EENS 1300 Exam 1
T/F: The spread of environmental zinc is the most serious issue associated with zinc smelting.
False (arsenic and lead are)
T/F: A scientific theory will become a scientific law if additional evidence provides overwhelming support.
False
T/F: Cadmium is more abundant than zinc.
False
T/F: Economists prefer command and control regulations over tradable permits.
False
T/F: Species are arbitrary taxonomic units.
False
transference of energy
potential energy turned into kinetic energy
Chemosynthesis
process by which non-photosynthetic organisms use chemical energy to produce carbohydrates
greenhouse effect
process in which certain gases trap sunlight energy in Earth's atmosphere as heat
nitrogen fixation
process whereby nitrogen (N2) is converted into ammonium (NH4+) by nitrogen fixing bacteria
emissions charge
"green tax" that forces polluters to pay the full costs of pollution, including externalities. the goal is that the private marginal costs of pollution will be equivalent to the societal costs of pollution
natural selection
"some individuals within a population have characteristics that enhance their reproductive capabilities"
ring species
"the perfect demonstration of speciation" allows us to reconstruct and infer biogeographical evolutionary history
Which "big 5" extinction killed the dinosaurs?
#5: Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction
open system in thermodynamics
exchanges energy with its surroundings
Detritivores
ingest dead organisms
strategies for pollution control: worldviews
-western (utilitarian) -biocentric preservationism
forms of energy: potential
-chemical (stored in bonds of atoms and molecules) -mechanical (in objects by tension) -nuclear (in nucleus of an atom) -gravitational (in an object's high from Earth's surface)
command and control solutions
-government agencies requires that a particular piece of equipment be installed to limit emissions to water, air and soil -makes excessive amounts of pollution illegal -unfavorable by economists b/c may result in pollution levels that are lower or higher than the economically optimal levels
incentive based regulations
-more preferable by economists, both liberal and conservative, as a result of cost effective analysis -most popular regulations are 1) environmental taxes 2) tradable permits
What percent of global deaths each year are related to pollution?
40%
forms of energy: kinetic
-radiant (electromagnetic energy that travels in transverse waves) -thermal (energy that comes from movement of atoms and molecules within a substance) -motion (stored in the movement of objects; i.e. wind) -sound (the movement of energy through substances in longitudinal waves) -electrical (delivered by electron particles, typ. moving through a wire; i.e. lightening)
how many people are drinking contaminated water?
1 billion
why study science? (2 reasons)
1) pure research (to understand nature) 2) applied research (to solve a particular problem)
3 benefits of ecosystem services
1. Support biodiversity 2. Provide food, materials, and recreation 3. Improve air and water quality
How many children die each year from drinking contaminated water?
2 million
What percent of earth's land area is agricultural land?
40%
aerobic oxygen conditions
6 ml -1.0 ml O2/liter of water highest solubility closest to surface
Globally, how many people die prematurely due to air pollution each year?
7 million
Pleistocene extinctions
Abrupt extinction 47,000 years ago coincident with arrival of humans. See loss of major megafauna
Holocene extinctions
Anthropocene extinction (#6!) past 10,000 years- present caused by humans
phosphorous cycle
Biogeochemical cycle of phosphorus through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere (water, earth's crust, and living organisms) Dissolved phosphate (PO4)3- is derived from weathered rocks and deep sea vents
7 species concepts
Biological Morphological Evolutionary Ecological Phylogenetic Mate-recognition Genetic
What is the term for a challenge to the admissibility of expert testimony?
Daubert challenge
What caused the collapse of the Easter Island human population prior to the arrival of Europeans?
Deforestation
trophic levels
Energy flow; 10% of the energy in one trophic level is transferred to the next level
plate tectonics
Explains formation, distribution and location of continents, ocean bases, mountain ranges, earthquakes, volcanoes and ocean trenches
primary consumers
Organisms that feed on primary producers, e.g. herbivores and zooplankton
primary producers
Organisms that produce biomass from inorganic matter e.g. photosynthesizers and chemoautotrophs
urban heat islands
Local heat buildup in an area of high population density (building trap heat)
cap and trade
Market-based approach pollution control based on $$$ incentives for reducing emissions of pollutants because they can sell the allowances they save Preferred by economists
nitrogen cycle
Movement of nitrogen among the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere soil, water, in and out of food webs
biggest cause of water pollution?
