HW4:8098

From Environmental Technology

Book Questions

Ch 4

2. The forest fire in Yellowstone National Park is an example of a disturbance causing secondary succession. The fire burned down everthing, leaving only ash. The forest regrew rapidly. Within ten years there were showlder-high plants.

4. This is an example of parasitism. The fungi is obtaining nourishment from the micorrhizae, weakening it. This makes it a parasite to the micorrhizae.

5. A realized niche is more restricted than a fundamental niche because ythe realized niche is actually used. A fundamental niche is just what it should be, not what it is. A realized niche is different due to competition between species and other factors.

8. I think percipitation is the highest limiting factor in desert life. The percipitation is an extreme in the desert; there is barely any at all.

11. A keystone species is a profound influence on a community in excess of that expected by its relative abundance. Because they are so vital to the environment it seems obvious that those species are the ones that need to be protected.

Ch 5

8. I couldn't find something in the book that would answer this question, so I attempted using logic. Perhaps, since ther are less plants in the world, due to forest destruction. There is less photosynthesis, therefore leaving more carbon in the air maybe release less heat and light. So, the temperature would go down??? I thought that the temperature was going up in the world. In which case, my philosophy would be wrong.

12. Troposphere and the stratosphere. The troposphere has turbulent wind, where as the stratosphere has a steady wind but no turbulance. The tempuratures are also different between the two layers. Troposphere is where we live and the tempuratures are made for us to be in. The stratosphere loses 6 degrees ever km upwards.

14. The wind from the atmosphere makes the currents and the currents make heat affecting atmospheric circulation. This is what make the worlds temperature various.

16. Forces in the plates of the earth will move. When the rocks in the lithosphereare are pushed or stretched, the evergy addes up and the rocks finally shift or break. This is an earthquake. The study of these plates is called palte tectonics.

17. Earthquakes- yes, pressure and energy could be built up underneath us from plates pushing together and cause an earthquake in our area. Volcanos- no, there are no volcanos around our area to erupt. Hurricanes- no, a hurricane can affect our area by affecting the circulation in the atmosphere, but it would not affect us directly because we are so far from the ocean. Tornadoes- yes,They mostly happen around the Great Plains, and we are very close to them. Our area is good for the mixing of warm and cool air that makes the tornados. Tsunamis- no, again they could affect us through the atmosphere, but not directly.