ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS AND SOCIETIES SL

PART 1

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ESS GRADE BOUNDARIES

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 ESS Grade 11 Workbook ( 2019-2020)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.No Topic Page No.

1. Environmental Value 14-70

System

2. Systems and Models 71-87

3. Energy and Equilibria 88-104

4. Sustainability 105-151

5. Human and Pollution 152-173

6. Species and Population 174-190

7. Communities and 191-238

Ecosystem

8. Flows of Energy and 239-261

Matter

9. Biomes, Zonation, 262-321

Succession

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 10. Investigating Ecosystems 322-358

11. An Introduction to 359-368

Biodiversity

12. Origins of Biodiversity 369-412

13. Threats to Biodiversity 413-427

14. Conservation of 428-458

Biodiversity

15. Introduction to Water 459-480

Systems

16. Access to Freshwater 481-502

17. Aquatic Food Production 503-521

System

18. Water Pollution 522-550

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 Structure of an Essay Type Answer

Command words: what does the question want you to answer?

These are those words which indicate what you should be doing in your essay.
Compare, Contrast
Describe, Define
Discuss, Evaluate
Explain, Illustrate
Justify, Outline

“Explain vs. Describe…”

Easy to get muddled up – so it’s important you spot these words in questions and
understand properly what they are asking you to do:
Explain
Make (an idea or situation) clear to someone by describing it in more detail or revealing
relevant facts.
Describe
Give a detailed account in words of. To convey an idea or impression of; characterize.
Get familiar with essay language, debating language, and argumentative language. “On the
one hand…. I think this. But it could be argued that…. because….”

Paragraphs:
Paragraphs ought to have a clear focus. If you have a new point to make (new key moment) you
should start a new paragraph. A long, unwieldy paragraph will most likely lack clarity. Remember,
essays are a piece of communication. Good communication is clear and precise. In order to do
that, here are three examples of paragraph structures you can use your essays:

PEE
Point (make a point)
Explain (explain that point)
Evidence (provide evidence to support the point)
PEEL
As above with the addition of:
Link (connect the paragraph to that which will follow)
PESEL
Point (make a point)
Explain (explain that point)
Support (support the point using evidence, reasoning or examples)
Evaluate (evaluate the point)
Link (connect the paragraph to that which will follow)

Introductions:
An essay without a clear purpose is liable to become unfocussed. Coherence may be lost and, if it
is, logic will most likely disappear. Introductions should be clear and precise. They should indicate
what the essay is about. They should answer the question. An introduction should make it clear to
the reader what to expect. It should be brief, saying only what is necessary and no more. You will

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make your points here, what you want to achieve (show progression of the character, represent
the genre and style, etc.)

First Sentences and Points:

What comes first sets the tone. In an essay, the first sentence of a paragraph ought to indicate
what that paragraph is about. If it does not, there is a high risk of confusion. The purpose of an
essay is to communicate understanding, argument and judgement. Therefore, one should always
strive for clarity and sense. This can be achieved by sticking to your points. You get your points
from your introduction. What is it you want to show? How can you represent the genre on stage?
Etc.

Evidence:
Only through support does your point become valid. Evidence is one of the most crucial means of
support. It picks out moments to the reader that are carefully chosen (textual reference) that
illustrate your point. This evidence illustrates your creative and directorial skills. How are you going
to represent the points onstage. This is your chance to get creative....as long as it is concise and
reflects your point. Don’t get distracted!

Evaluation:
Here you say to the reader that you have been successful. You should refer to points such as, what
the affect upon the audience was, if you faithfully reflected the playwrights or practitioner’s views,
etc.

Link: To make an essay flow, you need to make it link into the next paragraph. So, your final
sentence in the paragraph should introduce the first point of the next paragraph. This will takes the
reader on a coherent journey.

Conclusions
Conclusions should summarize what has gone before. They should never contain new material.
That is, anything which has not been dealt with in the preceding text. A good conclusion draws
together the threads which the writer has woven to form a tight, coherent whole. Don’t just repeat
every word you wrote in your introduction, but you can end where you began! This ‘frames’ the
essay. For example, you can refer to the main points (style, genre, practitioner/playwright’s aims)
and sum up how you illustrated this. A good conclusion gives the essay symmetry and provides the
reader with a sense of closure.

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 ESS ESSAY TIPS

TIP 1: CHOOSE THE CORRECT ESSAYS

1. The essay question is everything – pick an essay topic you know about and have revised.
Don’t try and blag your way through it the examiners/markers will see this! You have to do 2
out of 5.
TIP 2: TIMING IS EVERYTHING
2. You have a 2 hour paper that is 50% of your marks – this is important! Therefore you should
spend 40 minutes on each essay – consider doing them first then the shorter answers based on
the resource booklet. So that’s a split of 40 mins. 40 mins and then 40 mins on the short
resource booklet answers.
TIP 3: COMMAND and CONTENT WORDS

Learn what these mean – e.g. describe, explain – if you don’t do this command you don’t get
the marks! Underline the command words to make sure you do! Circle the content words to
make sure you write about that content.
TIP 4: ALWAYS PLAN TO PLAN

Write a bullet point plan of your essay on the answer booklet (5 mins) before you start the
essay. Cross it out in pencil gently to show it’s not your actual essay. This helps by showing the
examiner you have done a plan and if you run out of time you still have your key points there
which may well gain marks.

TIP 5: INTRO AND DEFINE KEY TERMS

Always define your key terms – this helps in an introduction. If you are going to write about the
concept of sustainability you need to define what it is before you move on to examples.

TIP 6: I WANT AN ARGUMENT PLEASE

Always use points and examples to back up arguments. Try using the alternative connectives on
the ‘’writing menu’’ sheet to gain marks in the expression of ideas and also sound better e.g.
whereas, as shown by…Use P.E.E – see other advice writing sheet.

TIP 7: BURGER PARAGRAPHS (OR SANDWICH/TACO/PANINI ETC..)

Each paragraph should have a key point so it doesn’t go on too long – framed like a burger (see
writing menu sheet).

TIP 8: CASE OUT SOME STUDIES

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You need these for your essays so need to revise at least two for each key topic as you may
have to compare/contrast several in a question. Use classics that always come up in textbooks
and also some up to date ones to show you are a modern on the ball ESS student e.g. bbc
environment is good.

TIP 9: IT’S A WRAP..OR CONCLUSION.

Bring it all together (just the key points) in a summary at the end and make sure you answer the
question. This may possibly be the last piece the person/examiner reads so leave them with a
good impression (and therefore a better grade!).

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TOPIC 1.1 – ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE SYSTEMS Date-

Significant ideas:

 Historical events, amongst other influences, affect the development of

environmental value systems (EVSs) and environmental movements.
 There is a wide spectrum of EVs, each with its own premise and implications

Covered
Revised I’m
Objective Statement the
in class confident
notes
Significant historical influences on the development of
the environmental movement have come from
literature, the media, major environmental disasters,
international agreements and technological
developments
An EVS is a worldview or paradigm that shapes the way
an individual, or group of people, perceives and
evaluates environmental issues, influenced by cultural,
religious, economic and socio-political contexts
An EVS may be considered a system in the sense that it
may be influenced by education, experience, culture
and media (inputs) and it involves a set of interrelated
premises, values and arguments that can generate
consistent decisions and evaluations (outputs)
An ecocentric worldview integrates social, spiritual and
environmental dimensions into a holistic ideal. It puts
ecology and nature as central to humanity and
emphasizes a less materialistic approach to life with
greater self-sufficiency of societies. An ecocentric
Knowledge
viewpoint prioritizes biorights, emphasizes the
and
importance of education and encourages self-restraint
Understandin
in human behavior.
g
An anthropocentric viewpoint argues that humans must
sustainably manage the global system. This might be
through the use of taxes, environmental regulation and
legalization. Debate would be encouraged to reach a
consensual, pragmatic approach to solving
environmental problems.
A technocentric viewpoint argues that technological
developments can provide solutions to environmental
problems. This is a consequence of a largely optimistic
view that humans can play in improving a lot of
humanity. Scientific research is encouraged to inform
policies and to understand how systems can be
controlled, manipulated or changed to solve resource
depletion. A pro-growth agenda is deemed necessary
for society’s improvement.
There are extremes at other ends of this spectrum (for
example, deep ecologists-ecocentric to cornucopian-
technocentric) but in practice, EVSs vary greatly

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 depending on cultures and time periods, and they rarely
fit simply or perfectly into any classification

Discuss the view that the environment can have its own
intrinsic value
Evaluate the implications of two contrasting EVSs in the
Applications
context of a given environmental issue
and Skills
Justify, using examples and evidence, how historical
influences have shaped the development of the modern
environmental movement

ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT. 

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The modern environmental movement differed from an early form of environmentalism
that flourished in the first decades of the twentieth century, called conservationism. Led
by such figures as Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot, the conservationists
focused on the wise and efficient use of natural resources. Modern environmentalism
arose as a consumer movement that demanded a clean, safe, and beautiful
environment as part of a higher standard of living.

The expanding post World War II economy raised consciousness about the
environmental costs of economic progress, but it also led increasingly affluent people to
insist upon a better quality of life. Environmentalists turned toward political action as the
means to protect the Earth. The preservationist strand of the conservationist movement
was an important precursor to the modern environmental movement. As represented by
such figures as John Muir of the Sierra Club and Aldo Leopold of the Wilderness
Society, the preservationists argued that natural spaces such as forests and rivers were
not just raw materials for economic development, but also aesthetic resources.

Yet while preservationism was an important part of the environmentalism's goals, the
movement's agenda was much broader and more diverse. While preservationism
focused on protecting specially designated nonresidential areas, environmentalists
shifted attention to the effects of the environment on daily life. In the 1960s and 1970s,
the environmental movement focused its attention on pollution and successfully
pressured Congress to pass measures to promote cleaner air and water. In the late
1970s, the movement increasingly addressed environmental threats created by the
disposal of toxic waste. Toward the end of the century, the environmental agenda also
included such worldwide problems as ozone depletion and global warming.

Environmentalism was based on the spread of an ecological consciousness that viewed

the natural world as a biological and geological system that is an interacting whole.
Ecologists emphasized human responsibility for the impact of their daily living on a
wider natural world, fearing that human disruption of the earth's ecosystem threatened
the survival of the planet. The spread of ecological consciousness from the scientific
world to the general public was reflected in popular metaphors of the planet as

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Spaceship Earth or Mother Earth. An ecological consciousness was evident even in
works of popular culture. For instance, in his 1971 hit song "Mercy Mercy Me (The
Ecology)," Marvin Gaye sang:

Poison is the wind that blows from the north and south and east
Radiation underground and in the sky, animals and birds who live nearby all die
What about this overcrowded land
How much more abuse from man can she stand?

Many historians find the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in 1962 to be a

convenient marker for the beginning of the modern American environmental
movement. Silent Spring, which spent thirty-one weeks on the New York Times best-
seller list, alerted Americans to the negative environmental effects of DDT, a potent
insecticide that had been used in American agriculture starting in World War II. The
concern about the use of DDT that the book raised led John F. Kennedy to establish a
presidential advisory panel on pesticides. More significantly, however, Silent
Spring raised concerns that the unchecked growth of industry would threaten human
health and destroy animal life—the title of the work referred to Carson's fear that the
continued destruction of the environment would eventually make the birds who sang
outside her window extinct. Thus, Silent Spring conveyed the ecological message that
humans were endangering their natural environment, and needed to find some way of
protecting themselves from the hazards of industrial society. Along with the problem of
nuclear war, Carson stated, "The central problem of our age has … become the
contamination of man's total environment with … substances of incredible potential for
harm."
The 1960s was a period of growth for the environmental movement. The movement
began with a newfound interest in preservationist issues. In that decade, membership in
former conservationist organizations like the Wilderness Society and the Sierra Club
skyrocketed from 123,000 in 1960 to 819,000 in 1970. President Lyndon Johnson also
took an interest in preservationist issues. Between 1963 and 1968, he signed into law
almost three hundred conservation and beautification measures, supported by more
than $12 billion in authorized funds. Among these laws, the most significant was the

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Wilderness Act of 1964, which permanently set aside certain federal lands from
commercial economic development in order to preserve them in their natural state. The
federal government also took a new interest in controlling pollution. Congress passed
laws that served as significant precedents for future legislative action on pollution issues
—for instance, the Clean Air Acts of 1963 and 1967, the Clean Water Act of 1960, and
the Water Quality Act of 1965.
During the 1960s, environmentalism became a mass social movement. Drawing on a
culture of political activism inspired in part by the civil rights and antiwar movements,
thousands of citizens, particularly young middle-class white men and women, became
involved with environmental politics. The popularity of the environmental agenda was
apparent by 1970. In that year, the first Earth Day was organized on 22 April to focus
the public's attention on threats to the environment. In New York City, 100,000 people
thronged Fifth Avenue to show their support for protecting the earth. Organizers
estimated that fifteen hundred colleges and ten thousand schools took part in Earth
Day, and Time magazine estimated that about twenty million Americans participated in
the event in some fashion.
Earth Day was organized by Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson, who wanted to send "a
big message to the politicians—a message to tell them to wake up and do something."
Thanks to widespread public support for environmental goals, the 1970s became a
critical decade for the passage of federal legislation. In 1970, President Richard
Nixon signed into law the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which required an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for all "major federal actions significantly
affecting the quality of the human environment." During the 1970s, twelve thousand
such statements were prepared.
Along with the growth of the environmental movement, a series of well-publicized
environmental crises in the late 1960s focused the nation's attention on the need to
control pollution. Examples include the 1969 blowout of an oil well platform off the coast
of Santa Barbara, which contaminated scenic California beaches with oil, and in the
same year the bursting into flames of the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland, Ohio,
because of toxic contamination. In the 1970s, Congress passed important legislation to
control pollution. The most significant of these new laws included the Clean Air Act of

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1970, the Pesticide Control Act of 1972, the Ocean Dumping Act of 1972, the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, the Clean Air Act of 1974, the Safe
Drinking Water Act of 1974, and the Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976. These laws
established national environmental quality standards to be enforced by a federally
dominated regulatory process known as command and control. The Clean Air Act, for
instance, established national air quality standards for major pollutants that were
enforced by a federal agency.

Other significant environmental legislation passed in the 1970s included the

preservationist measures of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976. Another significant piece of legislation, the
Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act, or Superfund
Act, was passed in 1980. Designed to help control toxic hazards, the act established
federal "superfund" money for the cleanup of contaminated waste sites and spills.

To enforce federal regulations, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created
in 1970. An independent federal agency, the EPA was given consolidated responsibility
for regulating and enforcing federal programs on air and water pollution, environmental
radiation, pesticides, and solid waste. In response to the flurry of environmental
regulation passed by Congress in the 1970s, the EPA expanded its operations: it began
with a staff of eight thousand and a budget of $455 million and by 1981 had a staff of
nearly thirteen thousand and a budget of $1.35 billion. Enforcing environmental
regulations proved to be a difficult and complex task, particularly as new legislation
overburdened the agency with responsibilities. The enforcement process required the
gathering of various types of information—scientific, economic, engineering, and
political—and the agency needed to contend with vigorous adversarial efforts from
industry and environmental organizations.
The flurry of federal environmental regulation resulted in part from the rise of a powerful
environmental lobby. Environmental organizations continued to expand their ranks in
the 1970s. Membership in the Sierra Club, for instance, rose from 113,000 in 1970 to
180,000 in 1980. During the 1970s, mainstream environmental organizations
established sophisticated operations in Washington, D.C. Besides advocating new

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environmental legislation, these groups served a watchdog function, ensuring that
environmental regulations were properly enforced by the EPA and other federal
agencies. While these organizations focused on their own specific issues and employed
their own individual strategies, a Group of Ten organizations met regularly to discuss
political strategy. This group consisted of the National Audubon Society, Defenders of
Wildlife, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Environmental Policy Institute, the Izaak
Walton League, the National Wildlife Federation, the National Resources Defense
Council, the National Parks Conservation Association, the Sierra Club, and the
Wilderness Society. During this decade, mainstream environmental organizations
became increasingly professionalized, hiring more full-time staff. They hired lobbyists to
advocate for environmental legislation, lawyers to enforce environmental standards
through the courts, and scientists to prove the need for environmental regulation and
counter the claims of industry scientists.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a number of critics obtained an audience by
asserting that the ecosystem placed limits on economic development and often giving a
bleak outlook for the earth's future. For instance, Paul Ehrlich's 1968 work, The
Population Bomb, which brought the issue of global overpopulation to the nation's
attention, apocalyptically claimed that "the battle to feed all of humanity is over" and
made a number of dire predictions that turned out to be false. The Club of Rome's best
selling The Limits of Growth (1972), written by a team of MIT researchers, offered a
melancholy prediction of environmental degradation resulting from population pressure,
resource depletion, and pollution. But while such critics reached an audience for a short
period of time, their calls to address long-term threats to the earth's ecosystem, such as
world population growth, went unheeded.
The 1980s: Environmental Backlash and Radical Environmentalism
In the 1970s, environmental goals enjoyed a broad bipartisan consensus in
Washington. The election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 changed that. Espousing a
conservative, pro-business ideology, Reagan sought to free American corporations from
an expanding regulatory apparatus. Reagan capitalized on the late 1970s Sagebrush
Rebellion of westerners who sought to have federal land transferred to the states to
avoid federal environmental regulations. Reagan appointed a leader of the Sagebrush

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Rebellion, James Watt, as secretary of the Interior. Watt took a strong pro-development
stand hostile to the traditional resource preservation orientation of the Interior
Department. He used his post to portray all environmentalists as radicals outside the
American mainstream. Reagan also appointed as EPA head Anne Burford; a person
committed to curtailing the agency's enforcement of environmental regulations. Between
1980 and 1983, the EPA lost one-third of its budget and one-fifth of its staff.
Underfunded and understaffed, these cuts had a lasting effect on the agency, leaving it
without the resources to fulfill all its functions.

Yet while Reagan was able to stalemate the environmental agenda, his anti-
environmentalist posture proved unpopular. The American public still overwhelmingly
supported environmental goals. Environmentalist organizations were able to expand
their membership in response to Reagan's policies. Between 1980 and 1990, the Sierra
Club's membership multiplied from 180,000 to 630,000, while the Wilderness Society's
membership soared from 45,000 to 350,000. In 1983, Reagan was forced to replace
Watt and Buford with more moderate administrators. In the mid-1980s, several new
environmental laws were passed, including the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act Amendments of 1984, the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1986, and the
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986. As a testament to the
continuing popularity of environmental goals, Reagan's Republican vice president,
George Bush Sr., declared himself an "environmentalist" in his 1988 campaign for
president. On Earth Day 1990, President Bush stated that "Every day is Earth Day" and
even major industries that were the target of environmental regulation, such as oil and
gas, took out advertisements in major newspapers stating, "Every day is Earth Day for
us."

The 1980s saw a splintering of the environmental movement. Several radical

environmentalist groups challenged the mainstream environmental organizations,
claiming that they had become centralized bureaucracies out of touch with the
grassroots and were too willing to compromise the environmental agenda. One of the
groups to make this challenge was Earth First!, which appeared on the national scene in
1981 espousing the slogan, "No compromise in the defense of Mother Earth." Earth

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First! employed a variety of radical tactics, including direct action, civil disobedience,
guerilla theater, and "ecotage," the sabotage of equipment used for clear cutting, road-
building, and dam construction. Two other radical environmentalist organizations were
Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace—each was a global organization formed in the
1970s that had significant support in the United States. Friends of the Earth was
founded by the former Sierra Club director, David Brower. It pursued activist strategies
and argued that protection of the environment required fundamental political and social
change. Greenpeace's aggressive campaigns against nuclear testing, whaling, sealing,
nuclear power, and radioactive waste disposal received increasing attention during the
1980s. In addition, some radical environmentalists showed a new interest in deep
ecology, which challenged the traditional anthropomorphism of the environmental
movement.
The 1980s also saw the growth of grassroots organizations that organized to oppose
threats to their local environment: a contaminated waste site, a polluting factory, or the
construction of a new facility deemed to be harmful. Because their concerns were
locally oriented and generally consisted of the removal of a specific environmental
threat, they were referred to as NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) organizations. The threat
of contaminated waste sites raised concerns throughout the country, particularly after
the publicity surrounding the evacuation of Love Canal, New York, in the late 1970s
after it was revealed that the town had been built on contaminated soil. National
organizations arose to support local efforts, including the Citizen's Clearinghouse for
Hazardous Waste, founded by former Love Canal resident Lois Gibbs, and the National
Toxics Campaign. Grassroots environmental groups continued to form throughout the
1980s. While Citizen's Clearinghouse worked with 600 groups in 1984, by 1988 it was
working with over 4,500. NIMBYism often limited the impact of these groups, since they
frequently disbanded once their issue of concern was resolved. Yet participation in
these organizations often raised the consciousness of participants to larger
environmental issues.

The late 1980s saw the growth of the environmental justice movement, which argued
that all people have a right to a safe and healthy environment. Those concerned with
environmental justice argued that poor and minority Americans are subjected to

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disproportionate environmental risks. It concentrated on such issues as urban air
pollution, lead paint, and transfer stations for municipal garbage and hazardous waste.
Environmental justice organizations widened the support base for environmentalism,
which had traditionally relied upon the educated white middle class. The success of the
environmental justice movement in bringing the racial and class dimension of
environmental dangers to the nation's attention was reflected in the creation of the
Office of Environmental Justice by the EPA in 1992.

The Global Environment and the 1990s

By the end of the 1980s, the environmental movement had increasingly come to focus
its attention on global issues that could only be resolved through international
diplomacy. Issues such as global warming, acid rain, ozone depletion, biodiversity,
marine mammals, and rain forests could not be dealt with merely on the national level.
As residents in the world's largest economy, and consequently the world's largest
polluter, consumer of energy, and generator of waste, American environmentalists felt a
special responsibility to ensure their country's participation in international agreements
to protect the earth.

While the United States was a reluctant participant in international efforts to address
environmental concerns compared with other industrial nations, the federal government
did take steps to address the global nature of the environmental issue. In 1987, the
United States joined with 139 other nations to sign the Montreal Protocol on Substances
that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The protocol pledged the signees to eliminate the
production of chlorofluorocarbons, which cause destruction to the ozone layer. In 1992,
representatives from 179 nations, including the United States, met in Brazil at the
Conference on Environment and Development, where they drafted a document that
proclaimed twenty-eight guiding principles to strengthen global environmental
governance. Responding to criticism that the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) was likely to harm the North American environment, President Bill Clinton in
1993 negotiated a supplemental environmental agreement with Mexico and Canada to
go along with NAFTA. While some environmental organizations endorsed that
agreement, others claimed that it did not go far enough in countering the negative

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environmental effects of NAFTA. In 1997, Clinton committed the United States to the
Kyoto Protocol, which set forth timetables and emission targets for the reduction of
greenhouse gases that cause global warming. President George W. Bush, however,
rescinded this commitment when he took office in 2001.