Nitrogen + phosphorous in fertilizer causing algae to grow
Ammonification
Nitrogen fixers transform ammonium (NH4+) into cellular components like amino acids and proteins
What two outdoor air pollutant is most hazardous to human health?
Particulate matter and ozone
how does the phosphorous cycle differ from the carbon cycle
Phosphorus cycle differs from carbon cycle in that the atmosphere plays very little role in the phosphorous cycle
photosynthesizers
Plants (grasses and trees) Algae (diatoms and kelp) Cyanobacteria
as temperatures increase...
Primarily affects physiology and metabolism Biological reaction rates increase higher rates of growth solubility of oxygen and carbon dioxide decreases Concentrations of calcium carbonate increase
evidence of evolution
Shape similarities DNA Embryology Vestigial organs Biogeography Natural selection Artificial selection Fossil record
effects of global warming
Rise in sea level Extreme climate Shifting of climatic zones towards poles Spread of disease Widespread extinction of species Arctic sea ice decline
What is the best explanation for biotic evolution (which is a scientific fact)?
Some individuals have traits that make them more likely to reproduce.
chemoautotrophs
Sulfur oxidizing bacteria Iron oxidizing bacteria
T/F: Carbon dioxide is an air pollutant.
True
T/F: Sharks benefit commercial fisheries for other species of fishes.
True
T/F: The loss of land in coastal Louisiana is caused in part by the oil and gas industry.
True
thermal energy
The total potential and kinetic energy of the particles in an object.
Scientific fact
any observation that has been repeatedly confirmed and accepted as true (i.e., very small possibility that it is false)
environment
anything (both abiotic and biotic) that surrounds an organism
community
a group of species that live in the same area at the same time
evolutionary species concept
a lineage evolving separately from others and with its own unitary evolutionary role and tendencies
Is the explanation for gravity a scientific law or theory?
a scientifc theory
nitrification
ammonia (NH4+) converted into nitrates and nitrites Deep-water bacteria in soil oxidize NH4+(ammonium) to nitrite (NO2-) and then to nitrate (NO3-)
biological species concept
an array of populations interbreeding that are reproductively isolated from other such groups organisms appear to be alike but are different species most widely accepted
Thermohaline circulation
an oceanic circulation pattern that drives the mixing of surface water and deep water due to temperature and salinity
first law of thermodynamics
an organism may absorb from and/or give up energy to its surroundings, yet the total energy content of the organisms and its surroundings will remain constant (i.e. energy can be neither created, nor destroyed, only transferred)
What coincides with the extinction of large animals on continents and islands during the past 50,000 years?
arrival of humans
where is the phosphorous cycle fastest?
bodies of water
decomposers
break down dead organisms bacteria and fungi present at all trophic levels
photosynthesis
carbon dioxide + water = glucose + oxygen via sunlight
negative feedback
change in some condition within a system causes a response that counteracts change, could keep an undisturbed system at equilibrium
What is the primary provisioning service provided by the wetlands of coastal Louisiana?
commercial fishing
scientific law
comprehensive DESCRIPTION of a natural phenomenon that occurs under certain circumstances
scientific theory
comprehensive EXPLANATION of some aspect of nature that is SUPPORTED by a vast body of evidence through repeated testing (i.e. an explanation accepted as true)
What is responsible for Earth's magnetic field ?
convection of the outer core
denitrification
conversion of nitrates (NO3-) in the soil by bacteria into nitrogen gas (N2)
What causes the most hazardous indoor air pollution in the world?
cooking with atmosphere carbon stove
anerobic
devoid of oxygen inefficient for animal life found in deeply stagnated bodies of water
morphological species concept
diagnosable group with pattern of ancestry and descent defines species anatomically most practical classification
positive feedback
disturbance or variable in a system causes a response that intensifies the disturbance
closed system in thermodynamics
does not exchange energy with its surroundings; rate in nature
major biotic events
earliest life earliest oxygen atmospheric oxygen Ediacaran fauna Cambrian explosion Mass extinction events Humans
ediacaran fauna
early marine invertarates first fossils, dating from about 575 million years ago
secondary consumers
eat primary consumers
tertiary consumers
eat secondary consumers
What is most likely to cause lead poisoning for people living near zinc plants?
