Populations & Demographics
the term for the model that shows changes in birth and death rates as a country develops through stages
What is Demographic transition model?
This revolution is most associated with steam power and mass production
What is Industrial Revolution?
the main goal of many genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture
What is to increase crop yields and resistance to pests/disease?
This defines a keystone species and why is it important
What is a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its ecosystem relative to its abundance, and it's important because its presence helps maintain structure and diversity?
This energy use change during the Industrial Revolution most increased greenhouse gas emissions?
What is increased use of coal and other fossil fuels, raising carbon dioxide emissions?
In the demographic transition, this stage is characterized by both low birth and low death rates and a stable population
What is Stage 4?
This revolution brought vaccines, antibiotics, and improvements in public health that helped populations grow
What is the Industrial Revolution?
Explain what a monoculture is and why can it make the food supply more vulnerable
What is growing a single crop over large area; it reduces genetic/crop diversity making fields vulnerable to pests/diseases?
This is how invasive species usually affect biodiversity and ecosystem resilience
What is they typically outcompete native species, reducing biodiversity and destabilizing food webs?
Give one example of how using renewable energy can support economic growth while protecting the environment.
What is investing in solar or wind creates jobs, reduces air pollution, and lowers long-term energy costs while lessening greenhouse gas emissions?
the age-structure diagram shape (expanding, stationary, contracting) that shows a large base of young people and rapid population growth
What is Expanding?
Identify one major innovation of the Technological Revolution that changed communication globally.
What are satellites and the internet?
The agricultural trend that saw large increases in global use in late 20th century and often relied on high-yield crop varieties, irrigation, and fertilizers
What is the Green Revolution?
The reason why endemic species are especially important to protect for ecosystem stability
What is endemics fill unique ecological roles in their native habitats, and their loss can remove functions that other species cannot replace?
Explain why burning more coal for short-term energy needs can harm both human health and global climate (two effects).
What is coal burning increases particulate pollution (respiratory problems) and releases CO2 (greenhouse gas causing warming)?
Explain how rapid urbanization usually affects living conditions and environmental quality in cities
What is urbanization often increases pollution, strains infrastructure, and can lower living standards if growth outpaces services; but it can also increase access to jobs and services if managed?
Compare briefly how the Agricultural Revolution and the Industrial Revolution each affected human populations and the environment (one sentence each)
What are the Agricultural Revolution: improved farming, more stable food supply, population growth; and the Industrial Revolution: mechanization, increased fossil fuel use, urbanization, pollution?
Describe one environmental benefit and one potential environmental risk of GMO adoption.
What are Benefit: can increase yields and reduce land needed for farming; and Risk: may reduce biodiversity and create reliance on specific seeds/chemicals, potential gene flow to wild species?
the role of an indicator species in monitoring ecosystem health
What is indicator species signal ecosystem health by their presence/absence or population trends?
This is how developed countries generally differ from developing countries in education, economy, and life expectancy
What is developed countries have higher average education levels, stronger economies, better healthcare and longer life expectancy while developing countries have higher birth rates, younger populations, and lower per-capita income.
Given a country where fertility rates fall quickly from well above replacement level to below replacement level over a few decades, these demographic transition processes (list two) most likely caused this decline
What are industrialization/urbanization and improved healthcare/education leading to lower fertility?
Explain why human innovations have increased population size but also increased stress on global ecosystems (give two reasons).
What are Innovations increased food production, medicine, and technology (raising carrying capacity) but also led to habitat loss, pollution, and higher resource consumption?
Based on population growth outpacing food production, these are two strategies countries can use to help ensure food security sustainably.
What are adopt sustainable intensification (precision agriculture, soil conservation), reduce food waste, diversify crops, support agroecology and local food systems?
Describe how removal of a keystone species can alter an ecosystem’s food web and give one real or hypothetical example.
What is removal can lead to trophic cascades, loss of habitat complexity, and collapse of dependent species? (example: sea otters removed → sea urchin population explodes → kelp forests decline)
Propose two policy or technology approaches a country could take to balance economic growth with reducing air and water pollution.
What are implement stronger emissions standards and pollution controls; invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency; and adopt green urban planning and public transit?