Unit 5B
Ecological overshoot occurs when a population's demand on an ecosystem exceeds the biocapacity of that ecosystem to regenerate the resources that are consumed and to absorb wastes. Based on the graph above, in which of the following periods did the human population first exceed Earth's biocapacity?
1975-1980
An urban planner is designing a new urban housing development in a currently rural area near an existing city. The urban development will have five 10-story apartment buildings, two basketball courts, a playground with permeable foam pavers, a 10-acre green space with a small man-made pond, one 5-story parking deck, and direct access to the mass transit train line. Which of the following aspects of the design for this new urban development will best help to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere?
Access to the mass transit train line will provide inhabitants an alternative to driving personal vehicles.
Which of the following statements best describes an unintended environmental consequence of aquaculture fish-farm enclosures located in estuaries?
Aquaculture enclosures can harbor parasites that can negatively affect wild populations that breed in estuaries.
Which of the following would be considered an advantage of increased urban sprawl?
As individuals move out of urban areas to nearby suburbs, the population densities of cities will decrease, reducing the spread of infectious disease.
Biocapacity can be defined as the amount of resources available to individuals in a given country at a specific moment in time. Which of the following statements best explains the trends in the above data?
Biocapacity increased because of improved farming techniques on existing farmland, and the ecological deficit increased because of a growing population and more demand for goods.
The chart below illustrates how many liters of water are needed to produce some common foods. Which of the following statements is best supported by the data in the table?
Chicken meat requires less water per kilocalorie than cow meat does.
Soybean crops are generally planted in early or mid-May and harvested in August. The table below shows the times of peak damage to soybean crops from various agricultural pests. Farmers use this type of data calendar to track pests and plan integrated pest management strategies to maximize crop yields. Based on the data above, which of the following time periods are insect pests most detrimental to the soybean crops?
Early May through mid-September
Which of the following is a negative consequence of aquaculture?
Excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus can leak from the location.
An environmental agency wants to evaluate the effectiveness of rain gardens in reducing the impact of urban runoff from an impervious parking lot and from the roof of the building. The parking lot is slightly sloped so the rainwater flows toward the gardens. The runoff from the roof is collected by various downspouts and directed toward the gardens. Scientists at the agency plan to monitor the effectiveness by measuring the water quality of the storm water as it moves through the gardens during and after storm events. Plant selection is important for a rain garden. Which of the following best describes the types of plants that would be most effective to use in the rain garden in this experimental design to reduce the impact of urban runoff?
Flood-tolerant plant species so that the plants can withstand large pulses of water from storms
Which of the following is an example of an environmental benefit of aquaculture?
Raising fish using aquaculture and feeding human populations with the harvest reduces the number of fish caught from the ocean.
Soybean crops are generally planted in early or mid-May and harvested in August. The table below shows the times of peak damage to soybean crops from various agricultural pests. Farmers use this type of data calendar to track pests and plan integrated pest management strategies to maximize crop yields. Based on the data above, which of the following pests is a concern to farmers for the longest period of time?
Soybean rust
An urban planner is designing a new urban housing development in a currently rural area near an existing city. The urban development will have five 10-story apartment buildings, two basketball courts, a playground with permeable foam pavers, a 10-acre green space with a small man-made pond, one 5-story parking deck, and direct access to the mass transit train line. Which of the following aspects in the design for this new urban development would most likely have the greatest negative environmental impact?
The five apartment buildings
An environmental agency wants to evaluate the effectiveness of rain gardens in reducing the impact of urban runoff from an impervious parking lot and from the roof of the building. The parking lot is slightly sloped so the rainwater flows toward the gardens. The runoff from the roof is collected by various downspouts and directed toward the gardens. Scientists at the agency plan to monitor the effectiveness by measuring the water quality of the storm water as it moves through the gardens during and after storm events. Which of the following would be the best measure to use to determine the effectiveness of the rain gardens in reducing the impact of urban runoff?
The speed and volume of the water exiting the gardens
The graph below shows change in the world's ecological footprint in billions of global hectares and change in the world's biocapacity, the land needed to sustainably support the human population, between 1961 and 2014. Which of the following statements correctly describes the trend of ecological footprint compared to biocapacity from 1961 to 2014 ?
The world's ecological footprint has risen above its capacity to sustainably provide for the human population.
An environmental agency wants to evaluate the effectiveness of rain gardens in reducing the impact of urban runoff from an impervious parking lot and from the roof of the building. The parking lot is slightly sloped so the rainwater flows toward the gardens. The runoff from the roof is collected by various downspouts and directed toward the gardens. Scientists at the agency plan to monitor the effectiveness by measuring the water quality of the storm water as it moves through the gardens during and after storm events. Which of the following would be the best control in this experimental design?
Water samples collected from the roof or parking lot before they passed through the gardens
Soybean crops are generally planted in early or mid-May and harvested in August. The table below shows the times of peak damage to soybean crops from various agricultural pests. Farmers use this type of data calendar to track pests and plan integrated pest management strategies to maximize crop yields.
White mold
The chart below illustrates how many liters of water are needed to produce some common foods. Which foods are the most sustainable to produce in order to provide the most kilocalories to the world's growing population while still minimizing water usage?
vegetables
The chart below illustrates how many liters of water are needed to produce some common foods. Which of the following foods is most suitable to cultivate to minimize water consumption per kilogram of food?
cereals