Environmental Biology

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Extinction

Termination of an evolutionary linkage by demographic failure of loss of distinctiveness.
Life span of species
- 1 million years on Average.
- 99% of species on earth have gone extinct.
Ordovician Extinction
- -430-500 MYA
- -Growth of gonwanan ice sheet
- -sustained periof of high seal level
Devonian Extinction
- 360 MYA
- Global cooling / anoxia of oceans
Cretaceous extinction
- 65 MYA
- K-T event (giant meteor)
- Loss of Dinosaurs
Permian Extinction
- 250 MYA
- Susatained cold temperatures
- Shallow seas
- 54% of all marine families lost
- 84% of all marine genera
- 96% of all marine species
Pleistocene Extinction
- 11, 000YA
- Loss of most all species of large birds
- Loss of large mammals
Astronomical Cycles Generating long-term cycles in climate related to extinction.
- Tilt of the earth on its axis
- shape of the earths orbit around the sun
- precession of the equinoxes
Responses of organisims to global climate change.
- Shift geographic range to an area with suitable climate.
- In Mountains species moved down hill when it got colder
- In Equitorial areas when rain is sparse the species move to refugia.
Name the green house gases
- Nitrous oxide
- Carbon Dioxide
- Methane
- Chlorofluorocarbons
- Ozone
What effects do green house gases have
- Allow solar radiation to penetrate the earths atmosphere and warm the surface of the earth.
- Inhibit the re-radiation of heat into space
Modern day climate change is atributed to what 2-things?
- Increase in Atomspherice green houses
- Increase in mean global temperatures
Why may many species who survived previous climate changes not be able to survive again
- Habitat degradation
- Overexpolitation
- Human reduction of suitable habitats

Author

jcstubby

43121

Card Set

Environmental Biology

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Vocabulary / Review items

Updated

2010-10-18T22:04:49Z

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