Environmentalists were an important part of an "antiglobalization" coalition that

coalesced at the end of the 1990s. It argued that the expansion of the global economy
was occurring without proper environmental and labor standards in place. In 1999,
globalization critics gained international attention by taking to the streets of Seattle to
protest a meeting of the World Trade Organization.

In 1996, environmentalists critical of mainstream politics formed a national Green Party,

believing that a challenge to the two-party system was needed to push through needed
environmental change. In 1996 and 2000, the Green Party ran Ralph Nader as its
presidential candidate. In 2000, Nader received 2.8 million votes, or 2.7 percent of the
vote. The party elected a number of candidates to local office, particularly in the western
states.

Achievements and Challenges

As the twentieth century ended, American environmentalists could point to a number of
significant accomplishments. The goal of protecting the planet remained a popular one
among the general public. In 2000, Americans celebrated the thirty-first Earth Day. In a
poll taken that day, 83 percent of Americans expressed broad agreement with the
environmental movement's goals and 16 percent reported that they were active in
environmental organizations. In 2000, the thirty largest environmental organizations had
close to twenty million members. Meanwhile, the country had committed significant
resources to environmental control. In 1996, the U.S. spent $120 billion on
environmental control—approximately 2 percent of its gross domestic product.
Environmental regulations put in place in the 1960s and 1970s had led to cleaner air
and water. In 1997, the EPA reported that the air was the cleanest it had been since the
EPA began record keeping in 1970; the emissions of six major pollutants were down by
31 percent. In 2000, the EPA reported that releases of toxic materials into the
environment had declined 42 percent since 1988. The EPA also estimated that 70

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percent of major lakes, rivers, and streams were safe for swimming and fishing—twice
the figure for 1970. The dramatic cleanup of formerly contaminated rivers such as the
Cuyahoga and the Potomac was further evidence that antipollution efforts were having
their desired effects.
Yet many environmentalists remained pessimistic about the state of the planet. Despite
the nation's progress in reducing pollution, at the end of the 1990s sixty-two million
Americans lived in places that did not meet federal standards for either clean air or
clean water. The Super-fund program to clean up toxic areas had proven both costly
and ineffective. In the mid-1990s, of the thirteen hundred "priority sites of
contamination" that had been identified by the EPA under the program, only seventy-
nine had been cleaned up. The political stalemate on environmental legislation that
persisted for much of the 1980s and 1990s stymied efforts to update outdated pollution
control efforts. In addition, a number of media sources in the late 1990s reported that
America's national parks were underfunded and overcrowded because of cuts in the
federal budget.

A more serious problem was related to do the nation's unwillingness to address long-
term threats to the environment such as global warming, population growth, and the
exhaustion of fossil fuel resources. Global warming threatened to raise ocean levels and
generate violent and unpredictable weather, affecting all ecosystems; unrestrained
world population growth would put greater pressure on the earth's limited natural
resources; and the eventual exhaustion of fossil fuel resources would require the
development of new forms of energy. The administration of George W. Bush
represented the United States' lack of attention to these issues: not only did Bush pull
the nation out of the Kyoto Protocol designed to control global warming, but his energy
policy consisted of an aggressive exploitation of existing fossil fuel resources without
significant efforts to find alternate sources of energy.

By the end of the twentieth century, many environmentalists showed a new concern
with the goal of sustainable development, which sought long-term planning to integrate
environmental goals with social and economic ones. Yet even as environmental
organizations addressed global issues such as global warming, population growth, and

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the exhaustion of fossil fuel resources, the American public remained more concerned
with more tangible issues such as air and water pollution. Indeed, the environmental
movement had been successful because it had promised a tangible increase in the
everyday quality of life for Americans through a cleaner, safer, and more beautiful
environment. Mobilizing popular support to combat more abstract and long-term
ecological threats thus presented environmentalists with a challenge. If they proved
unable to prevent future degradation of the earth's environment from these long-term
threats, few environmentalists would consider their movement a real success.

1. Significant historical influences on the development of the environmental

movement have come from literature, the media, major environmental disasters,
international agreements and technological developments. Identify two landmarks
in the development of the modern environmental movement, and justify why each
one is significant.
(Justify Provide evidence to support or defend a choice, decision, strategy or
course of action.)

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Development of Environmental Movement. You need to know atleast 3 indepth
examples-
Minamata methyl mercury disease- https://www.minamatadiseasemuseum.net/10-
things-to-know

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Chernobyl Gas Disaster-
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/chernobyl-bg.html
Bhopal Gas Tragedy- https://www.theweek.co.uk/99635/bhopal-disaster-35-years-on-
what-happened
The Great London Smog- https://www.thoughtco.com/the-great-smog-of-1952-
1779346
Fukushima Daichii Nuclear Disaster-
https://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/08/asia/fukushima-five-year-anniversary/index.html
Rachel Carson Silent Spring-
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/may/27/rachel-carson-silent-spring-
anniversary
The Limits of Growth by Club of Rome
https://www.clubofrome.org/report/the-limits-to-growth/

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Page 30 of 551
Stockholm Declaration Date: ___________________

Details: ___________________________________________________________________________

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Our Common Future Date: ___________________

Details: ___________________________________________________________________________

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Rio Earth Summit Date: ___________________

Details: ___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

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_________________________________________________________________________

Kyoto Climate Change Protocol Date: ___________________

Details: ___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

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_________________________________________________________________________

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Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development Date: ___________________

Details: ___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. Define an ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE SYSTEM (EVS) in the space below using

your OWN WORDS.

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3. Complete the diagram below to show how an EVS may be considered a system.

Inputs Processes Outputs

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Page 35 of 551
4. Discuss to what extent you agree or disagree with the following statements
5. How would you define your environmental perspective?

1. Humans are part of nature.

2. Humans are to blame for all the world's environmental problems.
3. We depend on the environment for our resources (food, water, fuel).
4. Nomadic and indigenous peoples live in balance with their environment.
5. Traditional farming methods do not damage the environment.
6. Nature will make good any damage that humans do to the Earth.
7. Humans have every right to use all resources on the planet Earth.
8. Technology will solve our energy crisis.
9. We have passed the tipping point on climate change and the Earth is warming up and we
cannot stop it.
10. Animals and plants have as much right to live on Earth and humans.
11. Looking at a beautiful view is not as important as economic progress.
12. Species have always become extinct on Earth and so it does not matter that humans are
causing extinctions.

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 6. INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY:
Consider each of the statements below. Which of the four viewpoints (deep ecologist, soft
technologist, environmental manager and cornucopian) do you think each represents:

a) “The exponential increase in man’s technological inventiveness is even out-stripping his

population growth. We need not fear”

b) “Animals and plants have rights too!”

c) “In the real world of work and business, there will always be winners and losers, and to be a
winner, you have to be ruthless with people and your surroundings”

d) “If we were to return to living off the land on small-holdings, the world would be a better
place”

e) “The future of our species is dependent upon us really involving people in decision making
and working in small communities to improve our quality of life”

f) “More money and more wealth are a fundamental human desire, which can not be denied.”

g) “Environmental pressure groups have for some years been promoting various apocalyptic
visions of doom. When one doesn’t come to pass, they come up with a new one. We are best
off ignoring them and getting on with our daily lives”

h) “Nature knows best. This has always been true. It’s just that our species seems to have
forgotten this basic point”

i) “What are we, if not our environment?”

j) “Think globally, act locally!”

k) “Campaigning to save cute furry animals is a luxury that can be followed only be those who
haven’t got to worry about where their next meal is coming from”

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l) “It is the quality of life rather than the quantity or indeed the standard of living which we
must protect”

m) “Planet Earth currently has a nasty illness, caused by the rapid spread, just about all over
her body, of a nasty little parasite called Homo sapiens”

n) “If you look at the good environmental protection measures that our government has put into
place in the last five years and the improvements made in the monitoring of the environment,
you can see real progress”

o) “The environmental problems of the past can be solved and in many cases have been solved.
Just look at the way the local river has been cleaned up”
p) “Continued economic growth is a necessity for all countries and it need not be at the
expense of the environment. Good environmental protection measures are not at odds with a
booming economy”

q) “Do you really think that owning another T.V. will make you happier? It is about time that
we reassessed what makes us happy as humans. A sense of belonging in a real community, a
sense of self-worth and hence a recognition of the worth of all others, are more important to
us as individuals than wealth and yet more consumer goods”

r) “Necessity is the mother of invention. The human race has always found a way to overcome
obstacles in the past and there is no reason to believe it won’t continue to do so in the
future”

s) “Strong control of the economy by central government will ensure economic growth and, at
the same time, proper enforcement of planning laws will protect our environment”

t) “Wait until the boffins finally crack cold fusion. The world will never be the same again!”

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7. EVSs are variable, dynamic and at times extreme. Why is this so?
Write the answer to the following question-

1. Do you consciously try to keep your consumption and therefore waste production
to a minimum?

2. Will Global Warming lead to the end of humanity?

3. Do you believe that technology will extend the life of fossil fuels, so we can keep
on using them?

4. Should land be used for development regardless of who or what is occupying it?

5. Does it really matter if another species of frog becomes extinct?

The outcomes should indicate where you are on the EVP ( Environmental
Perspective) spectrum. The higher the points you are have more of an Ecocentric
and Biocentric perspective and the lesser the points you have more of a
Technocentric Perspective.

Page 39 of 551
 8. Case Study- Dakota Access Pipeline: Top 3 Pros and Cons
The Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL), a $3.7 billion project currently under construction
by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, is a planned 1,172-mile-long pipeline to
transport shale oil from the North Dakota Bakken oil fields to Patoka, Illinois, to link with
other pipelines. Now 70% finished, the DAPL could carry an estimated 470,000 to
570,000 barrels of oil per day if completed .

In Apr. 2016 members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe created the Sacred Stone
Camp near where the pipeline was slated to cross under the Missouri River to protest
impending construction of the DAPL because of concerns about environmental impact,
possible water contamination, and destruction of sacred burial grounds. Since then
conflicts between demonstrators and law enforcement have resulted in injuries and
hundreds of arrests.

Native American tribal leaders and activists want President Obama to halt the DAPL,
while North Dakota's governor and two of its congressmen have called on the president
to approve the pipeline and end protests. President Obama indicated before the Nov. 8,
2016 election that alternate routes might be considered and said he would let the
situation "play out for several more weeks."

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Should the Dakota Access Pipeline Be Completed?

