Topic 1.

3 historical events

Silent Spring by Rachel Carlson

- Book about the problems caused by widespread use of pesticides
- Explains the impact of DDT in birds of prey
- Increased awareness of the danger of excessive use of insecticides
- Led to the banning of DDT for agricultural use
- Inspired many other environmentalists

Chernobyl Disaster, USSR (now Ukraine)

- Explosion at a nuclear energy reactor caused by human error
- Released radioactive material into the atmosphere which spread over much
of Europe
- Increased awareness about how nuclear energy may not be safe
- Led to increased public pressure to phase out/not use nuclear energy

Earth Day
- Day where people protest and advocate for the protection of the Earth
- First Earth day launched modern environmental movement
- Led to landmark environmental laws in the US (e.g. Environmental
Protection Agency)
- Increased efforts for education and environmental literacy

Environmental Value System (EVS)

● Worldview or paradigm that shapes the way an individual or group of people
evaluate or perceive env. issues

Spectrum of EVS
● Ecocentric (environment centred)
○ Nature centred
 ○Integrates social, spiritual, and environmental
○We need the Earth more than it needs us
○All species have a right to life
○Humans are equal to nature
○Emphasises a less materialistic approach to life with a greater
self-sufficiency of societies
○ Prioritises biorights/intrinsic value of nature
○ Emphasises the importance of education
○ Encourages self-restraint in human behaviour
○ Change is at the individual level
○ All environmental actions must be sustainable
● Anthropocentric (human centred)
○ People centred
○ Humans must sustainably manage the global system
○ Economic growth is good so should continue
○ Through the use of taxes, environmental regulation and legislation
○ Debate encouraged to reach a consensual, pragmatic approach to
solving environmental problems
○ Humans have intrinsic value
○ Natural resources may be exploited for the benefit of humankind
○ Improve lifestyle through economic growth
● Technocentric (technology centred)
○ Technology centred
○ Humans are the dominant species
○ Human inventiveness will solve all problems
○ Growth provides the answers
○ There will always be more resources to exploit
○ Technological developments can provide solutions to environmental
problems
○ Optimistic view of the role humans can play in improving the lot of
humanity
○ Scientific research is encouraged to:
■ Form policies
■ Understand how systems can be controlled, manipulated or
changed to solve resource depletion
 ○ Pro-growth agenda necessary for society’s improvement
Ecocentric Anthro Techno
Decision Individual Debate/democracy Science - research
making
Resource use Sustainable Sustainable Use resources
Economy Pro growth Pro growth
Intrinsic value All life has the right to exist Humans Humans
Strategies ● Education & awareness ● Taxes ● Technology
● Less materialistic ● Legislation
● Self-sufficiency

Extremes of EVS
● Ecocentric
○ Deep Green
■ Value nature over humanity
■ They believe in biorights - all species and ecosystems have an
inherent value and humans have no right to interfere
■ Reduce our impact by:
● Decreasing the human population
● Consuming less
● Technocentric
○ Cornucopians
■ World has infinite resources to benefit humanity
■ Technology & our inventiveness can solve any environmental
problem & continually improve our living standards
■ Growth will provide the answers and wealth to improve the lot
of all and nothing should stand in the way of this
■ Free-market economy-capitalism with minimal government
control or interference - as the best way to manage the planet
Intrinsic value of the environment
● The environment or any organism can also be valued intrinsically
● All life on Earth has the right to exist
● Valued for what it is, rather than for what it can bring about
● Valued for its cultural, aesthetic, spiritual, or philosophical (moral) value
● Hard to quantify and price realistically

Pros
● Protects life
● Recognizes and takes into account culture, aesthetic, spiritual, and
philosophical morals

Counter Arguments
● Hard to quantify and price realistically
○ When you put a price on something it gains more interest from people
that might want to exploit it
● Often remain undervalued from an economic perspective
● Different EVS’s ascribe different intrinsic value to components of the
biosphere

Topic 1.2 / 5.1

Storage
● Stored matter or energy
● Represented by a box or labelled image
● Size of box indicates the size of the storage

Soil system storage includes:

1. Organic matter
a. Plant and animal matter in the process of decomposition
b. Absorbs and holds on to a large amount of water
c. Provides nutrients
2. Organisms
 a. Soil invertebrates, micro-organisms, and small animals
3. Nutrients
a. Needed for plant growth
b. Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium - key ones
4. Minerals (inorganic)
a. Derived from rocks by weathering
b. Source of essential plant nutrients
c. Provides skeleton for soil
5. Air
a. Mainly oxygen and nitrogen
b. Fill large pore spaces
c. Aerated soils provide oxygen for the respiration of soil organisms and
plant roots
6. Water
a. Held in small pore spaces (micropores)

Flows
● The movement of energy of matter through a system
● Indicated by an arrow
● The thickness of the arrow can indicate magnitude of flow
● Arrow direction indicates direction of flow

Flow types
● Input
● Output
● Transfer
○ Energy or matter changes location, but not state
○ I.e. same end product, different location
■ E.g. water carried by a stream
■ Chemical energy moving from a producer to a herbivore
● Transformation
○ A change in state or the formation of new products
○ E.g. liquid (matter) to gas (matter)
○ Sunlight (energy) to glucose (matter)
Soil system inputs
● Organic matter
○ Decaying plant and animal matter (chemical energy)
● Inorganic matter
○ Minerals from parent rock
○ Water (precipitation)
○ Energy from the sun
○ Air

Soil system outputs

● Uptake of plants of:
○ Nutrients
○ Water
● Soil erosion
○ Reduces soil infertility
● Evapotranspiration
○ Combination of evaporation and transpiration (water leaving from leaves)

Soil system transfers

● Biological mixing
○ Larger burrowing soil animals (e.g. moles) help mix and aerate the soil
● Leaching
○ Organic matter, nutrients, and minerals dissolved in water moving thru soil
○ Reduces soil fertility

Soil system transformations

● Decomposition
○ Soil invertebrates (e.g. worms) break large particles of dead organic matter
into smaller particles
○ Microorganisms (e.g. microbes) decompose smaller particles into nutrients
○ Returns nutrients back to the soil
○ Improves soil fertility
● Weathering
○ Breaking down of rock into smaller particles (minerals)
 ● Nutrient cycle
○ Plant nutrients lost as an output return as leaf litter
○ Nitrogen and carbon cycle

Soil texture
● Minerals come in 3 different sizes

Sand, Clay, and Loam Soil Structure

● Air spaces
○ Provides air for soil organisms
○ Sand > loam > clay (least large air spaces)
● Drainage
○ Large pores (macropores) allow water to pass through soil
○ Problem as drainage removes nutrients (leaching)
○ Sand > loam > clay (worst drainage)
● Water-holding capacity
○ Ability of soil to retain water
○ Too much is a problem, as insufficient air for organisms
○ Too little is a problem, as insufficient water for plants
○ Clay > loam > sand (worst water holding capacity)

Soil Profile
● Soil profile - vertical section of the soil
● Consists of horizons (distinct layers) in the soil
○ Litter at the top - organic matter coming down
○ Minerals at the bottom - coming in
○ Layers
■ O (newly added organic matter - particularly leaf litter)
■ A
■ B
■ C
■ R
Open system
● Exchanges matter and energy with its surroundings
● E.g. ecosystems are open

Closed system
● Exchanges energy but not matter with its environment
● Closed systems only exist experimentally, although the global geochemical cycles
(carbon cycle and water cycle) approximate to closed systems
● E.g. the Earth???
● E.g. global geochemical cycle
● Extremely rare in nature
● Most are artificial

Isolated system
● Exchanges neither matter nor energy with its environment
● Hypothetical concept
● The universe is the only natural example

Models
● A simplified version of reality
● Can be used to:
○ Understand how a system works
○ Predict how it will respond to change

Accuracy of Models?
● Systems are complex, resulting in us having an incomplete understanding of the
system
● A model inevitably involves some approximation and therefore loss of accuracy

Strengths of Modeling
● Simplify complex reality so that we can understand the system
● Used to make predictions
○ E.g. inputs can be changed to see their effect on outputs
● Help us see patterns
Limitations of Modeling
● Accuracy is lost because the model is simplified
● Predictions may be inaccurate
● Depend on the quality of data used to make the model

Characteristics of Ecosystems / soil systems

● Open system with inputs and outputs
● Storages and flows
● Community of biotic and abiotic
● Complex interactions
● Interacts with other systems

Like the ecosystems, the soil ecosystems…

● Interactions between different spheres/systems
○ E.g. nitrogen cycles between the atmosphere, biosphere and pedosphere
(soil)
● Are open systems with inputs and outputs
○ E.g. water (input) and carbon dioxide (output)
● Have storages and flows
○ E.g. storages of nitrates and leaching (flow)
● Are a community of living/biotic and abiotic elements
○ E.g. bacteria and water
● Can have complex interactions
○ E.g. nitrogen cycling
Pioneer community soil

Fertile soil
● Contains a community of organisms that maintain function nutrient cycles
● Contains a community of organisms that are resistant to soil erion
● Vegetation protects the soil from erosion due to the roots holding the soil together
- keeps the nutrient cycle going

Succession and community of organism

● As the community of organisms becomes more diversified and has larger storage
with succession, there is an increase in:
○ Bacteria fixing atmospheric nitrogen
 ○ Leaf litter (containing nutrients)
○ Decomposers breaking down litter releasing nutrients into the soil

Succession and nutrient cycling

● Succession improves nutrient cycling by:
○ Increasing the variety/complexity of nutrient pathways
○ Improving efficiency of nutrient cycles

Succession and nutrient loss

● Soil erosion and nutrient loss decrease during succession due to:
○ Tree canopy interception rainfall and reducing its impact on the soil
○ Vegetation reducing surface runoff
○

● Soil degradation
○ Loss in soil fertility

● Human activities that can reduce soil fertility include:

○ Deforestation: Removal of forest cover
■ Loss of leaf litter added to soil
■ Increases soil erosion due to:
● Absence of tree leaves intercepting rain
● Absence of root system to bind soil together
○ Intensive grazing: grazing above the varying capacity
■ Overgrazing leads to soil erosion leads to desertification
■ Overgrazing of grasslands leaves bare patches where roots no longer
hold the soil together
■ Combined action of rain and wind erodes the soil
○ Urbanisation
■ Cities built and expand across prime agricultural land
■ Pollutants contaminate soil
■ Alters the drainage pattern through soil compaction and covering
soil in an impermeable layer of concrete that amplifies surface runoff
and erosion
○ Certain agricultural practices
■ Same monoculture crop each year depleted the same nutrients from
the soil
 ■ Irrigation water carrying away topsoil with surface runoff
■ Evaporation of irrigation water draws salts from the soil to the
surface causing high salt concentration (salinization)

lichen/moss -> alter/dryas (add nitrogen) -> spruce

Reduced soil fertility may result in:

● Soil erosion
○ Soil with low fertility supports limited vegetation
○ Soil erosion results from a lack of:
■ Leaves to intercept heavy rain
■ Roots to hold the soil together
■ Organic matter to absorb large quantities of water
● Desertification: transformation of fragile marginal land into desert
○ Occurs where nutrient deficient soils are degraded by agriculture
○ Loss of vegetation reduces soil organic matter and nutrients
● Toxification: soil too toxic for agricultural use
● Salinisation: Salt content of soil increases above normal levels
○ Some fertilisers contain high salts levels
○ Overuse of fertilisers leads to salinity build-up

Topic 2.1

Species and Habitat

Species - A group of organisms that are alike and can interbreed and produce fertile
offspring

Habitat - The environment in which a species normally lives

Biotic factors
Living or previously living components of an ecosystem (organisms, their interactions or
their waste) that directly or indirectly affect another organism

● Predation
● Herbivory
 ● Parasitism
● Mutualism
● Disease
● Competition

Abiotic factors
Nonliving, physical factors that influence the organisms and ecosystem

● Pollutants
● Wind
● Substrate
● Humidity
● Temperature
● Available nutrients

Niche
● The particular set of biotic and abiotic conditions and resources to which an
organism or population responds
● I.e. everything that influences survivorship of an organism/population

Fundamental niche - the full range of conditions and resources in which a species could
survive and reproduce
● E.g. for fish, pH levels, oxygen levels, nitrogen levels, etc.

