Environ 201 Exam 1
Effect of environment on adaptation
Environmental conditions determine what pressures natural selection will exert, and these selective pressures affect which members of a population will survive and reproduce. Varying environmental conditions in time and space make adaptation a moving target. There is divergent evolution, which occurs when closely related species live in very different environments and thus experience very different selective pressures; conversely, sometimes very unrelated species may have similar traits as a result of adapting to selective pressures from similar environments; this is called convergent evolution.
Environmental science vs environmentalism
Environmental science is the study of how the natural world functions and how humans and the environment act. Environmentalism is a social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world.
Evidence vs Theory vs Opinion
Evidence is proof and facts that validate theories. A theory is a widely accepted, well-tested explanation of one or more cause-and-effect relationships that has been extensively validated by a great amount of research. Opinions are personal beliefs or judgments.
Scientific method
A scientist makes observations and asks questions of some phenomenon. A hypothesis is then made, a statement attempting to explain the phenomenon at hand. The hypothesis generates predictions, which can be directly tested; the results of these tests either support or reject the hypothesis.
Generalist
A species that can survive in a wide array of habitats or use a wide array of resources. Less generalist species but greater in population.
Specialist
A species that can survive only in a narrow range of habitats that contain very specific resources. Extremely good at what they do, but vulnerable when conditions change. More specialist species, but less in population.
Theory
A widely accepted, well-tested explanation of one or more cause-and-effect relationships that has been extensively validated by a great amount of research.
Acid drainage
A process in which sulfide minerals in newly exposed rock surfaces react with oxygen and rainwater to produce sulfuric acid, which causes chemical runoff as it leaches metals from the rocks. Acid drainage is a natural phenomenon, but mining (coal, strip mining) greatly accelerates it by exposing many new surfaces.
Endangered Species Act
Passed in 1973, the ESA forbids the government and private citizens from taking actions that destroy endangered species or their habitats. The ESA also forbids trade in products made from endangered species. Banned DDT, which helped to recover some endangered birds.
4 Types of environmental ethics
Preservation (keep things pure, untouched), conservation (use resources for greatest good for the most people over the longest period of time), domination over nature (control nature to improve human condition), ecosystem management (preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic environment).
Bottom of the pyramid
Primary producers, the lowest trophic level, and the one with the most biomass.
Issues with wind power
Supply not always located near demand, more expensive than current electricity, intermittent, ugly (objectively).
Factors that determine climate
Temperature and precipitation
Major points of evolution
Evolution in the broad sense means change over time, and biological evolution consists of genetic change in populations of organisms across generations. These changes in genes often lead to modifications in the appearance, functioning, or behavior of organisms from generation to generation through time.
Higher trophic levels
Most energy dissipates between trophic levels; this explains why there are so few trophic levels: energy levels get too low to support life. At the higher trophic levels there are few resources to compete for. A grasshopper eats many plants, a rodent eats many grasshoppers, and hawks eat many rodents.
Issues with nuclear power
Nuclear power uses nuclear fission reactions and makes lots of energy. More water is needed for this, and there is much contention over where to store waste. There is virtually no air pollution from this, although there is the small possibility for catastrophic nuclear accidents.
Living in groups
More lookouts, survival of the fittest, greater alert systems, greater specialization, greater potential for confusion.
IPCC
(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change); an international panel of climate scientists and government officials established in 1988 by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization. The IPCC's mission is to assess and synthesize scientific research on global climate change and to offer guidance to the world's policymakers. The IPCC's 2007 Fourth Assessment Report summarizes current and projected future global trends in climate, and represents the consensus of climate scientists around the world.
Combusting fossil fuels leads to climate change
Anything that you burn contains carbon. Combustion reactions produce carbon dioxide. Some of the sun's energy is reflected back into space. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap some of this heat.
Species
A population or group of populations of a particular type of organism whose members share certain characteristics and can breed freely with one another and produce fertile offspring.
Carbon sequestration
A form of mitigation; Technologies or approaches to sequester, or store, carbon dioxide from industrial emissions, e.g., underground under pressure in locations where it will not seep out, in an effort to mitigate global climate change. We are still a long way from developing adequate technology and secure storage space to accomplish this.
Population
A group of organisms of the same species that live in the same area. Species are often composed of multiple populations.