Pro 1 Con 1
Construction of the Dakota The Dakota Access Pipeline
Access Pipeline will help the threatens the water supply
economy and create of the Standing Rock Sioux
thousands of Jobs. Building the and millions of people
pipeline is expected to create 8,000 to downstream. The Dakota Access
12,000 new jobs and pump money into Pipeline was originally slated to cross
industries that manufacture steel pipes under the Missouri river north of
and other related materials. [2] A Bismarck, the state's capital. However,
Georgetown professor estimated that DAPL was re-routed south of the city,
construction will add $129 million in half-mile upstream from the Standing
annual tax revenue into local and state Rock Sioux Reservation, due to concerns
economies during construction. [27] Once that a pipeline break could poison the
the pipeline is operational, North Dakota, city's water source. [15] A pipeline spill
South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois may would imperil the drinking water of not
earn $50 million annually in property just the Standing Rock Tribe, but also
taxes and $74 million in sales taxes. [27] millions of people downstream. [14] The
The increased revenue would improve construction of the pipeline was fast-
schools, roads, and emergency services in tracked using a process called
those areas. Moving oil by pipeline Nationwide Permit No. 12, exempting it
instead of railroad will ease from environmental reviews required by
transportation shortages for other major the Clean Water Act, adding further
regional industries including agriculture. concerns about the safety of the pipeline.
[2]
[16]

Page 41 of 551
 Pro 2
Pro 3 Con 2
Construction of the Con 3
The Dakota
Dakota Access Access
Pipeline The Dakota Access
Pipeline
will help will make States
the United The Dakota
Pipeline Access
is being built on
transporting
to become more oil energy
from Pipeline
sacred land will worsen
guaranteed to
In
North DakotaThere
independent. to major
are 2.5 climate
the Oceti change
Sakowin by (Sioux)
refining
million milesmarkets
of oil and gassafer,
pipelines pumping
by treaty.hundreds
Under the 1851 ofTreaty
currently running through the United
more[23]cost effective, and thousands
of Fort Laramie,ofthegallons of
land that the
States. Reducing oil imports from pipeline is being built on is still the
more
the environmentally
Middle East, Russia, and elsewhere shale
uncededoil
andto market
sovereign daily.
territory of the
lowers US dependence on foreign IfOceti
completed,
Sakowin the(Sioux
DAPLNation).
would carry
[17] As
friendly. A review of US
energy, which in turn bolsters national 470,000
such, the- 570,000
Standingbarrels of Bakken
Rock Sioux should
Department of Transportation shale
security and creates leverage to push have oil
beento consulted
market. [2]before
 The extracted
the
statistics proved that "pipelines result oil,
for human rights improvements in oil- pipeline was approved. [14] The and
once processed, transported, Army
in fewer spillage incidents and burned, would release 101.4 million
producing nations. [30] Oil imports Corps of Engineers said that
personal injuries than road and rail," metric tons of CO2 eachand year. This isare
account for nearly two-thirds of the US "additional discussion analysis
according to the Manhattan Institute. the equivalent of the
annual trade deficit, but North Dakota's warranted in light ofemissions
the historyfromof the
[33] Transferring oil by pipeline is less 29.5 coal plants or 21.4 million cars
251% increase in oil production since Great Sioux Nation's dispossessions of
likely to result in spills or accidents, per year.[13] A peer-reviewed
[21]According study
2010 can significantly cut back on the lands." to Ladonna
avoiding incidents like the May 2015 found that a global rise in
billions of dollars leaving the US Brave Bull Allard, Standing Rock
derailment of a train carrying crude atmospheric ethane,
economy. [29] President Obama spoke Tribal Historian andadirector
greenhouseof the
oil that resulted in a fiery crash and gas, can be traced largely to hydraulic
about increased domestic oil Camp of the Sacred Stones, the
forced the evacuation of a North fracking
production in his 2013 State of the pipeline in the North are
contractors Dakota Bakken
ignoring
Dakota town. [34] Kelcy Warren, shale
Union speech, saying, "After years of "pending legal action taken bytothe
oil fields. [20] According US
CEO of the company building the Senator Bernie
talking about it, we are finally poised Standing RockSanders,
Sioux Tribe"if we
andhave
other
DAPL, told PBS NewsHour, "This any hope of avoiding the worst
to control our own energy future." [30] Oceti Sakowin tribes," "treaty law,"
pipeline is being built to safety consequences
The pipeline is considered a big step in and the NativeofAmerican
climate change,
Graveswe
standards that far exceed what the should
that direction. Protection and RepatriationoilAct. [18]
not be building new
government requires us to do." [31] pipelines that lock
Construction of theuspipeline
into burning
has
Pipelines reduce transportation costs fossil fuels for generations to come."
already damaged sacred burial sites
by $5 to $10 per barrel of oil, and [22]
and other culturally significant areas.
have a lower carbon footprint than [19]
trains or trucks. [35] [36]

July 2016 the US Army Corps of Engineers granted the final permits for pipeline
construction to Dakota Access, the subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners building the
pipeline. In response the Standing Rock Sioux filed a lawsuit in federal district court
alleging multiple violations of federal law during the permitting process. However,

Page 42 of 551
construction of the pipeline began as scheduled, so the tribe filed a request for a
preliminary injunction to halt construction until their court case was decided. On Aug.
10, 2016, a coalition of Native American tribes and other activists began a blockade of
the pipeline to prevent continued construction.

As news spread of the blockade, hundreds of people began arriving at the original
Sacred Stone Camp. A larger camp, known as the Oceti Sakowin Camp, was formed to
house thousands of new supporters. Representatives from 300 Native American tribes,
along with other allies, have joined the Standing Rock Sioux to demand the pipeline
construction be halted.

Since the blockade began, a series of escalating confrontations have occurred between
pipeline opponents, many of whom call themselves "water protectors," and various
private, local, and state law enforcement agents who have been protecting the pipeline
and trying to prevent disruption of the construction.

On Sep. 3 a major escalation occurred when private security working for Dakota Access
used dogs and pepper spray on a group of Native Americans and allies who had walked
onto an active pipeline construction site to disrupt operations. [4] Another major
confrontation occurred on Oct. 28, when over 300 police officers in riot gear,
accompanied by armored vehicles, moved in to clear an encampment and road
barricades that had been set up to prevent construction of a section of the pipeline.

On Sep. 9 the Standing Rock Tribe's request for a preliminary injunction to halt
construction was denied. In response, the Department of Justice, the Department of the
Army, and the Department of the Interior issued a joint statement pausing construction
of the pipeline, pending further review, on the federal land bordering the area where the
pipeline is to be bored beneath the Missouri River. Although the government requested
that Dakota Access voluntarily stop work 20 miles east or west of the Missouri River, the
company continued with construction.

On Nov. 14 the Army Corps review concluded that permission to construct the pipeline
"on or under Corps land" bordering the Missouri River could not occur until further
review was undertaken, and encouraged the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's involvement
in the process.In response, Dakota Access filed a lawsuit against the Army Corp of
Engineers and continued with construction of the pipeline on lands not under the
jurisdiction of the Army Corps.

On Sunday, Nov. 20, a major clash occurred between law enforcement and 400 people
trying to remove a road barricade set up by law enforcement to block traffic on Highway
1806 near the Oceti Sakowin encampment. Nearly 300 people were treated for injuries,
Page 43 of 551
some life threatening, and 26 people were taken to area hospitals. One woman, Sophia
Wilansky, sustained severe injuries to her arm that may require an amputation. The
woman's father alleges that she was hurt by a concussion grenade thrown by police, but
law enforcement says that claim is false.

According to the Morton County Sheriff ‘s Department, since protest activity against the
pipeline began, at least 473 individuals have been arrested 1.

Read the case study and create a slogan that would convince a person of that
Environmental Value to be a Pro or Con Pipeline

For e.g.

1
"Dakota Access Pipeline: Top 3 Pros and Cons." ProCon.org - Pros and Cons of Controversial Issues,
www.procon.org/headline.php?headlineID=005331&fbclid=IwAR0VNWyRkWQcorOHS_m1HdRhdrC0CsLas-1-
yobhRTAkBCxPxnAejtI3o6c. Accessed 3 Apr. 2019.

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Page 45 of 551
Make your slogan here and write which Environmental Perspective does it come under.

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 Description (views on the
Value System Example Similarities Differences
environment)

Capitalism

Communism

Description (views on the

Value System Similarities Differences
environment)

Native Americans

European pioneers

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 Description (views on the
Value System Similarities Differences
environment)

Judeo-christianity

Buddhism

REVIEW ACTIVITY

Complete the table below to show the main points of the three different environmental philosophies

Environmental Value
Ecocentric Anthropocentric Technocentric
System

Environmental
Management
Strategies

Environmental
Philosophies

Labels and
characteristics

Social movements
and Politics

Case Study- Environmental World Views

Page 48 of 551
 Hispaniola

Figure 1a. Map showing the location of Hispaniola

Figure 2. Facts of File on Hispaniola

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  76,192-square-kilometer island
 Divided by two countries: Dominican Republic and Haiti
 This island was founded by Cristopher Columbus
 The island has 5 main mountain ranges
 The island has 5 ecoregions: 50% of the island is made of Moist Forest, 20% is made of
Dry Forest, 15% Pine Forest, and flooded grasslands and savannas make up the rest.

Figure 3. Comparison of Haiti and Dominican Republic Economies

Figure 4. Facts on File Dominican Republic

 Total Population: 9,650,054

 Life expectancy at birth: 74 years
 Originally colonized and controlled by Spain. This country is still Spanish speaking.
 Some border forests have been burned for charcoal and illegally moved into Haiti for
resale

Figure 5. Facts on File Haiti

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  Total Population: 9,035,536
 Life expectancy at birth: 60 years
 High mortality due to AIDS
 Originally colonized by Spain, but taken over by France. Slaves were brought over
from Africa.
 Originally coffee plantations were built and then later timber was then exported back
to France.

Figure 6. View of the Boundary between Haiti (on the left) and Dominican Republic (on the right)

Figure 10. Solutions, Mitigation Strategies, and Adaptations to Deforestation

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  Recycling Paper Products & Using Reusable Alternatives (such as fabric bags)
 Crack-down on corruption and black-market trade of timber products
 Increased regulation of clear cutting, slash and burn forestry, and exporting paper
products
 Increased implementation of international agreements, such as CITES
 Replanting with quick-growing GMO trees
 Switching agriculture to GMO, high output crops so that less land is required
 Increased monitoring by “citizen scientists” and indigenous peoples
 Regulate number of new roads and town built in the area
 Increased educational programs about sustainable choices and sustainable forestry
 Switching people from a meat based diet to a vegetarian based diet.

Figure 7. 2010 Earthquake in Haiti

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Page 53 of 551
Figure 8. Commentary Regarding Haiti’s use of resources

*note the brown nut here is a coffee bean

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 Case Study- Environmental World Views

Time Allowed: 65 minutes

Part I. Case Study

The resource booklet provides information on the island of Hispaniola. Use the resource booklet
and your own studies to answer the following question.

1. State an ecological service provided by forests

(1)

2. Identify and Justify the overriding Environmental Viewpoint found in

(6)

i. Haiti

ii. Dominican Republic

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3. Explain how the history and economy of these two countries has impacted the
Environmental Viewpoints of these two countries (4)

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4. What is the viewpoint the photographer of Figure 8 trying to portray. Explain your answer

( 3)

5. What solutions to deforestation would each of the following groups most likely choose to

Use? ( 3 marks)

Viewpoint Solution(s)

Cornucopian

Environmental Manager

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 Deep Ecologist

Part II. Short Answer Questions

6. The figure contains an ancient Chinese proverb

Proverb

If you are thinking a year ahead,

sow seed

If you are thinking ten years ahead,

plant a tree

If you are thinking a hundred years,

educate the people

Chinese poet Kuan Tzu 500BC

a. The poet Kuan Tzu could be seen as an ecocentrist or a technocentrist. Justify

whether you think his views are ecocentric or technocentric.

(4)

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 b. Outline two factors which may affect someone’s environmental philosophy. (2).

7. Identify two landmarks in the development of the modern environmental movement, and
justify why each one is significant. (6)

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Figure1.

8. Figure 1 describes the same facts reported in two different ways. Suggest the possible
environmental value systems of the authors of each of these reports. ( 3).

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9. Compare the environmental value systems of two named societies and describe
how these societies might differ in the way that they exploit their resources .

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Page 61 of 551
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Case Studies for Chapter 1.1- The development of env. Movement

An example of env. disaster / media campaign / literature / international

agreement and/or technological dev.