Realised niche - the actual conditions and resources in which a species exists due to
biotic interactions

Population
A group of organisms of the same species which live in the same area at the same time
and which are capable of interbreeding
Negative Feedback
● A sequence of events that will cause an effect that is in the opposite direction to
the original stimulus
○ Counteracts deviation from equilibrium
● Returns system to original state
● Stabilises as it reduces change

In a negative feedback loop the prey always leads and the predator always follows in the
change
Population dynamics
The study of the factors that causes changes to population sizes

● What’s taken into account

○ Births and deaths
■ Not immigration

Carrying capacity (K)

The maximum number of a species or ‘load' sustainability supported by a given area
- Overshoot
- When the population exceeds carrying capacity
- Dieback
- When the population collapses

Limiting Factors
Factors which slow down growth of a population as it reaches its carrying capacity -
these are factors over which competition occurs
Exponential growth
Growth of a system in which the population doubles over time

A population can grow exponentially in an environment with a surplus of resources and

no competition.

J population curve
● Boom and bust pattern
● Population grows exponentially then collapses (dieback)
● Overshoots the carrying capacity on a long-term basis
 ● No gradual slowdown of population growth
● E.g. mouse plague

S population curve
● Starts with exponential growth
● Above a certain population size, the growth rate gradually slows, resulting in a
constant pop. size around the carrying capacity (K)

5 ways to describe graph

● Lag phase - initial slow grow (predator, hunting, drought)
● Exponential phase - rapid growth due to ample resources (predator died out,
hunting ban, rains come back - no limiting factor)
● Stationary/steady state/stable phase - population stabilises (predator-prey
relationship kicks in, parasite, i.e. any sort of negative feedback/limiting factor has
kicked in)
● Overshoot - population exceeds carrying capacity
● Die back - the partial or complete collapse of a population (typically food
shortage)

Biotic interactions

Competition
● Presence of other species + Finite resources = competition
● Neither organism benefits from the presence of the other

Herbivory
● An animal (herbivore) eating a green plant (producer)
● One species benefits from the relationship at the expense of the other

Predation / Predator - prey

● One species, the predator, eats another species, the prey
● One species benefits from the relationship at the expense of the other

Parasitism
 ● Relationship between two species in which one species (the parasite) lives
temporarily or permanently in or on another (the host), gaining its nutrients from it
● One species benefits from the relationship at the expense of the other
● Parasites normally do not kill the host, unlike in predation
● Parasite vs. predation - one host can support many parasites
● High parasite population densities can lead to the host’s death

Topic 2.2

Community
● Group of population living and interacting with each other in a common habitat
(the same place)
● I.e. the biotic components of an ecosystem

Ecosystem
● A community and the physical environment it interacts with
○ I.e. community + abiotic
● Range in scale from a drop of water to a forest

Respiration
● Process in which organic matter and oxygen are converted into carbon dioxide and
water in ALL living organisms, releasing energy
● Organic matter (chemical energy) + oxygen -> Energy (in the form of heat not
ATP) + carbon dioxide + water
● Energy is ATP (not important) and heat energy

Respiration transformation
● Conversion of:
○ Matter: organic matter to carbon dioxide and water
○ Energy: chemical to heat
Photosynthesis
● Light energy + carbon dioxide + water -> organic matter (chemical energy) +
oxygen
● Process by which green plants make their own food from water and carbon dioxide
using energy from sunlight

Photosynthesis transformation
● Conversion of:
○ Matter: carbon dioxide and water to organic matter
○ Energy: light to chemical

Photosynthesis and animals connection

● Photosynthesis is the process that provides organic matter to produce biomass in
animals (consumers) and plants (producers)
● Biomass - Quantity of organic matter in an organism, population, trophic level, or
ecosystem

Trophic level
● The position that an organism occupies in a food chain, or a group of organisms in
a community that occupy the same position in food chains
○ Producer (1st trophic level)
○ Primary consumer
○ Secondary consumers
○ Tertiary consumers (4th trophic level)
● Sun is not a trophic level but light energy/sunlight is the initial source of energy
● Arrows represent the direction that energy is being transferred
○ So the arrows would go from the producer upwards

2 types of producers
● Photosynthetic organisms
● Chemosynthetic organisms

Producers/autotrophs - first trophic level

 ● Photosynthetic organisms (green plants and algae) which make their own food
from carbon dioxide and water using energy from sunlight
○ I.e. photosynthesis
● Chemosynthetic organisms

Organisms are grouped into trophic levels according to how they obtain energy
3 main categories:
● Producers
○ Provide energy for all other trophic levels
○ Includes photosynthetic and chemosynthetic
● Consumers
○ Feed on other organisms to obtain energy
■ Includes: herbivores, carnivores, omnivores
● Decomposers
○ Obtain energy from feeding on dead organisms

Energy flow in an ecosystem

● Light energy from the sun provides energy to most ecosystems
● Plants/autotrophs/ transform this light energy into chemical energy (glucose) using
photosynthesis
● Chemical energy is transferred to decomposers via death/decomposition
● Respiration results in the transformation of some chemical energy into heat
 ● This heat is transferred to the atmosphere where it is transferred into space

Efficiency
How to calculate efficiency : Energy stored in higher trophic levels/energy stored in
lower trophic levels x100

Laws of thermodynamics
First law of thermodynamics
● AKA Principle of conservation of energy
● States that energy in an isolated system can be transformed but cannot be created
or destroyed

Principle of conservation of energy

● Energy is transformed along the food chain
● The input of energy into an open (and closed) system equals the output
● No energy was created or destroyed

Second law of thermodynamics

● Entropy
● Measure of the amount of disorder (dispersal of energy) in a system
● More entropy = more disorder
 ● States that an increase in entropy arises from energy transformations, reducing the
energy available to do work
● As energy moves through an ecosystem it is transformed from light - chemical -
heat
● Energy conversions are never 100% efficient
● The heat energy is lost to the environment resulting in:
○ Increased entropy (disorder)
○ Reduction in the energy available to do work
● Life defies entropy by maintaining its order
● Requires continuous input of energy

Respiration and thermodynamics

- During the transformation of energy, much energy is lost as heat
- Heat loss increases the entropy in the ecosystem
- The energy used enables an organism to maintain relatively low entropy and so
high organisation

Second law of thermodynamics explains the inefficiency and decrease in available energy
along a food chain and energy generation systems

At each trophic level we have less and less energy. This is why we can’t have infinite
trophic levels.

Population size of apex predators is always going to be smaller. You will see more prey
than predators because there is not enough energy to support the predators.

This is why they are the most vulnerable. If you lose a few it has greater implications
than if you lose a few prey.

As a result of the inefficient transfer, food chains tend to be short

Implications - Carnivores
● Low population size due to inefficiency along a food chain
● Often have a limited diet so a change in their food prey has a knock on effect
● More vulnerable to negative influences than species lower in the food chain with
larger populations
Topic 1.3

Equilibrium
● A state of balance exists among the components of a system
● Can be:
○ Stable or unstable
○ Static or steady-state
● Stable equilibrium
○ Returns to the same equilibrium after disturbance
● Unstable equilibrium
○ Enters a new equilibrium after disturbance
● Static equilibrium
○ No change over time
● Steady-state equilibrium
○ Small fluctuations in the short term but no long term changes
○ Can be seen in S curves, after exponential growth they go into a
steady-state equilibrium

Steady-state equilibrium
● Characteristics of open systems where there are continuous inputs and outputs of
energy and matter

Succession
● A developing steady state over a long time period

Ecosystems typically are:

● Stable
● Steady state
● Achieved through negative feedback loops

Positive feedback
● Amplifies change away from equilibrium
 ● Drives the system toward a tipping point where a new equilibrium is adopted -
destabilising
● E.g.

Tipping point
● Critical threshold where a minimum amount of change within the system will
destabilise it, causing it to reach a new equilibrium/state
● Involves positive feedback
● Results in significant changes in biodiversity and services

Tipping point characteristics

● There is a threshold beyond which a fast shift of ecological state occurs
● The threshold point cannot be precisely predicted
● Once the threshold is passed, the changes are long lasting and hard to reverse

5 most important to know about tipping points

● Irreversible
● Hard to predict threshold
● Time lag between crossing threshold and visible effects
● Loss of biodiversity and services
● When tipping point is crossed you enter a new state/system equilibrium
Climate change predictions
● The time lag feedback loops is often unknown
● Difficult to predict tipping points with precision
● Adds to the complexity of modelling systems

Tipping point case study - Greenland Ice Sheet

● What will the new equilibrium be?
○ Lose coral reefs
○ More algae - algae is new equilibrium
■ Rising sea levels so less light reaches coral reefs
● Could anyone predict when the threshold was crossed?
○ Irreversible threshold could be 1.5 degrees
● Have biodiversity and ecological services been lost?
○ Yes
● Are these changes reversible?
○ No

Topic 2.5

Lincoln Index (Capture, Mark, Release, Recapture)

● Estimates population size
● Operating under the assumption that however you marked the animal doesn’t
increase or decrease it’s change of being killed
● Operating under the assumptions that they have the same chance of being caught
𝑛1 × 𝑛2
𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑛 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 = 𝑛𝑚

𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒:
− 𝑛1 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡/𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒
− 𝑛2 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒
− 𝑛𝑚 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒
𝑁 = 𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑛 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 𝑜𝑟 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟)
Assumptions:
 ● Marks do not come off
● Marks do not harm organism
● Trapping does not affect the chance of being recaptured

Topic 2.2

Bioaccumulation
● Build up of persistent or non-biodegradable pollutants within an organism or
trophic level because they cannot be broken down
● It accumulates within the tissue of an organism over time
● Concentrations may reach levels high enough to cause disease or death

Biomagnification
● Increase in concentration of persistent or non-biodegradable pollutants along a
food chain
● Toxin concentration is magnified from trophic level to trophic level due to loss of
biomass
● Toxin concentration may not affect organisms lower in the food chain
● Magnified concentration in the top trophic levels may cause disease or death

DDT is POP (persistent organic pollutant)

● Used in agriculture and to combat malaria
● Stored in body fat (and gonads)
● POP - i.e. resistant to breaking down and remain active in the environment for a
long time
● Biomagnification in birds of prey caused thin eggshells - decline of bald eagle
● Linked to premature birth or low birth weight in humans

Toxins such as DDT and mercury are long lasting

Accumulate at the top of the food chains due to the decrease of biomass and energy

Minamata disease
● Chisso factory made petrochemical-based substances e.g. fertiliser, plastics
 ● Methylmercury absorbed by bacteria, passed from:
○ Bacteria to shrimp to fish to human
● Mercury in shellfish consumed by humans

Pyramid of numbers
● Shows the number of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain
● Number of organisms per area
● Snapshot in time
● I.e. represents storages
● Units: number/unit area e.g. (N/m^2)
● Bar length indicates relative numbers
● Pyramid of numbers can sometimes display different patterns i.e. not necessarily
pyramid shaped

Pyramid of biomass
● Represents the standing stock (weight of organisms in an area at a given moment)
or storage of each trophic level
● The biomass (mass of each individual x number of individuals) at each trophic
level
● Weight per area
● Snapshot in time
● Units of mass or energy per unit area, often:
○ Grams per square metre
○ Joules per square metre
○ Kilograms per water volume
● Pyramids of biomass can show greater quantities at higher trophic levels because
they represent the biomass present at a fixed point in time, although seasonal
variations may be marked

