ENVS 1126 Module 1 Summary Questions
1.2 What is the Environmental Paradox? - ANS-Over the past 40 years, human well-being has
improved but natural ecosystems that provide us with goods and services have declined.
1.2 What does climate change have to do with us and our future? - ANS-Humans severely affect
and cause global climate change by putting much more CO2 in the air than was originally
locked underground as fossil fuels. Manifested as increasing temperature, climate change has
caused:
- Alterations in migratory patterns of animals- Alterations in life cycles of animals
- Birds lay eggs earlier- Mammals come out of hibernation sooner
- Arctic and Antarctic ice melt
- Rising sea levels- A big issue for how flat Louisiana is
- Worsening tropical storms and hurricanes - A HUGE issue for Louisiana
- Heavier precipitation and thus flooding
- Frost-free/growing seasons will lengthen
1.2 How do we affect biodiversity? - ANS-Causes of biodiversity losses - HIPPO
- Habitat destruction, converting natural lands to farms, homes, malls, cities
- Invasive species, introduced by us that take over landscapes
- Pollution that degrades habitats, forcing migration elsewhere, or death at home
- People, those 7.5b people all require resources that must come from somewhere.
- Over-harvesting of resources, over-hunting, over-fishing, poaching
1.2 Why is biodiversity even important? - ANS-- Biodiversity is the mainstay of agricultural crops
and medicines.
- Without biodiversity, a single pathogen can wipe out an entire crop.
- Biodiversity maintains stability and recovery of natural systems post-disturbance.
- Biodiversity provides essential goods and services, particularly for the poor.
- Aesthetic and moral arguments for biodiversity (once a species is gone, it is gone forever)
1.2 What is environmental science? - ANS-the study of how the world works; how humans
interact with the environment and everything in it.
1.2 What are the three things that we need to ensure the survival of us and our planet? - ANS--
Sustainability: resource usage at a pace that does not exhaust the capacity of the system to
replace what was taken/used.
- Sound science: Legitimate, peer-reviewed, high integrity science that investigates how the
world works and how humans interact with it.
- Stewardship: managing natural resources and human well-being for the common good.
, 1.2 Why is sustainability and sustainable development so important for the future? -
ANS-Because it allows us to meet needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable development incorporates equity: meeting
the needs of the present while considering future generations
1.2 Why is sound science so important for the future? - ANS-- Science is the avenue to
understanding the natural world around us
- Science is the avenue to shining light on what we still do not know
1.2 Why is stewardship important for us and our future? - ANS-Stewardship actions and
programs manage natural resources and human well-being for the common good. Stewardship
is compatible with the goal of sustainability, but it is different from it, too, because stewardship
deals more directly with how sustainability is to be achieved—what actions are taken, and what
values and ethical considerations are behind those actions.
1.3 How do we define species in this class? What makes a species a species? - ANS-- This
class defines species based on the Biological Species Concept, which states:
"Species are groups of interbreeding natural populations that are reproductively isolated from
other groups." (Members of a species can interbreed successfully with other members of that
same species)
1.3 How do species relate to populations, communities, ecosystems, ecotones, landscapes, and
biomes? - ANS-- Populations: multiple individuals of the same species, living at the same time,
in the same area. Being the same species, they make up an interbreeding, reproducing group.
- Communities: In a single area, multiple populations of different species make a biotic
community (aka biota)
- Ecosystem: an interactive complex of communities and their abiotic environment. They lack
distinct boundaries and are not isolated. Species can occupy multiple ecosystems and move
between them.
- Ecotone: a transitional region between ecosystems. Ecotones share species and
characteristics of both ecosystems and may have more or fewer species than the ecosystems
- Landscape: a cluster of interacting ecosystems
- Biome: a large area with the same climate and vegetation. Can be predicted by rainfall and
temperature. There are no sharp boundaries between biomes. Aquatic biomes are determined
by depth, salinity, and permanence of water
1.3 How do resources and factors lead to environmental limits? - ANS-The range of tolerance
for a factor (e.g. temperature, salinity/salt, water, sunlight, etcetera.) affects growth, health,
survival, reproduction. When resources and conditions aren't optimal, environmental limits
cause stress and limit growth, reproduction, and survival of a population
1.3 What are environmental limits and optimal ranges defined by? - ANS-- Range of tolerance:
the entire span allowing any growth at all
- Limits of tolerance: the high and low ends of the range of tolerance
1.2 What is the Environmental Paradox? - ANS-Over the past 40 years, human well-being has
improved but natural ecosystems that provide us with goods and services have declined.
