Unit 5 Blog Post- The Human Population

Vocabulary-

CBR- crude birth rate shows the # of births per year per 1,000 people
CDR- crude death rate shows the # of deaths per year per 1,000 people
TFR- total fertility rate shows the # of children born to a woman per year
Replacement Level Fertility- describes the # of children a woman should have to replace herself and her husband which averages at 2.1
Population Momentum- population growth at the national level that would occur even if levels of childbearing immediately declined to replacement level
Net Migration Rate- difference of immigrants and emigrants of an area divided per 1,000 people
Family Planning- program to regulate the # of children in a family through birth control
Affluence- amount of wealth a nation has
IPAT Equation- human impact (I) on the environment equals of population (P) times affluence (A) times technology (T)
GDP- total market value of all the goods and services produced by a nation
Population Pyramid- 

Making Connections-

1-2- At this point there will be very little environmental impact due to a smaller population and less resources being used. Most land used for farming.
2-3- Massive increase in land usage due to larger population. Much more resource usage but pollution kept somewhat low still.
3-4- Massive increase in land usage due to almost maxed out population. Resource and pollution at near peak. Most land consumed by cities and industry.

Current Event-

http://nypost.com/2014/11/11/8-indian-women-die-20-more-injured-after-sterilization-surgery/
On November eleventh, 28 women were rushed to private hospitals. The week before the government gave sterilization surgery to 83 poor women all under the age of 32. They were all paid ten dollars to participate. Compensation payments of about $6,600 were given to the families. Eight died and the other 20 were worked on to try to save them. At the time the article was written they had not yet figured out the cause. Three government doctors and the surgeon were suspended.

If the operations had gone well and without the injuries and deaths then it would help the severely overpopulated India. With the fact that most fathers want a son over a daughter they continue to try to have children until they get the son they want. With more successful sterilization it can cease this careless overpopulating. Sterilization can be very dangerous though as found out in the article. If performed incorrectly it can cause problems for the women that had them.

Big Picture Reflection-

Human Impact- The world's population is directly impacted by humans. The more children reproduced the larger the population of humans. If growth is too fast or too slow it can either wipe out resources or leave too much of unneeded resources. Larger populations that continue to grow tend to put out more pollution while smaller populations tend to live off of the land.
Environmental Impact- When populations grow and are able to easily sustain themselves they start to develop technology that is more for ease of life than for survival purposes. When this happens big industries form and can cause tons of pollution in the area. Although when they get big enough they may try to stop pollution from spreading it sill won't be entirely stopped. In rising up nations that enter industrial ages, pollution can become a permanent issue like what is happening in China.
Economic Impact- Larger, more advanced technologically, nations tend to spend tons of money on recreational products that stimulate economies. Smaller nations tend to not spend as much money and rely instead on growing crops. Growing nations either spend tons of money on not growing too big or on industry. The nations attempting to stop growth spend money on keeping conception of children down with either laws or perks if families are kept smaller.
Government Legislation- In China a one child policy has been in affect for years. It stated that families may only have one child but recently it has had some excuses. One way families could get away with having two children would be if neither parents had siblings. To prevent more overgrowing in India the government has been offering free classes on parenting education for newlyweds.

Unit 4 Blog Entry

 

Vocab:
Species Richness- number of species in a given area

Species Evenness- relative proportion of different species in a given area

Microevolution- evolution occurring below the species level

Macroevolution- evolution that gives rise to new species, genera, families, classes, or phyla

Evolution by Natural Selection- change in the genetic composition of a population over time as a result of the environment determining which individuals are most likely to survive and reproduce

Evolution by Artificial Selection- change in the genetic composition of a population over time as a result of humans selecting which individuals breed, typically with a preconceived set of traits in mind

Allopatric Speciation- process of speciation that occurs with geographic isolation

Sympatric Speciation- evolution of one species into two, without geographic isolation

Genetically Modified Organisms- organism produced by copying genes from a species with a desirable trait and inserting them into another species

Fundamental Niche- suite of ideal environmental conditions for a species

Exponential Growth Model- growth model that estimates a population's future size after a period of time, based on the intrinsic growth rate and the number of reproducing individuals currently in the population

Logistic Growth Model- growth model that describes a population whose growth is initially exponential, but slows as the population approaches the carrying capacity of the environment

Carrying Capacity- limit of how many individuals in a population the food supply can sustain
 

Keystone Species- species that is far more important in its community than its relative abundance might suggest

 

Current Event:
Biodiversity Hotspot- biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans; they are important because they contain a large amount of genetically varied species but could be destroyed
My hotspot is located in the Caribbean Islands and it has ecosystems ranging from montane cloud forests to cactus shrublands 
Endemic Species- species restricted to a certain area; Caribbean mahogany and Cuban solenodon
Deforestation is a huge problem there and is causing destruction of the only habitat most of the species can live in; the bringing in of certain alien species that invade, push out the native species
Efforts have been made to try to make certain areas protected and made into conservations

Pick A Side:
The fundamental niche of a species can both provide a perfect ecosystem and use a perfect ecosystem needed for life to survive. If more species can reach this than the species richness will increase. If the keystone species can undergo enough microevolutions to best fit the location than the ecosystem will follow the logistic growth model until the carrying capacity is reached.

