APES Final Review

What community depends on periodic fires for reproduction?

Coastal pine forest

What type of Plate Boundary is this?

Convergent Boundary

What type of Plate Boundary is this?

Divergent Boundary

POPs

Persistent organic pollutants. Chemical compounds that persist in the environment and retain biological activity for a long time

IPM

Pest management using a variety of techniques, agricultural, biological and use of minimal amount of pesticides when necessary

Sick building syndrome

Result of bad air mixed with mold spores

Which agricultural pest control is most likely to have a negative and persistent effect?

chlorinated hydrocarbon

Hydrologic Cycle

evaporation, precipitation, and surface and groundwater runoff

What can be used to asses the biological diversity of an area?

genetic variation within each species and number of species present

Demographic Transition Model

a model of how the size of a population changes as a country develops its economy

Sinks ______ more carbon than they _________

absorb, release

What is the best explanation for how our atmosphere increases surface temperature?

absorption of infrared radiation by atmospheric gases

Biomagnification

accumulation of pollutants at successive levels of the food chain

Photochemical Smog

air pollution that forms from the interaction between chemicals in the air and sunlight

Warning Coloration

allows experienced predators to recognize dangerous prey

Importance of Flow Rate in aquatic environments

allows/disallows sediments to settle affecting organisms

Human Impact on Invasive Species

almost always spread by human activity due to increase of activities such as tourism and trade

Major reservoir for Nitrogen

atmosphere

The major reserves of nitrogen and sulfur in the biosphere are correctly identified by

atmosphere for N and rocks for S

The most economically important fish affected by hydroelectric dams is

salmon

The large net used for catching fish in the wetland is called a

seine net

Ecological Succession

series of gradual changes that occur in a community following a disturbance

Most reservoirs hold nitrogen for relatively ________ periods of time

short

Major reservoirs for Carbon

sinks (ocean, soil, plants)

Tragedy of the Commons

situation in which people acting individually and in their own interest use up commonly available but limited resources, creating disaster for the entire community

Renewable Energy Sources

solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric

Fossil fuels

solids, liquids, and gases created through the compression of ancient organic plant and animal material in the Earth's crust

Interspecific Competition

species compete for a limiting resource

Nonnative species

species that are transported geographically to an unknown area

Indicator Species

species that serve as early warnings that an ecosystem is being damaged due to their sensitivity to change

Pollution is considered an external cost when

the cost to the environment is not reflected in the price of the products that produce the pollution

The lower the water temperature

the greater the DO

A sustainable society would emphasize

using energy efficiently and reusing and recycling matter

Ocean Acidification

when CO2 dissolves in seawater, it reacts with water to form carbonic acid, which lowers ocean pH

Physical Procedure

wind test/water color test/turbidity test/air/water temp test/flow test/daily precipitation

Population Change =

(births+immigration)-(deaths+emigration)

Gimme Questions

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I-II. The Living World: Ecosystems + Biodiversity

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III. Population

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IV. Earth Systems + Resources

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IX. Global Change

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StreamWatch Topics

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V. Land + Water Use

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VI. Energy Resources + Consumption

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VII-VIII. Pollution

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The half life of radon gas is 4 days. What fraction is remaining after 4 weeks?

1/128

Soils in mid-latitude grasslands would have

A deep layer of humus and decayed plant material

Commensalism

A relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected

El Nino Southern Oscillation

A reversal of wind and water currents in the South Pacific

Stratospheric Ozone Depletion

An issue where ozone is broken down faster than it can be built up by CFCs. Global Agreement to decrease ODC - Montreal Protocol (1987)

increases when fossil fuels are burned

Atmospheric CO2

The maximum number of species that can be sustained in an ecosystem

Carrying Capacity

What federal law specifically deals with the cleanup of abandoned hazardous waste sites?

Comprehensive Environmental Responsibility and Liability Act(CERCLA)

What pesticide was banned due to its accumulation in wildlife?

DDT

Food Chains

Energy links between different organisms in an ecosystem based on feeding habits

Human Impact on Biodiversity

Habitat destruction, invasive species, pollution, population, exploitation

r-Selected Species

Life history traits maximize reproductive success in uncrowded environments. Many small offspring that mature quickly, little if any parental care.

K-Selected Species

Life history traits sensitive to population density. Small number of large offspring, extensive parental care, repeated reproduction

Unintentional exploitation of another species as a result of traits obtained through natural selection

Mutualism

What is managed on a multiple-use basis?

