AP Environmental Science: Unit 2

Example of a periodic natural disruption:

Spring rain leading to flooding and deposition of sediment.

Environmental changes, either sudden or gradual, may threaten a species' survival, requiring the:

Individuals to alter behaviors, move, or perish.

What are examples of regulating services?

Pollination, decomposition, and water purification.

Loss of habitat leads to a loss of ________, followed by a loss of ____________. It also leads to reduced numbers of species that have ____________.

Specialist species. Generalist species. Large territorial requirements.

Explain the theory of island biogeography.

According to the theory of island biogeography, as the size of an island increases, the number of species living on it should increase. Also, as an island's distance from the mainland increases, the number of species living on it should decrease.

How long does pioneer species last in ecological succession?

1-4 years.

When does the intermediate stage of succession occur in an ecosystem?

125 years.

When does the climax community occur (final stage of succession)?

150+ years.

How long does intermediate species last in ecological succession?

5-150 years.

When islands are created:

A decrease in core habitats and an increase in edge habitats occur.

What is a keystone species?

A keystone species in an ecosystemis a species whose activities have a particularly significant role in determining community structure.

Why would the native species of an island with greater area survive invasive species more than a smaller island would?

A land with greater area supports more habitats and resources, reducing competition and increasing survival.

What does low species evenness mean?

A species is dominating the area.

When analyzing range of tolerance and ecological tolerance:

Abiotic factors are measured.

Define provisioning services:

Describes the material or energy outputs from ecosystems. They include food, water, and other resources.

High rates of species extinction caused by human activity have taken place at which of the following time(s) in Earth's history? 1. At the end of the Permian period 2. At the end of the Cretaceous period 3. During recent times

During recent times.

How do earth system processes operate?

Earth system processes operate on a range of scales in terms of time. Processes can be periodic, episodic, or random.

Example of an episodic natural disruption:

Earthquake resulting in landslides and soil erosion.

Who adapts to islands and who declines islands?

Generalists adapts, specialists decline.

Define intrinsic value:

Anything that has value in and of itself.

Describe secondary succession:

Ecological succession in which plants and animals recolonize a habitat after a major disturbance—such as a devastating flood, wildfire, landslide, lava flow, or human activity (e.g., farming or road or building construction)—significantly altering an area but not rendering it completely lifeless. The habitat is not lifeless, because the soil retains nutrients and seeds that were set down before the disturbance occurred. The stages are: Annual plants --> Grasses --> Shrubs --> Shade intolerant trees (pines) --> Shade tolerant trees (oak).

Describe primary succession:

Ecological succession occurring on surfaces that are initially devoid of soil. A newly formed/uninhabited area is colonized by pioneer species that begins to break down rocks and form soil. The process goes as follows: Bare rock --> grasses --> shrubs ---> shade intolerant trees (pines) ---> shade tolerant trees (cone).

Describe ecological tolerance.

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

Define regulating services:

Ecosystems provide by acting as regulators eg. regulating the quality of air and soil or by providing flood and disease control.

What type of ecosystem would be most likely to recover faster from natural disruption?

Ecosystems with more genetic diversity and a larger number of different species are more likely to recover from natural disruptions.

Define existence value:

Existence values are a class of economic value, reflecting the benefit people receive from knowing that a particular environmental resource, such as Antarctica, the Grand Canyon, endangered species, or any other organism or thing exists.

What are three factors that affect how and at what rate succession occurs?

Facilitation, in which one set of species makes an area suitable for species with different niches; Inhabitation, in which early species hinder the establishment and growth of other species; Tolerance, in which late successional plants are largely unaffected by plants are earlier stages of succession.

Where do large apex-predators thrive?

Large tracks of land; hence why they are called specialist species.

What are examples of pioneer species?

Lichens and mosses.

According to conservation biologists, which of the following statements is the best and cheapest way to protect trees from insects and disease

Maintain the biological diversity of the forest.

What is an example of a keystone species?

The Australian sea lion is a keystone species because it is a top predator in the ecosystem. The Australian sea lion has a varied diet that includes many crustaceans, mollusks, fish and other animals. In this way the Australian sea lion controls the population of many other organisms in the food web, allowing the ecosystem to remain in homeostasis.

What happens to the ecosystem if the number of sea urchins increases?

The amount of kelp growing in the ecosystem will decrease.

The more genetically diverse a population is:

The better it can respond to environmental stressors. Additionally, a population bottleneck can lead to a loss of genetic diversity.

What is an example of an economic consequence to a provisioning ecosystem service that will most likely result from increased global warming?

The collapse of local fisheries, because of the damage to coral reefs from ocean acidification. Many fish depend on coral reefs for habitat, and the carbon dioxide that largely causes anthropogenic global warming also causes ocean acidification, which does damage coral reefs.

Define biomass:

The total mass of organisms in a given area or volume.

Based on the theory of island biogeography, what is the most likely reason that an island in the ocean that is 5 kilometers from a continent would have a higher number of species than one that is 15 kilometers from a continent?

There are more species that have the ability to travel 5 kilometers than can travel 15 kilometers.

What criteria must be met to qualify as a biodiversity hotspot?

There has to be 30% or less of its original natural vegetation.

Define cultural services:

These are the nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems. They include aesthetic, spiritual, and psychological benefits.

Define supporting services:

These are the services necessary for the production of the other ecosystem services. Provide living spaces for organisms and maintain a diversity of different breeds of species.

Define abundance:

Total number of organisms in an area.

T or F: Ecological tolerance can apply to individuals and to species.

True.

