APES unit 8. Global Change

Introduced species only become pests because they….

• increase biodiversity, because they attract new species to places where they settle.

• have a low genetic variability, enabling them to live in a wide variety of habitats

• can live in many niches, easily adapt to many variables, and eat a wide variety of food

• inhabit only niches that have recently become available after the local extinction of another species.

The biggest threat to biodiversity is

• asteroid strikes, such as what happened 65 million years ago, resulting in the extinction of the dinosaurs

• habitat destruction, such as cutting down portions of tropical rain forests, which destroys the niches occupied by organisms in that habitat

• human population growth, because as population increases, so does the number of plants and animals they eat, resulting in a decrease in those organisms

• an increase in climate change, because it will result in many species moving northward or to higher elevations as they seek out their necessary habitat

Which of the following would prevent invasive species from being introduced and becoming established?

• Inspect foreign goods before they enter the country

• Allow ships to discharge their ballast water when they enter port

• Establish international treaties banning the transfer of species across borders

Which of the following international treaties bans the hunting, capturing, and selling of threatened or endangered species in 178 countries?

• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)

• The National Marine Fisheries Act

• International Environmental Policy Act (IEPA)

• Endangered Species Act (ESA)

Which is not a trait of an invasive nonnative species?

• No natural predators

• Generalist

• High reproductive rate (r strategist)

• Unsuccessful at establishing itself in the environment

One reason for the decline in recent years of global fish catch is

• approximately 4 million fishing boats use modern technology to hunt vast numbers of fishes in open ocean.

• invasive species, especially those introduced in ballast water, prey upon and destroy the habitat of native fishes.

• bottom trawling scrapes the ocean floor, destroying habitats where many fishes live.

What is fishprint?

• The impact a fish species has on its environment

• The impact the fishing industry has on the environment

• Area of ocean needed to sustain the consumption of an average person, nation, or world

Which of the below has a cooling effect on the earth's atmosphere?

• Aerosols such as sulfate particles

• Condensation trails left by jet planes

• Particulate matter from burning grasslands and forests

• Water condensation on planes

Which of the following is an unavoidable effect of the current warming trend of the earth?

• Flooding of the low-lying cities and island nations

• Bleaching of the coral reefs and spread of deserts

• Melting of the permafrost and tundra, releasing methane gas

• Collapse of the Amazon rain forest

Which of the below is a positive feedback mechanism that could be accelerating the warming of the earth's atmosphere?

• Severe drought, causing the earth to be browner and absorb more radiation

• Spraying of sulfate particles in the atmosphere, reflecting light

• Absorption of CO2 by the oceans

• Changing of ocean currents, carrying heat to different places