National resource lands

The soil layer that contributes organic material to topsoil is the ______ horizon

O

Reservoirs of Water on the Earth's Surface

Oceans, Icecaps, groundwater

Acid Rain

Rain containing acids that form in the atmosphere when industrial gas emissions (especially sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides) combine with water

Global Energy Consumption

Richest countries consume nearly 80% of all commercial energy despite having only 20% of the population Experts predict that by 2035 emerging countries such as China and India will consume 60% of commercial energy

Specialist Species

Species with a narrow ecological niche, may be able to live in only one type of habitat, tolerate only a narrow range of climatic and other environmental conditions, or use only one type or a few types of food: pandas, koalas

Bioaccumulation

The accumulation of a substance, such as a toxic chemical, in various tissues of a living organism

Total Fertility Rate

The average number of children born to a woman during her childbearing years

Aquaculture

The cultivation of seafood under controlled conditions

Trophic Levels

The hierarchical levels of the food chain through which energy flows

Sustainable Forestry

The practice of managing forest resources to meet the long-term product needs of humans while maintaining the biodiversity of forested landscapes

Ecosystem Services

The process by which natural environments provide life-supporting resources

Clearcutting

The process of cutting down all the trees in an area at once

What type of Plate Boundary is this?

Transform Boundary

Erosion and desertification

Two major effects of overgrazing

What describes the heat island effect?

Urban areas trap more heat than rural areas do

La Nina Effect

a change in the eastern Pacific Ocean in which the surface water temperature becomes unusually cool

Carbon Dioxide

a colorless, odorless gas produced by burning carbon and organic compounds and by respiration. It is naturally present in air and is absorbed by plants in photosynthesis

Thermal Inversion

a condition that occurs when warm air traps cooler, dense air at the surface of the earth

Dose Response Curve

a graph of the magnitude of an effect of a drug as a function of the amount of drug administered

Global warming works a lot like

a greenhouse

Keystone Species

a species that influences the survival of many other species in an ecosystem

Food Webs

a system of interlocking and interdependent food chains

Zebra Mussels

an introduced alien species in the Great Lakes

Noise Pollution

any noise that causes stress or has the potential to damage health

Sources of Carbon

any process in which a greenhouse gas is released into the atmosphere

Terrestrial Biomes

biomes on land (forests, taiga, tundra, etc.)

Overfishing

capturing fish faster than they can reproduce

Greenhouse Gases

carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and ozone in the atmosphere which are involved in the greenhouse effect

Carbon Cycle

carbon in CO2 is incorporated into plants by photosynthesis, then into animals by consuming organisms, and returned to the air as CO2 from respiration, cellular carbon is returned to the soil through waste and dead organism decay

Biogeochemical Cycles

carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, hydrologic

Importance of pH in aquatic environments

change greatly hurts wetland functionality and organism survival

What is an ecosystem called when it reaches its final stage of balanced species development?

climax community

In the Northern Hemisphere, ocean gyres flow in what direction?

clockwise

Radon

colorless, odorless gas that is a naturally occuring decay product of uranium

Asbestos

composed of fibers known to cause lung disease

How to calculate Stream Index

count the number of species in each tolerance group and weight the number

What best illustrates the tragedy of the commons?

depletion of an aquifer by regional farmers

Nuclear Fuels

derived from radioactive materials that give off energy

Consumption of mosquitoes by bats and the control of flooding provided by tropical forests are examples of

ecosystem services

What has a late loss survivorship curve?

elephant

Formaldehyde

emitted from most manufactured building materials and furniture

What is a major goal of reintroduction of gray wolves into Yellowstone?

enable the removal of the gray wolf from the endangered species list

Alligators in a lake polluted by dioxins have low testosterone. Dioxin may be considered an

endocrine disruptor

Biomass

energy produced by burning organic matter, such as wood, food scraps, and alcohol

Positive Feedback Loop

enhances/amplifies change and strays things from their equilibrium: childbirth

Effects of Mining

erosion, formation of sinkholes, loss of biodiversity, and contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water by chemicals

Importance of nitrate in aquatic environments

essential plant nutrients, excess leads to eutrophication

What is the primary source of nitrates and phosphates in the wetland?

fertilizer runoff

Nonrenewable Energy Sources

fossil fuels, nuclear energy, oil, natural gas

Lead

found in old plumbing pipes and fixtures and some ceramic glazes

Aquatic Biomes

freshwater and marine biomes

CAFE standards refer to

fuel efficiency

Natural Disruptions to Ecosystems

have environmental consequences that may be as great as or greater than many human-made disruptions