Population growth curve
A logistic growth curve which rises sharply at first but then begins to level off as the effects of limiting factors become stronger.
Non-renewable resource
A natural resource that is in limited supply and is formed much more slowly than we use it. Compare with renewable resource.
Renewable resource
A natural resource that is virtually unlimited or that is replenished by the environment over relatively short periods of hours to weeks to years. Compare with nonrenewable natural resource. Non-critical zone resources do not have a user cost because their renewability is infinite. Critical zone resources have a user cost since they can be depleted if their rate of use is greater than their rate of replenishment.
Limiting factor
A physical, chemical, or biological characteristic of the environment that restrains population growth.
Ecosystem
All organisms and nonliving entities that occur and interact in a particular area at the same time.
Biogeochemical Cycle
Also known as the nutrient cycle; the comprehensive set of cyclical pathways by which a given nutrient moves through the environment.
Aluminum mining
Aluminum mining uses harsh chemical solvents to extract "the good stuff," leaving behind hazardous material called "red mud." A recycled aluminum can will save 95% of the energy it would take to mine virgin aluminum..
Community
An assemblage of populations of organisms that live in the same place at the same time.
Predator-Prey Population cycles
As seen with the lynx and hare, predator-prey systems sometimes show paired cycles, in which increases and decreases in the population of one organism apparently drive increases and decreases in the population of the other.
Issues with solar power
Biggest solar potentials are not located y where the demand is. Expensive and require large amounts of materials and energy to make. Intermittent.
BOD
Biological oxygen demand; the amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic biological organisms in a body of water to break down organic material present in a given water sample at certain temperature over a specific time period. Making paper releases a lot of organic material into the water, where microorganisms use a lot of oxygen to break it down, thus leaving little oxygen for the fish.
Adaptation
Build higher dikes and sea walls, move inland, plant drought resistant crops, and plan for more irrigation. This plan is not going to halt global warming, and will be devastating to many countries and animals. Those who will feel impacts most are able to do the least.
The basic process of electricity generation
Coal is mined by strip mining or subsurface mining, or even mountaintop removal mining. Natural gas and oil are drilled for, not just on land but also on the seafloor on the continental shelves; pressure is used to let some of the oil up, and then solvents are introduced to get the remaining oil. Fuel is burned to heat water. This creates steam, which turns turbines. The turbines induce a magnetic field, which produces a current.
Issues with coal
Coal, the world's most abundant fossil fuel can have high sulfur content. Burning this will result in the release of sulfur dioxide which can result in acid rain and respiratory issues. When mining coal, chemical runoff enters waterways, mountaintop removal changes entire areas and debris can be put in valleys and rivers, coal ash needs to go somewhere; coal is considered to be the dirtiest of our electricity sources. Coal is responsible for deaths from health problems and from the extraction process
Conservation vs. Preservation
Conservation, advocated for by John Muir, is an ethic that holds that humans should put natural resources to use but also have a responsibility to manage them wisely. Preservation, advocated for by Gifford Pinchot, is an ethic that holds that humans should protect the natural environment in a pristine, unaltered state.
Effects of deforestation
Deforestation is the clearing and loss of forests. It changes landscapes and ecosystems, reduces biodiversity, worsens climate change, disrupts ecosystem services, and ruins civilizations.
3 options in regard to climate change
Do nothing, which is exactly as it sounds. We could also focus on mitigation, which would mean focusing on limiting greenhouse gas emissions to moderate global climate change (consume fewer fossil fuels, sequester carbon). Or we could focus on adaptation, which would mean focusing on how to live with the environmental changes and societal consequences brought about by global climate change (build dikes, plant drought resistant crops.)
Impacts of climate change
Earlier spring, shifting crops and plants, extreme heat, drought, and pests moving north. Shifting climate zones will work in conjunction with pests moving north. With more land to cover (and plants that support them moving right along with them), insects will be able to infect a wider range of people with diseases like dengue fever, which used to be constrained to a smaller, hot area.
Ecosystem services
Ecological processes do many things that benefit us: Regulate oxygen and other atmospheric gases, regulate temperature and precipitation with ocean currents, cloud formation, and so on, protection against storms, floods, and droughts, mainly with vegetation, storage and regulation of water supplies in watersheds and aquifers, the prevention of soil erosion.