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 Minamata methyl mercury disease- https://www.minamatadiseasemuseum.net/10-
things-to-know
Chernobyl Gas Disaster-
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/chernobyl-bg.html
Bhopal Gas Tragedy- https://www.theweek.co.uk/99635/bhopal-disaster-35-years-on-
what-happened
The Great London Smog- https://www.thoughtco.com/the-great-smog-of-1952-
1779346
Fukushima Daichii Nuclear Disaster-
https://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/08/asia/fukushima-five-year-anniversary/index.html
Rachel Carson Silent Spring-
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/may/27/rachel-carson-silent-spring-
anniversary
The Limits of Growth by Club of Rome
https://www.clubofrome.org/report/the-limits-to-growth/
Gaia by J. Lovelock in 1979
Save the Whale by Greenpeace 1975
Agenda 21 in Rio, 1992
Kyoto protocol, 1997
Green revolution 1940-1960

Topic 1.1 Environmental Value Systems IB Questions from past papers.

2016 May Paper 2 Questions 5 B [6]

Ecocentrics recognise that all species have an intrinsic value.

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Explain the strengths and weaknesses of using intrinsic value when making decisions
about development and conservation.

2016 May Paper 2 Questions 5 C [6]

Environmental value systems may be seen as having both inputs and outputs as shown
in the diagram below.

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External Environmental Decisions

And internal ------------------> Value System of the -------------------------> and Actions

Value Systems Society

As a society develops over time from an original pioneer population, various influences
may have caused changes in their common value systems and decisions.

With reference to energy sources in a developed country (MEDC), discuss how

historical changes in internal and external factors have influenced their environmental
value systems and decisions on energy supply. [9]

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2014 may Paper 2 4 C [8]

Environmental value systems such as ecocentrism and techno centrism may determine
the approaches taken to resources management.

Discuss which of these value systems you consider most appropriate in its approach to
the management of fossil fuel resources. Support your conclusion with valid reasons or
evidence [8]

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Page 67 of 551
Reflections- Please write the things that you understood well and what are the areas
that you need help.

What went well:

Even better if:

Page 68 of 551
TOPIC 1.2 –SYSTEMS AND MODELS Date-

Significant ideas:

 A systems approach can help in the study of complex environmental issues

 The use of systems and models simplifies interactions but may provide a more holistic
view without reducing issues to single processes
Covered
Revised I’m
Objective Statement the
in class confident
notes
Knowledge A systems approach is a way of visualizing a
and complex set of interactions which may be
Understandi ecological or social
ng These interactions produce the emergent
properties of a system
The concept of a system can be applied at a
range of scales
A system is compromised of storages and
flows
The flows provide inputs and outputs of
energy and matter
The flows are processes that may either be
transfers (a change in location) or
transformations (a change in the chemical
nature, a change in state or a change in
energy)
In system diagrams, storages are usually
represented as rectangular boxes and flows
as arrows, with the direction of each arrow
indicating the direction of each flow.
An open system exchanges both energy and
matter across its boundary while a closed
system exchanges only energy across its
boundary
An isolated system is a hypothetical concept
in which neither energy nor matter is
exchanged across the boundary
Ecosystems are open systems, closed
systems only exist experimentally, although
the global geochemical cycles approximate

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 to closed systems
A model is a simplified version of reality and
can be used to understand how a system
works and predict how it will respond to
change
A model inevitably involves some
approximation and therefore loss of
accuracy
Construct a system diagram or model from
a given set of information
Applications
Evaluate the use of models as a tool in a
and Skills
given situation, for example, climate change
predictions

Page 70 of 551
1. Define System in the space below.

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2. Draw a diagram in the space below to show how a tree can be considered as a
system.

3. Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0h5CS-w778 and summarise

the Gaia hypothesis in your own words.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

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…………………………………………………………………………………………….

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 ……………………………………………………………………………………………

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4. Complete the table below using THREE examples of systems

Behaviour of parts taken Behaviour of parts as a

Example of a system
separately whole system
Bicycle Wheel spin in circles Bicycle moves forward
Pedals move up and down

5. Differentiate between transfer and transformation

__________________ = when a flow of energy or matter does not

involve a change of form or state. There is normally a
change of location.

__________________ = when a flow of energy or matter involves a change of

state

6. Look at the processes below. Copy each one into the correct column of the
following table, depending on whether they are a transfer or a transformation.

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 TRANSFER
TRANSFORMATION

The movement of Matter to energy Energy to matter

material through living (burning fossil fuels) (photosynthesis)
organisms (carnivores
eating other animals)
The movement of
energy (ocean currents Matter to matter (soluble
The movement of material transferring heat) glucose converted to
in a non-living process insoluble starch in
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(water being carried by a
stream)
 7. Complete the sentences below and annotate the diagrams to show the
storages and flows

Both energy and matter _____________ (inputs and outputs) through ecosystems but
are also _____________ (stock) within the ecosystem

Energy _____________ from one compartment to another but when one organism eats
another the energy is in the form of _____________ chemical energy: flesh

_____________flows through a system in the form of ___________________ bonds

within _____________ compounds

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_____________cycles around the system as _____________

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8. Annotate the diagrams below to differentiate between the three different
types of system

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9. Define a Model

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 10. Copy the statements into a table that compares the advantages and
disadvantages of modelling.

allow scientists to predict/simplify complex different models can show different effects
systems with the same data

rely on the expertise of the people making inputs can be changed and outputs
them examined without having to wait for real
events
any model is only as good as the data that different people may interpret them in
goes into it – and it’s not always reliable different ways

results can be shared with scientists and vested interests may hijack the information
public and use it to a political advantage

Advantages Disadvantages

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11. Draw a systems diagram showing the inputs, outputs and storages for a leaf.

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 QUESTIONS FROM PAST PAPERS

1. Predictive models of climate change may give very different results. Explain this
statement with reference to the limitations of models and the contrasting arguments
about global warming.
Award [3 max] for any three of the following.
systems models are not always accurate;
model is less complex than reality;
data series too short for confident predictions;
not all elements are known or understood;
Award [1] for each of the following.
present trend based on data collected since industrial revolution;
long-term data (10 000 years) show climate fluctuation cycles not
overall rise;
some models predict future rise others argue for future cooling;
Accept any other reasonable answers.

2. “...there is constant interchange of … various kinds within each system, not only
between the organisms but between the organic and inorganic. These ecosystems, as we
may call them, are of ... various kinds and sizes.” Tansley (1935)

(a) Compare the characteristics of ecosystems and social systems.

systems are assemblages of parts and the relationships between
those parts, which together constitute the entity or whole;
both types of systems will have common features such as inputs,
outputs, flows and stores;
social systems are more general, however, in that there will be lots
of different types e.g. a transport system/economic system/farming
system/class system;
energy and matter will flow through ecosystems, whereas social
systems will have flows of e.g. information/ideas/people;
both types of system will exist at different scales;
and have common features such as feedback and equilibrium;
trophic levels and levels in society;
there are consumers and producers in both; 5 max
For full marks answers should show both similarities and differences.

Global climate models are complex and there is a degree of uncertainty regarding
the accuracy of their predictions.

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 Climate models are mathematical representations of the interactions between the
atmosphere, oceans, land surface, ice – and the sun. This is clearly a very complex
task, so models are built to estimate trends rather than events. For example, a climate
model can tell you it will be cold in winter, but it can’t tell you what the temperature will
be on a specific day – that’s weather forecasting. Climate trends are weather, averaged
out over time - usually 30 years. Trends are important because they eliminate - or
"smooth out" - single events that may be extreme, but quite rare.

 an issue on a large scale

 interactions between atmosphere, oceans and land
 natural as well as antrhopogentic forces
 not all feedback mechanisms understood
 long-term impact not known

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Page 82 of 551
Page 83 of 551
 Describe the Gaia hypothesis and evaluate the usefulness of a global
perspective for managing resources sustainably.

description: Award [3 max]

the Gaia hypothesis was developed by James Lovelock;
it compares the Earth to a living organism in which feedback
mechanisms maintain equilibrium;
the initial hypothesis was that the biomass modifies the conditions
on the planet to make conditions on the planet more hospitable
(full homeostasis);
and that the earth is a global control system of surface temperature,
atmospheric composition and ocean salinity;
evaluation: Award [5 max]
strengths:
sustainable management means ensuring resources are not degraded/
natural capital is not used up, so that future generations can
continue to use the resource;
global perspective is useful because many problems have global
consequences e.g. global warming;
so understanding knock-on effects outside of national boundaries
helps governments to be more responsible;
understanding that our actions can have an impact on others is good
for getting societies to think about impacts on different generations,
not just in different countries;
sometimes problems need international agreements e.g. CITES for
trade across boundaries to ensure populations are big enough to
sustain the species;
ecosystems are affected by global processes e.g. hydrological cycle/
atmospheric system;
global perspective stresses the interrelationships between systems so
knock-on effects are reduced;
weaknesses:
but ecosystems can exist at many scales, and so a more local
perspective is sometimes appropriate;
human actions can be culturally specific e.g. traditional farming
methods;
often local methods have evolved to be more sustainable/appropriate
for the local environment;
individual/small-scale community action can be very effective for
managing resources sustainably e.g. recycling;
some environmental problems are local in nature e.g. point source
pollution; 7
max
Evaluation needs strengths and weaknesses. Award [2 max] if only
strengths or weaknesses are addressed.

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 Case Studies to refer to for Chapter 1.2- Please go through these case
studies

1. Biosphere 2- http://environment-ecology.com/ecological-design/255-biosphere-
2.html

2. Gaia Hypothesis-
http://curry.eas.gatech.edu/Courses/6140/ency/Chapter13/Ency_Atmos/
Gaia_Hypothesis.pdf

3. Daisyworld Planet- http://gingerbooth.com/flash/daisyball/

Reflections- Please write the things that you understood well and what are the areas
that you need help.

What went well:

Even better if:

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TOPIC 1.3 –ENERGY AND EQUILIBRIUM Date-

Significant ideas:

 The laws of thermodynamics govern the flow of energy in a system and the ability to do
work
 Systems can exist in alternative stable states or as equilibria between which there are
tipping points
 Destabilizing positive feedback mechanisms will drive systems towards these tipping
points, whereas stabilizing negative feedback mechanisms will resist such changes

Covered Revise
I’m
Objective Statement the d in
confident
notes class
Knowledge The first law of thermodynamics is the
and principle of the conservation of energy,
Understandin which states that energy in an isolated
g system can be transformed but not created
nor destroyed
The principle of conservation of energy can
be modeled by the energy transformations
along food chains and energy production
systems
The second law of thermodynamics states
that the entropy of a system increases over
time. Entropy is a measure of the amount
of disorder in a system. An increase in
entropy arising from energy
transformations reduces the energy
available to do work.
The second law of thermodynamics explains
the inefficiency and decrease in available
energy along a food chain and energy
generation systems
As an open system, an ecosystem will
normally exist in a stable equilibrium, either
in a steady-state equilibrium or in one
developing over time (for example,
succession) and maintained by stabilizing
feedback loops.

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 Negative feedback loops (stabilizing) occur
when the output of the process inhibits or
reverses the operation of the same process
in such a way as to reduce change – it
counteracts deviation
Positive feedback loops (destabilizing) will
tend to amplify changes and drive the
system toward a tipping point where a new
equilibrium is adopted
The resilience of a system, ecological or
social, refers to its tendency to avoid such
tipping points and maintain stability
Diversity and the size of storages within
systems can contribute to their resilience
and affect their speed of response to
change (time lags)
Humans can affect the resilience of systems
through reducing these storages and
diversity
The delays involved in feedback loops make
it difficult to predict tipping points and add
to the complexity of modeling systems
Explain the implications of the laws of
thermodynamics to ecological systems
Applications
Discuss the resilience in a variety of systems
and Skills
Evaluate the possible consequences of
tipping points

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 1. Define and explain the first law of thermodynamics by referring to the diagrams
below:

2. Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS_C7dM25pc

Complete the sentences below and annotate the diagram to illustrate the Second Law of
Thermodynamics:

The ________________ of an isolated system not in ________________ will tend to ________________

over time

Energy conversions are never ________________ and the ________________ conversions in a system,
the ________________ the total ________________.

