EVS 195 Dr. Rotenberg
Review Sheet – Exam 1
Main Environmental Problems another, there is always less usable energy
Overpopulation, Water Shortages, Climate and energy quality is depleted.
Change, Biodiversity Loss, Poverty, Energy Examples
Malnutrition, Disease Energy Quality
Main Causes of Environmental Problems Systems
Rapid population growth, Unsustainable Environmental systems
resource use, Poverty, Poor Environmental System components
Accounting, Ecological Ignorance Inputs, Flows, Stores, Outputs
Globalization Positive/negative feedback loops
Definitions -- Ecology, Environment, Ecologists, Connections: Matter and Energy Laws and
Environmental Scientists, Environmentalists Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services
“Everything is connected” Modeling the Real World
Human Impacts on the Environment Scientific Method
Most populous countries Hypothesis, Observation, Question,
Poverty -def Prediction, Test Hypothesis,
Inadequate health care Example
Unsanitary water Scientific Theory, Hypothesis, Natural Laws
Poor nutrition Reasoning and Critical Thinking
Lower life expectancy Inductive vs. deductive reasoning
Population, Resources, and the Environment Bottom-up and Top-down
less developed vs. highly developed The Basics
Types of resources Matter, Element, Compound, Atom
Renewable-Nonrenewable Protons, Neutrons, Electrons
Resource Consumption Atomic number, Atomic weight
People Overpopulation: Isotopes
Consumption Overpopulation: Bonds
Ecological Footprint Organic/Inorganic compounds
IPAT model Acid/Base and pH Scale
Sustainability Connection: Acid precipitation
“Tragedy of the Commons” Earth’s Structure
Environmental Science - def Lithosphere - Crust/mantle/core
Addressing Environmental Problems Hydrosphere
example: p.17 – Lake Washington Atmosphere
Environmental History of the US Cryosphere
Frontier attitude - (1607-1890) What sustains life on Earth?
Important People and the Environment One-way flow of high-quality energy
Audubon,Thoreau, Marsh, Muir, The cycling of matter
Roosevelt, Pinchot, Leopold, Carson, Gravity
Nixon, and other US presidents Chemical Cycles
st
1 National Park Carbon/Nitrogen/Phosphorus/Water/Sulfur/
General Revision Act Oxygen
Wilderness Act Carbon cycle – CO2 & connections
First Earth Day w/photosynthesis
Energy Nitrogen cycle
Kinetic/Potential energy - examples Nitrogen fixation/Nitrification
First Law of Thermodynamics Assimilation/Ammonification
Energy can be changed from one form Denitrification
to another; however, energy cannot be Water cycle – all components
created or destroyed. READ about Sulfur Cycle
Second Law of Thermodynamics READ Human Impacts
When energy is changed from one form to
EVS 195 Dr. Rotenberg
Major components of Ecosystems Medicinal, Agricultural, and Industrial
Abiotic/biotic Importance of Organisms
Autotroph/Heterotroph Aesthetic, Ethical, and Spiritual Value of
Producers/Consumers Organisms
Herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, scavengers Endangered, Threatened and Extinct Species
Detritivores – detritus feeders & decomposers Characteristics of Endangered Species
Photosynthesis Extremely small range, Requiring large
Cellular Respiration territories, Living on islands, Low
Aerobic Respiration, Anaerobic Respiration reproductive success, Specialized breeding
Food Chains, Webs and Energy Flow areas, Specialized feeding habits
Trophic structure, Trophic levels Where is Declining Biological Diversity the
Food chains and Food webs Greatest Problem?
