🏷️ LIMITED TIME OFFER: GET 20% OFF GRADE+ YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION →
Log in
HomeClass Notes1,200,000CA670,000

REN R440 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Discrete Event Simulation, Secondary Succession, Primary Succession

28 views3 pages
School
University of Alberta
Department
Renewable Resources
Course
REN R440
Professor
Nadir Erbilgin

For unlimited access to Class Notes, a Class+ subscription is required.

Document Summary

Disturbance: a discrete event in time and space that alters the structure of populations, communities, ecosystems and/or changes resources, substrate availability or the physical environment. The physical characteristics of that event (frequency, intensity, extent) The short or long term consequences of that event through ecosystem response or succession. Curiosity about the environment and dramatic disruptions of it. To understand the patterns of disturbances and of recovery. To conserve biodiversity from damage caused by disturbances. Natural: fires, floods, insect & disease epidemics, winds, volcanoes, landslides, ice storms, glaciers. Anthropogenic: agriculture, mine tailing, oil sands, pipelines, mine slurry, logging, urbanization, highways, road construction, powerlines, air pollution, toxic elements. Frequency: number of similar disturbance events at a given location per unit time, measured with return intervals, small scale events occur more frequently than large scale events (eg grassland fires vs forest fires or earthquakes vs volcanic eruptions)

Get access

Grade+20% off
$8 USD/m$10 USD/m
Billed $96 USD annually
Grade+
Homework Help
Study Guides
Textbook Solutions
Class Notes
Textbook Notes
Booster Class
40 Verified Answers
Class+
$8 USD/m
Billed $96 USD annually
Class+
Homework Help
Study Guides
Textbook Solutions
Class Notes
Textbook Notes
Booster Class
30 Verified Answers

Related Documents

REN R440
Midterm Exam
Study Guide
REN R440 Study Guide - Comprehensive Midterm Guide: Soil Horizon, Soil Ph, Soil Chemistry
bronzereindeer421
REN R440 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Fauna, Denitrification, Microfauna
bronzereindeer421
REN R440 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Eutrophication
bronzereindeer421

Related Questions

1.

What is a method that some ecologists have proposed to protectspecies from extinction in the face of global climate change?

  1. natural attenuation
  2. assisted migration
  3. bioremediation
  4. mitigation
  5. adaptive management

2.

Why is it usually not possible to restore a community to itspre-altered state?

  1. It is not always possible to determine the kinds of speciesthat populated a community.
  2. Invasive species compromise restoration.
  3. Climate change complicates restoration.
  4. Evolutionary trajectories cannot be predicted.
  5. All answers are correct.

3.

How is ecological restoration different from restorationecology?

  1. It considers cultural and societal concerns.
  2. It does not rely on ecological principles.
  3. It cannot be predicted.
  4. It does not involve manipulation of the environment.
  5. All answers are correct.

4.

What is the goal of assisted migration?

  1. to help species respond to climate change
  2. to help species learn new seasonal migration routes
  3. to help migrating species avoid human-made structures
  4. to help native species tolerate restoration efforts
  5. All answers are correct.

5.

Which of the following might serve to enhance habitat in arestoration project?

  1. a dead log in a stream
  2. a concrete water control structure in an estuary
  3. removal of a dam
  4. an artificial nesting box
  5. All answers are correct.

6.

Biologists want to restore a region that experienced stripmining. How will bacteria assist in the restoration?

  1. They will restore the biotic parts of a community.
  2. They will enhance adaptive management.
  3. They will remove harmful metals.
  4. They will improve revegetation.
  5. They will remove the source of the disturbance.

7.

A barge has leaked a small amount of oil in the middle of LakeMichigan. What might be the best solution to clean it up?

  1. Add molasses to stimulate bacterial action.
  2. Leave it alone.
  3. Introduce engineered bacteria.
  4. Add microorganisms not normally found in the lake.
  5. Launch a comprehensive restoration effort.

8.

Before deciding on an appropriate restoration strategy for aparticular degraded ecosystem, which information would be LEASTimportant to have?

  1. the goals of the restoration, in terms of biodiversity andecosystem functioning
  2. the degree to which the ecosystem has been degraded whencompared to a reference ecosystem
  3. the types of species that were present before thedegradation
  4. the social, political and economic constraints on therestoration
  5. None of the answers are correct.

9.

A biologist works to restore habitat during a restorationproject. Which of the following might serve to enhance thehabitat?

