Environmental Understanding, Ethics & Philosophy
Content
Philosophies towards nature
Biocentric
Utilitarianism
Nihilism
Key Vocabulary
Aesthetics
Anthropocentric
Biocentric
Conservation
Ecocentric
Environmental Racism
Intrinsic (Inherent) value
Preservation
Nihilism
NIMBY (not in my backyard)
Toxic Colonialism
Universalists
Utilitarianism
Review Questions
Know the major philosophies regarding nature preservation.
Know general world population data such as total population, most populated countries and percent wealthy and acutely poor.
Matter, Energy and Life
Content
The flow of energy
Forms and quality of energy
Sources and sinks
Energy transfer and biomass
The cycling of matter
Water
Carbon: photosynthesis and respiration
Major nutrients
nitrogen
photosynthesis
Differences between cycling of major trace elements
Key Vocabulary
Abiotic
Aerobic respiration
Ammonification
Assimilation
Autotroph
Biomass
Biotic
Carbon cycle
Carnivore
Consumers
Decomposers
Denitrification
First law of thermodynamics
Food chain
Food web
Herbivore
Heterotroph
Legumes
Nitrification
Nitrogen fixation
Nutrient cycle
Nitrogen cycle
Omnivore
Phosphorous cycle
Photosynthesis
Primary consumer
Producer
Scavengers
Second law of thermodynamics
Secondary consumer
Species
Tertiary consumer
Trophic level
Review Questions
Know how the first and second law of thermodynamics govern ecosystem dynamics.
What is the difference between low and high quality energy?
Energy doesn’t recycle, but does matter?
Be able to make a food chain and food web for organisms in our area.
What are the major steps to the carbon cycle, nitrogen, phosphorus and water cycles? Which cycle slowly and which are quick?
What are the largest storage reservoirs for C, N, P and S?
Be able to diagram the tropic levels for organisms in our local ecosystem.
Know the names of each trophic level and be able to give examples.
Know the 10% rule of energy flow between trophic levels.
Biological Communities and Species Interaction
Content
Scientific Analysis
Observing the Natural World and developing Hypothesis
Controlled Experiments and Collecting Data
Modeling
Critical Interpretation of Data
Key Vocabulary
Abundance
Adaptation
Biome
Climax community
Commensalism
Competition
Control
Diversity
Ecological succession
Ecosystem
Edge Effects
Evolution
Genetic Drift
Habitat
Interspecific competition
Intraspecific competition
Keystone species
Limiting factor
Mutualism
Natural selection
Niche
Parasitism
Physiological
Pioneer species
Population
Predation
Primary productivity
Primary succession
Producers
Range of Tolerance
Resilience
Resource partitioning
Richness
Saprophytism
Secondary succession
Selective pressure
Species
Succession
Symbiosis
Tolerance limits
Variable
Review Questions
What are the various stages of ecological succession in our area?
What are the main types of species interactions?
What are the reasons for intraspecific and interspecific competition?
What is the relationship between physiological adaptations and evolutionary success?
Be able to differentiate between non-inheritable traits and genetically transferable ones in an organism.
What limits species abundance?
What factors influence community diversity?
How does abundance and diversity change in relation to latitude?
What are the differences between primary and secondary succession?
Know how to set up a controlled experiment to test a hypothesis. Be able to create a hypothetical experiment from beginning to end.
Biomes & Nature Preserve Management
Content
Ecological and Terrestrial Biomes
Deserts
Grasslands/ Savanna
Temperate Deciduous Forest
Tropical Rain Forest
Taiga
Tundra
Restoration Ecology
Preservationists vs. Restorationists
Restoration
Remediation
Mitigation
Ecosystem Management
Federal and State Agencies
Parks, Preserves and Refuges
Wildlife Preservation vs. Tourism
Mineral Extraction and Timber Company Rights
Fragmentation and Corridors
Wetlands
Development Pressures
Flood Control
Key Vocabulary
Biome
Coniferous
Corridors
Deciduous
Desert
Ecotourism
Ecosystem
Fragmentation
Habitat
Mitigate
Rainforest
Reclamation
Rehabilitation
Remediation
Restoration Ecology
Savanna
Taiga
Tundra
Wetlands
Essential Questions
A biome is a large distinct terrestrial region that shares which features in common?
