Environmental Science

1
Environmental Science
2
Adaptation

• A trait that improves an organisms chance for
  survival and reproduction.

3
Natural Selection

• Organisms with traits that help them survive and
  reproduce pass their characteristics to their
  offspring.

4

• Survival of the fittest!

5
Phylogeny

• The evolutionary history of a related group of
  species.

6
Biodiversity

• The number of different kinds of species on
  Earth.
• Millions of species live on Earth today.

7
Extinction

• The end of a species, genus, or even larger
  group.
• Floods and volcanoes can cause extinction

8

• Extinction can also occur as organisms fail to
  adapt to new conditions.

9
Evidence for evolution

• 1.Observation
• Ex changes in beak size and shape as finches
  adapt to new feeding conditions.

10
(No Transcript)
11

• 2. Fossil record
• It shows changes and relationships between
  species that have lived and live today.

12
(No Transcript)
13

• 3. Physical similarities
• Ex the human arm, bird wing, dog leg, and
  whale flipper all have the same bone shape that
  suggests a common ancestor.

14
(No Transcript)
15
(No Transcript)
16
(No Transcript)
17

• 4.Genetic information
• Comparisons between the genetic material of
  different species show common history.

18
Material recycling
19
Nutrients

• The elements and compounds organisms need to
  carry out their life processes.
• Ex carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus.

20
The Carbon Cycle

• Carbon is found in all organic compounds
  proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.

21

• Producers (Algae and plants) use carbon dioxide
  from the air to make sugars and starches- contain
  carbon (photosynthesis).

22

• Consumers eat producers or other consumers and
  get their carbon from them.

23

• Some of the carbon is used for cell growth and
  maintenance.
• The rest is used for energy.

24

• Cellular respiration breaks down glucose (sugar)
  for energy. A byproduct is carbon dioxide which
  returns to the atmosphere to begin the cycle
  again.

25

• Decomposers break down dead and decaying matter,
  releasing carbon dioxide.

26
(No Transcript)
27
Global Warming

• Also known as The Greenhouse Effect.
• Increase in carbon dioxide concentration due to
  burning of fossil fuels, and cutting trees.
• This traps heat and causes increase in
  temperatures.

28
The Nitrogen Cycle

• Nitrogen is part of proteins.
• It is abundant in air, but living things cant
  use it directly.

29
Nitrogen Fixation

• Bacteria living on the roots of legumes (such as
  peas, beans, and peanuts) change nitrogen from
  the air into nitrogen-containing compounds
  dissolved in water.

30

• Plants absorb water and use the nitrogen to make
  proteins.
• Consumers eat plants and get their nitrogen.

31
Denitrification

• Soil bacteria break down dead plants and animals
  and release nitrogen gas back into the air.

32
(No Transcript)
33
The Phosphorus Cycle

• Phosphorus is part of DNA.

34

• In nature, phosphorus is found in rocks. Water
  leaches it from rocks, and plants absorb it.
  Consumers get it from plants.

35
(No Transcript)
36
The Environment

• A combination of physical, biological, and
  chemical factors that affect the organism.

37
Abiotic Factors

• Physical factors (not living) such as amount of
  light, temperature range, precipitation,
  nutrients, etc..

38
(No Transcript)
39
Biotic Factors

• Biological factors (living) which include
  interactions with other organisms.

40
(No Transcript)
41
Ecosystem

• Community of living organism and their
  relationships with the biotic and abiotic factors.

42
Community

• All interacting populations of organisms in an
  area.

43
Population

• All members of the same species that live in a
  specific area. Field mice in a meadow.

44
(No Transcript)
45
(No Transcript)
46
(No Transcript)
47
Limiting Factors

• Factors that limit the size of a population.
• Food, water, oxygen, sunlight, relationship with
  other organisms.

48
Carrying Capacity

• The largest population that a given environment
  can support over a long period of time.

49
Producer

• An organism, such as a plant, that uses sunlight
  to make food.

50
(No Transcript)
51
Primary Consumer

• An organism, such as a cow or human, that eats a
  plant to get the energy stored in the plant.

52
(No Transcript)
53
Secondary Consumer

• An animal that eats a primary consumer.

54
(No Transcript)
55
Decomposers

• Organisms, such as fungi and certain bacteria,
  that get their energy by breaking down dead
  organisms.

56
(No Transcript)
57
Food Chain

• The flow of energy from one organism to the next
  in an ecosystem.

58

• Grass? Cricket? Frog? Snake

59
(No Transcript)
60
Trophic Level

• Feeding levels in an ecosystem.
• Energy decreases at each trophic level.

61
(No Transcript)
62
Food Web

• Diagram showing the feeding relationships between
  organisms in an ecosystem.

63
(No Transcript)
64
(No Transcript)
65
Deforestation

• The removal of a large number of trees at one
  time to create farmland or for urban development.

66

• Deforestation led to the disappearance of
  rainforests.
• Species become endangered or extinct.

67

• Humans lose food, medicine, and chemicals.

68
(No Transcript)
69
Resource Depletion

• The process of overusing or polluting natural
  resources.

70
Examples of resource depletion

• Unwise farming.
• Pollution.
• Pesticide use.
• Human overpopulation.

71
Biological Magnification

• The accumulation of toxins in increasing
  concentrations at different trophic levels.

72
(No Transcript)