Endangered vs threatened vs vulnerable
Endangered species are in imminent danger of extinction; threatened species are likely to become endangered; vulnerable species are naturally rare or have been locally depleted by human activities to a level that puts them at risk.
Thermodynamics
Energy nor mass can neither be created nor destroyed. All systems tend toward disorder. This means that everything that we use.... has to go somewhere when we are done with it. And due to the second rule, everything, as we use it, will break down. We cannot reuse and reuse things forever. Things are recycled in the natural world.
Adaptation
Fitting a changed environment. In the context of this class, it is learning to live with to the environmental changes and societal consequences brought about by global climate change
Ways to generate energy
Fossil fuel plants (coal, natural gas, and oil), nuclear plants, and renewable energy systems (solar, wind, biomass, geothermal).
Major causes of endangerment
Habitat losses, destruction, and fragmentation (99% of U.S. prairies have been converted to agriculture); exotic species introduction (invaders lack natural predators, competitors, or parasites); exploitation (regulation of hunting/poaching is difficult); pollution (air pollution degrades forest ecosystems, while water pollution impairs fish and amphibians); and climate change (seasons coming too early, extreme weather events, disappearing Arctic ice, etc.).
Example of natural selection
Hawaiian honeycreepers have adapted to different food resources and habitats, as indicated by the diversity in their plumage colors and the shapes of their bills.
Theory of climate change
Humans have emitted large quantities of CO2 and other greenhouse gases by burning fossil fuels and other activities. This has increased atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, which has led to an increase in average global temperature. Global temperature will continue to rise as we emit more CO2.
Environmental impact as developing countries develop
IPAT = Impact = Population*Affluence*Environmental Effect of Technology. As affluence improves, so does health, safety, education, standards of living.... and environmental impact.
Survivorship curve
In a type 1, survival rates are high when organisms are young and decrease sharply when organisms are old (humans). In a type 2, survival rates are equivalent regardless of an organism's age (birds). In a type 3, most mortality takes place at young ages, and survival rates are greater at older ages (trees).
Scientific Process
In an attempt to guard against faulty research, the scientific process involves the writing of scientific papers, peer review, publication, and competition for funding.
Our garbage stream
Made up of a lot of paper: our packaging is a huge culprit. Also sheets of office paper, etc.
Bathtub analogy in terms of carbon emissions
In terms of the bathtub analogy, in order to stay at a stable level, carbon emissions would need to be the same as what is absorbed by plants and the ocean's surface. We should scale back on our emissions just to reach a stable point (350 ppm is a general consensus) and even more to "drain the tub."
Mitigation options
Increased transportation efficiency, solar energy, wind energy, nuclear energy, carbon capture and storage, reducing electricity use through efficiency
Indium and phosphorous
Indium will last for about 18 more years (it's used in electronics as a thin-film conductor. Phosphorous, a key nutrient used in agriculture, has probably reached (or soon will reach) peak production.
Island ecosystems' uniqueness
Island ecosystems have fewer species, unique and endemic species, smaller populations, simpler interactions, susceptibility to change, are great for scientific research, lack emigration and immigration, and have fewer variables.
Mitigation
Lessening the effect of something unpleasant. In the context of this class, it is limiting greenhouse gases in order to moderate climate change.
The world economic pyramid
Mature markets ($20,000+), Emerging markets ($3,260-$20,000), Survival markets (<$3,260). .5, 2, and 4 billion people in each market, respectively.
Climate change strategy in terms of cost
Mitigation would decrease ~2% of global GDP, while adaptation would be anywhere from 3%-20%.
Mutualism vs parasitism vs commensalism vs predation
Mutualism is a relationship in which two or more species benefit from interaction with one another. Generally each partner provides some resource or service that the other needs. In commensalism, one species benefits and the other is unaffected. For example, one plant may create conditions that happen to make it easier for another plant to establish and grow. Parasitism is a relationship in which one organism, the parasite, depends on another, the host, for nourishment or some other benefit while simultaneously doing the host harm. Unlike predation, parasitism usually does not result in an organism's immediate death, although it sometimes contributes to the host's eventual death. Predation is the process by which individuals of one species—the predator—hunt, capture, kill, and consume individuals of another species, the prey. Along with competition, predation has traditionally been viewed as one of the primary organizing forces in community ecology.