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Can be thought of as
_____________________________________________________________________

Or the ________________ out of ________________!

3. Define Entropy

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4. Describe the relationship between Entropy and Second Law of Thermodynamics.

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5. Why do food chain usually only have four or five links?

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6. Annotate the graphs below to show the four different type of equilibria

7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

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 7. Negative or Positive Feedback?

Negative feedback can be defined as feedback that counteracts any change

away from equilibrium, contributing to stability. Negative feedback is a method of
control that regulates itself. An ecosystem, for example, normally exists in a
stable equilibrium, either steady-state equilibrium or one developing over time
(e.g. succession) because it is maintained by stabilizing negative feedback loops.
Negative feedback mechanisms are stabilizing forces within ecosystems as they
can counteract deviation.

Positive feedback occurs when a change in the state of a system leads to

additional and increased change. Thus, an increase in the size of one or more of
the system’s outputs feeds back into the system and results in self-sustained
change that alters the state of a system away from its original equilibrium
towards instability

Determine if the following are examples of positive or negative feedback.

 Your body temperature rises as you walk around outside in Bangladesh on a hot
afternoon. The sensors in your skin detect the rise in your surface temperature so you
start to sweat.
 In some developing countries poverty causes illness and contributes to poor standards
of education. In the absence of knowledge of family planning methods and hygiene, this
contributes to population growth and illness, adding further to the causes of poverty; “a
vicious circle of poverty.”
 A thermostat in a central heating system can determine the temperature of your living
room. It switches the air conditioner on when the temperature increases to a
predetermined level and shuts it off when it cools to another level. The room
temperature remains within a comfortable level regardless of the temperature outside.
 Some organisms have internal feedback systems, physiological changes occurring
prevent breeding when population densities are high and promote breeding when
population densities are low.
 You are lost on a snowy mountain. When your body senses that it is cooling below 37°C,
various mechanisms such as shivering help to raise your body core temperature again.
However if these are insufficient to restore normal body temperature, our metabolic
processes start to slow down, because the enzymes that control them do not work so
well at lower temperatures. As a result, you become lethargic and sleepy and move
around less and less, allowing your body to cool even further. Unless you are rescued at
this point, your body will reach a new equilibrium; you will die of hypothermia.

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 Higher temperatures cause more evaporation which leads to more water vapor in the
atmosphere. Water vapor is a greenhouse gas so will trap more heat so the atmosphere
will warm more.
 As carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere rise, the temperature of the Earth rises. As
the Earth warms the rate of photosynthesis in plants increases, more carbon dioxide is
therefore removed from the atmosphere by plants, reducing the greenhouse effect and
reducing global temperatures.
 As the Earth warms, ice cover melts, exposing soil or water. Albedo decreases (albedo is
the fraction of light that is reflected by a body or surface). More energy is absorbed by
the Earth’s surface. Global temperature rises. More ice melts.
 As the Earth warms, upper layers of permafrost melt, producing waterlogged soil above
frozen ground. Methane gas is released into the environment. The greenhouse effect is
enhanced. The Earth warms, melting more permafrost.
 As the Earth warms, increased evaporation produces more clouds. Clouds increase
albedo, reflecting more light away from the Earth. The temperature falls. Rates of
evaporation fall.
 As the Earth warms, organic matter in soil is decomposed faster, more carbon dioxide is
released. The enhanced greenhouse effect occurs, the Earth warms further and rates of
decomposition increase.
 As the Earth warms, evaporation increases. Snowfall at high latitudes increases, icecaps
enlarge. More energy is reflected by increased albedo of ice cover. The Earth cools.
Rates of evaporation fall.
 As the Earth warms, polar icecaps melt, releasing large numbers of icebergs into oceans.
Warm ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream are disrupted by additional freshwater
input into oceans. Reduced transfer of energy to the poles reduces temperature at high
altitudes. Ice sheets reform and icebergs retreat. Warm currents are re-established.

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8. Draw an example of a negative feedback loop into the space below:

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9. Draw an example of a positive feedback loop into the space below:

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9. Complete the reading on tipping points and resilience

The resilience of a system, ecological or social, refers to its tendency to avoid tipping
points, and maintain stability through steady-state equilibrium. Diversity and the size of
storages within systems can contribute to their resilience and affect the speed of
response to change. Large storages, or high diversity, will mean that a system is less
likely to reach a tipping point and move to a new equilibrium.

Humans can affect the resilience of systems through reducing these storages and
diversity. Tropical rainforests, for example, have high diversity (i.e. a large number and
proportions of species present) but catastrophic disturbance through logging (i.e. rapid
removal of tree biomass storages) or fires can lower its resilience and can mean it takes
a long time to recover. Natural grasslands, in contrast, have low diversity but are very
resilient, because a lot of nutrients are stored below ground in root systems, so after fire
they can recover quickly

Complex ecosystems such as rainforests have complex food webs which allow animals
and plants many ways to respond to disturbance of the ecosystem and thus maintain
stability. They also contain long-lived species and dormant seeds and seedlings that
promote steady-state equilibrium. Rainforests have thin, low-nutrient soils, however,
and although storage of biomass in trees is high, nutrient storage in soils is low.
Nutrients are locked-up in decomposing plant matter on the surface and in rapidly
growing plants within the forest, so when the forest is disturbed, nutrients are quickly
lost (e.g. leaf layer and topsoil can be washed away). Ecosystems with higher resilience
have nutrient-rich soils which can promote new growth.

A tipping point is a critical threshold when even a small change can have dramatic
effects and cause a disproportionately large response in the overall system. Positive
feedback loops are destabilizing and tend to amplify changes and drive the system
towards a tipping point where a new equilibrium is adopted Most projected tipping points
are linked to climate change, and represent points beyond which irreversible change or
damage occurs. Increases in CO2 levels above a certain value (450 ppm) would lead to
increased global mean temperature, causing melting of the ice sheets and permafrost.
Reaching such a tipping would, for example, cause long-term damage to societies, the
melting of Himalayan mountain glaciers, and a lack of freshwater in many Asian
societies.

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If external conditions in the environment, such as nutrient input or temperature, change
gradually, then ecosystem state may respond gradually, in which case there are no
tipping points involved (shown in graph a). In other cases, there may be little response
below a certain threshold, but fast changes in the system can occur once the threshold
is reached even though a small change in environmental conditions has occurred – in
such cases, a tipping point has been reached (shown in graph b).

The resilience of a system, ecological or social, refers to its tendency to avoid tipping
points, and maintain stability through steady-state equilibrium. Diversity and the size of
storages within systems can contribute to their resilience and affect the speed of
response to change. Large storages, or high diversity, will mean that a system is less
likely to reach a tipping point and move to a new equilibrium.

Humans can affect the resilience of systems through reducing these storages and
diversity. Tropical rainforests, for example, have high diversity (i.e. a large number and
proportions of species present) but catastrophic disturbance through logging (i.e. rapid
removal of tree biomass storages) or fires can lower its resilience and can mean it takes
a long time to recover. Natural grasslands, in contrast, have low diversity but are very
resilient, because a lot of nutrients are stored below ground in root systems, so after fi
re they can recover quickly (case study

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Models are used to predict tipping points and, as you have already seen, such models
have strengths and limitations. The delays involved in feedback loops make it difficult to
predict tipping points and add to the difficulty of modelling systems. Other problems with
predicting tipping points include:

 There is no globally-accepted definition of what is meant by the term tipping point

i.e. how different do two system states need to be to say that a tipping point has
been reached?
 Not all properties of a system will change abruptly at one time, and so it may be
difficult to say when a tipping point has been reached.
 The exact size of the impacts resulting from tipping points have not been fully
identified for all systems.
 It may be dicult to determine the causes of a tipping point – whether it has been
reached because of the inherent nature of the system or external factors such as
human activity, for example.
 It is difficult to determine the conditions under which ecosystems experience
tipping points, because of their complexity.
 Not all systems that could be affected by tipping points have been examined or
possibly even identified.
 No one may know the exact tipping point until long after it has happened.

The costs of tipping points, both from environmental and economic perspectives, could
be severe, so accurate predictions are critical. Models that predict tipping points are,
therefore, essential and have alerted scientists to potential large events. Continued
monitoring, research, and modelling is required to improve predictions.

Please go through the video section of this site containing 6 case studies explaining the
Tipping Points.

http://www.thetippingpoints.com/?
fbclid=IwAR3xliJahWsm41ITBF_q3PuIRg0Muf3DGHRercvs6E7opFX75aWEDEWB76o

Other sources to refer to for the Question Evaluate the Consequences for Tipping Point.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/09/tipping-points-could-exacerbate-climate-
crisis-scientists-fear

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/31/bay-bengal-depleted-fish-stocks-pollution-
climate-change-migration

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/20/risks-of-domino-effect-of-tipping-points-
greater-than-thought-study-says

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jun/30/stephen-emmott-ten-billion

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10. Evaluate the possible consequences of Tipping Point.

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QUESTIONS FROM PAST PAPERS

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Case Studies to refer to for Chapter 1.3

Resilience and Diversity in Ecosystems-

https://marinegeo.si.edu/research-story/ocean-resilience-biodiversity%E2%80%99s-role-coping-
adversity

More species more resilience-

https://conservationbytes.com/2014/01/08/more-species-more-resilience/

Do we want monocultures

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/food-system-monocultures-gm-un-
diversity-day

Reflections- Please write the things that you understood well and what are the areas
that you need help.

What went well:

Even better if:

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TOPIC 1.4 –SUSTAINABILITY Date-

Significant ideas:

 All systems can be viewed through the lens of sustainability

 Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs
 Environmental indicators and ecological footprints can be used to assess sustainability
 Environmental Impacts Assessments (EIAs) play an important role in sustainable
development

Covered Revise
I’m
Objective Statement the d in
confident
notes class
Knowledge Sustainability is the use and management
and of resources that allows full natural
Understandin replacement of the resources exploited and
g full recovery of the ecosystems affected by
their extraction and use
Natural capital is a term used for natural
resources that can produce a sustainable
natural income of goods or services
Natural income is the yield obtained from
natural resources
Ecosystems may provide life-supporting
services such as water replenishment, flood
and erosion protection, and goods such as
timber, fisheries and agricultural crops
Factors such as biodiversity, pollution,
population or climate may be used
quantitatively as environmental indicators
of sustainability. These factors can be
applied on a range of scales from global to
local, TheMillennium Ecosystem
Assessment gave a scientific appraisal of
the condition and trends in the world’s
ecosystems and the services they provide
using environmental indicators, as well as
the scientific basis for action to conserve
and use them sustainably.
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 Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs)
incorporate baseline studies before a
development project is undertaken. They
assess the environmental , social and
economic impacts of a project, predicting
and evaluating possible impacts and
suggesting mitigation strategies for the
project. They are usually followed by an
audit and continued monitoring. Each
country or region has different guidance on
the use of EIAs.

