

A

Niche = interrelationship of a species (habitat, activity, resources) to environmental and biological conditions

80
Q

What is niche construction?

A

Feedback by organisms with their environment = Niche construction

81
Q

What is CLIMATE ENVELOPE or CLIMATE NICHE?

A

CLIMATE ENVELOPE or CLIMATE NICHE: range of
temps, ppt. within which organisms are adapted

82
Q

What beetle played a role in USA forest die back?

A

Bark Beetle infestation played a role in SW USA forest die back

83
Q

What are the impacts of climate change on natural ecosystems?

A

Changes in species/ pests biogeographical range
New / shifting niches
- New / shifting suitable range
New opportunities for competition (drought tolerance vs drought succeptability, new species mixes)
New opportunities in interactions (e.g. drought stress of hosts of parasites)

84
Q

List some impacts of climate change:

A

Earlier onset of springtime phenological events for many organisms
Increased length of the growing season
In last few decades-increased by ~2 weeks on average, but regional variations
Plant start growing earlier but don’t always end growing later

85
Q

Summarize the future impacts of climate change in lecture 32:

A

Future climate change will impact:
The geographical distribution of species (e.g. Malaria disease)
The physiology of organisms (e.g. heat stress in humans, drought stress in plants)
The timing of biological events (phenology)
The functioning of natural ecosystems (flooding/hydrological cycle/ disruption of phenology)
The functioning of managed ecosystems (e.g. crop yields/ food production)
The distribution of biomes
Different regions of the world in different ways
(lecture 32 is listed as 33)

86
Q

What are the four key components to earth?

A

Atmosphere
Lithosphere
Hydrosphere
Biosphere

87
Q

Important factors for plants are:

A

Water
Temperature
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Carbon ( / Light)

88
Q

Why do organisms need water?

A

Photosynthesis reaction 🌿
Cellular support + biochemistry
Nutrient absorption from soil

89
Q

Why do organisms need nitrogen?

A

Amino acids,
Proteins,
Chlorophyll 🌿
Rubisco 🌿

90
Q

Why do organisms need phosphorus?

A

DNA,
phospholipids,
ATP

91
Q

What does Aridication / desertification depend on?

A

Aridication / desertification depends not just on HOW MUCH rain falls – but WHEN it falls – when its warmer, when its colder, when vegetation is active, when its not?

92
Q

What does nitrogen cycling depend on?

A

Nitrogen cycling depends on active vegetation and water – if rain falls in periods without vegetation, nitrogen leeches – causing eutrophication and being lost from the land

93
Q

What does vegetation depend on?

A

Vegetation needs nitrogen to grow, so is more N limited, sequesters less carbon and stops stabilising soils, increasing aridification?

94
Q

Summarize topics covered in lecture 34:

A

Humans are most of mammal biomass but animals are a tiny fraction of total biomass compared to plants

Ecology integrates the biogeochemical cycles – how ecology responds to global change is important

Carbon, water, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles are different and interlinked

Humans have already heavily modified these cycles, and will continue to do so
(lecture 34 is listed as 35)

95
Q

What is Irelands main problem with their ecosystem ?

A

They have an herbivore problem, deer populations are way too high and ruin the vegetation

96
Q

What is the good thing about having multiple different types of herbivores in an ecosystem ?

A

it creates a more diverse environment, multiple complementary cycles and competition keeps ecosystems stable

97
Q

What species is coming back across western Europe ?

A

wolves are coming back (but cannot come back to the UK and Ireland without the help of humans

98
Q

What is an example of a keystone species ?

A

Wolves are an example of a keystone species, they have top-down effects to regulate populations of other species

99
Q

What are beavers an example of ?

A

They are a god example of an ecosystem engineer, which creates and manages habitats for other species

100
Q

What happened when wolves were re-introduced in the cascades ?

A

-the elk population had gotten out of hand and there was low vegetation from the amount of grazing but when the wolves were put back in 1995 there was an immediate effect on elf numbers

101
Q

What is a trophic cascade ?

A

a series of interconnected changes to an ecosystem that directly and indirectly result from the introduced/re-established action of a keystone species

102
Q

What environments do wolves affect ?

A

biotic and abiotic environments

103
Q

How does rewilding include humans ?

A

-tourism, natural flood protection, natural water purification, pest control, carbon sequential soil, preservation, resilience to climate change

104
Q

How does climate change affect population dynamics ?

A

in many mammals sex is not determined by inherited chromosomes but through temperature

105
Q

What is an example of a species that’s population dynamic has changed due to climate ?

A

The Tuatara is one lives off of new Zealand, they are a slow growing species, males are produced at higher temps and females at lower so there are more males in the population (leading to an extinction vortex)

106
Q

What are some things that affect urban animal populations ?

A

predators such as cats, sensory disruption like artificial light

107
Q

How does artificial light at night affect robins (ALAN) ?

A

major impact on may species, to their physiology, behavior, and fitness. It affects robins singing patterns and what time they begin to sing

108
Q

How do urban lights affect immigration ?

A

birds migrate with visual cues, so when there is unnatural light it disrupts navigation and more birds hit buildings

109
Q

What other thing does ALAN affect ?

A

they alter insect communities, change species interactions, including predation, competition, disease dynamics, and pollination networks

110
Q

How are humans creating new resources for species in urban environments ?

A

New resources: new sources of human derived food, nesting sites, nutrient availability

111
Q

How are humans creating new community structures for species in urban environments ?

A

new competitors, new pests/diseases, new/subsidized predators

112
Q

How are humans creating new environmental conditions for species in urban environments ?