  1. a dead log in a stream
  2. a concrete water control structure in an estuary
  3. removal of a dam
  4. an artificial nesting box
  5. All answers are correct.
  6. 10.
  7. Restoration ecologists want to restore a landscape to itsoriginal state before humans arrived and altered it, but they donot know what species of plants lived there historically. What isthe best alternative?
  8. Import plants from other ecosystems at the same latitude.
  9. Bioremediate the soil.
  10. Use plants growing nearby.
  11. Use assisted migration.
  12. Let nature take its course.

11.

Biologists begin collecting native seeds in a seed bank in aregion that experienced considerable alteration. Describe thebenefits of taking this action for the future.

  1. It is important to collect samples of native seeds for culturalpurposes.
  2. Biologists can use the seeds to restore other regions atsimilar latitudes.
  3. If the region is heavily altered, it may take time and multiplesteps to restore the region. Collecting the seeds while they areavailable ensures that the biologists can use them later in therestoration process.
  4. The see bank will promote the assisted migration of plants fromhabitats made unsuitable by climate change.
  5. All answers are correct.

12.

Although disturbance is often thought of as a detriment tonatural ecosystem functioning, one type of disturbance, fire, isoften used to restore ecological communities. In what way(s) canfire restore ecological communities?

  1. Fire is an effective way to "clean the slate" of the ecosystemby burning plants and sterilizing the soil so that appropriatemitigation and bioremediation plans can be implemented.
  2. In ecosystems where fire is a natural periodic event, fire cankill many non-native plant species while leaving native speciesless influenced.
  3. Fire can suppress the growth of competitive dominant plants,such as shrubs and trees, increasing the diversity of certainecosystems.
  4. All answers are correct.
  5. None of the answers are correct.

1.What is an ecological footprint? What is the greatestcontribution that you make to your footprint? How could you reduceit?

2. Are humans a keystone species? Support your answer.

3. Why does community connectedness matter?

4. Why does community change matter?

5. What kind of environmental features favor pioneer species,what kind favor climax/late succession species? What kinds ofadaptations favor pioneer species, and what kinds favor climaxspecies?

5. What do we mean when we say that landscapes are stable?

6. What would a community ecologist be able to learn from the USCensus?

7. What does evolution have to do with community ecology?

8. What role does disturbance play in ecology? Giveexamples.

9. You will be expected to be able to calculate species richnessand determine evenness and species diversity indices.

10. You will be expected to make a connection between carryingcapacity, population growth, and community succession in NewJersey.

11. What are the factors that can or could influence thecarrying capacity of NJ?

12. Rank the following three factors in terms of their impact onhuman carrying capacity: space availability, food availability,money availability.

13. Why are some invasive species more successful (i.e. havegreater fitness) in their introduced environment compared to theirnative environment?

14. What is global change about and how do our actions affectit? How is NJ going to be affected by global change?

15. Why, if it is summer in the southern hemisphere and winterin the northern hemisphere, do we see an overall increase in globalCO2 concentrations?

16. What is a dead zone and how is it created? What humanactivity (ies) help create a dead zone?

17. How would a fire that burns most of a forest affect theenergy, water, nutrient, and carbon cycles?

18. What are ecosystem services? Give an example of two.

19. Show how the energy and carbon cycles are inter-related.Explain what is happening in your diagram.

20. You need to be able to explain why nitrogen is important andwhy too much nitrogen is bad.

21. Which gas is more important for global warming:CO2 or methane? Why?

22. What are the major carbon sinks and sources on earth?

23. What evidence do we have that CO2 concentration of theatmosphere has increased in the last 200 years and what evidence dowe have that that increase is due to human activity?

24. What is happening to our oceans in response to the increasein CO2 in the atmosphere. Be complete, there is more than one partto this answer.

25. How do we know that global warming is and will have animpact on populations, communities, and ecosystems?

26. Given what we know about Japanese knotweed, global change,and human activity, explain the interactions and consequences ofJapanese knotweed invasion on our water supply. You need toinclude, the physiology of the plant, the population ecology of theplant, the water cycle (ecosystems), and global change.

27. Regional climate change models predict that this area willget warmer and receive more rainfall. They also predict thatagriculture (i.e. growing plants) will suffer. Explain why. Becomplete in your answer. There are several factors at workhere.

28. Why are sea-levels increasing globally? Give a detailedanswer. What are some likely consequences going to be (other thanlosing land).