Environmental Science Exam

Distinguish among coastal zone, open sea, and ocean bottom ecosystems.

- Coastal ecosystems: where land and water join to create an environment with a distinct structure, diversity, and flow of energy. They include salt marshes, mangroves, wetlands, estuaries - Open sea ecosystems: the areas away from the coastal boundaries and above the seabed - Ocean bottom ecosystems: deep sea

What is a delta and what ecological services does it provide? How are humans affecting deltas?

- Landform that forms at the mouth of a river, where the river flows into another body of water - Enhance the well-being of the human populations around it - extracting groundwater and fossil fuels, trapping sediments behind dams, reducing peak flows of rivers and varied agricultural practices

Describe the general climate on windward and leeward sides of a mountain (rain shadow effect).

- Leeward Mountain Slopes Encourage Warm, Dry Climates - Whereas windward sides of a mountain which is moist

Distinguish among the littoral, limnetic, profundal and benthic zones of a lake.

- Littoral Zone: Near the shore, Shallow, Sunlit, High level of biodiversity - Limnetic Zone: Open, sunlit, surface layer away from shore, Main photosynthetic area of lake - Profundal Zone: Mid Level layer, Too dark for photosynthesis, Dissolved oxygen levels low - Benthic Zone: Detritivores, Decomposers, Bottom-feeding fish

what are the types of lakes, based on nutrient content and primary productivity?

- Oligotrophic: Steep shoreline, Deep bottom (cold/dark), Clear water on top, Higher dissolved oxygen, Not many nutrients (not many phytoplankton/photosynthesis), Can become eutrophic - Eurotrophic: Shallow, Warmer, Not a lot of oxygen, Lake can change over time, More plankton and photosynthesis

What are the features you are likely to see at an oceanic-oceanic convergent plate boundary? Give an example.

- One of the plates will subduct beneath the other - Magma chambers are produced as a result of this melting and they form a volcano - It will later on grow above sea level and into an island chain (ex. St. Lucia and the Grenadines)

Describe primary and secondary succession

- Primary succession: newly exposed or newly formed rock is colonized by living things for the first time ever - Secondary succession: an area previously occupied by living things is disturbed and disrupted, then recolonized following the disturbance

What are the types of coastal zone ecosystems? What are the ecological and economic services of coastal wetlands?

- Salt marsh, Mangrove, Wetland, Estuary, Bay - storm buffering, fisheries production, and enhanced water quality - wildlife and fisheries habitat, and recreational opportunities

Distinguish between the three major kinds of deserts.

- Subtropical Desert: Biome that is characterized by high temperatures, very low precipitation and warm soils. - Polar Desert: 250 mm and a mean temperature during the warmest month of less than 10° C. - Temperate Desert: area of land where little precipitation occurs less than 10% and living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life.

Distinguish between the three major kinds of forests. Distinguish between the 2 types of temperate forests.

- Taiga: typically has short, wet summers and long, cold winters. - Temperate Deciduous: It has four distinct seasons: winter, spring, summer and fall. - Dry Deciduous: Seasons are based on precipitation temperature stays the same with low precipitation.

Distinguish between the three major kinds of grasslands.

- Temperate Grasslands: Temperate grasslands have hot summers and cold winters. - Tropical Grasslands: These areas are hot year-round, have a season of heavy rain - Tundra Grasslands: Extremely cold climate, Low biotic diversity

What are the features you are likely to see at an oceanic-continental convergent plate boundary? Give an example.

- The oceanic plate is forced down into the mantle in a process known as subduction. - partial melting produces magma chambers above - the subducting oceanic plate - the magma will break through in the form of a volcanic eruption. - (ex. Washington-Oregon coastline)

What are the 2 types of lithospheric crust and how can you differentiate them?

- oceanic lithosphere and continental lithosphere - Oceanic lithosphere is more dense

What are the 3 zones of streams and rivers? Describe their characteristics.

- source zone: the water is shallow, cold, clear, and swiftly flowing. - transition zone: wider, lower-elevation streams, in which the water is warmer and flows down gentler slopes - floodplain zone: rivers that empty into the ocean

Describe the mountain biome. Describe how a mountain ecosystem is like an "island of biodiversity."

A mountain biome is very cold and windy. The higher the mountain, the colder and windier the environment. There is also less oxygen at high elevations. The animals and plants of this biome have adapted to the cold, the lack of oxygen, and the rugged landscape which keeps the uniqueness of these animals and plants.

Who proposed the idea of continental drift? What was the supercontinent called?

Alfred Wegener; Pangaea

Explain how genetic diversity leads to natural selection

Allows natural selection to increase/decrease the frequency of alleles that already exist in the population

Describe inland wetlands. Describe the ecological functions performed by wetlands.

An ecosystem that is flooded by water, either permanently or seasonally. Some functions are water quality improvement, wildlife hunting lease value, and sustainable timber production

Why are deserts considered fragile ecosystems?

Because they impose such harsh extremes of heat and aridity, deserts are among the most fragile ecosystems on the planet.

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

Biotic or Abiotic

What is habitat stress and how can it affect species diversity?

Biotic stress and Abiotic stress, biodiversity is reduced and habitats are either displaced or destroyed

Describe the different types of species interactions and their effects:

Competition - intraspecific and interspecific, niche overlap, resource splitting Predation - coevolution Symbiosis - Parasitism, Mutualism, Commensalism

How are humans affecting freshwater systems?

Cultural Eutrophication, Overuse of water, chemical runoff and pollution.

What are the 3 major biomes?

Desert, Grassland, Forest

What are the features you are likely to see at a continental-continental divergent plate boundary? Give an example

Faults develop on both sides of the rift and water fills the rift creating a sea when the rift goes below sea level; Earthquakes also occur (ex. East Africa Rift Valley)

What are some ecological and economic services provided by freshwater aquatic ecosystems?

