Sie sind auf Seite 1von 2

Chapter 7: Biogeochemical Cylce!

Case Study: Recent Decline and Rise of Oysters in the PacNorthWest!


Major decline in native oysters due to over-harvesting, disease, damage to habitat, h2o pollution!
Increased acidity killed them off, symbolizes ocean acidification and the carbon cycle T
Thermodynamic Equalibrium if you took Earth and sealed it against the flow of energy and
matter. Eventually the chemistry of the air, water and rocks would come into a chemical and
physical fixed condition where the energy was dispersed as heat, and there would be no new
chemical reactions. Everything would be at the lowest energy level, that matter and energy
would be dispersed randomly, and nothing would be happening. (Mars and Venus) life is the
pump.Env fitness is the result of a two-way process. Life evolved in an env conducive for that
to occur, and then, over time, life altered the env at a global level. These changes troubled
existing organisms, but also created opportunity for evolution and thus adapted to the new
conditions, Alos O2 levels have risen since precambrian times -> life sustained
Macronutrients: Elements required in large amounts, form carbs w o2 and h
Micronutrients: Elements required either in small amounts by all life
Flow: Amnt moving from one compartment to the other Flux: Rate of transfer
Residence Time: Avg time an atom is stored in a compartment vol/rate
Source: Donating compartment Sink: Recieving compartment
Hydrologic Cycle Ocean to atm to land back to ocean, driven by solar energy
Carbon-Silicate Cycle: CO2 in the atm dissolves in the water to form weak carbonic acid and
acid rain weathers cilicate rocks, calcium and bicarbonate build up and then
Nitrogen Cycle: Free N2 makes up 72% of the Earths atmosphere, Lighting oxidizes nitrogen
producing nitric acid, all other conversions of molecular nitrogen to biological useful forms
are conducted by bacteria
Nitrogen Fiation: Bacteria and plants convert these inorganic compounds into organic ones
through chemical reactions and the nitrogen becomes available in ecological food chains,
When organisms die, bacteria convert the organic compounds back to ammonia, nitrate or
molecular nitrogen which then enters the atmosphere. We depend on nitrogen cnvting bact
Phosphorus Cycle: Does not have gaseous stage, we depend on the phosporus cycle for
fertilzer, we need to maintain our high agriculutre output but reduce need for newly mined
phonsphate by recycling human waste, retaining phos in soil, using less p, less biofuels

!Chapter 8: Environmental Health, Pollution, and Toxicology

Human health and disease associated with env factors including biological agents and toxins
Pollution produces an unclean,impure,dirty state; Contamination means making something
unfit through the introduction of undesirable materials Toxic Materials are poisonous to
people and other living things, Synergism is the combined effect of diff substances having a
greater affect than the sum of the effects of the individual substances. PPM and PPB are
common ways of measuring pollution, air pollution is of micrograms/cubic meter of air
Organic Compounds are produced by living organisms or synthetically by people, some
degrade in the env fast others are more likely to undergo biomagnifcation and are
exteremely toxic even at low levels, ex of org cpds are pesticides, dioxin, PCBs, HAAs
Disturbed envs produce a threat but human spreading of diesaes is even more serious
The effect of a chemical or toxin is dependent on the dose, tolerence of a person, and the
acute/chronic effects that is has on a person. Risk Assesement ids the hazard, exposure, and
the possibel results. Feminization of Frogs via HAAs are an early warning to us about our
effects on nature. To reduce env hazards we need to pay more for the goods that are used

!Chapter 9: Biological Diversity and Biological Invasions

BioEvo: change in inerited charectaristics of a pop from gen to gen, resp for development
Mutation, Natural Selection, Migration, and Genetic Drift
BiologicalDiversity= Genetic Diversity, Habitat Diversity, Species Diversity (the total
number of genetic charecterists). (the diversity of habitats in a given unity area)

Species Diversity: Species Richness, Species Evenness, Species Domination (total no of


species) (relative ubandnace of species) (the most abundant species)
Species engage in three dif kinds of actions: Competition, Symbiosis, Predation-Parasitism.
Each type of interaction affects evolution, therefore persistence and diversity of life,
therfore species do not die out from competition and develop a particular niche w/o competit
No. of species in an area is determined by latitude, elevation, topography, env diversity,
severity. Predation and Moderate disturbance can possibly increase species diversity, number
of species and people effect diversity as well
Competitvie Exlusion Principle: Two species that have the same requireements cannot exist
in the same habitat, niches allow one to have an edge in competition. People are one the
main causes of the loss in diversity. Concern about endangered species has been of upmost
controversy. Cities can contribute to biodiversity if they try

!Chapter 10: Ecological Restoration

Ecological Restoration is the process of helping degraded ecosystems recover and become
more self sustaining and therefore pass through their natural range of conditions
Goals of Ecological Restoration: help transform degraded ecosystems into sustainable
ecosysstems and to develop new relationships between natural and human-mod envs
Adaptive Management: applies science to restoration process, is necceary for sucess
Restoration is a combination of human activitis and natural processes, also a soc activity
Disturbance, Change, and Variation in the env are natural and eclogical systems and species
have evolved to respond to these changes
Ecosystem Restoration and human population have to increase at a cohabitating rate
Ecosystem degradation is a global issue and has been happening since civilizations
Ecosystem restoration is an important way to improve city life
Sucession is normal and there is not single natural state of conditions in an ecosystem, the
conditions tha we promote relfect on our values as a society

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen