Ecological Consequences - AP Environmental Science

Amphibians are one of the most susceptible groups of species to mass extinction, with one in three currently at risk of extinction.

Previous extinction events can be attributed to pathology, climate change and other natural factors. The current 6th mass extinction event is largely attributed to human activities and the resulting climate change.

Gamma diversity refers to the total number of species within a region. This can also be referred to as regional diversity. Gamma diversity is useful in order to investigate biodiversity from a broad scale or at the landscape level.

Island Biogeography Theory is related to the balancing of immigration and extinction. In short, the number of species that occurs on an island should be directly related to the rate of extinction and the rate of immigration. If the rate of immigration is higher than the rate of extinction, then the number of species will be high. If the rate of extinction is higher than the rate of immigration, then the number of species will be low.

The Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis describes how habitats experiencing moderate levels of disturbance can support the most species. This occurs because disturbance initiates the turnover of dominant species, which allows new species to emerge. For example, a tree falling in the forest could be an example of a disturbance. Trees falls open up the canopy and allow sunlight to reach the floor of the forest and creates an open space for species to colonize.

Beta diversity is calculated by taking the total number of habitats divided by the number of species in each habitat of a given environment.

Total number of habitats:

Number of species in each habitat:

Solve:

Biological diversity is concerned with not only the number, variety and variability of species within ecosystems but the number of ecosystems on the Earth and genetic diversity within species.

Riparian zones prevent erosion and are incredibly high in biodiversity. Riparian areas are thin and ribbon-like, accompanying streams and rivers, but often long and dense.

Every species is important because of its niche in its ecosystem. Additionally, all species are potentially of scientific and medical/economic value.

The correct response is 1%. The majority of species that have ever lived on Earth are extinct. Mass extinctions have occurred throughout geological history due to large disturbances such as meteor crashes and ice ages. Life is fragile and disturbances can cause millions of species to go extinct rather quickly - such as most recent mass extinction when the dinosaurs disappeared. Thus, the species still alive today represent a tiny portion of the variety of life that has existed throughout the geological history of Earth.

Ocean acidification is most accurately described by the answer choice that talks about carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere before being absorbed by ocean water to react with carbonate ions and form carbonic acid.

Image: "Ocean Acidification." NOAA PMEL Carbon Program. NOAA. Web. 6 Apr. 2015. <http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/Ocean Acidification>.

Red tide is caused by algal blooms, which occur due to eutrophication of waterways. Red tides set off harmful chain reactions in ecosystems, because of the toxins the algae produce. The toxins get concentrated in higher trophic levels (biomagnification).

Since there has been a significant population decline over a substantial time period, but there is still an extensive range and population, this species would best be categorized as "threatened." A species classified as threatened is vulnerable to becoming endangered in the future and is still being impacted significantly by habitat loss and human activities. This frog species would be categorized as endangered if they were at immediate threat of becoming extinct.

The United Nations classifies nations as developed or developing based on the nation’s degree of industrialization and per capita gross domestic product purchasing power parity (GDP PPP). A country’s per capita gross domestic product purchasing power parity (GDP PPP) is a measure of the amount of goods and services the nation’s average citizen could buy in the United States. Developed countries include the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, and most European countries. Most developing countries are found in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

The tragedy of the commons is a parable that warns of the dangers of mismanaging shared resources. The story tells about herders that share land where their cows/sheep graze. After some time, too many animals are allowed to graze on this shared land which results in overgrazing and soil erosion. Thus the land becomes unsuitable for any grazing animals. This parable can be related to any shared resource such as the atmosphere, oceans, rivers, fish stock, and more.

An ecological footprint is defined as the amount of biologically productive land and water needed to support a person. The per capita ecological footprint is the average ecological footprint of an individual in a given country or area. Most people in developed countries have an ecological footprint that exceeds the environment’s ability to replenish its renewable resources.

Conservationists advocate to manage resources for sustainable continued use by humans. Preservationists are in favor of prohibiting human usage rather than actively managing.

Feral animals often wreak havoc on ecosystems, particularly those that live in large social groups and/or are very destructive, such as hogs.

The Anthropocene, or Holocene, Extinction, describes the ongoing extinction of thousands of species during the current epoch. A majority of these extinctions are due to human causes, whether through direct overhunting or as a result of pollution and habitat loss. This extinction is expected to intensify over the next century as climate change speeds up and drastically alters many habitats.