Practice Exam 3 - Environmental Science - page 300

CornellUniversityresearchers—usingcutting-edgetoolsincludingfine-scalemoleculargeneticsandmi-
crosatellitemarkers—trackedtherattlesnakestounderstandhowwildlifehabitatsareaffectedbyevenmod-
est human encroachment.
"We used this species as a model to investigate general processes underlying population-level responses
tohabitatfragmentation,"saidtheauthors,ledbyCornellpost-doctoralresearcherRulonClark,inthepaper
"Roads,InterruptedDispersalandGeneticDiversityinTimberRattlesnakes,"currentlyavailableonlineand
to be published in the journal Conservation Biology.
Researchersdiscoveredthatfragmentationofnaturalhabitats...hashadasignificanteffectoverthepast
80 years on genetic structure of timber rattlesnakes in four separate regions of upstate New York.
1. As human population increases, so, too, does habitat fragmentation, negatively impacting many organ-
isms and global biodiversity.
A. Discuss how habitat fragmentation can impact the genetic diversity of a species.
B. Cite and explain two human activities that have led to habitat fragmentation.
C. Explain how the fragmentation of habitats can lead to the loss of biodiversity.
D. Discuss two solutions to reduce habitat fragmentation as our global human population continues to
grow.
E. Explain what is meant by the reference to the "canary in a coal mine." Relate this idea to this art-
icle's description of the rattlesnake.
2. There are plans to build a new coal-fired power plant near a city in the Midwest. This plant is controver-
sial in the local area and has brought many concerns about potential negative environmental effects on
local ecosystems. Efforts are being made, though, by local leaders to show the amount of energy the
plant will bring to the area and also ways individuals can lower their own energy usage.
A. A large, coal-fired power plant produces 64 million kWh of electricity each day. Assume the fol-
lowing: 10,000 BTUs are required to produce 1 kWh of electricity, 1 pound of coal produces 5,000
BTUs of heat, each coal car can hold 100 tons, and 1 ton is 2,000 pounds.
i. How much heat in BTUs is needed to produce the power each day?
ii. How many coal cars will be needed to operate the power plant for the day?
iii. How many trains will be needed to power the plant for a day if the train pulls 80 coal cars?
B. Coal mines in the west tend to be strip mines. Describe how a strip mine is mined to obtain the
coal. Explain one impact on aquatic ecosystems from strip mining.
C. Discuss one environmental impact related to attaining energy from a coal-fired power plant, aside
from the effects of the mining and combustion of the coal.
D. Describe two methods to reduce home energy usage.
3. The carbon cycle is one of the major biogeochemical cycles. Biogeochemical cycles are natural pro-
cesses that recycle nutrients in various chemical forms from the nonliving environment to living organ-
isms and then back to the nonliving environment. These global cycles recycle nutrients through the
Earth's air, land, water, and living organisms, connecting past, present, and future life.
A. Explain how the carbon balance on Earth is shifting from the lithosphere or biosphere to the atmo-
sphere.
B. Explain how the carbon cycle contributes to the regulation of the Earth's temperature.
C. Describe two natural processes that occur in the carbon cycle.
D. Describe two ways in which humans affect the carbon cycle.