Sick building syndrome

headaches, allergies, chronic fatigue and other symptoms caused by poorly vented indoor air contaminated by pathogens or toxins

when logging is carried out in a watershed, a likely effect on the local streams is

increased water temperature

Negative Feedback Loop

increases stability and brings things towards their equilibrium: thermoregulation

Rachel Carson's contribution to the environmental movement

increasing public awareness of the risks of pesticides

Importance of Turbidity in aquatic environments

indicative of suspended sediments that may be harmful to wildlife

The three main anthropogenic sources of gaseous air pollutants in the United States

industry, transportation, and energy production

The biggest advantage of nuclear energy generation is that

it doesn't generate greenhouse gases

Forest Quadrat Procedure

leaf litter depth/topsoil depth/soil observations/species observed

LD50

lethal dose (of a toxin) for 50% of the test population

Gaia Hypothesis

life manipulates the environment for the maintenance of life

Importance of Water Color in aquatic environments

light penetration

Mimicry

looking or acting like a different, more deadly form of prey allows species to avoid predation

Acid rain would be evidenced by

low pH

Clay

low permeability, high porosity, thick

Theory of Island Biogeography

more species colonize islands close to the mainland, more species colonize larger islands

Population size will increase if

most of its individuals are in or about to enter the reproductive stage

Population size will decrease if

most of its individuals are in the post-reproductive stage

Ground-level ozone in most major US cities results primarily from

motor vehicle exhaust

Types of Symbiosis

mutualism, commensalism, parasitism

Darwin's Evolution Theory

natural selection, shows nature vs. nurture

Coevolution

nature's way of sustainability through population control, promotes biodiversity

Phosphorus Cycle

never a gas, it is stored in the ground: plants pick it up in their roots, animals eat the plants, humans eat plants/animals, dead animals/feces put it back in the earth

Chemical Procedure

nitrate test/DO test/pH test/phosphate test

Nitrogen Cycle

nitrogen fixation, nitrification, assimilation, ammonification, denitrification

Competitive Exclusion Principle

no two species can occupy the same niche in the same habitat at the same time

Ocean Warming

oceans absorb heat along with CO2

Resource Partitioning

one of the ways species evolve to reduce niche overlap

10% Rule

only about 10% of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next

Effects of Urbanization

overcrowded cities, unsafe transportation, poverty, fires, unsanitary conditions, pollution

Promote biodiversity by keeping host populations in check

parasites

City heat islands cause

pollutants to collect

Chemical Warfare

protection by poison, irritation, foul smells, bad taste

Importance of dissolved oxygen in aquatic environments

provides oxygen to aquatic organisms, indicates water quality

Which of the following would have the biggest impact on global sustainability?

reducing human population size

An integrated pest management approach would emphasize

reduction of crop damage to an economically tolerable level

Importance of Temperature in aquatic environments

regulates biogeochemical cycles

Sources _______ more carbon than they ________

release, absorb

Methods to Reduce Urban Runoff

replacing traditional pavement with permeable pavement, planting trees, increased use of public transportation, and building up, not out

Major reservoirs of Phosphorus

rocks + sediments that bear certain minerals

Generalist Species

species with a broad ecological niche, can live in many different places, eat a variety of foods, and tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions: flies, cockroaches, mice, rats, human beings

Importance of phosphate in aquatic environments

stimulates plant growth, limiting nutrient

Prior to mine reclamation laws, mine drainage and acidic runoff from coal tailings were toxic byproducts of

strip mining

Inorganics

substances without carbon

Energy Flow

the passage of energy through the components of the ecosystem

Ecological Tolerance

the range of conditions, such as temperature, salinity, flow rate, and sunlight that an organism can endure before injury or death results

Primary Productivity

the rate at which organic material is produced by photosynthetic organisms in an ecosystem

Losses of usable energy between successive trophic levels in an ecosystem are best accounted for by

the second law of thermodynamics

Theory of Island Biogeography

theory that demonstrates the dual importance of habitat size and distance in determining species richness

Population size will remain stable if

there is fairly even distribution among the three stages

Forest Transect Procedure

tree species/height/circumference

The unit JTU is a measurement of

turbidity

Human Impact on Endangered Species

unsustainable hunting and harvesting that cause mortality at rates that exceed recruitment of new individuals, land use practices like deforestation, urban and suburban development

Nuclear power is commonly generated using the element

uranium