Hypothesis/Env Bio/Phenology
This field studies the relationship between organisms and their environment, with particular emphasis on how human activity affect ecosystems
What is environmental biology
Biodiversity can be measured at 3 levels. One level of biodiversity refers to the variety of habitats, communities, and ecological processes within and between ecosystems.
What is ecosystem diversity
This describes the physical place or environment where an organism lives
What is habitat
Vehicle emissions is an example of this type of pollution
What is air pollution
This type of symbiotic relationship occurs when one organism benefits and the other is unharmed.
What is commensalism
A good hypothesis must have 2 characteristsics
What are testable and falsifiable
A community has 4 species and 20 total individuals. Community A has 85% of its individuals belonging to 1 species, while Community B has 25% of each species. Which community has a greater species evenness?
What is community B
Predation, competition, and disease are examples of these living components or interactions within an ecosystem.
What are biotic factors
Heavy metal deposits, decreased soil health, erosion, and underground coal fires are caused by this type of land pollution
What is mining
Glaciers of Alaska and Antarctica have what type of albedo
What is high albedo
This type or imagery allows scientists to study phenology at large geographic scales, using vegetation indices to quantify "greenness"
What is remote sensing
According to a specific hypothesis, biodiversity is expected to be highest at this level of disturbance because both colonizing and competitive species can coexist.
What is the intermediate disturbance hypothesis.
This describes how an organism interacts with its environment, including how it obtains resources and survives.
What is niche
This describes what happens to flood height after urbanization
increases or is more dramatic
This occurs when excess nutrients, usually from non-point source fertilizers, enter a water system and lead to an algal bloom.
What is eutrophication
A researcher notices that flowers in a population are appearing earlier each spring. Because phenology can respond to environmental conditions, this long-term pattern could be used to investigate this major environmental issue
What is climate change
This hypothesis predicts that higher biodiversity can reduce disease risk because pathogens are “diluted” among less competent hosts
What is the dilution effect hypothesis
Louisville falls into a specific biome. Identify it and list some characteristics common to this biome
Temperate deciduous forest. 4 distinct seasons, dominated by broadleaf trees, contains understory, and diverse fauna most of which participate in hibernation or other phenological events
This ingredient found in historical concrete can make it stronger when damaged/cracked, is not found in modern blends, and fixes these imperfections by a chemical reaction with water.
Limeclast, by a chemical reaction that causes recrystallization essentially fixing itself
UHI occur because cities replace natural vegetation with materials that absorb and trap heat. Identify some of these building materials and some consequences of increased temperatures in urban areas.
Asphalt or concrete; increased energy bills, blackout from increased energy requirements, health problems.
A scientist wants to determine whether climate change is causing plants to flower earlier. They compare flowering dates from 2025 and 2026 and find that flowering occurred 10 days earlier in 2026. Can the scientist conclude that climate change caused the shift? Explain why or why not.
No. You need more than 2 time points because year to year variation can influence phonological timing.
A forest experiences almost no disturbance for many years (15+), while another experiences extremely frequent severe disturbances (every 4-6 months). According to the IDH, why might both forests have relatively low biodiversity?
With low disturbance, competitive exclusion can allow a few dominant species to outcompete others. With high disturbance, only a few stress-tolerant species may survive. Intermediate disturbance allows both colonizing and competitive species to coexist.
A drought causes soil moisture to decrease, resulting in fewer plants growing in an area. In this example, identify the abiotic factor and the biotic response.
Abiotic factor: soil moisture/water availability. Biotic response: decreased plant growth/abundance.
Identify 4 of the 9 solutions to global change and choose 1 to describe in detail how it is a solution and what it may look like when used at a personal level (or family level)
divest from fossil fuels, renewable energy, sustainable transportation, reduce heating/cooling costs, modify farming practices, consume less meat, stop single-use plastics, protect/restore natural greenspaces, vote.
The purpose of Keegan Abeson's research
Main purpose is to see how air pollution from industrial chemical and plastic factories impact blood health and stress physiology in native songbirds