EEB 2100 UConn Exam 1 study test guide
with complete solution
Main questions of courseANS 1. How do humans alter earth
2. how do human alterations affect the biosphere
3. What can be done to alleviate human alterations of the biosphere
Greatest ecological impacts of humans(most to least)ANS 1. Nitrogen fixation
2. Water use
3. Land transformation
4. CO2 concentration rise
5. Ocean acidification
6. Bird extinction
7. Plant invasion
Planetary BoundariesANS Limits between which global systems must operate to prevent
abrupt and irreversible environmental change
Planetary Boundaries that have been crossedANS 1. Biogeochemical flows of Nitrogen and
Phosphorous(Nitrogen fixation)
2. Genetic diversity (biodiversity loss)
Success story of planetary boundariesANS Restoration of the ozone layer
Non-linear dynamicsANS Outcome is not proportional to input
- to revert back to a stable state, it will take more effort than getting to where you are now(It
takes much less equipment to pollute a pond than to clean it up after it has been polluted)
Tipping PointsANS a critical threshold when a small change can have potentially drastic
effects. Mostly linked to climate change and pollution and the increase in the emmition of
greenhouse gases
Increased atmospheric CO2ANS Result of increased burning of fossil fuels and land use
change(getting rid of plants by burning which uptake CO2)
-caused global warming of 0.8-1.2 degrees Celsius
Oceanic CO2ANS -25% of carbon from CO2 gets taken up by oceans
-Caused the average ocean ph to drop by 0.1 units and because ph is a log scale resulted in
26% increased acidity causing major changes to ocean ecology
, nitrogen fixationANS process of converting nitrogen gas into nitrogen compounds that plants
can absorb and use
Nitrogen in Ecosystems*dont understand*ANS added to ecosystems through fixation by
microorganisms and limits the growth of many ecosystems
Large mammal biomassANS 97% of large mammal biomass is human(30%) or domestic
animals(67%)
Human water useANS -35% of all of the earths usable water goes toward agricultural needs
while 15% goes to other human needs
-37% of rivers globally including 2% in the US are UNimpeded by dams which makes it hard for
microorganisms and fish to travel
Extinction rate on earthANS -100-1000 times the background rate
-Yearly loss of 11-58k species
-Rates only comparable to 5 times in last 500 million years which could indicate 6th mass
extinction
biotic homogenizationANS Certain species coexist well with humans so they are favored in
many areas throughout the world, decreasing overall biodiversity in the world
Examples of biotic homogenizationANS -mixing of biota(plant or animal life native to a certain
region) across oceans
-many continental regions have 20% of plant life as exotic(not native to the area)
Big picture behind planetary boundariesANS All these disturbances are connected to one
another so one major change could result in an even large change somewhere else due to the
many indirect consequences
AnthropoceneANS a new geological period dominated by human destabilization of the earth's
natural systems
Common Geological time unitsANS Eras: Hundreds of millions of years
periods: 50-200 million years
epoch: 5-30 million years
Formal criteria for new geological time unitsANS 1. Must be stratigraphic evidence(evidence in
rock layers) for start date all over the world.
2. Must persist for millions of years
3. accompanied by a mass extinction
"Golden Spike"ANS (GSSP) Global Stratotype Section and point and refers to evidence in
geological strata that signifies the start of a new geological stage of time.
with complete solution
Main questions of courseANS 1. How do humans alter earth
2. how do human alterations affect the biosphere
3. What can be done to alleviate human alterations of the biosphere
Greatest ecological impacts of humans(most to least)ANS 1. Nitrogen fixation
2. Water use
3. Land transformation
4. CO2 concentration rise
5. Ocean acidification
6. Bird extinction
7. Plant invasion
Planetary BoundariesANS Limits between which global systems must operate to prevent
abrupt and irreversible environmental change
Planetary Boundaries that have been crossedANS 1. Biogeochemical flows of Nitrogen and
Phosphorous(Nitrogen fixation)
2. Genetic diversity (biodiversity loss)
Success story of planetary boundariesANS Restoration of the ozone layer
Non-linear dynamicsANS Outcome is not proportional to input
- to revert back to a stable state, it will take more effort than getting to where you are now(It
takes much less equipment to pollute a pond than to clean it up after it has been polluted)
Tipping PointsANS a critical threshold when a small change can have potentially drastic
effects. Mostly linked to climate change and pollution and the increase in the emmition of
greenhouse gases
Increased atmospheric CO2ANS Result of increased burning of fossil fuels and land use
change(getting rid of plants by burning which uptake CO2)
-caused global warming of 0.8-1.2 degrees Celsius
Oceanic CO2ANS -25% of carbon from CO2 gets taken up by oceans
-Caused the average ocean ph to drop by 0.1 units and because ph is a log scale resulted in
26% increased acidity causing major changes to ocean ecology
, nitrogen fixationANS process of converting nitrogen gas into nitrogen compounds that plants
can absorb and use
Nitrogen in Ecosystems*dont understand*ANS added to ecosystems through fixation by
microorganisms and limits the growth of many ecosystems
Large mammal biomassANS 97% of large mammal biomass is human(30%) or domestic
animals(67%)
Human water useANS -35% of all of the earths usable water goes toward agricultural needs
while 15% goes to other human needs
-37% of rivers globally including 2% in the US are UNimpeded by dams which makes it hard for
microorganisms and fish to travel
Extinction rate on earthANS -100-1000 times the background rate
-Yearly loss of 11-58k species
-Rates only comparable to 5 times in last 500 million years which could indicate 6th mass
extinction
biotic homogenizationANS Certain species coexist well with humans so they are favored in
many areas throughout the world, decreasing overall biodiversity in the world
Examples of biotic homogenizationANS -mixing of biota(plant or animal life native to a certain
region) across oceans
-many continental regions have 20% of plant life as exotic(not native to the area)
Big picture behind planetary boundariesANS All these disturbances are connected to one
another so one major change could result in an even large change somewhere else due to the
many indirect consequences
AnthropoceneANS a new geological period dominated by human destabilization of the earth's
natural systems
Common Geological time unitsANS Eras: Hundreds of millions of years
periods: 50-200 million years
epoch: 5-30 million years
Formal criteria for new geological time unitsANS 1. Must be stratigraphic evidence(evidence in
rock layers) for start date all over the world.
2. Must persist for millions of years
3. accompanied by a mass extinction
"Golden Spike"ANS (GSSP) Global Stratotype Section and point and refers to evidence in
geological strata that signifies the start of a new geological stage of time.
