• What is an organism, species, population, community, biome, ecosystem, and the realm of ecology?

• What is an indicator species?  What is a keystone species?  Can you give examples?

• What is the j-shape curve of human population growth?  What does it mean regarding human-environment interaction?

• What are the trophic levels?  What kinds of organisms occupy each level?  How are they related in terms of the 2^nd law of energy relationships?

• Be able to explain the inputs, outputs, and major storage or "sinks" in the nutrient cycles discussed in the text.

• What are the four cultural revolutions in human cultural evolution?  What are the attendant environmental impacts, population expansions, and changes in world view?

• What are resources?  There are a number of ways to categorize resources.  Be prepared to do so.

• What are the two energy laws?

• What are the two laws of human-environment interaction?  What is the outcome of human-environment Interaction at the ecosystem level?  What degrees of change have we discussed?

• What are the primary differences between MDC's and LDC's in terms of resource use?

• What is a specialist?  A generalist?

• Be able to compare and contrast Earth Wisdom and Planetary Management worldviews.

• What is a niche?  Fundamental versus Realized?

• What is NPP/ Biomass, and how are they connected to climate and biodiversity?

• Be able to explain population dynamics and stability.  Have example species in mind.

• What are the major interspecies interactions?  Have example organisms in mind.

• What is a k-strategist?  An r-strategist?

• What are the 3 R's as far as human resource use?

• What was the "tragedy of the commons"?

• What is biodiversity?  Genetic diversity, Species Diversity, Ecological diversity?

• What factors influence human population growth, reduce Total Fertility Rates?  Be prepared to compare/contrast LDC's and MDC's with respect to Total Fertility Rates?  Why is the US always an exception with regard to Total Fertility Rates?

• What are some economic and political systems?  How do they impact the environment? 

• What are some solutions to these problems?

• How do populations respond to environmental stress?

• What is a non-point source of pollution?  What does biodegradable mean?

• Lecture emphasizes terrestrial ecosystems.  Be prepared to address aquatic ecosystems as well.

• What does sustainable mean?

• What is the frontier worldview?

• What are the primary "Earth Systems"?

• What is a prokaryote?  A Monera?  A plant?  An animal?  How are they similar and different?

• What is an autotroph?  A heterotroph?

• Describe photosynthesis/ the reverse primary metabolic process as a formula or verbally.

• What are the major abiotic components of ecosystems?

• What are growth factors?  What are negative growth factors?

• What does optimum range mean?  What are tolerance limits?  What are limiting factors?
   

Test 2 Study Guide

• What are the two major global-scale environmental concerns? 
• Why do we care about deforestation? 
• What are the major causes/solutions to tropical deforestation? 
• Compare and contrast tropical and U.S./Canada deforestation problems/controversy. 
• What do we know about global warming? 
• What are greenhouse gasses? 
• How does the greenhouse effect "work"? 
• What don't we know, but project about global warming? 
• What do Global Climate Models do?  How do they work?  What do they say about global warming?  What are their weaknesses?  What do they project for major problems/impact of global warming?  Will some areas be impacted more?
• Who and what have we developed to preserve/protect/manage public land and environment in the U.S. (Federal agencies involved)? 
• How is the distribution and management of public land in the U.S. related to Federal land policy in the 1800s?  How did that land policy evolve (think history)?  How is the Federal wholesale divestiture of public land in the mid 19^th century and the "frontier attitude" of the times related?  How is it related to the conservation movement?  How is it related to the types of public land today? 
• What are some important mid-19^th century legislative steps toward the system of public land management we have today? 
• What are some kinds of public land (think of the categories of land-use)? 
• What kinds of resources does the Federal government control?  How did they end up with that control? 
• What is the significance of Teddy Roosevelt in this discussion?  How about Franklin Delano Roosevelt?  Anything significant in terms of environmental conservation happen between 1960 and 1980?  What was the impact of the Reagan administration on Federal environmental policy? 
• What is the state of the National Park system today? 
• What does the US Forest Service do?  How about the BLM?  Fish and Wildlife Service?
• How does human-induced mass extinction compare with natural mass extinction? 
• What kinds of animals are most at risk of premature extinction? 
• Why should we save wild species? 
• How do humans cause extinction? 
• Who are:  George Perkins Marsh, Henry David Thoreau, Horace Greeley, Frederick Jackson Turner, Aldo Leopold, Gifford Pinchot, John Muir, Lisa Theo

Test 3 Study Guide

• human additions to the ecosphere, risk management, ozone depletion, outdoor/ indoor air pollution, solid waste, hazardous waste, and individual contributions.  In short, if you know the answers to the following for each of the topics identified above… you win.  What is the problem, what are its causes, how does it do the bad things it does, what are the bad things it does, what is the "science" of the problem, how bad is the problem, who is the problem, why are they the problem, what is the geography of the problem, what is the solution to the problem, who is responsible for fixing the problem, how are they doing?
• What is ozone?  What is a CFC?  What is an HCFC?  What is a Terpene?  Who is Ray Turner?  How do ozone depleting chemicals deplete the ozone layer? 
• Why is there a "hole" in the ozone layer over Antarctica in winter?  Where is the ozone layer the most depleted?  Why?  What are the impacts on human health and biodiversity that we should expect from ozone depletion?  Why will it take so long to return to pre-industrial ozone levels even if we banned ozone depleting chemicals today?  Who produces most of the ozone depleting chemicals? 
• What are CFC's used for?  What international agreements have addressed ozone depleting chemicals (the ones we talked about in lecture only)?
• Define pollution.  You will find the definition very broad but how does pollution tie into our two umbrella concepts biodiversity and global warming? 
• How is pollution related to consumption and the big 3 R's?  Think about the "geography" of the problems we examined. 
• What human and natural factors conspire to make photochemical smog, ozone depletion, acid deposition, various solid and hazardous waste problems, etc., not evenly distributed on the surface of the earth?   
• Most pollution control measures are clean-up or prevention?  How are solutions and the ratio of clean-up to prevention related?
• Where do pollutants come from?  What are the "Big Five"?  Where do they tend to be concentrated?  Why?
• Severity of harmful effects of pollution is a function of…? 
• What kinds of pollution effects are there?  What are the effects of pollution on human health (exposure, dose, response)?
• Types of hazards?  Types of chemical hazards? 
• How is toxicity determined?
• Lead and Dioxin are particularly unpleasant (they are neurotoxins and carcinogens respectively).  Why?  What segment of the US population is particularly hard hit by lead contamination?  What are some specific sources of lead in the environment?
• What do I mean by the WE DON"T KNOW factor as regards chemical hazards and hazardous wastes?
• How do we assess how worried we should be about a given substance, chemical hazard, pollutant, ionizing radiation?
• Public perception of "risk" is strongly affected by situational considerations such as…?
• Air Pollution?  Stratosphere and Troposphere?  How do those things go together?
• Primary air pollutants?  Secondary air pollutants?
• The 4 most dangerous indoor air pollutants are…?  Why are they underrated health risks? Why is indoor air pollution a major concern?  What about Eau Claire shale and radon-222?
• What's a "sick building"?
• Compare and contrast photochemical smog and acid deposition.
• What time of the day is smog the worst?  Why?  Explain the "geography of smog"; of acid deposition.
• What are the effects of acid rain, smog, and airborne chemical pollutants? 
• What are the "Big 5" primary outdoor air pollutants (I asked this twice)?