Invasive Species
What is an invasive species?
A non-native species that spreads and causes harm to the environment, economy, or human health.
What does CAFO stand for?
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation.
What is the main greenhouse gas released by cars and trucks?
Carbon dioxide (CO₂).
What is an ecosystem?
A community of living organisms and their physical environment interacting together.
What is genetic biodiversity?
The variety of genes within a species.
How do invasive species reduce biodiversity?
They outcompete native species for resources, disrupt food chains, and alter habitats.
What major greenhouse gas is released by cows during digestion?
Methane (CH₄).
What is habitat fragmentation and how is it caused by transportation?
It's when roads and development break up ecosystems, isolating wildlife populations.
Name three types of ecosystems.
Forest, desert, and wetlands, etc
What is habitat fragmentation?
When a large habitat is broken into smaller, isolated patches.
Why are invasive species hard to remove once introduced?
They often have no natural predators in the new environment and can reproduce rapidly.
How does industrial agriculture contribute to biodiversity loss?
It causes habitat destruction, pollution, and soil degradation.
What type of transportation emits the most greenhouse gases per mile traveled?
Airplanes (aviation).
What term describes the variety of ecosystems within a geographic area?
Ecosystem biodiversity.
Define ecosystem services.
Benefits humans get from ecosystems, like clean water, pollination, and climate regulation.
Name one invasive species that has caused damage in the United States.
Zebra mussels, kudzu, Burmese pythons, or cane toads.
How do CAFOs indirectly impact aquatic biodiversity?
Waste runoff from CAFOs can lead to nutrient pollution and dead zones in nearby water bodies, harming aquatic life.
What is the name of the harmful air pollutant from vehicle emissions that contributes to smog and respiratory issues?
Nitrogen oxides (NOₓ).
What is ecological succession?
The natural process of change in species structure and ecosystem development over time.
What is genetic drift, and how does it affect biodiversity?
A random change in gene frequencies in a population, which can reduce genetic variation over time.
What ecological concept explains how invasive species can alter entire ecosystems by changing nutrient cycling, fire regimes, or hydrology?
Ecosystem engineering – when a species significantly modifies, maintains, or creates habitats, often disrupting natural ecosystem processes.
What is the term for the amount of land, water, and resources needed to produce food, especially meat, and how does it relate to sustainability?
Ecological footprint – Meat has a high ecological footprint because it requires more land, water, and energy compared to plant-based foods, making it less sustainable for the environment.
What is the term for the measurement used to compare the climate impact of different greenhouse gases from transportation, and what gas is it based on?
Global Warming Potential (GWP) – It measures how much heat a greenhouse gas traps in the atmosphere compared to carbon dioxide (CO₂), which has a GWP of 1.
What is the term for a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its ecosystem relative to its abundance, often shaping ecosystem structure and biodiversity?
Keystone species.
What is ecosystem resilience, and how does biodiversity influence it?
Ecosystem resilience is the ability of an ecosystem to recover from disturbances; higher biodiversity often increases resilience by providing multiple species that can perform similar ecological roles.