Big Picture Reflection:
Human Impact- Humans can change the way species are when they artificially modify specific organisms into their own desirable species. They can also cause geographic isolation when they cut down trees and destroy parts of ecosystems.
Environmental Impact- When an organism reaches its fundamental niche it can rise up to the carrying capacity allowing for it to be preyed on more or allowing it to control other populations. Through natural selection, species could prosper or die off.
Economic Impact- When new breeds are introduced with artificial selection, they can be sold for higher prices than previous, more common breeds.
 Government Legislation- Laws are put in place to protect environments such as the biodiversity hotspots mentioned above. The efforts to keep the species richness up have grown in numbers over the years as more species reach endangered status.

Unit 3- Ecosystem Ecology

Vocabulary-

Ecosystem- particular location on Earth distinguished by its mix of biotic and abiotic components

Gross Primary Productivity- total amount of solar energy that the producers get via photosynthesis

Net Primary Productivity- energy captured minus the energy respired by producers

Biomass- total mass of all living matter in an area

Standing Crop- amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a time

Ecological Efficiency- proportion of energy consumed that can be passed through trophic levels

Trophic Pyramid- represents the distribution of biomass among trophic levels

Biogeochemical Cycles- movements of matter within and between ecosystems

Macronutrients- six key elements organisms need in large amounts

Limiting Nutrient- lack of can cause death in organisms

Leaching- nutrients transporting through soil into water

Disturbance- event that results in changes in population size or community composition

Resistance- measure of how much a disturbance can affect the flows of energy and matter
Resilience- rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance

Instrumental Value- worth as an instrument or tool that can be used to accomplish a goal

Intrinsic Value- it has worth independent of any benefit it may provide to humans



Current Events-
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140710141553.htm
The harmful algal bloom has caused drastic changes to the Lake Erie ecosystem.  The increased amount of phosphorus has caused a giant increase in the amount algae and this led to a dead zone in the lake.  Scientists are attempting to clear it out as best they can.

Environmental Quote-
http://www.buzzaboutbees.net/bee-pollination.html
Bees provide pollen transportation which can help in the production in most of the food that we eat.  Without these bees we would have a drastically smaller amount of produce being produced to eat eventually leading to the downfall of animals that eat the produce and us due to the lack of animals.

Big Picture Reflection-
Human Impact- The cycles of the elements that affect the ecosystems can be largely affected by humans.  Just by doing basic things like polluting or using too much fertilizer or causing fires, cycles can be enhanced or blocked. With these changes certain organisms cannot get what necessities that they require and this messes with the amount of energy being transferred.
Environmental Impact- The energy lost can cause organisms to die out.  The resistance and resilience will decrease with the loss of biodiversity and ecosystems will slowly diminish with the disturbances that come their way.
Economic Impact- When overuse of phosphorus as a fertilizer occurs crops can die out.  When the crops die farmers can't make a living and are forced to take up different types of farming.
Government Legislation- The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program has partnered with the U.S. Golf Association have started working together to try to stop the high use of highly toxic pesticides and promote more nutrient retention and conservation of water on the courses.

Unit 2 Blog

Unit 2 Blog

Vocabulary:

Climate: the average weather that occurs over a long period in an area

 

Troposphere: layer of atmosphere that is closest to the Earth's surface; contains us and weather

 

Stratosphere: layer of atmosphere that contains the ozone

 

Albedo: percentage of sunlight reflected from the surface

 

Hadley Cells: convention currents that cycle between the equator and 30 degrees north and south

 

ITCZ: the intertropical convergence zone is the area that recieves the most intense sunlight; ascending branches of the two Hadley cells converge here

 

Polar Cells: convention currents formed by air that rises at 60 degrees north and south and sinks at the poles (90 degrees north and south)

 

Coriolis Effect: the deflection of an object's path due to Earth's rotation  

Gyres: large patterns of water circulation

 

 Upwelling: upward movement of water toward the surface

 

Thermohaline Circulation: drives the mixing of surface and deep water

 

ENSO: the El Nino-Southern Oscillation is a periodic change in winds and ocean currents collectively

 

Rain Shadow: when warm, wet air lets out its water on one side of the mountain then travels to the leeward side of a mountain and becomes warm and dry causing a desert like area

 

Current Event:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140919142841.htm

The increase of temperatures in the poles are causing less temperature differences and are changing the amount of wind be made. The less wind there is the better or worse some predators can hunt which can cause prey to either diminish or flourish. With the changes in populations entire food webs can be affected.

Reflection:

 Human Impact: Humans have been affecting habitats and biomes since we started breathing. Only recently we have started trying to truly reverse some of the changes we made. With the destruction of certain environments for resources, we have been nipping away at the larger habitats and started expanding some, like deserts, and shrinking others, like rainforests. While we have been trying to replant trees and recreate habitats, the damage to certain places has already been done.

Environmental Impact: With the changing of some biomes comes change to weather as well. Wind patterns and speeds can be altered and slowed. These changes can affect food webs and ultimately humans as well. With the changing winds heat is redistributed to places it might not normally get it and those places are warmed up; cold could also be redistributed to places it wouldn't normally be cold. This would throw ecosystems out of balance.

Economic Impact: With some animals going extinct due to the destruction of their habitats, some businesses won't be able to rely on the food supply they used to be offered. Tax dollars and time can be put into the resurrection of habitats to attempt to recreate the food supply and balance things for the animals and people who live there. Tons of money is put into the stopping of air pollution so the tainted air doesn't ride the winds and change temperatures in areas that should be colder.

Government Legislation: Researchers at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center in Washington, D.C. have developed a program to offer a "Bird Friendly" seal of approval to coffee farmers who were using environmentally friendly shade grown coffee techniques. This new form of growing coffee involved planting the bushes in an rain forest area where they could be grown with less use of pesticides and are more helpful to the environment. The Arbor Day Foundation also promotes this way of growing coffee.