Pyramid of productivity
● Flow
● Over time
● Shows the energy or biomass being generated and available as food to the next
trophic level during a fixed period of time
 ● Unlike pyramid or numbers and biomass, which are snapshots at one time,
pyramids of productivity show the flow of energy over time
● Measured in units of energy or mass per unit area per period of time, often Joules
or grams per square metre per year (J m^-2 yr^-1)
○ Joules or weight per area per time
2 −1
𝐽/𝑐𝑚 𝑦𝑟
● 10% rule
○ Approximately 10% of the energy in one trophic level is passed on to the
next
○ In pyramids of productivity, each bar will be about 10% of the lower one
● Always pyramid-shaped in healthy ecosystems as they must follow the second law
of thermodynamics

Resilience
● The tendency of a system to avoid a tipping point and maintain stability
● I.e. the ability of a system to return to its initial state after a disturbance
● High resilience systems are stable
● Low resilience systems are unstable
● Influenced by:
○ Diversity (species, habitat, genetic)
■ Systems with greater (species or genetic) diversity can replace a
depleted storage
○ Complexity of interactions
○ Storage size
■ Systems with greater storage can deal with some depletion
○ Feedback
■ Negative feedback systems increase resilience
■ Positive feedback mechanisms may decrease resilience

Human activity affects resilience

● Humans can affect the resilience of systems through reducing these storages and
diversity
● Humans can increase resilience by:
○ Removing or reducing a threat to a system
 ○ This allows a fast recovery
● Humans can decrease resilience by:
○ Modifying systems
○ Decreasing biodiversity
○ Adding harmful elements
○ Reducing storage
● With reduced resilience, comes a lower tipping point, instability and a possible
shift in state of equilibrium

Calculating NPP
● NPP represents the difference between the rate at which plants photosynthesize
(GPP) and the rate at which they respire (per unit area per unit time)
● I.e. NPP is the rate at which plants accumulate biomass (actual plant material)
● NPP = GPP - R
● GPP = NPP + R
● R = GPP - NPP

Productivity
● Measured by the conversion of energy into biomass for a given period of time
● Measured per unit area per unit time
● Gross: the total amount of something made as a result of an activity
● Net: the amount left over after deductions are made
● Primary: in ecology means to do with producers
● Secondary: to do with consumers
● Gross Productivity - the total gain in energy or biomass per unit area per unit time
i.e. - it is the biomass that could be gained by an organism before any deductions
● Net Productivity - the gain in energy or biomass per unit area per time that remains
after deductions due to respiration
● Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) - the total gain in energy or biomass per unit
area per time by green plants
● Net Primary Productivity (NPP) - the total gain in energy or biomass per unit area
per unit time by green plants after allowing for losses to respiration
Topic 2.3

Secondary Productivity
● Like plants, not all energy consumed by an animal is available to make new
biomass
● Egestion
○ Some ingested food passes straight through the consumer and is released as
faeces
○ This food is not absorbed and provides the consumer with no energy
● Assimilated food energy
○ Only assimilated (leaves the digestive system and becomes part of the
organism) food is used for life processes
○ Some of the assimilated food energy is used in respiration to provide energy
for life processes
● Biomass is our Net Secondary Productivity
● GSP = the total energy assimilated (not eaten -> after poop) by consumers
○ Calculated by subtracting the mass of faecal loss from the mass of food
eaten
● NSP = GSP - R
○ Final weight - initial weight

Matter Cycles
Both energy and matter flows through an ecosystem
● Matter also flows
● Like energy, the flow of matter involves transfers and transformations
● Matter also flows through ecosystems linking them together

Carbon Cycle
● Contain storages (sinks) and flows, which move matter between storages
● Consists of storages:
○ Organic: organisms and forests
○ Inorganic: atmosphere, soil, fossil fuels, oceans
● Flows:
○ Consumption (feeding)
 ○ Death and decomposition
○ Photosynthesis
○ Respiration
○ Dissolving
○ Fossilization

Nitrogen cycle
● Storages:
○ Organisms (organic / biotic phase)
○ Soil, fossil fuels, atmosphere, & water bodies (all inorganic / abiotic phase)

● Nitrogen fixation
○ Atmospheric nitrogen is added to the soil as ammonium fixation
○ By:
■ Nitrogen-fixing bacteria
■ Haber process
● Nitrogen fixing process used to make fertilisers
■ Lightning
 ● Nitrification
○ Nitrifying soil bacteria convert ammonium to nitrites
○ Other bacteria convert the nitrites which are then available to be absorbed
by plant roots
● Denitrification
○ Denitrifying bacteria in waterlogged conditions convert nitrate to nitrogen
gas which escapes to the atmosphere
● Absorption
○ Take up nitrate via roots
● Assimilation
○ Build it into more complex molecules (i.e. protein)
● Feeding
○ On plants by animals
● Excretion, death, and decomposition
○ Decomposition is the main supplier of nitrogen to the soil
○ Insects, worms, fungi, & bacteria break down proteins into ammonium

Impact of human activity on the nitrogen cycle ‘

● Humans decreasing nitrogen:
○ Removal of animals and plants for food extracts nitrogen from the system
● Humans decreasing soil nitrogen:
○ Waterlogged soil prevents most bacteria from breaking down detritus due to
a lack of oxygen
○ Denitrifying bacteria instead release the nitrogen as gas back into the air
○ Excessive rain water through porous soil washes nitrates into water bodies
■ This is called leaching and can lead to eutrophication
● Humans increasing soil nitrogen:
○ Nitrogen added to cycle by artificial fertilisers (Haber process)
○ Legume crops with root nodules containing nitrogen-fixing bacteria enrich
soil when decomposing

What Happens to Solar Radiation

Solar radiation
● Almost all energy that drives processes on Earth comes from the sun
● This solar radiation (insolation) consists of:
○ Visible wavelengths (visible light)
 ○ Wavelengths that humans cannot see (ultraviolet and infrared)

Solar radiation loss

● Not all solar radiation entering Earth’s atmosphere reaches the ecosystems
● Radiation is lost through reflection and absorption by inorganic matter
○ Whenever solar radiation is absorbed it transforms from light energy into
heat energy
● Reflection:
○ 22% of solar radiation is reflected into space before reaching the Earth by:
■ Clouds
■ Scatter (atmospheric gases scatter some light in different directions)
● Absorption:
○ 20% of solar radiation is absorbed before reaching Earth by:
■ Clouds
■ Dust and molecules
■ Ozone

Is all the solar radiation reaching the ground used to power living systems? - NO
● Ground absorption
○ Most of this energy is not used to power living systems, it is absorbed and
re-radiated as heat
○ Or it’s reflected back into space by ice, snow, water, land, and vegetation

Solar radiation available

● Of all the energy coming in, only about 1-4% of it is available to plants on the
surface of the Earth
● This energy is captured by green plants which convert light to chemical energy
using photosynthesis

Energy Pathways in Ecosystems

● Energy pathways
○ Conversion of light energy into chemical energy
 ○ Transfer of chemical energy from one trophic level to another with varying
efficiencies (feeding)
○ Overall conversion of ultraviolet and visible light to heat energy by an
ecosystem
○ Re-radiation of heat energy to the atmosphere

Calculating Efficiency
● What proportion of NPP was used as GSP?
○ (GSP / Energy derived from food) x 100
● What proportion of NPP was converted into NSP?
○ (NSP / Energy derived from food) x 100
 ● Trophic Efficiency
○ The efficiency of transfer from one trophic level to the next
■ Efficiency (%) = final/initial x 100

Constructing and Analysing Energy Data and Models

MSY (Maximum Sustainable Yields)
● What would be the MSY
○ Fish population of 100,000
○ Every year 20,000 die
○ Every year 30,000 are born
○ MSY: 10,000
● How much you can harvest without decreasing the actual population
● Largest crop or catch that can be taken from the stock (e.g. forest, fish shoal)
without depleting the stock (natural capital)
● MSY is equivalent to the NPP or NSP of a system
● Used for measuring sustainability

Human Impact on Energy Flow

● Robert Malthus - An Essay on the Principle of Population

○ Predicted that at some point the human population will exceed the amount
of food available to us
○ He predicted that like a J-curve, once we overshoot there’s going to be
some dieback or crash in the human population
○ We cannot produce at some point in the future, enough food to support our
exponentially growing population
○ Hasn’t quite worked out as he predicted
● The green revolution

○ Through technology we have been able to boost agricultural production

■ Selective breeding and genetic breeding of some of our major food
crops
● Producing seeds that are more productive or resistant to
certain insect attacks, etc.
■ Developed fertilisers
● Inorganic chemical fertilisers that serve as an artificial way to
add nutrients to the soil to boost plant growth
■ Irrigation
● We can redirect rivers to irrigate our crops
○ At the point where we thought we would exceed our food production,
we’ve been able to dramatically increase it
○ Increase in NPP (crop production) as a result of modern farming techniques
removes competition (‘weeds’) and herbivores (insects etc.)
○ Adds water, fertiliser, and energy to increase NPP
■ Energy subsidy
● Additional energy put into the system above that coming from
the sun
○ E.g. human labour, animal labour or fossil fuels to
power tractors, pump water, make fertilisers
○ Result: agricultural systems with high NPP
● Energy : Yield Ratio
 ○ Energy efficiency decreasing as food production
modernises
● Human activities: Energy Flow
○ Human activities such as agriculture impact energy flows by:
■ Energy subsidy (increased use of fossil fuels)
● Due to:
○ More humans
○ Increased impact due to machines/technology

Gersmehl model
Topic 2.4

Biome
● Collection of ecosystems sharing similar climatic conditions
● 5 major biome types
○ Aquatic
○ Desert
○ Forest
○ Grassland
○ Tundra
● Each has characteristic:
○ Limiting factors
○ Productivity
○ Biodiversity

Biome distribution
● Insolation (light intensity)

○ Solar radiation reaching Earth’s surface

○ High energy input (heat and light) at low latitudes (near equator)
● Temperature
○ Hotter near equator due to direct sun rays
○ Generally cooler with increasing latitude due to sun rays spread over a
greater surface area
● Precipitation

○ High precipitation at equator

○ In the greed around 50 degrees we have high precipitation
○ At around 15 (usually 15-30 degrees) degrees we have low precipitation
● Precipitation to evaporation ratio
○ In places with more precipitation than evaporation there is more water in
the soil
■ This leads to leaching
○ In places where there is high evaporation and lower precipitation (e.g.
deserts) you get a lot of water that is being pulled out of the soil - One of
the things it does it actually when water is pulled up towards the surface it
brings up things that it dissolved in it like salt
○ An ideal situation is where you have an equal rate of precipitation to
evaporation and that's what you typically find in tropical rainforest
○ Tundra precipitation is greater than evaporation so leaching, deserts
evaporation is greater than precipitation so dry soils often with salt on the
top
Tricellular model of atmospheric distribution

● 0 degrees at equator
○ Warmest
■ Condensation
○ Rising moist air
○ Lots of rainfall
● 90 degrees at polls
● Tropical rainforests are typically within 5 degrees north and south of the equator
○ Most rainfall
● Deserts are found between 15-30 degrees as the air is dry
○ Air is dry because it’s been used in equator
○ Dry descending air
● 60 degrees
○ More rainfall but not as much as equator
● 90 degrees
○ Cold desert
○ Dry air descending

Why does the equator have the highest rainfall?