Ecosystem Energy Flow US: Hawaii and California
Biomass Worldwide: Tropical rain forests
Pyramid of Energy Flow Earth’s Biodiversity Hotspots
Ecological efficiency Top Six US Hot Spots:
Energy Storage Pyramids of Hawaii, San Francisco Bay area,
Biomass & Numbers Southern Appalachians, Death Valley,
Primary Productivity Southern California, Florida Panhandle
Gross primary productivity (GPP) Human Causes of Species Endangerment
Net primary productivity (NPP) #1 causes:
NPP = GPP – R (energy for respiration) Habitat Destruction, Fragmentation, and
Most/least productive lands Degradation
Limiting factors & resources Conservation Policies and Laws
Succession: CITES (Convention on International Trade in
Primary & Secondary Endangered Species of Wild Flora and
Symbiosis – def Fauna)
Three types: United States - Endangered Species Act
Mutualism, Commensalism, Parasitism Estimating Extinction and Number of Species on
Interactions Among Organisms Earth
Predation and Competition Habitat Fragmentation
Intraspecific and Interspecific competition Are we hastening extinction rates?
Competitive Exclusion Causes of Extinction and Depletion of Species
The Ecological Niche - def Conservation Biology – def
Fundamental vs. Realized Niche Human Population
Resource partitioning Population Questions
Keystone Species How is population size affected by birth rates
Species Richness and death rates?
Ecotone and edge effects How fast is the world’s population growing?
How do we Study Ecosystems? How long does it take to double the number of
Levels of Hierarchy people on the planet?
Earth, biosphere, ecosystem, community, How have global fertility rates changed?
population, organism, organ system, organ, What factors affect birth rates and fertility rates?
tissue, cell, molecule, atom Death rates?
Species, Population, Community, Habitat, What are age structure diagrams?
Earth’s Major Biomes Population Terms
-- See Handout – Demography, Demographers
Vertical Zonation: The Distribution of Vegetation Calculating Population Change
on Mountains
Aquatic Ecosystems Population Change = (Births + Immigration) –
– read this section and read about examples (Deaths + Emigration)
Rate of Population Change
Biological Diversity (Biodiversity) – def Birth rate or Crude Birth Rate
Species Richness, Genetic Diversity, Death rate or Crude Death Rate
Ecosystem Diversity World’s Population Rate - Statistics
Why We Need Organisms? Calculating Rate of Population Increase
Scientific Importance of Genetic Diversity Annual rate
of Natural
EVS 195 Dr. Rotenberg
Population = Birth rate – Death rate x 100 • low when the population size is either
Change (%) 1,000 persons small or large.
• highest when the population is at an
Population Rate Decreased – stats intermediate level relative to the carrying
Exponential Growth capacity.
Doubling Time Real Examples of Models
Rule of 70 Population control
70/percent growth rate = doubling time in yrs Density-dependent and examples
Fertility Density-indendent and examples
Replacement-level Fertility Population Curves in Nature
Total Fertility Rate (TFR) Stable, Irruptive, Irregular, Cyclic
What are current Fertility Rates? – stats Life History Traits - def
Replacement-level Fertility rate r-selection, K-selection
MDC = 2.1 LDC = 2.5 Types of Reproductive Strategies
Total Fertility rate = 2.8 r and K traits
MDC = 1.5 LDC = 3.1 Survivorship curves
Highest TFRs?? --- Africa = 5.2
READ “How have Fertility and Birth rates
changed in US?” pp. 179-180
Factors affecting birth rates NOTES
Importance of children in workforce
Urbanization
Cost of raising/educating children
Education/employment for women
Infant mortality rate
Average age of childbirth
Availability of retirement income
Culture/religion
Factors affecting death rates
Increased food supply and distribution
Nutrition
Medical and public health services
Sanitation and personal hygiene
Clean water
Economic development and population
Read about country stages pp. 188-189:
Pre-industrial, Transitional, Industrial, and
Post industrial
Factors for population change used today
Family planning
Empowering women
Economic rewards and penalties
READ about China and India examples
Age Structure diagrams – What do they tell?
Demographic Stages of countries and graph
Ecological Trade-offs - Limits to population
Growth
Biotic Potential
Intrinsic rate of increase (r)
Carrying Capacity (K)
Population Growth Models
Exponential growth G = rN
Logistic growth G = rN(K - N)/K
The model predicts that a population’ growth
rate will be: