Human Impact on the Environment

Human Impact on the Environment

Human impact on the environment includes impacts on biophysical environments, biodiversity, and other resources. The term is sometimes used in the context of pollution emissions that are produced as a result of human activities but applies broadly to all major human impacts on the environment.

Biodiversity

• Refers to the variety of life (plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms) on earth

• Biodiversity is typically greater near the equator

• Tropical Rainforest biome has the greatest amount of biodiversity

• 3 types of biodiversity

  • genetic diversity

  • species diversity

  • ecosystem diversity

Biodiversity is important because.......

• A larger number of plant species means a greater variety of crops

• biodiversity provides functioning ecosystems that supply oxygen, clean air and water, pollination of plants, pest control, wastewater treatment and many ecosystem services

• Healthy ecosystems can better withstand and recover from a variety of disasters.

Multiple Choice

MAIN greenhouse gas responsible for Climate Change is:

• nitrogen

• carbon

• carbon dioxide

• methane

Multiple Choice

Which natural process removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?

• forest fires

• volcanic eruptions

• cellular respiration

• photosynthesis

Multiple Choice

Possible human solutions for limiting global warming and climate change are...

• being more energy-efficient

• using renewable sources of energy

• removing carbon from fossil fuel emissions

• all of the above

Multiple Choice

Which human activity contributes the MOST carbon dioxide to the atmosphere?

• fishing

• farming

• breathing

• burning fossil fuels

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is the best conclusion that can be made from this graph?

• atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have been decreasing since 1960

• Hawaii has a lot of carbon dioxide

• humans have been working hard to decrease carbon dioxide levels

• atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have increased steadily since 1960

Multiple Choice

An increase in the use of fossil fuels has increased the amount of sulfur compounds in Earth’s atmosphere. Which of these is a direct result of the increased amount of sulfur in the atmosphere? 

• an increase in acid rain

•  an increase in severe storms 

• an increase in global warming 

• an increase in the rate of ozone depletion 

Multiple Choice

When fertilizers run off farmland into streams and ponds, the nitrogen content of the water increases. This can lead to rapid growth of algae in a process called eutrophication. How can this process affect other organisms in the water?

• Oxygen is used up as algae is decomposed, reducing the amount available to other organisms.

• The water becomes better able to support aerobic organisms.

• The algae provide food for fishes and other organisms, leading to decreased algae populations.

• The extra nitrogen provides additional food for the other organisms, increasing their population.

Multiple Choice

Industries often spring up along major rivers, such as the Willamette in Central Oregon. Some of these industries used PCBs (toxic, cancer-causing chemicals), which are not biodegradable. If PCBs escaped into the river in large amounts and entered the lower levels of the food chain, what would be the likely outcome? 

• All species, except scavengers such as riparian crustaceans, would be harmed by the PCBs.

•   Only the small fish and crustaceans that are most exposed to the PCBs would be significantly harmed. 

•  Over time, PCBs would collect in top predators such as salmon, making them unsafe for human consumption. 

•  The PCBs would become harmless as they break down over time with exposure to the forces of nature and the environment. 

Multiple Choice

The zebra mussel is a highly invasive species that was accidentally introduced to the Great Lakes region of the United States in the 1980s. The map below shows the distribution of zebra mussels in 2010.  

What is the primary reason the  large-scale spread of zebra mussels concerns scientists? 

• Zebra mussels are a freshwater species. 

•  Zebra mussels are a desired food  for humans. 

•  Zebra mussels are eaten by some fish and birds. 

•  Zebra mussels outcompete native mussel species. 

Multiple Choice

A strip mining company wants to lease some land that is currently part of a national park. They promise to reclaim the land should any minerals be mined from the area, and they are willing to pay top dollar for the rights. As an ecologist, what factors would you raise with the local government?

• the threat to local biodiversity

• management of the land after the company leaves

• the new jobs that would be created

• the increased traffic in the area

Multiple Choice

The northern elephant seal was almost hunted to extinction in the 1800s. By the late 1890s, approximately one hundred seals were left, reducing the gene pool of the population. What will be the consequence of this reduction?

• Competition within the population will increase.

• The surviving elephant seals will be better able to adapt.

• Inbreeding will be less frequent among the remaining population.

• The elephant seals will be more vulnerable to environmental change.

Multiple Choice

How do invasive plants damage the environment?

• Compete with native species

• Change plant community

• Alter diversity

• All of these

Multiple Choice

The threat to biodiversity that occurs when the homes of different species are destroyed

• pollution

• habitat destruction

• overexploitation

• climate change

Multiple Choice

What are the effects of deforestation ?

• loss of habitat

• increased green house gasses 

• soil erosion and flooding

• all of the above

Multiple Choice

Identify the process shown in this diagram.

• Extinction

• Toxin Accumulation

• Pollution

• Biomagnification

Multiple Choice

Which organism in the food web would

contain the highest concentration of chemical pollutants?

• producers

• primary consumers

• secondary consumers

• tertiary consumers