Freshwater ecosystems provide economic benefits such as freshwater, fisheries, fuelwood, building material, medicinal products.

How are humans affecting marine aquatic ecosystems?

Human activities affect marine ecosystems as a result of pollution, overfishing, the introduction of invasive species, and acidification, which all impact on the marine food web.

What are the features you are likely to see at a continental - continental convergent plate boundary? Give an example.

Intense compression that can also cause extensive folding and faulting of rocks within the two colliding plates. (ex. The Himalaya Mountain Range)

What are the features you are likely to see at an oceanic-oceanic divergent plate boundary? Give an example.

Magma rises from the mantle to cools and solidifies to form new seafloor an (ex. Mid-Atlantic Ridge)

Describe how humans are affecting the different biomes.

Marine biomes are similarly threatened by pollution, particularly oil spills. If we look at any of the forest biomes, humans alter these biomes by deforestation, accidentally introducing invasive species, hunting animals, polluting rivers.

What are the 2 categories of ecosystem disruptions? What are examples of each type? What are some examples of natural ecosystem disruptions and man-made disruptions?

Natural and Human disturbances examples would be natural disasters and pollution or deforestation

What are some examples of aquatic life zones?

Oceans and bays, estuaries, coastal wetlands, shorelines, coral reefs, and mangrove forests, Lakes, rivers, streams and inland wetlands.

What is permafrost and how can it affect the ecosystem?

Permafrost is any ground that remains completely frozen for at least two years straight. The consequence is thawing soil, which may be weaker, and release of methane, which contributes to an increased rate of global warming

What types of freshwater ecosystems are there?

Ponds, Lakes and Rivers

What are the 4 categories of ecosystem resources?

Provisioning services → any type of benefit to people that is taken from nature Regulating services → benefit provided by nature Cultural services → non-material benefit that contributes to the development and cultural advancement of people, including how ecosystems play a role in local, national, and global cultures; the building of knowledge and the spreading of ideas; creativity born from interactions with nature (music, art, architecture); and recreation Supporting services→ the world's services by processes, such as the water cycle, photosynthesis, and nutrient cycling

How are freshwater ecosystems formed?

Rain and snow that falls on the land either seeps into low places feeding aquifers and groundwater tables.

How does habitat fragmentation affect species diversity?

Reduces the amount of suitable habitat available for organisms.

Describe resistant and resilient ecosystems

Resistant are minimally impacted by a disturbance whereas resilient are able to quickly recover from a disturbance

What are the 2 measurements for species diversity?

Richness and Evenness

What are the 4 types of biodiversity?

Species diversity: many different species Genetic diversity: how closely related the members of one species are in a given ecosystem Ecosystem diversity: deals with the variations in ecosystems within a geographical location and its overall impact on human existence and the environment Functional diversity : The way species behave, obtain food and use the natural resources of an ecosystem

Describe the key factors in the distribution of organisms in an aquatic ecosystem

Temperature, sunlight, nutrients, oxygen

What are the three major vertical zones of the open sea? Describe their characteristics.

The Euphotic zone, disphotic zone, aphotic zone

Describe the chaparral biome.

The chaparral biome is a part of each continent and consists of various types of terrain including mountains and plains

Describe an energy flow pyramid.

The different levels represent different groups of organisms that might compose a food chain

What is the intertidal zone? What are the two types of intertidal zones?

The intertidal zone is the area where the ocean meets the land between high and low tides zones.

How and where is most of the water found on Earth?

The ocean holds about 97 percent of the Earth's water; the remaining three percent is found in glaciers and ice, below the ground, in rivers and lakes.

Are species-rich ecosystems more or less productive? Why? Are they more or less stable? Why?

They are more stable and more productive because they contribute to increasing biodiversity

What factors determine whether an area of the earth's surface is a tropical, temperate, or polar desert, grassland, or forest? How do climate and vegetation vary with latitude and altitude?

Tropical: seasons based on precipitation Temperate: fluctuating temperatures Polar: short growing seasons Forest: four distinct seasons Climate: closer to equator equal hot climate, high altitude equals cold climate Vegetation: affects the type and amount of sunlight that plants receive

What are the 3 types of survivorship curves?

Type 1: more likely to survive to adulthood Type 2: chance is independent of age Type 3: likely to die in early stages

Describe a hot spot. Give an example

Volcanic regions fed by underlying mantle that is anomalously hot compared with the surrounding mantle.

What is a biome?

a large region of Earth that has a certain climate and certain types of living things.

What is an ecotone?

an area that acts as a transition or boundary between two ecosystems and can be used as a buffer zone.

Describe environmental problems associated with inland wetlands.

flooding problems and Buildup of pollutants and bacteria

Describe a bottleneck effect...causes and effects?

happens when the size of a population is dramatically reduced in some random event, like a natural disaster, the surviving members of the population didn't do anything special to survive, they were just lucky—it was just chance

What are the features you are likely to see at a transform plate boundary? Give an example.

locations where two plates slide past one another. lithosphere is neither created nor destroyed (ex. San Andreas fault)

What are some ecological and economic services provided by marine aquatic ecosystems?

pollution control, storm protection, flood control, habitat for species, and shoreline stabilization

What is a r-selected species?

species that produce large amounts of offspring

What is a k-selected species?

species whose populations fluctuate at or near the carrying capacity of the environment in which they reside.

What is a generalist species?

species with a broad niche

What is a specialist species?

species with a narrow niche

What is the Rule of 10? How does the 2nd Law of thermodynamics relate to the Rule of 10?

when energy is passed in an ecosystem from one trophic level to the next, only ten percent of the energy will be passed on it states that as energy is transferred or transformed, more and more of it is wasted