Environmental Science Exam 1 – Flashcards
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The average citizen of which of the following nations has the largest ecological footprint?
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United States
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In all ecosystems energy is eventually lost to the environment via
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Heat resulting from respiration
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During the light reactions of photosynthesis, the solar energy absorbed by chlorophyll is used to
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Split water molecules and release oxygen in the form of O2 and produce small, high energy molecules that are used in the Calvin cycle to manufacture sugars.
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Although 78% of Earth's atmosphere is nitrogen, nitrogen is limited in most ecosystems because
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The natural conversion of atmospheric nitrogen occurs via only lightning and nitrogen fixing bacteria
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The cycle's largest reservoir is ocean water and transpiration is a major flux in this cycle.
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Water cycle
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This cycle is significantly affected by the extraction of fossil fuels and photosynthesis is a major flux in this cycle
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Carbon cycle
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Nitrification is a major flux in this cycle and this cycle's largest reservoir is the atmosphere.
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Nitrogen cycle
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This cycle is affected by the release of detergents in treated wastewater and the weathering of rock is a major flux in this cycle.
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Phosphorus cycle
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This is the only process that can change a gene's DNA and therefore give rise to new variations of the gene.
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Mutation
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Heavy rains and mudslides cause a river to change course, isolating two groups of lizards of the same species from one another. Over a long period of time....
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The groups will probably diverge genetically, and speciation may occur
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One example of artificial selection is
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Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and brussel sprouts bred from Brassica oleracea
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If a scientist spends his time studying communities and the non living materials that they interact with, he or she would be considered an
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Ecosystem ecologist
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The functional role of a species in its community is its
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Niche
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Density-dependent factors
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Have a greater impact at higher population densities
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High population density can
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Increase the incidence of disease transmission and food scarcity
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Population distribution describes
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Spatial arrangement of individuals of a single species within a particular area or ecosystem
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Made up of interacting populations of different species that inhabit the same area
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Community
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When the organisms of a particular population seek habitats or resources that are unevenly spaces, the distribution of the individuals in the population is
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Clumped
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Individuals of a single species fighting over access to a limiting resource is one example of
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Intraspecific competition
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Many wild orchids cannot be successfully dig up and transplanted because they need the native fungus in the soil to survive. What kind if interaction is this?
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Mutualism
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Zooplankton-eating fish are
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Secondary consumers
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Autotrophs, at the base of the tropic pyramid, exist in greater numbers than organisms at higher levels of the pyramid and also have greater stores of energy as well as greater
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Biomass
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Which of the following are most likely to be keystone species in an ecosystem?
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Large bodied, higher level consumers
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Which of the following biomes has acidic soil with few nutrients and little organic matter?
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A tropical rainforest
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In an ecosystem, herbivores are what percentage?
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10%
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What is the term that refers to the substances and forces that sustain our society and everyday lives?
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Natural resources
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A distinguishing feature of ecological economics is the concept of
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Steady state economies that neither grow nor shrink
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Robert Constanza and his colleagues have shown that
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The value of ecosystem services is more than $48 trillion in 2013 dollars
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What event is credited with leading to the passage of the Clean Water Act?
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The Cuyahoga River catching fire
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Which of the following was NOT part of public policy during the early years of the United States?
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The Superfund
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Lobbying, legal action, and campaign funding are all means used by what to influence governmental environmental policies
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The public sector
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Rachel Carson's book "Silent Spring", published in the 1960's
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Focused on chemical pollutants, including industrial chemicals
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International environmental policies arise from
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International conventions or treaties
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The entire environmental policy process
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Includes more steps than the average citizen is able to accomplish alone
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Which of the following best describes the human population from early times to the present?
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Slow, uneven growth until the 1800's, then increasingly rapid growth
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The decline in death rates followed by decline in birth rates, occurring as a country economically develops
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Demographic transition
