Environmental Final
In a food chain, snakes consume mice, which in turn feed on grasshoppers. The grasshoppers consume grass. How great a biomass of mice could 10,000 kg of grass likely support?
100 kg
A total fertility rate of ________ children is known as replacement fertility
2.1
Select the hypothetical forest with the greatest species evenness.
25 oak trees, 25 maple trees, 25 hickory trees, 25 pine trees
Based on this human population profile which age cohort (i.e. group) is the largest portion of the entire population?
50-60
Coral bleaching is occurring due to - warming ocean temperatures - decrease in ocean pH levels - increase in ocean pH levels - Arctic glaciers melting
A and B
Why were wetlands created along the Creek Turnpike in Jenks, OK? - flood control - mosquito control - fulfill the federal mandate of "no net loss of wetlands"
A and C
A computer model predicts a rise in mean global temperature by 3.6°F. How will this affect the oceans?
A computer model predicts a rise in mean global temperature by 3.6°F. How will this affect the oceans?
Which of the following represents a type of mutualism?
A honeybee feeds on nectar in an orange tree flower and pollinates the flower
Biocentric preservationists, first led by John Muir, advocate saving natural areas for their
Aesthetic and spiritual values and wildlife habitat
____________________ is called the "Father of Conservation Biology" as he considered land from an ecological-evolutionary viewpoint and to manage it for maintaining ecological integrity.
Aldo Leopold
From a Judeo-Christian perspective, which of the following would NOT be a "purpose" of the Creation? - Providing for the needs of human and non-human creatures - Praising God's glory and majesty as Creator - Testifies of God as Creator - Teaching us examples of godly principles
All of the above are Biblical purposes of the Creation
According to the second law of thermodynamics: - the tendency of any isolated system is to move toward disorder - energy degrades or is wasted as it is transferred or transformed - entropy increases without energy inputs
All of these are correct
Environmental science is an interdisciplinary area of study that deals with all of the following except: - politics, - economics, - ethics
All of these are correct
Eutrophication is caused when which of the following occurs? - Excess nutrients cause a large growth of phytoplankton and algae. - Decaying matter accumulates in the water. - Decomposing bacteria remove oxygen from the water.
All of these are correct
Pseudoscience: - is a deceptive practice, - utilizes appearance and language of science, - is misleading
All of these are correct
Which of the factors pertaining to women and girls increases as total fertility rate drops? - health - workforce participation - education level
All of these are correct
Which of the following is a human impact on biodiversity? - extinction of species - alteration of habitats - introduction of invasive species
All of these are correct
A coral reef ecosystem could include which list of components? - sponges, sea anemones, and fish - coral, sunlight, and water - minerals, microscopic organisms, and worms
All of these are correct.
An area described as a dead zone in the ocean is an area with - large amounts of decomposers present. - low oxygen concentration. - very few fish.
All of these are correct.
Nitrogen is converted from its free form to ammonia by which of the following? - decomposers - nitrogen-fixing bacteria - lightning strikes
All of these are correct.
Select the example of a proxy indicator of paleoclimate. - tree rings - ice cores - coral skeletons
All of these are correct.
Which of the following would be a sink for phosphorus? - lithosphere - hydrosphere - biosphere
All of these are correct.
Which of the following would be impacts of a decline in wild salmon populations? - Commercial fishing would decrease. - Cultural traditions would be lost. - Intrinsic value would be decreased.
All of these are correct.
Which of the following is a form of energy? - Electricity - Food - Heat - Light
All of these are forms of energy
Some scientists have proposed the ________ as a new epoch that encompasses the period in Earth's history during which humans have had a dominant influence over the environment.
Anthropocene
This population profile would be most reflective of the following: - Profile of a developing, low income country - Profile of a developed, high income country - Profile with high population momentum - Profile with minimal population momentum
B and D are accurate
Most environmental problems result from
Complex, interrelated problems
Some people say that human ingenuity and technology is the ultimate resource. In the past, people have overcome the carrying capacity and thus there is no human carrying capacity. This perspective is often termed:
Cornucopian or Wizard
Select the correct statement regarding genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
Crops that are engineered to be herbicide resistant require less plowing to control weeds, which helps to protect soil from erosion.
In this population growth curve logistic growth is illustrated by
D
The issue that racial and ethnic minorities face unusually high exposure to environmental hazards is a central argument to
Environmental justice
Select the correct relationship among the variables population (P), affluence (A), and (T) technology, that influence environmental impact (I).
I = PAT
Which of the following is the most accurate conclusion about these results?
If a cornfield is sprayed with pesticide Z, it will have fewer grasshoppers 10 weeks later
Many state that the environmental crisis is really a moral crisis. Which of the following is the best pair of root moral causes?
Ignorance and Greed
Synthetic fertilizers greatly increase crop yields. However, excessive applications of nitrogen fertilizers can cause which of these problems?
Increased nutrient runoff leads to the eutrophication of aquatic
Admonitions from the Bible were used by the European powers during the colonial period to:
Justify exploitation of nature
The motion of a rock rolling downhill is known as __________ energy.
Kinetic
What is the difference between an area designated as wilderness (according to the Wilderness Act) and a national park?
Motorized transportation is only allowed in national parks, not wilderness areas
Select the description of exponential growth. - Density-dependent factors limit the rate of population growth. - A graph of population size over time shows an S-shaped curve. - Growth rate slows as the population approaches carrying capacity.
None of these are correct
Which person developed high yield, drought resistant wheat by traditional plant breeding that led to the "Green Revolution?"
Norman Borlaug
Who was NOT a notable 19th century conservationist philosopher?
Rachel Bilson
The process of cellular respiration
Releases energy from chemical bonds of molecules such as glucose
Photosynthesis is the process of converting __________ into __________ energy.
Sunlight; chemical bond
Which statement is correct regarding total fertility rates (TFR)?
The TFRs in developing countries are often above 3.0
Given that the populations of these countries are 320 million (United States), 1.4 billion (China), and 1.3 billion (India), which of the statements is correct?
The average footprint for an individual is larger in the United States than in China or India
The ecological footprint of the average U.S. citizen is significantly larger than the global average. What would happen if all humans on Earth each had an ecological footprint that matched that of a typical American?
The global usage of resources would become much less sustainable
Select the correct statement regarding hurricane activity over the past 70 years.
The intensity has shifted toward stronger hurricanes.
Select the phrase that correctly describes the transition that occurred about 10,000 years ago from hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies.
The transition involved people residing in one location and cultivating plants and domesticating animals for consumption instead of moving from place to place to find food.
Select the true statement regarding Earth's biodiversity.
Tropical regions have greater species richness than other areas of the globe
Select the true statement regarding Earth's biodiversity.
Tropical regions have greater species richness than other areas of the globe.
Which of the following acronyms apply to groups advocating limiting human population growth?
ZPG
Tracing the path of nitrogen as it travels through living things and nonliving things would be considered
a biogeochemical cycle
Select the example of a genetically modified organism (GMO).
a corn variety that produces an insecticide using a gene from a bacterium
Select the diet choice that likely has the least environmental impact.
a diet in which the majority of meals are vegetarian and avoid meat
Which description characterizes a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO)?
a facility that houses and feeds a large number of animals in confinement
Select the example of a monoculture.
a field of corn engineered to resist insect pests
An ecosystem is
a group of interactive species and their environment
Which of the following best represents kinetic energy?
a hot burner on a stove
Scientists are testing the impact of soil on the growth of a plant. They add the plant to soil that has been sterilized (removed of all microbes), and the plant fails to grow. What might be one cause of this finding?
a lack of microbes that will fix nitrogen
The basic premise behind the "The tragedy of the commons" is
a resource becomes overexploited when its ownership is shared.
A mining company plans to build a highway through a forest in northern Canada that is important for caribou migration. What could ensure the safe migration of caribou without having to cancel plans for this highway?
a wildlife corridor
Which of the following does not represent an important aspect of sound science? A scientist
accepts funding from an industry and tries to generate data to support their products to treat lung cancer
Which of the following ecosystem service degradations is not a major environmental concern for sustainable development? - overfishing the oceans - degrading agricultural soils - depleting supplies of oil - cutting forests faster than they can regrow
all of the above ARE major environmental concerns
Select the phrase that characterizes a synthetic fertilizer.
an industrially produced nutrient for plant growth
Total fertility rate refers to the
average number of children born to a woman in her reproductive years
A thermostat connected to a central air conditioning and heating system in your house serves to provide what change in the temperature?
balancing feedback
Select the phrase that best defines an aspect of pseudoscience
blocks findings from scientific scrutiny
Which of the following gases by virtue of its enormous amount in the atmosphere has the greatest impact on global climate change?
carbon dioxide
Which is the most significant greenhouse gas released by human activities?
carbon dioxide CO2
The increase in atmospheric levels of ________ is leading to a ________ in the pH of oceans.
carbon dioxide; decrease
Select the term that defines the maximum number of individuals of a species that a habitat can sustainably support.
carrying capacity
Scientists distinguish between situations that are merely correlated and those that are correlated and show
cause-and-effect relationships
Grazing animals and the grasses they eat have both evolved in response to each other's influence. This process is known as
coevolution
Some biologists have identified symbiotic relationships in which it appears that one organism gains from the relationship while the other organism is unaffected. Although after further research, the researchers find out that both members of the relationship actually benefit. The
commensalism is really an example of mutualism
On a farm, owls and cats feed on mice. Which scale of life do these interactions represent?
