APES Final FRQ
Describe TWO ways that the amount of mercury released into the environment from the source in part (a) could be reduced
A different fossil fuel such as natural gas could be used instead of coal. Natural gas has much lower mercury levels than coal. Wind and solar energy can also be used as substitutes and have nonexistent mercury levels.
Explain what is meant by a metapopulation and how it relates to the desert bighorn sheep
A metapopulation is multiple isolated populations in which individuals sometimes travel between resulting in recolonization. Without metapopulations, species like the desert bighorn sheep would be limited to their island and not able to recolonize which could result in extinction of the populations.
Justify the solution you described in with an additional environmental benefit
By reducing fertilizers, nitrous oxide emissions would also be reduced
Describe how eutrophication negatively affects waterways
Eutrophication negatively affects water ways by releasing nitrates and other nutrients into aquatic ecosystems. This results in the overgrowth of algae which are consumed by bacteria that use up the majority of the oxygen in an area. The lack of oxygen results in a dead zone for many other organisms that require oxygen to survive decreasing the biodiversity of waterways.
Identify and explain four community interactions that involve the western lowland gorilla.
Fighting between gorillas and humans for crops. Gorillas are herbivores and feed mainly on vegetation. Leopards are apex predators and hunt the gorilla. The ebola virus is a parasite inside the species.
Based on the information above, is the western lowland gorilla an r selected or K selected species?
It is K selected because it takes them a long time to reach maturity and they produce low numbers of offspring
Identify a toxic metal other than mercury that has a negative impact on human health and describe how it is introduced into the environment. Describe an acute sublethal effect on humans that results from exposure to this metal.
Lead is another toxic metal which is detrimental to human health. It enters the environment through cigarette smoke. Lead can cause neurological development issues for children
On the basis of the article above, indicate one human activity that releases mercury into the environment. Describe how mercury is transported from that source and enters aquatic systems, often hundreds of miles away.
Mercury enters the atmosphere through the burning of coal. From there, wind currents transport the mercury to areas where there are aquatic ecosystems and the dry particles of mercury can fall into the water.
Propose a realistic solution to prevent eutrophication of waterways near CAFOs
People in agriculture can reduce the amount of fertilizers they use which would reduce the amount of nitrates that are transported into waterways. In addition, they could also deal with animal waste more efficiently and ensure that it does not runoff into waterways.
Explain why there are greater health risks associated with eating large predatory fish, such as tuna and sea bass, than from eating small nonpredatory fish.
Predatory fish are higher up on the food chain which results in them accumulating the mercury of organisms they consume. The process of them accumulating toxins of their prey is known as bioaccumulation. As levels are increased on the food chain, the higher level will bioaccumulate more toxins because it stores the toxins of its prey its fat and muscles. The concept of species higher up on the food chain bioaccumulating more toxins is known as biomagnification. In addition, the long lifespans of predatory fish allow them a lot of time to bioaccumulate toxins like mercury.
Explain what is meant by secondary succession and describe how it may be initiated in a tropical forest
Secondary succession is an area that does not have vegetation, but still retains its soil. It may be initiated in a tropical rainforest as a result of clearcutting or forest fires.
Explain the consequences to the desert bighorn sheep population if the plan to connect the mountain habitat islands is not implemented
Smaller island populations would be more prone to extinction because they could not be recolonized by neighboring islands. Isolated populations would also suffer from a lack of genetic diversity which has many adverse affects.
Explain how the theory of island biogeography applies to the mountainous ares of southeastern California
The larger a mountain is, the more species diversity there will be because there will be more diverse habitats as the area increases. In addition, as the area of the mountain gets larger, there will be more room for species to live creating larger populations that are less prone to extinction. The closer and more connected mountainous ares are, the more migration between areas there will be creating more species and genetic diversity.
Identify two density dependent factors and one density independent factor that could affect the populations of desert bighorn sheep
Two density dependent factors that could affect bighorn sheep are disease, food scarcity and an increase in predators. A density independent factor that could affect their populations is drought.