1.2 What does climate change have to do with us and our future? - ANS-Humans severely affect
and cause global climate change by putting much more CO2 in the air than was originally
locked underground as fossil fuels. Manifested as increasing temperature, climate change has
caused:
- Alterations in migratory patterns of animals- Alterations in life cycles of animals
- Birds lay eggs earlier- Mammals come out of hibernation sooner
- Arctic and Antarctic ice melt
- Rising sea levels- A big issue for how flat Louisiana is
- Worsening tropical storms and hurricanes - A HUGE issue for Louisiana
- Heavier precipitation and thus flooding
- Frost-free/growing seasons will lengthen
1.2 How do we affect biodiversity? - ANS-Causes of biodiversity losses - HIPPO
- Habitat destruction, converting natural lands to farms, homes, malls, cities
- Invasive species, introduced by us that take over landscapes
- Pollution that degrades habitats, forcing migration elsewhere, or death at home
- People, those 7.5b people all require resources that must come from somewhere.
- Over-harvesting of resources, over-hunting, over-fishing, poaching
1.2 Why is biodiversity even important? - ANS-- Biodiversity is the mainstay of agricultural crops
and medicines.
- Without biodiversity, a single pathogen can wipe out an entire crop.
- Biodiversity maintains stability and recovery of natural systems post-disturbance.
- Biodiversity provides essential goods and services, particularly for the poor.
- Aesthetic and moral arguments for biodiversity (once a species is gone, it is gone forever)
1.2 What is environmental science? - ANS-the study of how the world works; how humans
interact with the environment and everything in it.
1.2 What are the three things that we need to ensure the survival of us and our planet? - ANS--
Sustainability: resource usage at a pace that does not exhaust the capacity of the system to
replace what was taken/used.
- Sound science: Legitimate, peer-reviewed, high integrity science that investigates how the
world works and how humans interact with it.
- Stewardship: managing natural resources and human well-being for the common good.
, 1.2 Why is sustainability and sustainable development so important for the future? -
ANS-Because it allows us to meet needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable development incorporates equity: meeting
the needs of the present while considering future generations
1.2 Why is sound science so important for the future? - ANS-- Science is the avenue to
understanding the natural world around us
- Science is the avenue to shining light on what we still do not know
1.2 Why is stewardship important for us and our future? - ANS-Stewardship actions and
programs manage natural resources and human well-being for the common good. Stewardship
is compatible with the goal of sustainability, but it is different from it, too, because stewardship
deals more directly with how sustainability is to be achieved—what actions are taken, and what
values and ethical considerations are behind those actions.
1.3 How do we define species in this class? What makes a species a species? - ANS-- This
class defines species based on the Biological Species Concept, which states:
"Species are groups of interbreeding natural populations that are reproductively isolated from
other groups." (Members of a species can interbreed successfully with other members of that
same species)
1.3 How do species relate to populations, communities, ecosystems, ecotones, landscapes, and
biomes? - ANS-- Populations: multiple individuals of the same species, living at the same time,
in the same area. Being the same species, they make up an interbreeding, reproducing group.
- Communities: In a single area, multiple populations of different species make a biotic
community (aka biota)
- Ecosystem: an interactive complex of communities and their abiotic environment. They lack
distinct boundaries and are not isolated. Species can occupy multiple ecosystems and move
between them.
- Ecotone: a transitional region between ecosystems. Ecotones share species and
characteristics of both ecosystems and may have more or fewer species than the ecosystems
- Landscape: a cluster of interacting ecosystems
- Biome: a large area with the same climate and vegetation. Can be predicted by rainfall and
temperature. There are no sharp boundaries between biomes. Aquatic biomes are determined
by depth, salinity, and permanence of water
1.3 How do resources and factors lead to environmental limits? - ANS-The range of tolerance
for a factor (e.g. temperature, salinity/salt, water, sunlight, etcetera.) affects growth, health,
survival, reproduction. When resources and conditions aren't optimal, environmental limits
cause stress and limit growth, reproduction, and survival of a population
1.3 What are environmental limits and optimal ranges defined by? - ANS-- Range of tolerance:
the entire span allowing any growth at all
- Limits of tolerance: the high and low ends of the range of tolerance
