MCE Test One

Why is the current geological era referred to as the Anthropocene? - Answer- The anthropcene era is the geological era that humans are dominating the climate and the environment. Humans have had the biggest impact on the climate and environment in the past 100 years. Define an ecosystem service - Answer- A biological community of interaction organisms and their physical environment. What are the 3 types of biodiversity? Be able to list, define, describe why they are important and provide an example. - Answer- Ecosystem diversity: Variety of ecosystems in a geographical region, High ecosystem diversity = high species diversity because species are better able to adapt to their specific ecosystem. species diversity: Total number of species in a given area, More species = more resilience, less biodiversity connections weaken and break harming all species within the ecosystem. genetic diversity: Genetic variability within a species population, Because variation enable adaptation to a changing environment. What is an endemic species? Why are they particularly at risk? Why are biodiversity hotspots areas of conservation focus? - Answer- Endemic Species: Plants/animals that exist only in one particular area. They are at risk because if they are harmed in their singular habitat, then they cannot be reproduced. Biodiversity hotspots are areas of conservation focus because their is a very high number of endemic species and vegetation lost, and they are all interconnected. Be able to list the 3 categories of ecosystem services, define each, provide an example. - Answer- Direct service: The products of ecosystems that we need to live and benefit us, Food (fish), water, O2 etc. Indirect service: The products of the ecosystems that we benefit from but do not need to live us such as mangrove forest providing storm protection to coastlines and wetlands filtering clean water cultural service: The parts of ecosystems and nature that we do not need to live but enjoy spiritually or recreationally, such as hiking, kayaking, birdwatching etc. What type of population growth model best describes our current situation? How did we get to 7.6 billion so quickly? Can this type of growth go on forever? - Answer- currently we are an exponential growth model growing from 1-7 billion people in only 200 year, but we will eventually level out and become a logistic growth model. The industrial revolutio