Endemic
Native or restricted to a particular geographic region. An endemic species occurs in one area and nowhere else on Earth.
How fossil fuels are formed
Organisms die and end up in oxygen-poor conditions. Organic matter that undergoes slow anaerobic decomposition deep under sediments forms kerogen. Geothermal heating then acts on kerogen to create crude oil and natural gas, where they reside in porous rock layers under dense, impervious layers. Coal is formed when plant matter is compacted so tightly that there is little decomposition.
Why landfills don't exist in nature
Organisms only produce things that can be broken down; nature uses cycles, not linear trajectories to decompose resources; organisms only use as much as they need, there is no such thing as overconsumption.
Major points of natural selection
Organisms struggle to survive and reproduce; organisms tend to produce more offspring than can survive; individuals vary in their characteristics; many characteristics are inherited by offspring from parents. Therefore: some individuals will be better suited to their environment than other individuals; some individuals will produce more offspring or offspring of higher quality than others, thus transmitting more genes to future generations; future generations will contain more genes, and thus more characteristics, of the better-reproducing individuals. As a result, characteristics evolve across generations through time.
Paper production doesn't cause deforestation
Other things, like agriculture, cause much more deforestation. Also, A lot of paper is made from sustainably grown trees or from post-consumer recycled material.
Symbiosis
Physically close association, whether mutualistic or parasitic or commensalist, is called symbiosis.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
Physiological needs safety and security love and belonging self-esteem self-actualization. Base needs to be met before environmental concerns and sustainability concerns can/will be addressed.
Ann Arbor's efforts in urban forestry
Plant 60% of new trees in lower-income areas. Take a larger approach in maintaining trees, education opportunities, buying incentives, plant climate appropriate plants.
Trends in human population
Population grows by about 80 million every year. 90% of growth will occur in less-developed regions.
Population growth
Population size may increase, decrease, undergo cyclical change, or remain the same over time. Population density describes the number of individuals in a population per unit area. Population distribution describes the spatial arrangement of organisms in an area. A sex ration is the proportion of males to females, which can influence whether the population will increase or decrease in size over time. Age distribution describes the relative numbers of organisms of each age within a population. Population growth, or decline, is determined by four factors: births within the population (natality), deaths within the population (mortality), immigration (arrival of individuals from outside the population), emigration (departure of individuals from the population.
Ecological Footprint
The cumulative amount of land and water required to provide the raw materials a person or population consumes and to dispose of or recycle the waste that is produced.
Trophic level
Rank in the feeding hierarchy of a food chain. Organisms at higher trophic levels consume those at lower trophic levels.
Heterogeneity
Resources (such as coal) and biodiversity are dispersed in a heterogeneous manner across the world.
Climate indicators
Sea ice, glaciers, and snow cover all will decrease with global warming. Air temperature near the surface (troposphere), humidity, temperature over oceans, sea surface temperature, sea level, ocean heat content, and temperature over land will all increase with global warming.
Mitigation
Seek alternatives to fossil fuels, increase efficiencies, change behavior, sequester carbon, and manage and replant forests. These aren't cheap measures to take, and we can't be entirely sure how quickly they would work or if they would even be effective.
Species diversity and ecosystem health
Species diversity, or the number of species in a particular region, means more species interactions, which can mean greater ecosystem resilience. Genetic diversity will help the population not be really vulnerable to environmental change or disease. Biodiversity helps maintain ecosystem function by increasing stability and resilience of natural systems, allows adaptation to change to take place and provides free ecosystem services.
Mining processes
Strip mining goes after minerals that are close to the surface. Removes soil, and leaves behind a destroyed habitat and toxic runoff. Open pit mining removes millions of tons of ore and rock, leaving behind a large pit. Tunnel mining goes after materials buried underneath the surface, usually non-bulk ores. Mountain top removal uses explosives to find coal seams. Then the debris is put into the adjacent valley.
The IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change consists of many hundreds of scientists and government officials. It was established by the UN, and asses scientific climate research from around the world. Emissions have even exceeded their scenarios.
Design and technology motivating behavior change in Dough Baker's home
The design of the cistern allowed him to see that water was a limited resource that he should stay "in-touch" with. Windows across the house from each other allowed for cross breezes so that he didn't need to use fans. Solar panels helped to provide energy for the home, which was built with Styrofoam insulation.
Ecological Niche
The functional role of a species in a community. Includes habitat use, food selection, role in nutrient and energy flow, and interactions with other individuals. A fundamental niche is the full niche of a species. A realized niche is the portion of the fundamental niche that is fully realized by a species.
Differences in population influenced impacts
The larger the population size, the stronger the effects of environmental resistance.
Carrying capacity
The maximum population size that a given environment can sustain.
Climate
The pattern of atmospheric conditions found across large geographic regions over long periods of time.
Climate gap
The poor, the ones least responsible for and able to cope with climate change, will be the ones who suffer the most. The U.S. will be able to shell out money to deal with adaptation, and some mitigation, but developing countries will be left behind. The Maldives, for example. Also, the agriculture will shift.
Major outcomes of the Isle Royale Moose Study
The population of both the moose and the wolves has been fluctuating; recently, they are both down. Now there are 750 moose and 9 wolves. There is little chance of an ice bridge forming; the moose population will probably greatly increase until the wolf population catches up, when it will be brought down. A changing climate means that the moose have skin disorders, which cause them to lay in the mud where they can sometimes starve to death.
Example of artificial selection
The process of selective breeding in order to augment particular traits we prefer in dogs; through this, humans can maintain large differences among dogs. Humans only allow like individuals to breed with like.
Natural extinction vs human-caused extinction
The species living today are a tiny fraction of all species that ever lived; the vast majority are long extinct. There have been several episodes of mass extinction, or simultaneous loss of great numbers of species. Extinction is the disappearance of a species from Earth. There is a background rate of extinction. Humans, however, through climate change, resource depletion, the alteration and outright destruction of natural habitats, the hunting and harvesting of species, and the introduction of species from one place to another where they can harm native species cause species loss at faster rates. Supposed to be one mammal every 200 years; has been 89 in 400 years.
Biodiversity
The variety of life across all levels of biological organization, including the diversity of species, their genes, their populations, and their communities.
How a scientific theory is supported or refuted
Theories become more valid as more and more evidence is gathered that supports the theory and little evidence to contradict the theory; this is called the burden of evidence. Evidence that contradicts a well-established theory needs to be highly validated and forms paradigm shift.
Why we protect endangered species
These species have a right to live, and they are valuable to human use in many ways, and biodiversity is important for the entire ecosystem.
K-selected species
They produce fewer young and tend to produce fairly later in life; they show much parental care and protection of youth, who are density dependent. They are very competitive species with a relatively small population of big, strong individuals that can compete for resources.
R-selected species
They produce many young with little or no parental care; the young are density independent and mature fast, reproduce quickly, and die quickly.
Importance of urban forests
Trees provide shade, clean the air, absorb carbon dioxide, thereby reducing contributions to global warming, help reduce runoff, create healthy, happy spaces, foster a sense of community, reduce stress, help kids learn (when they have a view of a tree), help improve the image of a business, and increase property value.
Scientific uncertainty
Uncertainty has a different meaning when used in the context of scientific research. Scientists work with uncertainty, and attempt to explain phenomena: not being 100% certain about a theory does not discount what the theory is saying. Uncertain =! unlikely
Mitigation and adaptation
Undoubtedly, some measures of each sort will need to take place. Something difficult to determine would be how to fairly go about mitigation and adaptation efforts. Developing countries, who probably haven't contributed that much to climate change, would be forced to come up with ways to adapt.
Bathtub model
We are pouring carbon into the bathtub faster than nature can let it drain out. Even if we turn off the tap, some carbon will still come out and help to overflow the tub.
Tree cover relating to societal factors
Wealthy, more educated areas typically have more tree cover. Lower income, less-educated areas generally don't have nearly as much tree cover. This disparity is pretty troubling.
Weather vs climate
Weather is the local physical properties of the troposphere, such as temperature, pressure, humidity, cloudiness, and wind, over relatively short time periods. Climate is the pattern of atmospheric conditions found across large geographic regions over long periods of time.
Species competition
When multiple organisms seek the same limited resource, their relationship is said to be one of competition. Competition is generally subtle and indirect, taking place as organisms vie with one another to procure food, water, space, shelter, mates, sunlight, and more.