A

climate change, toxins/pollutions, fragmentation, physical hazards

113
Q

What are urban environments most likely to be ?

A

They are most likely to be fragmented by physical and perceived barriers

114
Q

What is a species that is successful in urban environments ?

A

Gulls are a very successful species, they know where to find food, urban gulls are not intimidated by humans, they are able to forage etc.

115
Q

What is a big issue in terms of human and wildlife ?

A

human and wildlife conflict is a huge issue, this ranges from nuisance to potentially deadly

116
Q

What is the urban heat island ?

A

it means that cities are usually several degrees warmer than surrounding rural areas (concrete, lack of trees etc.)

117
Q

What is a limiting factor of the urban heat island ?

A

heat spikes in cities increase embryo mortality in the Puerto Rican crested anole

118
Q

What are some solutions for urban heat islands ?

A

reintroducing natural processes into our cities, (tree planting, green roofs, parks with green spaces)

119
Q

What are some solutions issues in urban environments ?

A

wildlife corridors, new rules around things like turning lights off so that migratory bird species aren’t confused

120
Q

What was the worlds hottest year on record ?

A

last year 2023 was the hottest year on record

121
Q

What is influenced by climate change ?

A

Extreme weather and weather events are influenced by global climate change (i.e. floods, heat waves, hurricanes)

122
Q

What is the definition of climate ?

A

The average or totality of the weather of a particular area over an interval of at least 30 years

123
Q

Why is climate so important ?

A

it determines what biology is like and what an ecosystem looks like

124
Q

What are some methods that have been used to track climate change ?

A

looking at ice cores, isotope and stomatal methods looking at the stomata on leaves

125
Q

What is the main reason for the climate changing presently ? (gases)

A

it is mainly caused by Co2 emissions and greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide

126
Q

What is the IPCC ?

A

UN body for assessing science related to climate change, made up of volunteers who are experts in their fields

127
Q

What is a biome ?

A

-Similar ecosystems in different parts of the planet, same biome may span several continents.
-they are determined largely by climate, classified by vegetation types

128
Q

What are the 8 types of biomes ?

A
  1. tundra
  2. Taiga-boreal forest
  3. Temperate rainforest
  4. Temperate broadleaf/deciduous forest
  5. Grasslands and Savannas
  6. Deserts and semi-deserts
  7. Mediterranean scrub
  8. Tropical forest
129
Q

What are biomes in North America that have roughly the same temperature ?

A
  1. temperate deciduous forest
  2. Temperate grassland
  3. Temperate dessert
    (though there is very different amounts of precipitation)
130
Q

What is tundra ?

A
  • treeless, marshy plain (soil frozen most of the year)
    -generally in the arctic circle at sea level or at high altitude
    -low temps + low precipitation but also waterlogged
    -Variety of grasses, sedges, mosses and rushes
131
Q

What is a boreal forest ?

A

-World’s largest biome, exclusively northern hemisphere, often permafrost, extreme temps, snow accumulates
-acidic soils, nutrient poor
-conifers, needle leaf (spruces, firs, pines

132
Q

What is temperate rainforest ?

A

high latitudes and altitudes cool weather, dense fog and high precipitation
-found in northern/southern hemispheres
-dominated by coniferous species
-They are a pretty rare biome (large amounts of precipitation and low evaporation)

133
Q

What is a temperate broadleaf forest ?

A
  • this is what Ireland is
  • characterized by warm summers and cold winters without major dryness extremes
    -trees shed their leaves, and require a longer growing season and produce dense shade
134
Q

What characterizes grasslands ?

A
  • they are found towards interiors of continental masses and along arid coastlines (temperate latitudes)
    -receive lower precipitation
    -lack soil nutrients
135
Q

What characterizes savannas ?

A

-dominated by grasses but found in subtropical areas with seasonal rainfall
-scattered trees also present with reduced leaves

136
Q

What characterizes a desert ?

A

-10 million km2
- present both north and south of the equator 20 - 30 latitude.
-very low precipitation
- no trees, succulents

137
Q

What characterizes Mediterranean scrub ?

A
  • dry summers, cool wet winters (California, South Africa, S. France etc.
  • scrub/shrub vegetation annual evergreen
  • moist growing during short wet winters
  • plants seem to be adapted to fire
138
Q

What characterizes Tropical Forest ?

A
  • in equatorial and subequatorial regions
  • rain is relatively constant if (tropical rain forest, vs tropical dry forests)
    -temp is high
    -high biodiversity
139
Q

What are the 9 tipping points identified in 2009 ?

A
  1. climate change
  2. ocean acidification
  3. ozone depletion
  4. biogeochemical flows in the N cycle and P cycle
  5. global freshwater use
  6. land system change
  7. erosion of the biosphere
  8. novel entities chemical pollution
140
Q

Why is biodiversity declining ?

A
  • land use change/habitat loss
  • pollution - eutrophication (nutrient loads), over exploitation, unsustainable use, armed conflicts
  • invasive species
  • climate change
141
Q

What are the different classifications on the red list (categorizes species)

A

-extinct, extinct in the wild, critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable, near threatened, least concern, date deficient, not evaluated

142
Q

What is the goal of he Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework ?

A

30 % of land and water protected by 2030, right now 17% land and 10% ocean are protected

143
Q

What is protected ?

A

1a. strict nature reserve
1b. wilderness area
2. national park
3. national monument or feature
4. habitat or species management area
5. protected landscape or seascape
6. protected area w sustainable use of natural resources

144
Q

What happens when a habitat is fragmented ?

A
  • separation increases divergence, vulnerability
  • increase in human-nature conflicts
145
Q
A

from organisms to ecosystems (4 decks)

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