- Moist air rising that condenses and rains
- Rising hot, damp air at equator

● Transfers heat from equator to higher latitudes

 ● Regions with rising air tend to be wetter than regions with descending air
● Between 30-60 is our temperate area where we see 4 seasons
● Tundra 60-75 degrees
○ Permafrost
■ Ground is frozen
○ No trees
■ Provide habitat
● Leads to less biodiversity
○ Low productivity
○ Low diversity

Altitude:
● Height above sea level
● Influences climate and biomes
● Typically colder as altitude increases

Climate/Limiting factors:
Tropical Rainforest (5 degrees N/S latitude)
● No limiting factors
● Year round highest solar radiation, annual precipitation, and high NPP
● Very productive
● If there were any limiting factors it would be the nutrients in the soil
● High energy input (heat and insolation) all year round
● High input at low latitudes causes warm, air to rise and cool producing high
precipitation
● Photosynthesis/productivity rates are very high

Desert (15-30 degrees N/S latitude)

● Dry, descending air
● Rainfall is very low and insolation is very high
● E >P
○ Evaporation
■ Brings salt up to surface
■ Salt (mineral) is extracted from soil with water
○ Precipitation
● Rates of photosynthesis/productivity are very low
Taiga (50-60 degrees N, doesn’t exist in the Southern Hemisphere due to absence of land
at that latitude)
● More temperate
○ Issue is that since it’s seasonal it’s not as productive year round

Tundra (60-75 degrees N latitude)

● At very high latitudes, energy input is very low
● Periods of permanent darkness mean temperature and light levels are often too low
for photosynthesis
● Short growing season
● Limited water due to low precipitation and permafrost
● Tundra vegetation has very low productivity
○ 1 layer of vegetation

Layers of vegetation
- More layers
- More biodiversity
- More productivity

Impact of climate change

On biomes
● Biomes move away from equator
● Rainforests (and temperate) biomes will shift to higher latitudes (away from the
equator)
● Permafrost (Tundra) will decrease
● Deserts enlarge (although some will receive more rain).

Climate change impact on Tropical Rainforest

● Biome shift
○ Rainforests may be replaced by savannah and grasslands on the equator as
the climate may become too dry
● Structure
○ The complex structure may become more simplified as organisms cannot
migrate fast enough to the new distribution areas
 ○ Increased fires in tropical rainforests (due to higher temperatures or
increased aridity) would lead to loss of species and reduce niches
● Productivity
○ Productivity declines as plants cannot carry out photosynthesis as
efficiently under the new climatic conditions
○ OR
○ Productivity increases as higher levels of CO2 increase photosynthesis rate

Climate change impact on Tundra

● Biome shift
○ Will decrease and transform as tree-line shifts north
● Structure
○ Tundra species replaced by temperate species - diversity would increase as
climate became suitable for wider range of organisms
● Productivity
○ Increased due to:
■ Increased temperature
■ Longer growing season
■ Reduction in permafrost
■ Productivity of consumers would also increase because of greater
productivity base

Zonation
● The change in community along an environmental (abiotic) gradient
● The abiotic changes the biotic
● Spatial phenomenon

R-strategist reproductive strategies

● Better adapted to pioneer communities as:
○ Adapted to extreme conditions
○ Low ability to compete
○ Short life
○ Fast growing
○ Early reproductive age
 ○ Many smaller offspring - i.e. large reproductive effort
○ Little parental investment

● Able to colonise new habitats quickly and make use of short-lived resources

K-strategist reproductive stages

● Better adapted to climax communities as:
○ Adapted to stable conditions
○ High ability to compete
○ Long life
○ Slow growing
○ Later reproductive age
○ Fewer larger offspring i.e. small reproductive effort
○ High parental investment

● Increases their survival rate and enables them to survive in long-term

climax communities

Ecological succession

● The change in species composition (i.e. community) in an ecosystem over time

● Biotic changes lead to changes in abiotic conditions
 ● Natural increase in diversity and complexity to the structure and species
composition of a community over time

- Involved pioneer, intermediate, and climax succession

● Primary Succession
○ The colonisation of newly created land by organisms
○ Occurs:
■ On created new land
■ After volcanic eruptions
■ Retreating glaciers
● Starting point: Bare, inorganic surface
○ Lifeless, abiotic environment
○ Soil nutrient poor and with an erratic water supply (poor water-holding
capacity)
○ Soil little more than mineral particles (i.e. no organic content)
● Pioneer community (colonisation)
○ First species to colonise area are pioneers
○ Pioneers are typically r-selected species (e.g. lichens and moss)
● Intermediate community
○ Larger plants (herbs,

Secondary succession
● Occurs where an already established community is disturbed by fire, flood, human
activity, etc.
● Less stages than primary succession, i.e. shorter duration
○ We already have soil and life (e.g. seeds in the soil that are ready to grow)
■ Soil takes a long time to build
● Occurs on developed soils that are ready for seeds
● Dormant seeds left in the soil from the previous community

Roles of r-selected species in succession

● Pioneer organisms suited to harsh conditions when resources are not limited
● Modify abiotic and biotic conditions making them more suited to K-selected
species
 ○ Support short, simple food chains
○ Increase soil depth
○ Increase soil water-holding capacity
○ Increase soil nutrients (e.g. through nitrogen fixation)
○ Make the conditions less extreme
■ E.g. provide cover and shelter against extreme temperature, increase
water availability
○ Increase soil organic content
○ (lichens) secrete acids that erode rock into soil

Roles of k-selected species in succession

● Competitive organisms that use resources for own growth and maintenance and
less in reproduction
● Stabilise abiotic and biotic conditions
○ Increase shade to prevent r-selected species returning
○ Slow down the rate of succession allowing the climax community to be
reached
○ Support complex food webs
○ Make the conditions less extreme/more hospitable
○ Contributes to stability of ecosystem

Mount. Nyiragongo case study

● Volcanic eruption Congo - Mount. Nyiragongo
● 2021
● Primary succession
○ Lava cools into bare rock
○ Life has to start from here now

Species and genetic diversity

● Greater habitat diversity leads to a greater species and genetic diversity
○ Species diversity increases during succession but then eventually stabilises
● Few species during early stage of succession
Increase in variety of energy pathways
● Result of increased species diversity and complexity of food web
● Increases climax community stability (and resilience)

Increase in variety of nutrient pathways

● Result of increased species diversity, complete and efficient nutrient cycles
(flows), and greater nutrient conservation (storage)
● Increases climax community stability (and resilience)

Productivity and Succession

Gross productivity - early stages
● Conditions for plant life are very limited due to lack of shelter, low soil nutrients
and moisture, extreme temperatures
○ = low gross primary productivity (GPP)
● No consumers due to lack of food
■ = zero gross secondary productivity (GSP)
● Initially low
● Extreme conditions
● Low density of producers
● Increases as production density increases

Respiration - early stages

● Community respiration (CR) - energy used for respiration by all species present
within the community
● NP = GP - Community Respiration
● Initially relatively low compared to GP due to a lack of biomass then increases

Biomass - Early stages

● High NP converted into biomass (growth)
● Succession improves abiotic conditions such as increased soil nutrients and
moisture, less extreme temperatures
● Increases in producer community
● Biomass (product of NP)
○ Rapid growth
 ○ Grasses, herbs, shrubs
○ Biomass accumulates

Gross productivity - Late stage (climax)

● Large plant community = high energy levels to support growing food web
● Increase consumer and decomposer community
○ GP
■ Typically remains high
○ GPP
■ Sometimes decreases
○ GSP
■ Increase in consumers (and decomposer) community

Pioneer Climax

Energy flow Simple. linear Complex, food web

Gross productivity Low, but increasing High, stable

Net productivity High Low

Diversity Low High, stable

Mineral cycling Slow Fast (and self-contained)

Biomass Low, but increasing High, stable

Alternative Stable States

● No one climax community
● Set of alternative stable states for a given ecosystem
● Depends on:
○ Climatic factors (drought, climate change)
○ Local variations in topography
○ Properties of the local soil (depth, nutrients, moisture)
○ Random events that can occur over time (human impact, disturbance)
● Arrested vs Deflected
Alternative Stable States - Arrested
● Succession may be ‘arrested’ (stopped) at a (sub-climax) pre-climax stage by an:
○ Abiotic factor (e.g. soil conditions such as waterlogging)
○ Biotic factor such as heavy grazing
● Development will only continue if the limiting factor is removed
● Example: Doum palm harvesting in Awash National Park. The ongoing harvest of
doum palm leaves prevents the palm groves reaching their climax. Allows other
species to colonise

Alternative Stable States - Deflected

● Succession process diverted to an alternate state as a result of:
○ A natural event, eg. fire or landslide
○ Human activity such as agriculture, regular use of fire, habitat destruction,
pollution from mining
● If the pressure is removed, then the deflected state:
○ May return to the original succession path
○ May be more or less permanent
● Depends upon the resilience of the ecosystem
● Example: Bush encroachment in Awash National Park. Livestock grazing on the
grass plains is reducing the grass population and allowing the encroachment of
shrub

Climax community stability

● Climax communities are more stable than early succession stages as:
○ More diverse
○ More productive, allowing it to support consumers/decomposers
○ More niches
○ Improved abiotic conditions e.g. soil fertility
○ More complex food webs provide alternative food sources if one is lost
○ Have negative feedback mechanisms leading to a steady state
○ Established effective nutrient cycles
Impact of human activity on communities
● Humans often try to recreate pioneer stages in agriculture
● Low competition
● High rates of productivity to maximise yield
● Decrease productivity by removing primary producers
● Reduce niches - has big impact on specialised species
● Deteriorate abiotic factors - causing harsh conditions to which few species adapt
● Remove certain species creating simple food webs
● Interfere with cycles by removing key organisms or nutrients

= less stable ecosystem which is more vulnerable to disease and pests

Topic 3.1

Species richness
● The number of species in a community
● A useful comparative measure

Simpson diversity index

● A function of the number of species (richness) and their relative abundance
(evennes)
● Useful when comparing
○ Two similar habitats
○ The same habitat over time

𝑁(𝑁−1)
𝐷𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 = Σ 𝑛(𝑛−1)
𝑁 = 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑚𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑
𝑛 = 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑠
Σ = 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 − 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑛(𝑛 − 1)
Biodiversity
● Broad concept encompassing total diversity of living systems, including:
○ Species diversity
○ Genetic diversity
○ Habitat diversity

Species diversity
● Measure of the variety of species in a given area or community
● In communities is a product of two variables:
○ The number of species (richness)
○ Their relative proportions (evenness)

Genetic diversity
● Range of genetic material present in a gene pool or population of a species

Habitat diversity
● Range of different habitats per unit area in a particular ecosystem or biome
● High habitat (niche) diversity promotes high species and genetic diversity
○ I.e. habitat diversity is an important consideration for conservationists

Distinguish diversities
● Biodiversity includes all 3
● Then define them all (key difference is community vs. population vs. ecosystem or
biome)

Evolution
● Biodiversity arises from evolutionary processes

Biological Variation
● Arises randomly
● However, the success of a particular trait is not random
Beneficial variations
● Can increase the likelihood of:
○ Successfully competing for resources (food, water, nesting sites, breeding
mates)
○ Survival (through gaining access to resources and avoiding being killed)
○ Reproductive success

Damaging variations
● Can reduce the likelihood of:
○ Successfully competing for resources
○ Survival (dying before reproducing)
○ Producing viable offspring (reproductive problems)

Neutral variations
● Make no difference to an individual’s:
○ Life expectancy
○ Ability to pass on genes

Natural selection
● Proposed mechanism that explains how variation between individuals can lead to
the formation of a new species
● I.e. survival of the fittest
● WITHIN a species or population - not between species

1. Within a population of one species, there is genetic diversity, which is called

variation
2. Due to natural variation, some individuals will be fitter than others
3. Fitter individuals have an advantage and will reproduce more successfully than
individuals who are less fit
4. The offspring of fitter individuals may inherit the genes that give that advantage

Environmental change
● Environmental change gives new challenges to species:
○ Those that are suited will survive
○ Those that are not suited will not
Speciation
● The formation of new species
● Happens when populations of the same species become isolated, cannot
interbreed and subject to different selective pressures
● Separate groups evolve increasingly different characteristics and become unable to
reproduce fertile offspring between them
● Slow process

Topic 3.2

Mass Extinction
● Mass extinctions of the past have been caused by various factors, such as tectonic
plate movement, super-volcanic eruption, climatic changes (including drought and
ice ages), and meteorite impact - all of which resulted in new directions in
evolution and therefore increased biodiversity
● Periods when very large numbers of species die out simultaneously or within a
(geologically) very short period
● The big 5 mass extinctions
● Past mass extinctions have been caused by:
○ Tectonic plate movements
○ Super-volcanic eruption
○ Climatic changes (including drought and ice ages)
○ Meteorite impact
● All resulted in new directions in evolution and therefore increased biodiversity
○ Remove dominant, entrenched resource-hogging organisms that slow down
the rate of evolutionary development
○ Create new evolutionary niches which promote a wide range of species,
increasing competition and biodiversity
○ We can thank KT event for our existence
● Big 5 Mass Extinctions
○ Occurred over relatively long timescales
○ Past mass extinctions linked to natural causes (e.g. meteorite impact, ice
ages, extreme volcanic activity, changes in atmospheric composition)
○ Based on fossil record - not fully understood
● PERMIAN-TRIASSIC EXTINCTION—252 MA
 ○ Deadliest extinction in history: 96% of all life wiped out
○ Scientists believe that volcanic activity in Siberia put massive amounts of
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
○ Bacteria that thrive on CO2 began producing methane
○ Both gases warmed the planet and combined with Earth’s water, making the
ocean and rain acidic, creating a highly toxic environment for life
● CRETACEOUS-PALEOGENE EXTINCTION—66 MA
○ Wiped out the dinosaurs and 60–76% of all life on Earth
○ Widely accepted theory - asteroid landed in the Yucatán Peninsula in
Mexico and killed the dinosaurs
○ Impact ejected enormous amounts of debris into the atmosphere, causing
global temperatures to drop
○ Impact may cause local fires, earthquakes, tsunamis, & acid rain
● 6th mass extinction
○ Occurring over relatively short timescale
○ Largely attributable to human causes (e.g. over hunting, habitat loss,
pollution, climate change, invasive species)
○ More accurately recorded

Plate tectonics
● Earth’s surface is divided into crustal, tectonic plates
● The tectonic plates have moved throughout geological time
● Led to the creation of both land bridges and physical barriers with evolutionary
consequences

Geographical Isolation
● 2 populations of the same species are separated by a physical barrier (mountain
range, river, lake)
● 2 populations prevented from breeding
● Different selection pressures where they live result in behaviour and/or physical
variations
● Eventually differences so great that they can’t interbreed

Isolation of Populations
● Geographic isolation caused by:
○ Environmental changes forming barriers such as mountain formation
 ○ Changes in rivers
○ Sea level change
○ Climatic change
○ Plate movements

Land Bridges
● Result from the lowering of seawater levels and continental drift
● Allow species to invade new areas

Continental Drift
● Continents have drift into different climate zones
● Caused:
○ Climatic variation
○ Variations in food supply
○ New and diverse habitats
● Changing climatic conditions and food supplies forced species to adapt and
resulted in an increase in biodiversity

Plate activity - Divergent

● Plates moving slowly apart
● May cause the separation of previously contiguous ecosystems and their
populations
● E.g. the Rift Valley splitting in Ethiopia

● Volcanic eruptions along the ridge forming new islands that are colonised
● Due to their isolation, they have unique ecosystems
● E.g. Iceland forming along the mid-Atlantic ridge

Plate activity - Convergent

● Continental - continental convergence
● 2 continental plates collide and both are forced upwards as mountains
● E.g. formation of Himalayas - collision of indian plate with the eurasian plate
 ● Creates:
○ Zonation of ecosystems changing with altitude
○ Physical barriers

Isolation - Separation - Natural Selection - Biodiversity - Speciation

Topic 3.3

Natural Capital and Natural Income

● Natural capital ( = natural resources)
○ Natural resources that can produce a sustainable natural income of goods or
services
● Natural income
○ The yield obtained from natural resources
■ The increase on the capital over time
■ For example, a forest (natural capital) provides timber (natural
income)
○ Ecosystems may provide:
■ Services
● Natural processes that benefit the human environment
● E.g. water replenishment, flood, and erosion protection
■ Goods
● Marketable commodities exploited by humans
● E.g. timber, fisheries, and agricultural crops

Sustainability
● Use and management of resources at a rate that allows full natural replacement
of the resources exploited and full recovery of the ecosystems affected by their
extraction and use
● I.e. living within the means of nature

● Sustainable development
○ Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs
 ● Sustainability vs Sustainable development
○ Sustainability suggests maintaining an equilibrium
○ Development suggests change for the better
● Unsustainable
○ The depletion of natural capital
■ All of the natural income can be used - that’s sustainable but not this

Relationship between nat capital, nat income and sustainability

● Definitions
● Some natural capital can renew itself e.g. forest
● Some natural capital can never be used sustainably, as its finite e.g. fossil fuels
● Natural income comes from natural capital
○ E.g. forests are natural capital that provide a natural income of goods such
as timber and services such as carbon sequestering
● Sustainability means harvesting amounts that do not surpass natural income
○ i.e. (maximum) sustainable yield
● If natural income is overexploited then the natural capital is reduced -
unsustainable
● A reduction in capital will reduce potential for future income

Environmental Impact Assessment

● Baseline study conducted before a development project is undertaken
● Assess the environmental, social, and economic impacts of the environment
● Environmental: record abiotic conditions, population size and species diversity
● Socioeconomic: survey stakeholder opinions and social and economic interests of
local population

● Predict and evaluate possible impacts

○ On ecosystems and key species
○ Socio economic impacts on communities

● Make recommendations regarding:

○ Continuance/discontinuance of project
○ Mitigation of impact during and after the project
 ● Auditing and continued monitoring usually occur after completion of the project
● Each country or region has different guidance on the use of EIA’s

● Supports sustainable development

Strengths:
- Provide decision makers with info in order to consider the environmental impact
of a project
- Depending on the country, there is not necessarily a requirement to implement an
EIA’s proposals
- Many socio-economic factors may influence the decisions made

- Helps make considered decisions - gives you the info to do it

- Takes the environment into account and people (socio economic)

Weaknesses:
- The lack of a standard practice or training for practitioners
- The lack of a clear definition of system boundaries
- And lack of inclusion of indirect impacts

- Developer pays for it

- Which EIA company are they going to choose?
- The one's that are going to give them the decisions that they want

Value of ecosystem services to a society

Value may be
- Aesthetic
- Cultural
- Economic
- Technological
- Intrinsic
- Social
- Spiritual

● Use valuation - ecosystem services that we can put a price on

 ○ Ecological functions, e.g. water storage or gas exchange in forests
○ Recreational functions, e.g. tourism, leisure activities
● Non-use valuation - ecosystem services that is almost impossible to put a price
on
○ E.g. if it has intrinsic, aesthetic, cultural value
○ If there are future uses that we do not yet know (science, medicines,
potential gene pool)

How do we protect non-use valuation services?

● Put a price tag on non-use valuation so that people realise that it has worth

● Encourages exploitation
● Typically economically undervalued

Environmental Indicators
● Simple quantitative measures that tell us:
○ What is happening in the environment
○ The ‘health’ of the environment
● Types of indicators:
○ Biodiversity
○ Pollution
○ Population
○ Climate
● More practical and economical than attempting to record every possible variable in
the environment
● Can be used at range of scale - from local to global

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

● Based on environmental indicators
● Used for:
○ Scientific appraisal of the condition and trends in the world’s ecosystems
and the services they provide
○ To provide a scientific basis for action to conserve and use ecosystems
sustainably

● Used to determine if natural resources are being used sustainably

 ● Provides a scientific basis on which to make decisions relating to natural resource
use

Environmental Indicators and Sustainability

● Environmental indicators are used to:
○ Reduce ecosystem complexity (i.e. make the environment understandable)
○ Track changes to the quality and condition of the air water, land,
biodiversity and/or ecological systems
○ Determine if natural resources are being used sustainably (i.e. the natural
capital is not being depleted)
○ Compare current conditions against benchmarks
○ Diagnose problems
● Scientific basis for action
● Output used to:
○ Recommend stopping/limiting/modifying harmful changes
○ Support continue positive practices
○ Recommend altering yield
○ Predict future outcomes

Ecological Footprint
● Area of land and water required to sustainably provide all resources at the rate
at which they are being consumed by a given population
● If the EF is greater than the area available to the population, this is an indication of
unsustainability
○ I.e. the carrying capacity of the area is exceeded
Explain the relationship between EF’s and sustainability (7 point question)
● Define both
● RLE
● Sustainability is if EF is less than the biocapacity of area
● Not sustainable if IF is greater than the biocapacity of area
● If EF is greater than the area currently available to the population, this shows the
resource use is unsustainable
● EF is a model, so same strengths and weaknesses

Extinction
● Point when a species ceases to exist or the last known individual of the species
dies
○ E.g. Bramble Cay rat declared extinct in 2019 (killed off by human-induced
climate change)

● The current extinction rates are far greater now than in the recent past
● Due to increased human influence
● Total number of classified species is a small fraction of the estimated total of
species
○ As a consequence estimates of extinction rates are varied
● Current extinction rates 100-10,000 times greater than background rates
 ● Human activities:
○ Habitat destruction
■ Main cause of species extinction
■ Mainly for the purpose of agriculture, cities, roads, and industry
○ Introduction of invasive species
■ Approximately 42% of Threatened or Endangered species are at risk
primarily due to invasive species
■ Invasive species introduced intentionally, by accident or escapes
○ Pollution
■ Caused by human activities
■ Degrades or destroys habitats
■ Biomagnification
■ E.g. oil spills, eutrophication, acid deposition
○ Overharvesting and hunting
■ Technology has increased catching, hunting, and harvesting ability
■ Occurs when maximum sustainable yield is succeeded
■ Rural poverty mixed with improved hunting methods has increased
overexploitation of the environment

IUCN Red List Criteria

● Publishes data in the “Red List of Threatened Species”
● Provides analyses on the status, trends, and threats to species in order to inform
and catalyse action for biodiversity conservation
● The Red List determines the conservation status of a species based on several
criteria:
○ Degree of specialisation
■ Specialised species have less chance of survival because:
● Entirely dependent on one resource for their survival
● If that resource becomes scarce, the dependent organism is at
risk
■ E.g. some orchids rely on a single insect species to pollinate them
○ Population size
■ Small populations have less chance of survival because:
● Low genetic diversity = less resilient
● Risk of inbreeding
● Unable to find each other if spread over a large region
 ● Potentially isolated in small areas
■ Often are large predators or specialist species
○ Distribution
■ Species with a limited range have less chance of survival because:
● If the place is damaged or destroyed, the habitat is gone
○ Reproductive potential
■ Species which reproduce slowly have less chance of survival
because:
● If overharvested, they are unable to restore their populations
to sustainable numbers
■ E.g. African forest elephant
● First pregnancy at about 23 years
● One calf every 5.5 years
● Doubling time of 41 years
○ Behaviour
■ Behaviours that can reduce the chance of survival:
● Evolving in places without humans - no fear of humans (e.g.
elephant bird and dodo)
● Close bonds with group members - remain with dying
members, putting themselves at risk (e.g. elephants)
● Edible herd/flock animals - easy to exploit once located (e.g.
passenger pigeon)
○ Degree of fragmentation
■ Species facing a high degree of fragmentation have less chance of
survival because:
● Edge effect - habitat edges gave different conditions to that of
the centre
○ Greater presence of outside species and human activity
along the edges
● Difficulty in dispersing leading to bottlenecks and inbreeding
● High chance of small populations going extinct and little
chance of reconolisation
○ Trophic level
■ Top predators have less chance of survival because:
● Lower in number
● Reductions in prey species lower down the food chain can
have knock on effects due to 10% rule
 ● Compete with humans for food
● Danger to humans
● Hunted for sport
■ E.g. Tiger
○ Quality of habitat
■ Species in low quality habitat have less chance of survival because:
● Less resources available
● Presence of pollution

● IUCN Red List categories

○ Extinct (EX)
■ When there is no reasonable doubt that the last individual has died
○ Critically Endangered (CR)
■ Considered to be facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the
wild

Case Studies
● 3 case histories associated with human activity
● Extinct
○ Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacine)
■ Found only in Tasmania - so narrow distribution
■ Habitat destroyed for sheep farming
■ Hunted as thought to be a predator of sheep
■ Took 2.3 years to reach sexual maturity (slower than other
marsupials), which reduced the ability of the population to recover
■ Collected for zoos
■ Extinct in 1936
■ Protected by law in 1936
■ Game reserve created in 1966
■ Apex predator that controlled prey species populations
● Critically endangered
○ African forest elephant
■ First pregnancy at about 23 years
■ One calf every 5.5 years
■ Doubling time of 41 years - slow reproductive rate
 ■ They inhabit the dense rainforests of west and central Africa -
narrow geographical distribution
■ Loss of mature elephants
● Reproductive generation lost so gotta wait for young one's to
mature
● If you lose matriarch, elephants don’t know where to go
■ Remain with the dead - easy to kill
■ Sharp declines in population since 2008 due to a significant increase
in poaching, which peaked in 2011 but continues to threaten
populations
■ Habitat loss due to conversion of their habitats, primarily to
agricultural and other land uses
● Leads to human-wildlife conflict as elephants stray to human
land and humans kill
■ Conflict in DRC so hard to implement legislations
■ Elephants move between boundaries of countries so harder to protect
them
■ Since the diet of forest elephants is dominated by fruit, they play a
crucial role in dispersing many tree species, particularly the seeds of
large trees which tend to have high carbon content (seed dispersal)
■ Create pathways for smaller animals
● Conservation states has been improved by
○ Mountain Gorilla
■ Found in Virunga volcanoes and in Bwindi Impenetrable National
Park in Uganda
■ A limited dispersal ability (due to human settlements)
■ Long generation time
■ Low reproductive rate
■ Low amounts of genetic variation
■ Cannot survive in captivity
■ Specially-trained vets care for the animals in the wild
■ Patrols to fend off poachers
■ Park rangers protect gorillas
■ Eco-tourism boosted local economies and encouraged communities
to keep mountain gorillas safe
■ Habitat protection (e.g. VNP none of the oil concessions that the
government is pushing for affects gorilla habitat) as they have
 become a flagship species due to raised awareness and governments
now have increased pressure to protect them
■ Habitat loss due to conversion of their habitats, primarily to
agricultural and other land uses
■ Poaching
■ Civil unrest and corruption pose threat to gorillas and make
conservation difficult
■ Snares intended to catch antelopes also entangle gorillas
■ Dispersing seeds into forest (for them to grow) from fruits they eat
■ Generate income for local community and national parks through
ecotourism

Virunga National Park

Key threats
● Illegal poaching
○ Elephant, hippopotamus, buffalo threatened by poaching to supply
bushmeat markets
○ Elephants are poached for ivory and meat, and are down to fewer than 100
individuals
○ The two subspecies of gorilla (mountain and Grauer’s gorillas) in the park
are highly vulnerable to even low levels of hunting due to small
population size
○ Poaching of mountain gorillas in the Southern Sector is an ever present
threat although there have been no new cases of direct killing of mountain
gorillas since the killing of 10 individuals in 2007
● Oil concession
○ Possible future oil exploitation is the greatest threat
○ 85% of the land in Virunga was allocated as oil concessions, threatening the
habitats of endangered chimpanzees, hippos, and forest elephants
○ The mountain gorilla habitat does no currently fall within an oil concession,
however the development in the park could negatively affect their
security by increasing, fragmentation, poaching access and pollution
● Deforestation
○ 97% of people living around VNP rely on charcoal for cooking fuel
○ Charcoal is also sold in the provincial capital of Foma where over 90% of
the residents traditionally cook with charcoal, and in neighbouring
Rwanda (where charcoal making is forbidden)
 ○ The operation is mostly controlled by militias and sections of the
Congolese military
○ Chimpanzee habitat is directly threatened - these unique forests are slow
growing forests, the long term impact of charcoal making is severe
● Encroachment
○ 67% of the park boundary is under moderate/high pressure due to illegal
subsistence agriculture inside the park
○ The park is long and narrow so encroachment threatens the connectivity
between the uniquely diverse range of habitat types within the park
○ Approximately, one fifth of VNP remains under illegal occupation,
corresponding to areas of cultivation and charcoal production.

Mathematical models
● Influenced by:
○ Classification issues (speciation is an ongoing process)
○ Lack of finance for scientific research

Tropical Biomes
● Unsustainable exploitation of tropical biomes results in massive losses in:
○ Biodiversity
○ Their ability to perform globally important ecological services such as
carbon capture and maintaining soil quality
● Most tropical biomes occur in less economically developed countries (LEDCs)
○ E.g. Brazil, DRC, CAR, Indonesia, Cameroon, Gabon
○ There is conflict between exploitation, sustainable development and
conservation

DRC resources exploitation, conservation and sustainable development

● One of the world’s 10 mega-biodiverse countries
● High rate of endemism (e.g. Okapi)
● Home to the world’s second-largest tropical forest and river basin

DRC - society
● Third largest population of poor globally (73% live below the poverty line)
● Ranked 19th out of 189 on the Human Development Index
 ● About 65% of the population depend on farming for their livelihoods.
● Population growing at a rate of 3.7%/year (4th highest globally)
● One of Africa's fastest growing economies
● Adult literacy of 77%
● Corruption prevalent
● Recent conflict
● Internally displaced

DRC - Natural resources

● World's largest diamond reserves
● Large amount of fertile land
● 52% of all freshwater in sub Saharan Africa (huge hydropower potential)
● Large reserves of gold, copper and highly-prized cobalt (used in batteries) and
coltan (used in electronic devices)
● Oil reserves

Exploitation of Tropical Biomes

● Exploitation of natural resources is considered vital to the:
○ Survival and social development of the local human population
○ Economic development of a nation

Benefits of exploiting DRC tropical forests

● Generates income (and foreign currency) when raw materials, cobalt and coltan
sold for a good price abroad
● Creates jobs
● Profits from selling resources can be used to improve infrastructure such as
schools, hospitals and transport and pay off foreign debt

Problems of exploiting DRC tropical forests

● Profits from industrial-scale forestry and selling resources often go back to
MEDCs or large companies and don't benefit the forest communities
● Many benefits are short term
● Reduces ability to perform globally important ecological services e.g. preventing
soil erosion
● Contributes to global warming
● New roads cause habitat fragmentation
 ● Land clearance for forestry, agriculture, transportation and mining leads to
deforestation
● Fertile soils that make farming possible are quickly eroded when the forest is
cleared
● Habitat loss occurs when trees are cut down causing biodiversity loss

Slash and burn agriculture - DRC tropical forests

● Traditional, subsistence agriculture practised
● Involves clearing a small area of land and burning the cut vegetation to provide
nutrients for the soil from the ash
● For 2-4 years the soil remains sufficiently fertile for the people to grow crops
● When the soil's fertility is exhausted, the people move on and clears another small
area of forest
● If left fallow, original area recovers after 10-40 years, as it receives nutrients and
seeds from surrounding vegetation
● Sustainable as causes no lasting damage

Unsustainable slash and burn - tropical forests

● Pressure increasing from:
○ Displaced people
○ Decreasing available land
● Forces local people to:
○ Reuse old plots before the soil and forest has recovered
○ Unsustainable clearing of untouched forest to get short-term fertility for
crop growth
○ Cope with falling harvests which deepens poverty

Exploitation, sustainable development & conservation of DRC forests

● DRC needs to exploit the forest resources and mineral wealth to develop- leaving
it untouched is not an option
● Overexploitation causes irreversible damage such as loss of biodiversity, soil
erosion and climate change
● Sustainable development of the forest is essential to meet the needs of DRC
population without compromising the needs of future generations
● Sustainable strategies include: selective logging education, agro-forestry, protected
areas and reforestation
Impact of human activity on biodiversity
DRC - harmful human activities
● Development and poverty are contributing to the loss of biodiversity
● Key causes of environmental damage are:
○ Deforestation (illegal and legal) and habitat destruction
○ Poaching
○ Encroachment (slash and burn agriculture)
○ Erosion and soil degradation
○ Pollution of water bodies from mining

DRC - consequences of biodiversity loss

● Biodiversity loss deprives future generations of valuable resources that threatened
species might hold
● Eliminate options to use untapped resources for agriculture, industry and medicine
● Loss of income from ecotourism
● Reduces the resilience of the ecosystem making it prone to change
● Increased food insecurity

DRC - beneficial human activities

● Creation of national parks e.g. Virunga NP
● Park management system to conserve wildlife using sustainable development
programmes that provide direct benefits to the local people
● International support to boost ecotourism, agriculture, international trade,
education and health as a means to boost the national economy
● Protects biodiversity

DRC - limitations to beneficial human activities

● Corruption
● 11% of land protected by national parks
● Possible future oil extraction in protected areas
● Militia and military engaged in charcoal production - difficult to stop
Topic 3.4

Reasons to preserve nature

Preservation vs Conservation
● Conservation: the sustainable use and management of natural resources
(anthropocentric)
● Preservation: attempts to exclude human activity in areas where humans have not
yet encroached (ecocentric)

Direct vs Indirect
Direct: value that is easy to measure
● E.g. productive use values, consumptive use values
Indirect: value that cannot be measured easily
● E.g. aesthetic values, ethical values, social and cultural values

Justifying biodiversity preservation: Economic Arguments

● The valuation (estimated monetary worth) of:
○ Ecotourism: generates income and creates employment
○ Natural capital: commercial value of resources such as timber, rubber, fish,
palm oil, fertiliser and pharmaceuticals
○ Genetic resources: retaining wild strains of common food plants and
animals in case of future change (e.g. new disease or pest)
● Direct value

Justifying biodiversity preservation: Ethical Arguments

● Based on:
○ The intrinsic value of a species independent of human needs (i.e. each
species has a right to exist)
○ Humans have a responsibility to look after the Earth (i.e. stewardship)
○ Indirect value

Justifying biodiversity preservation: Ecological Arguments

● Based on the need to preserve the ecosystem in order to:
○ Provide habitat for endangered or endemic species
○ Maintain ecological services such as climate regulation, carbon storage,
oxygen production and water filtration
● Indirect value
Justifying biodiversity preservation: Social Arguments
● Based on the social provisions biodiversity offers such as:
○ Human rights of the 300 million indigenous people dependent on
biodiversity
○ Preserving habitats that are the home and livelihood of indigenous people
and are of cultural significance
○ Opportunities for scientific research and education
● Indirect value

Justifying biodiversity preservation: Aesthetic Arguments

● Wild organisms and places that provide us with a sense of peace and contentment
due to their beauty
● Indirect value

GO vs. NGO
Intergovernmental Organisations (IGO)
● Composed of and answering to a group of member states
● International organisations
● E.g. IUCN (they do the red list), UNEP

Governmental Organisations (GO)

● Part of and funded by a national government
● Highly bureaucratic
● Involved in research, regulation, monitoring and control activities
● E.g. EWCA (Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority)

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO)

● Not part of a government
● Not for profit
● May be international or local
● Funded by individuals or independent groups
● Some run by volunteers
● Very diverse
● E.g. Greenpeace and Save Awash National Park
Effectiveness of organisations
● IGOs, GOs, and NGOs are involved in conserving and restoring ecosystems and
biodiversity
● Varying levels of effectiveness

Use of Media
IGO and GO NGO

Professional media liaison and staff Uses footage of activities to gain media
attention

Controls/works with media Mobilises public protests to pressure

governments

Releases statements Uses social media and the internet to

maintain international links (can be
hindered in non-democratic regimes)

Speed of Response
IGO and GO NGO

Slow and bureaucratic Generally faster due to their independence

Often many countries involved in

negotiations

Each country has its own view/position

Directed by governments, so sometimes

may be against public opinion

Diplomatic Constraints
IGO and GO NGO

Often hindered by political disagreement Not affected by diplomatic constraints

Decisions can be politically driven rather

than by what is best for conservation

Financial Resources
 IGO and GO NGO

Fund environmental projects using money Fund environmental projects using private
from national budgets donations

Political Influence
IGO and GO NGO

Organisation has direct links to Influence is indirect and depends on

governments of many countries lobbying, pressure groups, and public
protests

Can pass laws on environmental issues Public opinion and pressure used rather
than legal powers

International Conventions
● Work to create collaboration between nations for biodiversity convention by:
○ Raising the profile for conservation
○ Producing legally binding agreements
○ Putting pressure on governments to act on conservation issues
● E.g. CITES

Need for International Conventions on Biodiversity

● Many species do not live in habitats defined by national borders
● Actions within one country can influence conservation efforts in other countries

Species vs habitat based conservation

Species conservation
● Approach that focuses on individual species or groups of species that are
threatened
● Aims to protect them and increase their number
● Does not focus on the habitat

Habitat conservation
● Approach that seeks to conserve, protect and restore habitat areas for wild plants
and animals
 ● Aims to reduce/prevent fragmentation or reduction in range
● Allows species within it to survive

Mixed approach
● Approach that protects wild plant and animal species and their habitats
● Most common approach
● E.g. Mountain Gorilla cannot be bred in captivity so habitat needs to be protected
as well

Conservation area location

● Significant factor in the success of the conservation effort
● An important design consideration in conservation area design is:
○ Surrounding land use
○ Distance from urban centres are important factors for consideration

Protected area placement

● Situated far enough from an urban area so that the surrounding land acts as a
physical barrier (buffer) to human interference
● Yet close enough to easily and safely allow visitors (if funded by tourism)

Criteria for designing protected areas

Edge effect
● Changes in population or community structures that occur at the boundary of 2
habitats
● The more interior per edge the better as it:
○ Reduces the impact of other organisms living outside the reserve
● However:
○ More small ones provide a greater range of habitats
○ Less danger that a natural disaster will wipe out all small reserves
Size
● The larger the better because they:
○ Have more interior per edge (i.e. less edge effect)
○ Potentially incorporate a greater variety of habitats
○ Support larger populations
○ Support greater (genetic) diversity of any one species
○ Have less inbreeding
○ Have less risk of natural disaster wiping out all the individuals of a species
● However:
○ Small is sometimes the only option
○ Depends on the requirements of the species that the reserve is there to
protect

Shape
● Rounder is better than any other shape because it:
○ Has less edge per interior
○ Decreases the amount of edge effect
● However:
○ Shape is determined by what is available

Fragmentation
● Process whereby a large area is divided up into a patchwork of fragments that are
separated from each other by roads, fences, towns, fields
● Intact is better than fragmentation because it:
○ Has less edge per interior
 ○ Larger single population
○ No dispersal problems
● However:
○ Governments sometimes put roads and rail through protected areas as there
is less opposition than from privately owned land

Wildlife corridors
● Strip of (native vegetation) land used to link wildlife
● Joins 2 or more areas of similar wildlife habitat
● Connected with corridors is better than not connected because it:
○ Facilitates dispersal
○ Allows gene flow to promote genetic diversity
○ Reduces the chance of dispersing animals being killed
● However - corridors are not always ideal as they potentially:
○ Allow the spread of disease
○ May put animals in danger as they come closer to humans
○ Make certain species easy targets for poachers

Proximity to potential human influence

● Buffer zone: Transitional zone around the core of a protected area in which some
human activity occurs
● Buffer zone is better than no buffer zone as it:
○ Protects from outside disturbance (pest, disease, and people)

Management
● Conservation management can be better than preservation management as it:
○ Controls the spread of invasive species
○ Reduces the risk of one species dominating at the expense of other
important organisms
○ Promote charismatic species to encourage visitors and support conservation
projects
○ Maintain positive community relations
Species based conservation
Species based conservation strategy: CITES
● International agreement aiming to limit international trade in Endangered Species
of wild fauna and flora and their body parts

Strengths
● Trade in endangered plants and animals has significantly reduced
● Agreement has raised awareness of trade in endangered species
● Permits and licences are required to trade in listed species

Weaknesses
● The agreement is voluntary and countries can withdraw
● Penalties may be less than the profit to be made from trade or smuggling
● Some countries are unable to enforce the laws effectively due to a lack of
resources or corruption

Species based conservation strategy: Captive breeding and Reintroduction Programmes,

and Zoos
● Aims to increasing numbers of endangered plant and animal species ex-situ and
reintroduce them to their native habitat
● Creates an insurance policy for those species that have or might go extinct in the
wild

Strengths
● Genetic diversity can be maintained by selective breeding
● Artificial insemination can help when animals fail to breed naturally
● Zoo play a role in education and raising awareness
● Numbers of rare species can be increased in captivity to boost numbers in the wild

Weaknesses
● Reintroduction of species is expensive, difficult and many programmes fail (e.g.
animals lack sufficient survival skills)
● Doesn’t address underlying cause of species decline (e.g. reintroduced animals
may be poached)
● Doesn’t protect the habitat, which species cannot survive without
Golden Lion Tamarin - essay material
An umbrella species - protecting these species indirectly protects the many other species
that make up the ecological community of its habitat
● Habitat fragmentation and destruction reduced and overexploitation reduced wild
population to 220 individuals
● Captive breeding and reintroduction led to 146 individuals being reintroduced
(30% survived)
● Wild population now 1000 (due to mixed approach)
● 490 individuals in captivity

Species-based conservation strategy: Flagship species

● Selection of “charismatic”, easily recognisable species to help protect others in an
area
● Typically a large, furry species that may or may not have a significant role in the
ecosystem

Strengths
● Raise awareness which can lead to increased funding and support
● Engage local population who may benefit from increased tourism
● Increase funding and support

Weaknesses
● Favous attractive species over ecologically important one's i.e. led by public
opinion and not science
● If they become extinct, then support may lessen
● They may be in conflict with local people

Species-based conservation strategy: Keystone species

● Species that has a disproportionate effect on the structure of an ecosystem
● The disappearance of a keystone species could completely alter an ecosystem
● Typically a predator or engineer
● E.g. sea otter protecting kelp by feeding on sea urchins

Strengths
● Conserves those species that rely on the keystone species (i.e. protects the integrity
of the food web)
● Efficient way of conserving an ecosystem
Weaknesses
● Can result in a species which the public consider unattractive being conserved
● They may be in conflict with local people (e.g. grey wolf)
● May struggle to attract funding and support
● Requires sufficient understanding of the ecosystem

Markscheme for essay - Species based conservation

● Focuses on vulnerable species and raising their profile
● Attracts attention and therefore funding for conservation
● Can be very successful for saving keystone and flagship species
● Can successfully preserve a species in zoos/botanic gardens
● CITES addresses the cross border issues and can prevent illegal trade protecting
species
● Seedbanks can preserve genetic diversity for future restocking of habitats
● If habitat is not preserved it is difficult to preserve species
● High cost due to enforcing trade restrictions at border crossings/maintenance costs
in zoos

Habitat based conservation

● Protects the whole ecosystem so long-term survival is more likely
● Preservation of diversity more likely with a holistic approach as diversity can be
species/habitat/genetic
● Visiting an intact ecosystem enables it to be studied to increase understanding of
its functions
● May be species that have not been discovered yet
● Visiting protected areas as an ecotourist raises awareness and profits are recycled
back into biodiversity programmes
● Protected areas can become islands and therefore lose biodiversity due to
e.g.size/shape/edge effects
● Requires sufficient funding/protection to ensure not disturbed

Influencing Conservation Efforts

● Conservation efforts are influence by:
○ Community support (their needs must be met)
○ Government support
 ○ Adequate funding
○ Proper research

Evaluating success of VNP

Virunga National Park

● UNESCO World Heritage Site
○ Draws more attention and global outrage
● It’s large - 7800 km^2
● Protects ⅓ of the worlds wild mountain gorillas
● Most biologically diverse protected area in Africa

VNP Management Strategy

● Mixed approach
● Uses a flagship species (mountain gorilla) to promote
● Habitat-conservation approach
● Manages by (attempting) to protect habitat and species
● Strengthen relations with the locals

Successes
● No new cases of direct killing of mountain gorillas since the killing of 10
individuals in 2007
● Slowed the rate of habitat destruction and wildlife species decline
● Building positive relationships with the community for e.g. by protecting their
crops from elephants
● Stopped SOCO from extracting oil inside the park

Challenges
● Over 200 rangers killed protecting the park poaching
● Ongoing habitat destruction due to deforestation (for charcoal) and encroachment
● Hippo pop decreased by 95% since the 1970s
● Approximately ⅕ of VNP remains under illegal occupation
● Ongoing presence of militia and corrupt military
● 67% of the park boundary is under moderate/high pressure due to illegal
subsistence agriculture inside the park
Topic 6.1

Introduction to the atmosphere

Main gases of the atmosphere
● Nitrogen (78%)
● Oxygen (21%)
● Argon
● Water vapour
● Carbon dioxide

Troposphere: 0 - 10 km above sea level

Stratosphere: 10 - 50 km above sea level

Change in temperature where the boundaries occur between elevations

Clouds
● Most form in the troposphere
● Important role in the albedo effect of the Earth
● Albedo: proportion of the incident light or radiation that is reflected by a surface

Low thick clouds increase albedo effect

High thin clouds can increase warming

Discuss the role of the albedo effect from clouds in regulating global average temperature
- Key Ideas
- Albedo is the proportion of the incident light or radiation that is reflected by a
surface
- Tropospheric clouds reflect incoming shortwave/solar radiation
- Clouds increase the albedo effect of the planet / reduce the amount of radiation
reaching the Earth's surface
- Global cloud albedo contributes to the net cooling of the planet
- Climate change may increase evaporation and low cloud cover which would
further reduce the incoming solar radiation reaching Earth's surface, thus
providing a net cooling effect i.e. negative feedback

Key Ideas - counterargument

- Cloud albedo varies according to the type of cloud
 - High, thin clouds reduce the amount of outgoing infrared/ longwave radiation
leaving Earth's surface increasing temperature
- Global warming may increase evaporation and high cloud cover which would
increase the amount of trapped outgoing infrared/longwave energy, thus providing
a net warming effect i.e. positive feedback

Atmosphere
● Dynamic system that has changed over geological time

Human activities - CO2

● Burning of fossil fuels releases CO2
● Increase in decomposing materials (e.g. landfills) increase CO2
● Industrial processes (e.g. cement works) release CO2
● Burning land for agriculture

Human activities - Water vapour

● Large scale irrigation (increases evaporation)
● Deforestation (decreases transpiration)
● Global warming as a result of increased CO2, methane (increases evaporation)

Greenhouse effect
● Natural
● Necessary to maintain suitable temperatures for life on Earth (by creating liquid
water)
● Water vapour, CO2 and methane are main GHG’s
● Gases in the atmosphere reduce heat losses into space
● Trap heat energy radiated from the Earth’s surface and reradiate it (to space or
Earth)

Without atmospheric greenhouse gases:

● All radiated heat would go straight back into space
● The temperature on Earth would fall drastically every night
Topic 1.5 / 6.3

Pollution
● Addition of a substance or an event to an environment by human activity, at a rate
greater than that at which it can be rendered harmless by the environment

Pollutants may be:

● Point source
○ Release of pollutants from a single, clearly identifiable site
○ Easier to see who is polluting and manage
● Non-point source
○ Release of pollutants from numerous, widely dispersed origins
○ Many sources, making it impossible to detect exactly where it is coming
from

Pollutants may be:

● Persistent
○ Resistant to breaking down and remain active in the environment for a long
time
○ Bioaccumulate in animal and human tissues and biomagnify in food chains
● Biodegradable
○ Do not persist in the environment
○ Break down quickly
○ Broken down by decomposer organisms or physical processes
○ E.g. food waste