EIAs provide decision makers with

information in order to consider the
environmental impact of a project. There is
not necessarily a requirement to implement
an EIA’s proposals and many socio-
economic factors may influence the
decisions made.
Criticisms of EIAs include the lack of
standard practice or training for
practitioners, the lack of a clear definition of
system boundaries and the lack of inclusion
of indirect impacts
An ecological footprint (EF) is the area of
land and water required to sustainably
provide all resources at the rate at which
they are being consumed by a given
population. Where the EF is greater than
the area available to the population, this is
an indication of unsustainability.
Explain the relationship between natural
capital, natural income and sustainability
Discuss the value of ecosystem services to a
society
Discuss how environmental indicators can
Applications
be used to evaluate the progress of a
and Skills
project to increase sustainability e.g.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
Evaluate the use of EIAs
Explain the relationship between ecological
footprint (EF) and sustainability

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1. Define Sustainability

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2. Draw a Venn diagram for sustainability in the space below:

3. Define Sustainable Development.

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 4. The Story of Stuff: Video Questions

Directions: Answer these questions individually as your class watches “The Story of
Stuff”.
Access video here: http://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-stuff/

1) List the 5 steps of the materials economy.

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2) Define the following terms:

a) Externalized costs:

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b) Planned Obsolescence:

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 c) Perceived Obsolescence

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3) How do you participate in the “golden arrow of consumption”?

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4) Use the space below to record at least 3 interesting ideas or facts presented
during the film:

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 5. Living sustainably – individual activity

1. Make a list of 5 things you do that have a negative impact on the environment in the
table below.

2. For each thing you do, write down what the impact on the environment is and what
you could do to reduce the impact on the environment (make it more sustainable).

For example:

• I throw out all of my rubbish instead of recycling.

• The negative impact on the environment is that a lot of landfill is created. To reduce this
impact I could start to recycle.

Extension: Think about how easy or difficult it would be to make each of the 5 actions you
discussed above more sustainable. Give each a difficulty rating out of 10 and give a reason
why. For example: 

I would give recycling more a difficulty rating of 4/10. It is not difficult to sort out the

recycling but it would take extra time and effort.

Activity Impact Reduce impact by.. Difficulty /10

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6. Ecosystems may provide life-supporting services such as water replenishment, flood and
erosion protection, and goods such as timber, fisheries and agricultural crops

Discuss the value of ecosystem services to a society.

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 7.
Key term Definition
The appreciation of a resource for its visual attraction. This has no
market price.
This can be determined from the market price of the goods and services,
e.g. timber and food.
The idea that organisms and ecosystems have value, in their own right,
irrespective of economic value.
Useful for applications, e.g. genetic or medicinal.

Resources that are essential for human existence but have no monetary
value, e.g. water storage and gas exchange by forests.

8. Natural capital – pricing the priceless - individual activity

The protection of biodiversity, while complex to value and quantify accurately, is essential for
future well-being and economic development

A parrotfish swims over a dead coral reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Photograph: Wilfredo Lee/AP

With all eyes fixed on the latest global share prices and bond yields, there was relatively little
interest in the most recent figures published in the annual red list.

This is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological
species. It shows that 25% of all mammals and one in three of the world's amphibians are at risk
of extinction.

While these trends are not as turbulent as the global financial markets, the steady decline of the
world's biodiversity could be just as critical to long-term economic success and prosperity.

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This is because the loss of biodiversity causes ecosystems to stress, degrade or even collapse
altogether. This reduces the environment's ability to deliver the goods and services that nature
provides for free, such as clean air, water, soils and waste disposal, as well as the raw materials
that industry depends upon.

As a result, it is evident that the protection of biodiversity, while complex to value and quantify
accurately, is essential for future well-being and economic development.

Policy will inevitably have to rise to this challenge and businesses must look ahead to what this
might mean for them and how they should act responsibly.

That is why the Aldersgate Group, an alliance of leaders from business, politics and society, has
recently convened a series of discussions on how to make this agenda more tangible for key
decision makers. The findings were published today at the Business of Biodiversity
Symposium with government ministers and leading chief executives.

It became immediately evident from our dialogue that the value of biodiversity must be reflected
in prices and policy appraisal. We cannot take for granted the services that ecosystems provide
for free – such as regulating the climate, absorbing pollution and reducing flooding.

The UN estimates that these services deliver to humankind over $72tn a year – comparable to
World Gross National Income – but nearly two-thirds of the globe's ecosystems are considered
degraded. The global importance of understanding, measuring and capturing the value of nature
is undertaken by the UN through TEEB, a major international initiative to draw attention to the
global economic benefits of biodiversity.

The endeavour to reflect environmental values in prices is an essential one, but for complex
challenges such as biodiversity loss, some tipping points exist beyond which damage to human
welfare is irreversible. Already in certain coastal areas there are "dead zones", where coral reefs
and lakes are no longer able to sustain aquatic species.

Inevitably, there are limits to pricing the priceless. For example, how can you put a value on a
species of Himalayan yew tree, on the brink of extinction, that is used to produce Taxol, a
chemotherapy drug used to treat cancer?

That is why good resource management requires a combination of price, regulation and
information to achieve the desired behavioural change, and caution is required when there is
uncertainty about nature's thresholds.

As policy develops, what should businesses be doing to address these risks and take advantage of
the potential opportunities?

It is evident that many businesses are assessing their dependency on biodiversity and integrating
measures for the sustainable use of natural resources into their corporate strategies. This is vital
as all businesses, directly or indirectly, depend upon biodiversity and ecosystem services for

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their ongoing commercial success and should therefore address the significant risks and
opportunities relating to their impact on nature.

In the first instance, an organisation needs an efficient method for determining the materiality of
biodiversity to its operations and stakeholders. While a number of reports claim that there is an
increased awareness from communities, NGOs, customers, consumers and shareholders on
biodiversity issues, the evidence is mixed.

And businesses also struggle to communicate the more technical language of biodiversity and
ecosystems to their customers, who are much more familiar with concepts of nature, place and
landscape.

Despite improvements, the measurement of biodiversity remains challenging and identifying the
implications for decision making can be complex. This is why it is often treated superficially in
company reports.

However, that has not stopped forward-looking businesses leading the way. The Aldersgate
Group's upcoming report illustrates case studies from a range of companies in a variety of sectors
such as M&S, PepsiCo, Puma, Willmott Dixon, InterfaceFlor and The Co-operative Group.

One example is Wessex Water which has undertaken an initiative to protect water quality
upstream rather than pay for removing pesticides downstream – achieving bottom-line savings of
more than 80%.

The failure to address risks can lead to significant costs. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill, for
example, demonstrates how a major oil company was suddenly faced with society's valuations of
marine and coastal ecosystems, and forced to internalise the costs of environmental damage.

As more businesses begin to address such impacts, it is essential that biodiversity rises up the
political and boardroom agenda. While we might be some way off the chancellor presenting a
natural capital budget alongside the fiscal budget, more attention on the long-term implications
of the red list would be a good start.

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 a) Summarise the article into four key points and think of two questions that you
would like to ask the author.

Key
points

Questions

9. Discuss the value of ecosystem services to a society

System Environmental value Economic value

Your school

Istanbul

Your home

A local park or protected

area

The Amazon rainforest

The Sahara Desert

Lake Superior

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 San Francisco

Tundra in Siberia

Antarctica

Great Barrier Reef

Shanghai

Tokyo

Factors such as biodiversity, pollution, population or climate may be used quantitatively as

environmental indicators of sustainability. These factors can be applied on a range of scales
from global to local. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment gave a scientific appraisal of the
condition and trends in the world’s ecosystems and the services they provide using
environmental indicators, as well as the scientific basis for action to conserve and use them
sustainably.

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) is a United Nations project designed to assess
the consequences of ecosystem changes for human well-being. The objective of the multiyear
exercise was to both assess the consequences of ecosystem changes for human well-being, and to
establish a scientific basis for action to conserve the sustainable use of ecosystems and their
contribution to human well-being.

Five Main Assessments:

• Over the past 50 years, humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly and extensively
than in any comparable period of time in human history, largely to meet rapidly growing
demands for food, fresh water, timber, fiber and fuel. This has resulted in a substantial
and largely irreversible loss in the diversity of life on Earth.
• The changes that have been made to ecosystems have contributed to substantial net gains
in human well-being and economic development, but these gains have been achieved at
growing costs in the form of the degradation of many ecosystem services, increased risks
of nonlinear changes, and the exacerbation of poverty for some groups of people.

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• These problems, unless addressed, will substantially diminish the benefits that future
generations obtain from ecosystems.
• The degradation of ecosystem services could grow significantly worse during the first
half of this century and is a barrier to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
• The challenge of reversing the degradation of ecosystem while meeting increasing
demands for services can be partially met under some scenarios considered by the MA,
but will involve significant changes in policies, institutions and practices that are not
currently under way. Many options exist to conserve or enhance specific ecosystem
services in ways that reduce negative trade-offs or that provide positive synergies with
other ecosystem services.

10. Discuss how environmental indicators can be used to evaluate the progress of a project
to increase sustainability e.g. Millenium Ecosystem Assessment.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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11. Case Study for EIA – Read the case study and answer the following question-

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 2

2
AMAZING WORLD OF SCIENCE WITH MR. GREEN - Home,
www.mrgscience.com/uploads/2/0/7/9/20796234/sample_eia_1.pdf. Accessed 5 May 2019.

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 12. Environmental Impact Assessment –

Example from Mekong River Basin

Stage Description of stage
case study

Screening

Scoping

Baseline study

Measuring impact

Evaluation of impact

Mitigation stage

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13. Evaluate the use of EIAs

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.

14. Define the following terms from the text:

Key term Definition

Ecological footprint

Cost-benefit analysis

Open cast mine

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Questions on EIA from the past papers with answers-

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 15. An ecological footprint (EF) is the area of land and water required to sustainably
provide all resources at the rate at which they are being consumed by a given
population. Where the EF is greater than the area available to the population, this is an
indication of unsustainability.

Complete the paragraph below using the terms in the word bank:

The ………………. ……………….of a population is the area of land required to provide all the population’s
resources and assimilate all its wastes.

It is a model that can provide a ……………….estimate of human ………………. ………………..

– However, it refers to the area required to ……………….support a ……………….population

rather than the population of that given area.
They can be calculated for individuals, ……………….and countries.

Word bank

carrying capacity communities quantitative Ecological Footprint

given sustainably

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16. Explain the relationship between Ecological Footprint and Sustainability

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 17. List five changes in the table below that could help make your life more sustainable

What I’m doing now How could I change to lead a more

sustainable lifestyle?

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Questions on Chapter 1.4 from past papers

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Evaluate the importance of global summits in shaping attitudes towards sustainability.
Refer to specific summits in your answer.

global summits can play a leading role in shaping attitudes to

sustainability e.g. UN Conference on Human Environment/Stockholm,
1972 was the first time that the international community met to
consider global environment and development needs;
and can play a pivotal role in setting targets and shaping action
at both an international and local level e.g. Rio Earth summit
(in 1992) led to Agenda 21 and Rio declaration, which set
out key policies;
and to legally binding conventions e.g. on climate change/
Montreal (1987);
however, countries can break these agreements and there is little
the international community can do;
in terms of shaping public opinion media can also be important
e.g. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson was pivotal;
attitude change may occur without summits e.g. UN commissioned
the Brundtland Report, which established initial definition for
sustainable development;
summits may not achieve their initial goals, however, they may
act as a catalyst in changing the attitudes of governments, organizations
and individuals; 5 max
Accept any other reasonable answers.
Award [3 max] if summits are described but not evaluated.

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Discuss the concept of sustainable development, and explain why it is a
problematic term.

sustainable development (a phrase coined in 1987 in Our Common

Future) is defined as development that meets our current needs
without depleting resources in the future;
sustainable development also does not deplete the environmental
quality of an area;
sustainable development varies in definition depending on viewpoint;
economists view sustainable development in pure commercial
terms whereas environmentalists will also include environmental
quality as an element;
some believe that development (particularly development designed
to allow LEDCs to compete with MEDCs) can never be
sustainable (within a free market);
development and sustainability in the mind of many economists
are contradictory positions even though environmentalists hold
the concept of “sustainable development” as the best way forward
for society and the planet;

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 Case Studies to refer to for Chapter 1.4- Please go through these case
studies

China’s Three Gorges Dam-

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2006/06/china-three-gorges-dam-how-
big/

Reflections- Please write the things that you understood well and what are the areas
that you need help.