community
sustainable development
conservation
A ___________________ is established when land owners give up development rights, but not ownership, in order to protect natural areas.
conservation easement
According to the first law of thermodynamics, energy can be
conserved
Primary consumers get their energy from
consuming plants
A(n) ________ is a test in which researchers intentionally manipulate some aspect of a system and compare the changed system to an unaltered one.
controlled experiment
What is the primary environmental concern linked to open-water fishing?
declining fish populations due to overfishing
The term demographic transition refers to the
decrease in birthrates and death rates of a population as a nation becomes more developed
anthropomorphic, more capitalistic
development
Compared to sound science, junk science
does not conform to the established rigors of sound science
Which of the following is NOT an example of a keystone species? - bison in the prairies - sea kelp of marine forests - wolves of Yellowstone NP
each of A-C are examples of a keystone species
The classical economic paradigm and the new ecological economic paradigm differ in the way that
each views the land, either as a resource within the human economy (classical) or as something that encompasses the economy (ecological).
Mangroves are small shrubs and trees in intercostal regions. They protect shorelines from damaging storms, winds, waves, and floods, which have been found to be important in preventing erosion. This aspect of mangroves is considered a(n)
ecosystem service
Consider the following: we use wood to build our homes, we use compounds derived from plants for pharmaceutical drugs, and we use fish for sustenance, all of which are examples of
ecosystem services
The Mississippi River delivers runoff from farms in the Midwest to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Excess fertilizer enters the Gulf, resulting in a Dead Zone, or water area that cannot support life. As a shrimp farmer, you are concerned about how this affects the ________ of the Gulf.
ecosystem services
Biodiversity hot spots have a relatively high number of
endemic species
Tapeworms living inside the intestines of their host are an example of what type of relationship?
endoparasitism
The most effective way to reduce GHG emissions is to increase
energy efficiency and renewable energy.
The 3 Es that serve as key considerations for sustainability efforts are
environment, economy, equity
The ecological economic paradigm places the greatest emphasis on the
essential functions of the natural environment.
Corporate actions that release toxic fumes into the atmosphere from their smoke stacks without installing cleaning scrubbers and thus, making the public pay for cleaning the air is an example of:
externalize costs
Energy
flows through and nutrients cycle within ecosystems
A baby "boom" in the U.S. was experienced
following WWII
The Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest practiced sustainability by
following rituals and rules that allowed a large share of salmon to reproduce
Habitat destruction that leaves only small patches of natural habitat is considered
fragmentation
The Biblical concept of God blessing humans and all creatures with quality of life and ability to multiply is termed the
fruitfulness principle
The Endangered Species Act of 1973
gave the federal government jurisdiction over any species that were designated as endangered.
Many consumer products are labeled with a certification from the Forest Stewardship Council that guarantees that sustainable forest management was used for that product. What is one example of a practice done in sustainable forest management?
harvesting selectively and leaving large dead trees
Declining agrobiodiversity with the Green Revolution correlates with which outcome?
higher-yield varieties grown as single-crop monocultures
NIMBY is an acronym that refers to:
homeowners attitude of keeping polluting industries or waste out of their neighborhood
Most methane emissions arise from
human sources
Ecological footprint analysis is a method used to understand the
impact of choices on the environment
The most dramatic temperature shifts in the past few decades have been
in the north and south polar regions
The Endangered Species Act
includes species recovery plans intended to help listed species survive and thrive in their habitat.
Which of the following activities have contributed the greatest amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the past 100 years?
increased reliance upon coal, oil, and natural gas
Which phrase characterizes how agricultural production has changed over the last 100 years?
increasing scale of farming and decreasing diversity of food resources
Prior to publication in a scientific journal, an article must undergo the process of peer review. In this process, "peer" refers to which group?
independent experts in the field of study
What concept if practiced would best reduce the environmental impact of populations rising consumption of resources?
individuals practicing stewardship of resources
Many people desire to have a home with a view of a river or lake. While there is no monetary value in this view of water, it still has
intrinsic value
Rabbits are not native to Australia. They were first introduced by humans in a game ranch by for hunting, and subsequently escaped and reproduced into the millions. This is an example of
invasive species
The sea lamprey was accidentally brought into the U.S. Great Lakes and preyed on the endemic lake fish resulting in drastic population reduction of the native fish in the lakes. The lamprey is considered a:
invasive, non-native species
Biodiversity is important because
it is necessary to maintain stability of ecosystems
Carbon dioxide is considered to be the primary greenhouse gas because
it is responsible for most of the recent global warming.
Private conservation efforts to protect against the private development of land have relied upon the formation of
land trusts
The Amazon rainforest receives large amounts of precipitation that moves nutrients in the topsoil, potentially below the reach of plant roots. What is this process called?
leaching
Which of the following is NOT a trait of an edge habitat:
less sunlight vs. the interior
The planet T shirt videos illustrate the concept of
life cycle analysis
Desertification refers to the
loss of more than 10% of land's productivity due to factors such as drought, extreme erosion, and soil infertility.