eating dirt (for kids) or breathing soot
3 types of incentive based regulations
emission charge tradable permits cap and trade
habitat
environment where a species or organism lives
Eutrophication
excessive loading of phosphorous and nitrogen in a body of water that pollutes water Poor light penetration Low dissolved oxygen Shallow waters
T/F: If a scientific law is found be untrue in certain circumstances, then it may be downgraded to a scientific theory.
false
T/F: scientific theory can change into a scientific law if verified by repeated testing
false
T/F: The earth's mantle is liquid
false (made of solid rock and minerals)
What is responsible for the global collapse of shark populations?
fishing for fins
Heritable variation
genetic differences within a species essential prerequisite for evolution
Pleistocene megafauna
giant ice age animals extinguished by arrival of humans in Australia 47,000 years ago
tradable permits
government sets an optimal cap on certain pollutants permit owners can decide to generate pollution or sell the permit (usu. whichever creates the most income) allows for industries that can afford to cut emissions to do so and sell their permits to industries that cannot afford to do so
limitations of the biological species concept
helpful but does not define species "grolar bear" definition only applies to species that exist at the same time characterized by reproductive isolation, excludes asexual and ring species
ecosystem
large scale interacting system of organisms and their environment
chlorophyll
light-absorbing pigment molecule in photosynthetic organisms
Which came first: Land plants or marine invertebrates?
marine invertebrates
What is the most practical way of recognizing living species?
morphology
dead zones
occur when too much nutrient rich fertilizer (nitrogen + phosphorous) washes off causing explosion of dead phytoplankton that become oxygen eating bacteria
Euryhaline organisms
organisms in intertidal zones that can tolerate a wide variety of salinites good at osmotic regulation
biosphere
part of earth's atmosphere and lithosphere that supports life
Law of fossil succession
plant/animal fossils succeed in an recognizable order throughout the geographic record
substrate
reactant of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction
That every point mass in the universe attracts every other point mass with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them is an example of a:
scientific law
Metapopulations
set of local populations among which individuals are distributed in distinct habitat patches across landscape
Stenohaline organisms
subtidal organisms that can only tolerate low variations in salinities
cellular respiration
sugar + oxygen = carbon dioxide + water Oxidation of glucose releases energy, which is stored as ATP
5 environmentally limiting factors
temperature oxygen salinity depth substrate
as depth increases...
temperature decreases Oxygen decreases Carbonate concentration decreases Light decreases (photic zone) Nutrients increase Abundance and diversity decline
second law of thermodynamics
the amount of biologically usable energy available to do work decreases over time When energy is converted, some of it is degraded into lower-quality, less useful form (Entropy)
Which layer in the earth is similar in composition to an iron-nickel meteorite?
the core
niche
the ecological role of a species in its environment
realized niche
the range of abiotic and biotic conditions under which a species actually lives
artificial selection
the selective breeding of organisms (by humans) for specific desirable characteristics
fundamental niche
the total theoretical range of environmental conditions that a species can tolerate
the species problem
there is no universally accepted definition, however it is the most fundamental unit of classification
salinity
total dissolved salts per volume of seawater affects osmotic regulation fresh water = least brine = highest
T/F : Cyanobacteria produced the earliest oxygen in earth's oceans and atmosphere.
true
T/F :The field of economics uses the scientific method to acquire knowledge.
true
T/F: Evolution can be considered a fact, scientific theory, or scientific law depending how evolution is being defined.
true
T/F: The pattern of evolutionary change documented by the fossil record is a scientific law.
true
T/F: biotic evolution is a fact
true
brownfields
urban areas of abandoned industrial or residential sites that may be contaminated from past use
utilitarian conservationist
values natural resources for their usefulness for practical purposes, but uses them sensibly
biocentric preservationist
values protecting nature because all forms of life deserve respect and consideration