Pollutants may be:

● Primary
○ Active on emission
● Secondary
○ Arising from primary pollutants undergoing physical or chemical change

Photochemical smog
Anthropogenic (human made) Primary Pollutants
● Fossil fuel combustion are a major source producing:
○ Unburned hydrocarbons/VOCs
 ○ Nitrogen oxides (NO, NOx)

Secondary pollutants
● Formed when primary pollutants react with other chemicals already present in the
atmosphere
● Series of reactions
● Occurs in the presence of sunlight
● I.e. photochemical reactions

Better explanation
● Fossil fuels are burned, releasing the primary pollutants:
○ VOCs through evaporation
○ NOx through combustion
● In the presence of sunlight, the primary pollutants form secondary pollutants
○ VOCs react with nitrogen dioxide and oxygen molecules to form PANs

Tropospheric Ozone - Secondary pollutant

Formation of tropospheric ozone
● Sunlight removes an oxygen atom from NO₂
● The oxygen atom combines with an oxygen molecule (O₂) to form ozone (O₃)
(main secondary pollutant in photochemical smog)

Possible effects of ozone - Plants

● Damages plants
○ Absorbed by plant leaves
○ Degrades chlorophyll and, as a result, photosynthesis
● Reduces productivity
○ The rest of the food web depends on primary productivity

Possible effects of ozone - Humans

● At low concentrations, ozone can:
○ Reduce the actions of the lungs causing:
■ Breathing difficulties
■ Increased susceptibility to infection
○ Cause eye, nose, and throat irritation
Possible effects of ozone - Materials and products
● Ozone attacks natural rubber, cellulose, and some plastics
● It reduces the lifetime of car tyres
● It aso bleaches fabrics

High tropospheric ozone levels occur due to:

● High temperatures
● High levels of direct sunlight
● High levels of fossil fuel combustion

Thermal Inversion
● Prevents air rising, trapping pollution at ground level (or in valleys)

Forest fires add to photochemical smog (NOx and Ozone)

Health costs due to air pollution
Economic losses caused by urban air pollution can be significant

Photochemical smog increased by:

● Increased sunlight
● High density of combustion engines
● Topography (mountains)
● No wind
● Burning of forest (deforestation)

Pollution Management Strategies

● Pollution can be managed in 3 main ways, by:
○ Changing the human activity which produces it
○ Regulating and reducing the release of the pollutant
○ Working to clean up or restore damaged ecosystems

Altering human activity

● Change the human activity that leads to the production of the pollutant by
promoting alternative technologies, lifestyles and values through:
○ Campaigns
○ Education
 ○ Community groups
○ Governmental legislation
○ Economic incentives/disincentives

Evaluation
● Stop the pollutant from entering the environment
● Prevents damage to the environment and us
● Cheaper than cleaning up
● Where the action is widely supported, enforcement may not be needed

Cons
● Takes time to educate and change people's perception
● People may be unwilling to alter their behaviour

How
● Consume less fossil fuels (particularly in internal combustion engines) by:
○ Walking
○ Cycling
○ Car pooling
○ Using public transport
○ E-vehicles
● Act as informed consumers by purchasing energy efficient technologies

Alternatives may not be available

Regulating and reducing

Controlling release of pollutant:
● Context: the activity production is not completely stopped
● Intervention: Apply strategies at the level of regulation or preventing by:
○ Legislating and regulating standards of emission
○ Developing/applying technologies for extracting pollutant from emissions

Pros
● Laws and fines can work if enforced
● Reduces amount of pollutant released into the environment

Con
 ● Technology may be expensive
● May not work in corrupt societies or where law enforcement is weak
● Politics may interfere with laws
● Pollutant is still being released into the environment

How
● Taxation on fuels
● Fuel quality regulated by government
● Catalytic converters to clean exhaust from primary pollutants (converts harmful
pollutants into less harmful emissions before they ever leave the car’s exhaust
system - they eliminate NOx)
● Odds and even numbers plate for which days of the week you can drive
● Ban older cars from being on the road

Clean-up and restoration of damaged systems

● Context: where both the previous levels of management have failed
● Intervention: introduce strategies to recover damaged ecosystems by:
○ Extracting and removing pollutant from ecosystem
○ Replanting/restocking lost or depleted populations and communities

Pros
● Can undo some of the damage

Cons
● High cost
● Takes considerable time for the ecosystem to recover
● Long term damage may be done to the environment or human health
● Pollutants can persist for a long time in the environment
● Some pollutants, e.g. CFCs cannot be removed from the atmosphere

How
● Absorb carbon dioxide to increase carbon sinks and filter air through:
○ Reforestation
○ Re-greening of cities
○ Conservation of green areas
● Note - this does not reduce emissions
Some things you cannot restore (e.g. your lungs)
Nature is very complex so difficult to restore

DDT
● Exemplifies a conflict between the utility of a “pollutant” and its effect on the
environment
● During public health emergencies to control insect-borne diseases and control
body lice
○ E.g. Malaria cases in the US fell dramatically in 1946 to virtually none in
1950
● Used in buildings for pest control
● Used on food crops to control pest species

DDT cancelled because:

● Persists in the environment (POPs)
● Accumulates in fatty tissues
● Causes adverse health effects on wildlife (and humans??)
● Resistance occurs in some insects who develop the ability to quickly metabolise to
DDT

Topic 5.2
● Inequalities exist in food production and distribution around the world

Food Production Systems

Subsistence vs Commercial
Subsistence Farming
● Primarily for growing food for own family
● Mixed crops/herds
● Heavy reliance on human labour
● Relatively low inputs of fossil fuel energy or chemicals
● Low capital input and low levels of technology = minimal surplus
● Vulnerable to food shortages
● Vulnerable to climate change (prone to droughts, floods)
● Types of foods can be restricted or based on religious/cultural values
Commercial Farming
● Large scale, profit-making, maximising yields per hectare
● Either monoculture of one crop of one type of animal
● High levels of technology, energy and chemical input
● Corresponding high outputs
● Food grown for the market
● Type of food they produce is determined by the market

Extensive vs Intensive
Extensive
● Uses more land
● Low density of stocking or planting
● Low inputs and low outputs

Intensive
● Typically smaller land
● High density of stocking or planting
● High levels of input or output per unit area

Inputs
● Pest control (vaccination, medication, pesticides vs natural predators)
● Labour/energy (mechanised and fossil fuel dependent vs physical and draught
labour)
● Technology and infrastructure
● Livestock growth promoters (antibiotics or hormones vs organic or none)
● Feed and water (irrigation vs rainfall)

Outputs
● Food (meat, milk)
● Animal products (skins)
● Pollutants released from food production systems
Socio-economic factors
● MEDC vs LEDC
○ Government support (subsidies, technical support)
○ Farming for profit or subsistence
○ Traditional or commercial farming
○ Centralised or dispersed processing facilities
○ Reliance on infrastructure

Factors influence societies in their choices of food production systems

● Socio-economic
○ MEDC vs LEDC
○ The socioeconomic status of people affects what they produce
○ E.g. in rural Ethiopia, lower SES households tend to produce cereals. and
vegetables and chickens as they own little land
○ Households with higher SES and more land, in addition to the above,
produce red meat and milk
● Cultural
○ Some religions prescribe to certain foods
○ E.g. Islam, Judaism and Ethiopian Orthodox proscribe eating pork, Hindus
do not eat beef
○ Some cultures shape our food preferences
○ E.g. Americans consume a lot of beef
● Ecological and Climate
○ Temperature, precipitation, soil type and fertility determine what will grow
where on Earth
○ Irrigation and using greenhouses used to artificially alter the climate, but
most crops are grown without this
● Politics
○ Governments can subsidise or put tariffs on some foods to encourage or
discourage their production
○ E.g. USA manipulates corn production in this way
● Economic
○ Market forces determine supply and demand in a free-market economy
○ E.g. if there is a short supply of almonds and prices rise, farmers may go
into this crop
○ If supply increases, prices fall and then they may switch to another crop
Socio-cultural influence on LEDC food production systems
● More likely to remain tied to traditional cultural systems
● Usually more varied and range from commercial systems to subsistence farming
● Workers typically family members
● Evolved over centuries to integrate local geography
● Produce foods appropriate to religion and culture
● More vulnerable to meteorological fluctuations
● Tends to be less based on technology, but rather traditional techniques

Socio-cultural influence on MEDC food production system

● Less likely to use traditional cultural production systems
● Tend to have more intensive, commercial food production systems
● Rely upon modern infrastructure and processing facilities to support intensive food
production systems
● Produce foods for a range of cultures (for exporting)
● Employs workers
● Can be independent of local climate/geography
● More vulnerable to economic factors

Socio-cultural influence on food production systems

● The socio-cultural system of a country is not always the key determinant of the
food production system
● Food production systems are increasingly based on a capitalist model (even
though the country may not be)
● Other influencing factors include:
○ Soil fertility and other ecological variables
○ Access to appropriate technology
○ Influence of political and other institutions

Declining arable land

● As the human population grows, along with urbanisation and degradation of soil
resources, the availability of land for food production per capita decreases
Food waste
● One third of human food is lost or wasted between the farm and consumer
● Issue as:
○ Most food waste ends up in landfills producing methane
○ Agricultural land is used to produce food that is wasted
● Food waste is prevalent in both LEDCs and MEDCs, but for different reasons

Food waste in MEDCs (towards the end of the food chain)

● The richer the nation, the higher its per capita rate of food waste
● Mostly in consumption
● Due to:
○ Consumers buying more food than needed and letting it go off
○ Supermarkets having too strict standards so rejecting much edible food id
misshapen

Food waste in LEDCs

● Food LOSS is more prevalent in LEDCs than MEDCs
● Mostly in production and storage
● Due to a lack of infrastructure (storage facilities, refrigeration and transportation)
to deliver food in good condition to consumers

Food production by trophic level

● The yield of food per unit area from lower trophic levels is:
○ Greater in quantity
○ Lower in cost
○ May require fewer resources

Benefits of a vegan/vegetarian diet

● Eat lower down the food chain
● Less land area to produce the food needed
● More efficient energy use of energy fixed by photosynthesis
● Less energy lost to respiration (heat) and wastes
● Less fossil fuel energy (and associated CO2 emissions) required to produce our
food
 ● Would not have to farm or graze marginal lands as intensively

Sustainability of terrestrial food production systems: Industrialization,

Mechanization and Fossil fuel use
● More sustainable
○ Human labour and draft animals
○ Adds manure
○ Less GHGs
● Less sustainable
○ Heavy machinery
○ High fossil fuel input
○ Compacts the soil
○ More GHGs

Sustainability of terrestrial food production systems: Water use

● More sustainable
○ Rain fed
○ No/less water input
● Less sustainable
○ Large scale irrigation
○ Depletes rivers, lakes and groundwater - damages aquatic habitat
○ Reduces water available to humans
○ Causes soil erosion

Sustainability of terrestrial food production systems: fertilisers and pest control

● Less sustainable
○ Growing crops on the same land using artificial fertilisers and pesticides
○ Pollutes airways
○ Reduces biodiversity

Sustainability of terrestrial food production systems: levels of commercial vs. subsistence

food production
● More sustainable
○ Subsistent food production
○ Small scale, simple farming
○ Less inputs
 ○ More environmentally friendly
● Less sustainable
○ Commercial food production
○ Large scale, highly mechanised
○ More inputs
○ Less environmentally friendly

Methods of increasing sustainability

● Altering human activity to
○ Reduce meat consumption (for US)
○ Increase consumption of locally produced terrestrial food products
○ Increase consumption of organically grown
● Improving the accuracy of food labels to assist consumers in making informed
food choices
● Planting of buffer zones around land suitable for food production to absorb
nutrient runoff (good for feedlots)
● Improve Boma (pen for livestock) design (Afar)
○ Protects livestock from lions
● Agroforestry (both cases)