Environmental Science Study Guide for ISB 201 - Fall 2009: Major Themes and Key Concepts -, Study notes of Biology

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ISB 201 – Fall 2009 Test #1 Study Guide Major Environmental Science Themes Emphasized  What is Environmental Science o A systematic study of:  How the Earth Works  How we are affecting the Earth  How we might deal with Environmental problems we face.  Biosphere and Biospheric Principles o The component of our planet where life is able to exist o Atmosphere + Hydrosphere + Lithosphere o Principles:  The Biosphere is Holoceonotic and self-adjusting; it is never static.  Energy flows through the Biosphere and is continually supplied by the sun.  The Quantity of matter in the Biosphere is finite and must be recycled for life to exist.  Homo sapiens are animals and are part of the biosphere.  State of the World o Environmental issues were once regarded as irrelevant to economic activity, but today they are dramatically rewriting the rules for business, investors, and consumers. o What must we do in the 21st century—especially in 2009 and the years just following—to head off the kind of climate catastrophe that many scientists now see as likely?  Environmental Movement Key Moments o 1962 – Rachel Carson, Silent Spring (birds and their extinction) o 1970 – Clean Air Act o 1972 – Clean Water Act o 1972 – UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden o 1992 – Rio Earth Summit (Second UN Conference)  Agenda 21 – what we could do to reduce family growth, but wasn’t successful because nothing enforced it o 1997 – Kyoto Protocol – required nations to reduce their CO2 level  Some didn’t join, US signed but didn’t radify o 2002 – Jo-berg Earth Summit (Johannesburg, S.A.) o Lately – Go Green Campaigns, Movies, Cars, EPA standards were lowered so factories were able to pollute more  Sustainability o Sustainable Society - One that accommodates its needs without compromising the ability of future generations from doing the same. o Gaia Hypothesis  Earth is a single, self-regulating, super organism  James Lovelock – English atmospheric Chemist  Levels of organization of the Universe  Inter-relatedness (Holoceonosis)  Natural Capital – Resources vs. Capital o Resources:  Air  Water – most important resource for a sustainable human culture  Soil – most important “  Energy  Minerals o Services:  Population Control  Nutrient Recycling  Climate Control  Pollution Control  Waste Treatment  Biodiversity  Pest/Disease Control  Ecological Footprint o A measure of human demand on the Earth’s ecosystems  Globalization o It is occurring and everything is interconnected o Human Nature: to improve standard of living o India: 1 in 6 people on planet (In Poverty by U.S. Standards) o China: 1 in 4 people on planet (Quickly Developing) o Global Population Projection by 2050 is 9 – 20 Billion People o 2 Major Problems:  Over Population (Developing Nations)  Over Consumption of natural resources (Developed Nations)  Myth of Inexhaustibility o We cannot exhaust our sustainability/resources  Maximum Sustainable Yield o How much is produced compared to how much is used – Renewable resources  Tragedy of the Commons o Collective consciousness o Garrett Hardin o Short sighted use of natural resources for immediate economic gain, with no consideration for long term Sustainability o Common resources owned by none, claimed by all  Scientific Method o Observation – looking in a way to understand o Hypothesis – a testable statement that explains the observation o Experiment – a test of the hypothesis using a control for comparison of results  Decomposition of organic material  Provides nutrition to support food webs  Water Purification o Fertility  Minerals – Resulting from bedrock geology  Nutrients – Result from decomposition of Detritus – dead organic material  Water – too much / too little  Gas Exchange  Oxygen – Gas Exchange  Particle Size  Soil Compaction  pH – Review pH scale  Bedrock Geology o Granite à Acidic Soils o Limestone à Basic Soils  Input  Compaction  Contamination – pollutants  Desertification  Causes: o Overgrazing o Deforestation o Surface mining o Erosion o Salinization – increase of salt in the soil o Soil compaction  Erosion and Transport o Texture – the % silt : clay : sand  Infiltration / Percolation  Water holding capacity o % Organic Material  Humus = “moist fertile soil” o Exchange Capacity – the amount of nutrients available for exchange  Macronutrients – organisms require a lot (N, P, Ca, Mg, etc.)  Micronutrients – organisms only need trace amounts but can be limiting  Ecology o Investigates how organisms interact with the biotic and the abiotic factors of their environment. o Biotic  are all the living things or their materials that directly or indirectly affect an organism in its environment.  