Ecological footprint analysis
measures the rate of resource consumption and waste generation
A sustainable society
meets the needs and aspirations of the present without compromising those of the future
Global warming is raising sea levels because of
melting ice and thermal expansion
On a farm, owls feed on mice, which in turn prey on grasshoppers. The grasshoppers consume grass. Select the secondary consumer.
mice
All of the following are anthropogenic greenhouse gases except
molecular oxygen
The impact of global warming on the water cycle is expected to produce
more precipitation
Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the atmosphere increased from 280 parts per million (ppm) in 1750 to 400 ppm in 2013. How has this change affected the oceans?
movement of CO2 from the atmosphere to the ocean has decreased the pH of ocean waters
Gifford Pinchot's quote "greatest good for the greatest number for the longest time" is the basis for this approach of federal land management called:
multiple use concept
Lands used by the United States Department of Agriculture for provisioning services, such as timber, would be considered a
national forest
A unique series of connected forest ecosystems has been found on public lands in the western United States, which has been found to contain three species of rare toads. What type of designation would be best to preserve the toads in this ecosystem?
national wildlife refuge system
Which process involves the conversion of ammonia to other nitrogen-containing compounds?
nitrification
Species richness refers to the
number of different kinds of species in an area.
Some of the steps followed in the scientific method include:
observation, formulate and test a hypothesis, compare results to others and publish
One human impact on biodiversity is the overexploitation of resources. Which of the following best exemplifies this?
overhunting of the passenger pigeon
What is the "triple bottom line" that is a motto of Sustainable Tulsa?
people, profit, planet
What was the experimental variable in the above experiment?
pesticide Z
All the wolves in Yellowstone Park represent a(n)
population
Select the consequence of bycatch.
population decline for a non-food species
ecocentric, intrinsic and aesthetic value
preservation
Atmospheric greenhouse gases cause the greenhouse effect by
preventing the escape of radiant heat from Earth's surface into space
For a given square mile of an ecosystem, which trophic level will have the greatest total biomass?
primary producer
Carbon dioxide moves out of the atmosphere by the
process of photosynthesis
Which reproductive strategy is correctly paired with its example or description?
r-strategist; high mortality rates
Ice cover in the Arctic reflects sunlight and therefore prevents the warming of ocean water. Each year, as less ice accumulates, more sun reaches the water and heats it up, leading to less ice, warmer water and even less ice, and so on. This is an example of
reinforcing feedback
A study published in the scientific journal PLOS-One in 2008 found that if insects were not available, the cost to pollinate all fruit crops in just one region of South Africa would be over $350 million. This shows the ________ for this ecosystem service.
replacement cost
The ability of an environment to absorb damage and recover quickly is known as ecological
resilience
Slowing the rate of population growth in developing countries is associated with
rising consumption of resources.
In a community, sea otters prey on sea urchins, which in turn consume kelp. Kelp forests make up the habitat for many types of fish, such as rockfish, and a wide range of other species. Identify the keystone species in this community
sea otter
Which of the following is a common edge effect in areas of deforestation?
species are more vulnerable to predation
Mycorrhizae are
symbiotic fungi that increase soil nutrient uptake in plant roots
What is the primary source of biologically available nitrogen on Earth?
synthetic fertilizer
A species at which trophic level would be most vulnerable to extinction due to poaching (illegal hunting)?
tertiary consumer
The confidence in a scientific theory is most related to
the amount of supporting evidence
Most ecosystems have only four or five trophic levels. What limits the number of levels?
the available energy
Cheetahs are found in many protected preserves in Africa, including the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. Many of the preserves are isolated and surrounded by areas without protections for cheetahs. When cheetahs travel outside the preserves to hunt and find mates, they are often hit by cars or exposed to diseases from pests. This is an example of
the ecological island effect
What event 10,000 years ago powered population growth?
the switch from "hunting and gathering" to an agricultural society
What is the main way in which excess phosphorus and nitrogen get into bodies of water to
through agricultural runoff
Countries with larger ecological footprints tend to have
total fertility rates near replacement
In the United States, which source of greenhouse gas emissions is the largest?
transportation
Which answer choice describes a fallow field?
unplanted
Which of the following represents a market approach to environmental policy?
using a cap-and-trade system to control the levels of carbon dioxide released into the air
Which of the following does NOT demonstrate the use of renewable resources?
using underground coal deposits to produce heat and electricity
Which one of the following global climate changes is most associated with increased hurricane activity?
warmer oceans
Which of the following represents an abiotic component of a forest community?
water trickling in a small stream
Natural selection is the process that determines
which individuals within a species will reproduce and pass their genes to the next generation