Natural processes take place ____ and over ___ periods of time.

quickly. long.

Why is a high population of genetic diversity important for an ecosystem to thrive?

A population with high genetic biodiversity is better able to respond to environmental stressors. Genetic diversity is an important part of natural selection, as genetic variation is more likely to allow some individuals in a population to survive in a changing environment.

Define instrumental value:

A species usefulness to us in the form of economic and ecological services (genetic information, food crops, lumber, paper, and medicine)

Example of a random natural disruption:

A tornado moving through an area results in downed trees.

What is an indicator species?

An indicator species is a plant or animal that, by its presence, abundance, scarcity, or chemical composition, demonstrates that some distinctive aspect of the character or quality of an ecosystem is present.

What is an example of an ecosystem service that would provide protection from a hurricane storm surge?

An intact coastal wetland or marsh would offer natural protection from a storm surge categorized under regulating ecosystem service.

Describe the results of human disruptions to ecosystem services.

Anthropogenic activities can disrupt ecosystem services, potentially resulting in economic and ecological consequences.

An island off the coast of Africa contains a larger percentage of specialist species than generalist species. What would be the most immediate effect if an invasive generalist species is introduced to the island?

As competition for resources increases, the population size of the island's specialist species will decrease. The invasive generalist species would most likely outcompete the island's species for food and other resources, as these are extremely limited on islands and specialists can thrive in a narrow range of conditions.

Environmental stress can cause:

Changes in fitness (physiology, behavior, reproductive health) or death.

Sea level has varied significantly as a result of:

Changes in the amount of glacial ice on Earth over geological time.

What is interspecific competition?

Competition between individuals of different species.

What is intraspecific competition?

Competition between members of the same species. Generally is much more intense competition because they require the exact same resources.

Species belonging to different taxonomic groups may develop a resemblance resulting from adaptation to similar environments. This process is called

Convergent evolution.

Population bottleneck impacts what type of diversity?

Genetic diversity. When there is a significant decrease in the population size, there is a reduction of the gene pool; which leads to a decrease in genetic diversity.

Biodiversity in an ecosystem includes:

Genetic, species, and habitat diversity.

Describe island biogeography.

Island biogeography is the study of the ecological relationships and distribution of organisms on islands, and of these organisms' community structures.

According to the theory of island biogeography, the two features of an island affect its immigration and extinction rates. These two are:

Island's size and the island's distance from the nearest mainland.

Who colonize the islands?

Islands have been colonized in the past by new species arriving from elsewhere.

Identify the different between local, ecological, and biological extinction:

Local occurs when a species is no longer found in an area it once inhabited, but is found elsewhere. Ecological occurs when so few members of a species are left that it can no longer play its ecological roles in the communities where it is found. Biological extinction occurs when there are zero individuals of a species found anywhere on the earth.

Large swathes of habitat changes are common results of:

Major environmental change or upheaval.

Describe the role of island biogeography in evolution.

Many island species have evolved to be specialists versus generalists because of the limited resources, such as food and territory, on most islands. The long-term survival of specialists may be jeopardized if and when invasive species, typically generalists, are introduced and outcompete the specialists.

What are examples of early successional plant species?

Plants that live for more than 2 years without having to reseed i.e. grasses.

Explain how natural disruptions, both short- and long-term, impact an ecosystem.

Natural disruptions to ecosystems have environmental consequences that may, for a given occurrence, be as great as, or greater than, many human-made disruptions.

If anthropogenic or natural disruption occurs, can primary succession continue on?

No, the process must start from scratch.

Describe how organisms adapt to their environment.

Organisms adapt to their environment over time, both in short- and long-term scales, via incremental changes at the genetic level.

What are examples of supporting services?

Photosynthesis, nutrient cycling, and creation of soils.

What three characteristics describe a biological community?

Physical appearance (size, location, stratification, distribution of populations and species), species diversity (combo of species richness and species evenness), and niche structure (the number of ecological niches, how they resemble and differentiate, and how species interact on one another).

What are examples of late successional plant species?

Pine trees.

Describe the effect of ecological succession on ecosystems.

Pioneer members of an early successional species commonly move into unoccupied habitat and over time adapt to its particular conditions, which may result in the origin of new species.

Name the four categories of ecosystem services.

Provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting.

These tools to measure biodiversity by using squares to section off areas and then identifying the species where the lines of the squares intersect.

Quadrats.

Ecosystems that have a larger number of species are more likely to:

Recover from disruptions.

What are example of cultural services?

Recreation, education, aesthetics, and tourism.

What happens if succession occurs in a disturbed ecosystem?

Succession in a disturbed ecosystem will affect the total biomass, species richness, and net productivity over time.

Examples of abiotic factors measured when analyzing ecological tolerance:

Temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen.

If an ecosystem has low habitat diversity, what conclusion can be made?

The ecosystem most likely has a low number of specialist species. Having a limited number of different habitats would inhibit the survival of different types of specialist species and those that control large territories.

Describe ecological succession.

The gradual process that describes change in the structure of a community over time; one type of community succeeds or replaces another, and is usually determined by changes in the predominant plant community. There are two main types of ecological succession: primary and secondary succession.

The more mature a habitat is:

The higher in biomass and richness it is.

In which island will the highest species richness be found?

The largest island near the mainland.

Species richness refers to:

The number of different species found in an ecosystem.

Define species richness:

The number of different species in a habitat

Does wildlife engage in short or long-term migration?

Wildlife engages in both short- and long-term migration for a variety of reasons, including natural disruptions.

What are examples of provisioning services?

Wood fuel, medicine, and potable water.