Example - disease o Abiotic  are those non-living physical and chemical factors which affect the ability of organisms to survive and reproduce.  Examples:  light intensity  temperature range  type of soil or rock  pH level (acidity or alkalinity)  water availability  dissolved gases  level of pollutant  Species and Populations o Species – a group of organisms who have the potential to interbreed and produce fertile offspring in nature. o Population – a local group of individuals belonging to the same species  Range of Tolerance o Limiting Factor Principle  Too much or too little of any single abiotic factor can limit or prevent growth of a population, even if all other factors are at or near the optimum range of tolerance.  Photosynthesis vs. Respiration o Photosynthesis  Takes in  Carbon dioxide, water, and energy from the sun  Produces/releases  Sugar (glucose) with stored energy  Oxygen o Respiration  Takes in  Sugar (glucose) and Oxygen  Releases  Carbon Dioxide, water and heat  Aerobic Respiration o In the presence of oxygen o Produces CO2 o Heat is a waste product  Anaerobic Respiration (Fermentation) o In the absence of oxygen o Produces other gases o Methane (CH4) o Heat is a waste product  Ecosystem Components o Producers  Green plants (chlorophyll)  Autotrophs  Photosynthesis  Respiration? o Consumers  Heterotrophs  Respiration  Primary Consumers  Herbivores  Secondary Consumers  Carnivores  Omnivores o Decomposers  Highly Evolved  Highly Efficient  Respiration  Critical to Biogeochemical Cycles  Energy Flow o 1st Law of Thermodynamics  Energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only be converted from one form to another. o 2nd Law of Thermodynamics  No energy conversion is 100% efficient. In any conversion there is a net loss of energy.  Energy runs out eventually o Plants : Solar to Stored Energy o Heat loss through respiration o Decomposers are most efficient in converting energy o When we eat meat we lose energy flow because of the thermodynamics the meat goes through (secondary biomasses didn’t transfer all energy)  Biogeochemical Cycles o Oxygen Cycle o Water Cycle  Driven by the Sun o Nitrogen Cycle  Atmospheric Nitrogen Fixation  Breaks N2  Formation of NOx  Dissolves in rain  5-8% of all fixed Nitrogen  Biological Fixation  “Three Sisters” o Corn o Beans o Squash ???  Industrial Nitrogen Fixation  Haber / Bosch process  High Pressure and Heat  Combines N and H  Natural Gas or Petroleum  Form Ammonia (NH3)  German Chemist o Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1918) o Father of Chemical Warfare o World War I o Phosphorus Cycle  Heavily impacts biota of Biosphere  Involves Geologic Processes (Rock Cycle)  Requires Erosion (Hydrologic Cycle)  Must molt àvulnerability o Head – Sensory Systems  Compound Eyes - Detect color and movement  Ocelli (Simple Eyes) - Primarily light detection  Antennae – can detect motion and orientation, odor, sound, humidity, and a variety of chemical cues  Mouthparts  Piercing sucking (mosquitos)  Siphoning - bees  Sponging (flies) o Thorax  Prothorax  Mesothorax  Metathorax  Legs  One Pair Attached to each of the Thoracic Segments  Ambulatory - used for walking.  Cursorial - modified for running.  Fossorial - modified for digging.  Natorial - modified for swimming. These legs have long setae on the tarsi.  Raptorial - modified for grasping (catching prey).  Saltatorial - adapted for jumping.  Wings  2 pairs of wings  Modified Wing Pair o (Elytra in Coleoptera) o Tegmina in Orthoptera, Blattodea, and Mantodea )  Exceptions o Diptera (Flies)  1 Pair of Wings  1 Pair of Halteres  Gyroscope o Hymenoptera (Ants) o Isoptera (Termites) o Blattodea (Roaches) o Phasmatodea (Walking Sticks) o Abdomen  Cerci (Circus) - Sensory Appendage  Ovipositor - Egg Laying Apparatus  Modified Ovipositor - Stinging Devices  Breathing and Respiration  Tracheal System  Spiracles  Diptera Order (see Imes) Flies, Mosquitos, Horse and Deer Flies o 1 Pair of Wings attached to mesothorax o 1 Pair of Halteres – tiny vestigial appendages  Stabilize flight and serve as sensory organs  Gyroscope o Important prey for many animals o Pollinators, second to bees and wasps o Effective scavengers and nutrient recyclers o Sucking mouthparts o Feed on nectar o Complete metamorphosis  Coleoptera Order (see Imes) Beetles o Most diverse and successful Order of Insects o Estimated 1 in 5 animals on the planet is a beetle o Chewing mouthparts with well-developed mandibles o Elytra – armored forewings o Nearly all can fly, some actually do – close to the ground o Either herbivorous or scavengers, many predators as well o Compound eyes o Antennae of various sizes between their eyes o Complete metamorphosis o Everywhere but in salt water and polar ice caps