HSC 156 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: National Birth Control League, Population Connection, Permafrost
Study Guide for HSC 156 Exam #1
1. What is the difference between a hypothesis, a theory, and a scientific law?
• Hypothesis: Great uncertainty
• Theory: Tested and confirmed but some uncertainty
• Scientific Law: No uncertainty
2. Population growth & increasing consumption per person leads to what?
• Degradation of soils
• Global atmospheric changes
• Loss of biodiversity
3. Explain the concept of sustainability
• To be sustainable we must concern ourselves with how we live as a society and how we spend our money
• Linked with how we use our resources
4. What are 3 types of resources
• Renewable
• Somewhat Renewable
• Non-Renewable
5. What influenced the creation of the environmental movement?
• Realization that the unique, wild aspects of the US were disappearing
• Environmental groups formed, e.g., the Sierra Club
• After W.W.I, technological achievements created an environmental crisis
• 1920s Alice Hamilton fought big industry to stop the addition of lead to gasoline (and lost)
• The Great Depression made conservation popular again
6. What book contributed to the creation of EPA?
• “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson
7. What do we mean by the concept environmental unity?
• All species effects another species
• A change in one part of a system often leads to changes in other things
• EX: the destruction of one species can affect the survival of other species
8. What was the main finding about cichlids of Lake Vitoria?
• British created the term fish farming experiement
• Nile Perch were put into the lake and they ate all the cichlids
• Also, pollution from other lakes and rivers killed the fish
9. What factors influenced the collapse of Easter Island?
• All trees were cut down
• Contributed to erosion, loss of fish, poor crops
10. Explain the terms
• ecosystem
a. Grouping plants. Animals, and microbes that interact in the environment in a way to perpetrate
themselves
b. Biological community and it’s physical environment
• Biome
a. Large region with one distinct CLIMATE and specific for of life adapted to it
i. Desert, Prairie, Rain Forest
• Biosphere
a. All species and environments on Earth
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• Habitat
Kind of place where a species is biologically adapted to living
• Niche
a. A part of habitat that includes what and where an animal feeds on, where it finds shelter, and where it
nests
11. Describe the current status of the Chesapeake Bay:
• It does NOT get high grades for clarity and Oxygen
12. What is a keystone species?
• A species that has a large effect on a community or ecosystem
• The removal or destruction of this species will have serious ecological consequences
• EX: Grey Wolf
13. What is the “competitive exclusion principle?”
• No two species who attempt to compete for the same resources can coexist in the same habitat for very
long
• One species will go extinct or be forced to evolve
14. What are the “Categories of Organisms?”
• Producers (Autotrophs: make their own organic matter)
• Consumers (Heterotroph: must feed on organic matter)
• Detritus Feeders & Decomposers (Also Heterotrophs)
15. What are “abiotic factors?”
• Rainfall, Temperature, Light, Wind, Chemical Nutrients, pH, Fire
16. How do abiotic factors influence ecosystems?
• Abiotic Factors are critical
• Determine where certain plants, animals, and microbes live
17. Explain the concepts of “Optimum, Zones of Stress & Limits of Tolerance”
• Different Species thrive under different conditions
• Optimum is the perfect balance of abiotic factors
• Limits of tolerance=Range of tolerance
18. Explain the Law of Limiting Factors.
• Any one factor being outside the optimal range will cause stress and limit the growth, reproduction, or
even the survival of the population
i. If one abiotic factor is in stress and limited, it can damage the population
19. What two factors determine climate? How is weather different than climate?
• Temperature and Precipitation
• Weather is day to day
• Climate is over a period of time
20. Be able to explain the concepts of energy transfer and energy pyramids
• Starts with the energy that is produced by the sun
• Sun helps plants grow
• Small animals eat the plants
• Large animals eat the small animals
• Energy is lost at each step
• Important that the grass is taking in a lot of energy
i. Need lots of grass to support the rest of them
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