What ARE the characteristics of each of the major biomes?
Where are the major biomes located?
What is the impact of park fragmentation on the diversity of the species?
What are the ways to protect, repair and manage ecological hot spots?
Why are wetlands so valuable as a resource?
What practices have NOT worked in controlling beach erosion?
Know the degree of restricted use (and multi-use) in
a. National Forest & National Resource lands,
b. National Wildlife Refuges,
c. National Wilderness Preservation System & National Parks
How has land use changed throughout human history?
What are some modern threats to our national parks?
What are some examples of environmental remediation versus migitation?
Biodiversity and Land Use
Content
Genetic Diversity
Hot Spots of the World
Loss of Biodiversity
Endangered and Extinct Species
Habitat Destruction
Habitat Fragmentation
Exotic Species Introduction
Successful Comebacks
World Land Use
Land Use Distribution
Residential, commercial, agricultural, wilderness
Forest Land Use and Abuse
Temperate Forests
Tropical Jungles
Range lands
Sustainable Forestry
Key Vocabulary
Biodiversity
CITES (Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna)
Clear-cutting
Deforestation
Desertification
Endangered species
Endangered Species Act (ESA)
Exotic species
Extinction
Overgrazing
Selective Cutting
Threatened species
Essential Questions
How do the mass extinctions in the pass differ from the rate of biodiversity loss experienced today? (Know the geological name of our present time period).
How long does it take biodiversity to recover after a mass extinction?
What are the major challenges to preserving the biodiversity on the planet?
What are some of the negative results of deforestation?
What characteristics do most endangered species share in terms of territory size requirements? What other features do many endangered species have in common?
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) identifies threatened and endangered species in the US and puts their protection ahead of _____________ considerations.
What are some of the shortcoming of the ESA and what might be a better way to successfully protect species?
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) lists species that cannot be commercially ___________ as live specimens or wildlife products.
Why do exotic species have such a field day in their new environment?
Population Dynamics
Content
Population Ecology
Exponential growth and Doubling Time
Population Oscillations
Carrying capacity
Catastrophic Populations Decline
Factors that Increase or Decrease Populations
Factors that Regulate Population Growth
Density-dependent/Density-independent factors
Key Vocabulary
Arithmetic Growth
Biotic potential
Carrying capacity
Dieback
Density-dependent factor
Density-independent factor
Exponential increase
Environmental resistance
J-curve
K strategist
Overshoot
Population explosion
Population density
R strategist
S-curve
Survivorship
Essential Questions
Be able to interpret J and S-curve population curve diagrams.
How do you estimate the population of groups of organisms in a large area using the capture-recapture techniques?
What factors might regulate the biotic potential of an organism?
What are the differences between r-strategists and k-strategists?
Human Populations
Content
Population Growth
History of Human Population
Demographics- birth rates, death rates, life expectancy
Developing Countries
Developed Countries
Impact on Resources
Carrying Capacity- local, regional and global
Population Projections and Solutions
Estimated Demographic Transitions
Fertility Decline in Rich Countries
Cairo Conference
Female Education and Economic Status
Family Planning
Key Vocabulary
Age structure
Age structure histograms
Birth rates
Birth control
Crude birth rate
Crude death rate
Death rate
Demography
Developed countries
Developing countries
Doubling time
Infant mortality
Malthus
Replacement fertility level
Rule of 70
Survival Curves
ZPG (Zero Population Growth)
Essential Questions
What is the present population of the world?
What are some possible solutions to the soaring world population growth?
How does the growth rate of humans affect the use of world resources and health of the environment?
How do age structure diagrams, birth rates, death rates, infant mortality, male to female ratios and population growth change as a developing society becomes more industrialized?
How do you calculate the doubling time and the growth rate of human populations given birth and death rates?
What factors affect the birth and death rates of a society?
Environmental Health and Toxicology
Content
Environmental Quality Impact on Human Health
agents: biological and chemical
effects
acute vs. chronic
dose-response relationships
relative risks
evaluation and response
Key Vocabulary
Acute
Asbestos fibers
Background radiation
Bioaccumulation
Biomagnification
Chronic
Half-life
HAZMAT (hazardous material)
LD50
Morbidity
Mortality
Mutagenic
Radioactive decay
Radioisotope
Threshold level of toxicity
Toxicology
Essential Questions
What are the biggest biological and chemical threats to human life? How do the threats to Americans differ from people who live in places like Mali, India or Iraq!
What are the most tragic cases of life lost by toxic disasters around the world?
How do you measure the concentration of the toxicity of a substance? Know your conversions from ppm to ppb!
ex. 550 parts per million (ppm) would be equivalent to
a. 5.5 ppb
b. 55 ppb
c. 5.500 ppb
d. 55,000 ppb
e. 550,000 ppb
What is the significance of the LD50 dose and the threshold level of toxicity?
How does the damage to an organism differ between a chronic and an acute dose of a toxin?
What information is given in a dose-response curve graph?
A mutagen, teratogen and carcinogen all affect humans in what ways? Would that be considered a hereditary illness?
How does the amount of radioactive material change with each consecutive half life?
Environmental Geology
Content
Geologic History and Time Scale
Plate Tectonics
Volcanism
Earthquakes
Rocks and Minerals
Rock Cycle
Economic Geology: mineral ore extraction
Conservation
Key Vocabulary
Convergent plate boundary
Divergent plate boundary
Erosion
Ore
Plate tectonics
Strip mining
Subduction
Tectonic plates
Weathering
Essential Questions
How did plate tectonics affect the diversity of organisms in terms of habitat change and evolution?
How do volcanic eruptions affect weather patterns?
How does the pattern of volcanoes and earthquakes relate to plate tectonics?
What major land forms are created by the different types of plate boundaries.
Know the major periods and eras of the Earth’s history and when each major life form appeared.
Know how each rock type formed and what are the most common elements in the Earth’s crust.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of surface mining?
Food and Agriculture
Content
Agriculture and the Culture of Eating
History of Agriculture
Subsidence Agriculture
Industrial Agriculture
Hunger and Obesity
Food and other Agricultural Products
Soil Science
Soil Types in different Biomes
Soil Horizons
Soil Degradation
Water Erosion
Wind Erosion
Pollution of Soil
Food Scarcity Solutions
Soil Conservation
Genetic Engineering
Sustainable Agriculture
Key Vocabulary
Aquaculture
Biotechnology
Capillary action
Compost
Contour plowing
Crop rotation
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)
Green revolution
Humus
Illuviation
Infiltration
Industrial Revolution
Leaching
Loam
Monoculture
No-till agriculture
Organic Food
Organic Fertilizer
Parent Material
Percolation
Sand
Sediment
Slash-and-burn agriculture
Soil Horizons
Strip cropping
Subsistence farming
Subsoil
Sustainable agriculture
Terracing
Topsoil
Weathering
Essential Questions
What are the ways to retard soil erosion in agriculture?
What are the methods of mechanical and chemical weathering?
How is soil formed? How is humus formed?
What is the order of sediments from larger to smallest?
How do you identify the different soil types using the texture test?
What are the soil horizons in a soil profile?
What kinds of soil hold water?
What do the three numbers on fertilizer packages refer to?
What components of the soil are important for growing healthy plants?
What kinds of soil hold the most water? Which kinds drain the fastest?
Why is monoculture and decreased genetic diversity in crops a problem in todays agriculture?
Should humans eat high or low on the food chain to lessen the impact on limited land resources?
Pest Control
Content
History of Pesticide Use and Abuse
Pesticide Benefits
Pesticide Problems
DDT
Super Bugs
Effects on Nontarget Species
Alternatives to Pesticides
Integrated Pest Management
Key Vocabulary
Biological control
Broad-spectrum pesticide
Chlorinated hydrocarbons
ex. DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane)
Fungicide
Herbicide
Host specific
Insecticide
IPM (integrated pest management)
Natural chemical control
Nonpersistent
Non-point sources
Organophosphate Pesticide (ex. Malathion)
Persistent
Pesticide Treadmill
POP (persistent organic pollutants)
Resistance
Second generation pesticide
Essential Questions
How do you measure the success of a pesticide?
How are pesticides classified?
What are the benefits of pesticide use?
What are the negative effects of pesticide use?
What are some alternatives to pesticides?
What are some examples of IPM?