What went well:

Even better if:

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TOPIC 1.5 –HUMANS AND POLLUTION Date:

Significant ideas:

 Pollution is a highly diverse phenomenon of human disturbance in ecosystems

 Pollution management strategies can be applied at different levels

Covered Revise
I’m
Objective Statement the d in
confident
notes class
Pollution is the addition of a substance or
an agent to an environment through human
activity, at a rate greater than at which it
can be rendered harmless by the
environment, and which has an appreciable
effect on the organisms in the environment
Pollutants may be in the form of organic or
inorganic substances, light, sound or
thermal energy, biological agents or
invasive species, and may derive from a
Knowledge
wide range if human activities including the
and
combustion of fossil fuels
Understandin
Pollution may be point source or non-point
g
source, persistent or biodegradable, acute
or chronic
Pollutants may be primary (active on
emission) or secondary (arising form
primary pollutants undergoing physical or
chemical change)
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)
exemplifies a conflict between the utility of
a ‘pollutant’ and its effect on the
environment
Construct systems diagrams to show the
impact of pollutants
Applications
Evaluate the effectiveness of each of the
and Skills
three different levels of intervention
Evaluate the uses of DDT

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1. In the box provided on the following page, draw a mind map using the information
about how humans release pollutants in your study guide:

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 2. GROUP ACTIVITY: Major sources of pollution

Major source Pollutant Effect

Combustion
of fossil fuels

Domestic
waste

Industrial
waste

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Agricultural
waste

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 Key term Definition Example

Primary pollutant

Secondary pollutant

Point source pollution

Non-point source pollution

Persistent organic pollutant

Biodegradable pollutant

Acute pollution

Chronic Pollution

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Evaluate: Make an appraisal by weighing up the strengths and limitations.

Pollutants are produced through human activities and create long-term effects when released into
ecosystems. Strategies for reducing these impacts can be directed at three different levels in the
process:

Change the human activity that generates the pollutant in the first place.

 this is the most proactive/preventative strategy because the pollutant is not created (or
less of it is created) in the first place
 tends to be difficult to achieve because it’s necessary to change the behavior of people,
businesses, and/or governments

Minimize the amount of the pollutant released into the environment.

 this is the next most proactive/preventative strategy because the pollutant is controlled
at the place where it is released
 this strategy is frequently adopted by government agencies that regulate industries
because monitoring is easiest at the place of emission
 this strategy fails to fully address the problem because the pollutant is still being
produced

Clean up the pollutant and the affected areas after the pollutant has been released.

 this is a reactive strategy and tends to be very expensive; it also usually takes a very long
time to implement
 Sometimes it may not be scientifically possible
this strategy does not solve the problem

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Case studies group activity

Login to this Pollution Pinterest Board using your google account.

https://in.pinterest.com/zbadcock/ess-pollution/
Choose one of the articles - all students or student groups should have their own article
covering a wide variety of types of pollution.

Record a summary of the article on our Padlet wall. Include the following information:

1. Fill in the first column for your own case study

2. Complete the table using notes taken from the other case studies presented by your
group

Key question Case study 1 Case study 2 Case study 3 Case study 4

Location

Type of
pollutant

Origin of
pollutant

What level on
intervention was
introduced?

What factors
influenced this
choice?

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DDT reading Exercise

DDT and malaria

DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) was first recognised as a useful

insecticide in 1939. It was found to be particularly effective against insects
which carry disease - especially the mosquitoes which carry malaria.

Even today, every year 300 million people become infected with malaria and more than a million
of them die. Using DDT to kill the mosquitoes has almost eliminated malaria from more than 20
countries with a total population of more than a billion people.

The effect of using DDT is well illustrated by the example of India. Before the use of DDT, there
were more than 75 million cases of malaria every year, and about a million deaths. Using DDT
has reduced this to 5 million cases a year, and only 5000 of these result in death. Malaria is still a
major killer. In sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 20 children still die from malaria.

The environmental case against DDT

In 1962 an important book was published called "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson. The
namecame from a worrying fall in the numbers of some birds. This was found to be caused
bypesticides like DDT which are only broken down very slowly in the body or in the soil. They
aredescribed as "persistent organic pesticides" or POPs. DDT has now been found all over
theworld, even in the Arctic - far from where it was used.

DDT is a chlorinated hydrocarbon. These are very stable and are stored in body fat. Animals and
birds can accumulate more DDT from the food chain faster than they can get rid of the DDT they
already have in their bodies. The levels of DDT in the body increase over time. One of the

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effects of this in birds is that it causes them to lay eggs with very thin shells. These break easily
before the eggs can hatch.

Following this discovery, DDT was banned for use in agriculture for killing insects on crops, but
is still used in controlling malaria-carrying mosquitoes in between 20 and 30 countries. Animal
studies using rats and mice have shown some harmful effects of DDT including a possible link
with cancer and possible effects on the immune system and the reproductive system.

On the other hand there is no definite proof of any harmful effects on humans although DDT has
been found in human blood and breast milk. This is despite the fact that millions (or even
billions) of people have been exposed to it over long periods of time. Some studies have shown
that there may be effects on human development. Exposure may result in low birth weights or
reduced heights in children.

South Africa stopped using DDT because of worries about high levels of DDT in blood and
breast milk in the population. They used other insecticides to control the malarial mosquitoes
instead of DDT. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes quickly became resistant to these other
insecticides. South Africa had to start using DDT again to avoid large numbers of deaths from
malaria.

1. DDT is a chlorinated hydrocarbon. What do you understand by this term?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. When India started to use DDT to control malarial mosquitoes, the number of people
getting malaria fell from 75 million cases a year to 5 million cases a year. It fell by a
factor of 15. The number of deaths fell from 1 million to 5000 a year - a factor of 200.
Can you suggest any reasons why the number of deaths fell faster than the number of
people catching the disease?

………………………………………………………………………………………….

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3. Using chlorinated hydrocarbons like DDT resulted in a fall in numbers of some birds.
This was especially true of birds of prey like sparrowhawks and peregrine falcons.
Why do you think that these were particularly affected?

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…………………………………………………………………………………………

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4. There is disagreement among scientists and others whether DDT should be banned
completely.
Make a table of the reasons why DDT should continue to be used, and reasons why it
should be banned.

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 …………………………………………………………………………………………

5. What do you think should be done about the use of DDT and the problem of malaria?
Remember that the majority of countries which have a major malaria problem and still
use DDT are poor.
Explain your reasoning. (Answer as an essay question)

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Questions of Chapter 1.5 from Past Papers

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Case Studies required for Chapter 1.5-

1. Neonicotinoids are the new DDT killing the natural world-

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/georgemonbiot/2013/aug/05/
neonicotinoids-ddt-pesticides-nature

2. The Regulation of DDT: A Choice between Evils-

https://www.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/78/Martin_CR-author-revisions-
made-ARJ-final-final-_2_.pdf

3. Banned pesticide backed for malaria control-

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/sep/16/unitednations

What went well:

Even better if:

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TOPIC 2.1 –SPECIES AND POULATIONS Date-

Significant ideas:

 A species interacts with its abiotic and biotic environment, and its niche is described by
these interactions
 Populations change and respond to interactions with the environment
 All systems have a carrying capacity for a given species

Covered Revise
I’m
Objective Statement the d in
confident
notes class
Knowledge A species is a group of organisms sharing
and common characteristics that interbreed to
Understandin produce fertile offspring
g A habitat is the environment in which a
species normally lives
A niche describes the particular set of
abiotic and biotic conditions and resources
to which an organism or population
responds
The fundamental niche describes the full
range of conditions and resources in which
a species could survive and reproduce.
The realized niche describes the actual
conditions and resources in which a species
exists due to biotic interactions
The non-living physical factors that
influence organisms and ecosystems, e.g.
temperature, sunlight, pH, salinity,
precipitation are termed abiotic factors
The interactions between the organisms
e.g. predation, herbivory, parasitism,
mutualism, disease, competition, are
termed biotic factors
Interactions should be understood in terms
of the influences each species has on the
population dynamics of others, and upon
the carrying capacity of the environment
A population is a group of organisms of the
same species living in the same area at the

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 same time, and which are capable of
interbreeding
S and Jpopulation curves describe a
generalized response of populations to a
particular set of conditions (abiotic and
biotic)
Limiting factors will slow population growth
as it approaches the carrying capacity of the
system
Interpretgraphical representations or
models of factors that affect an organism’s
niche. Examples include predator-prey
Applications
relationships, competition and organisms
and Skills
abundance over time
Explainpopulation growth curves in terms
of numbers and rates

1. Define and give examples of the following key terms:

Key term Definition Example

Species

Habitat

Population

Biotic
factor

Abiotic
factor

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 2.

Explain:

Herbivory
e.g. 1: e.g.2:

Explain:

Predation
e.g. 1: e.g.2:

Explain:

Parasitism
e.g. 1: e.g.2:

Explain:

Mutualism
e.g. 1: e.g.2:

Interspecifi Explain:
c
competitio
n
e.g. 1: e.g.2:

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 Explain:
Intraspecifi
c
competitio
n e.g. 1: e.g.2:

3. Define and give examples of the following key terms-

Key term Definition Example

Niche

Fundamental
niche

Realized niche

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4. Interpret graphical representations or models of factors that affect an organism’s niche.
Examples include predator-prey relationships, competition and organisms abundance
over time.

A set of experiments conducted on barnacles by Joseph Connell is on of the best

demonstrations of competition in a natural system.

Describe the set of experiments Connell conducted and how they demonstrate
interspecific competition.

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5. List 5 limiting factors of a population in the space below

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6. Describe the different phases of the population graph below

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 1.

2.

3.

4.

7. Define the following terms-

Key term Definition

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Carrying
capacity

Environmenta
l resistance

Exponential
growth

Logistical
growth

Dieback

Overshoot

8. Sketch and annotate an S and a J curve on the axes below. Don’t forget to add labels to
your axes.

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9. Individual Activity

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In 1970 the deer population of an island forest reserve about 518 square kilometers in size was about
2000 animals. Although the island had excellent vegetation for feeding, the food supply obviously had
limits. Thus the forest management personnel feared that overgrazing might lead to mass starvation.
Since the area was too remote for hunters, the wildlife service decided to bring in natural predators to
control the deer population. It was hoped that natural predation would keep the deer population from
becoming too large and also increase the deer quality (or health), as predators often eliminate the
weaker members of the herd. In 1971, ten wolves were flown into the island.

The results of this program are shown in the following table. The Population Change is the number of
deer born minus the number of deer that died during that year. Fill out the last column for each year
(the first has been calculated for you).

Wolf Deer Deer Population

Year Deer Offspring Predation Starvation
Population Population Change

1971 10 2,000 800 400 100 +300

1972 12 2,300 920 480 240

1973 16 2,500 1,000 640 500

1974 22 2,360 944 880 180

1975 28 2,224 996 1,120 26

1976 24 2,094 836 960 2

1977 21 1,968 788 840 0

1978 18 1,916 766 720 0

1979 19 1,952 780 760 0

1980 19 1,972 790 760 0

a. Graph the deer and wolf populations on the graph below. Use one color to show
deer populations and another color to show wolf populations.

b. Describe what happened to the deer and wolf populations between 1971 and 1980.

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c. What do you think would have happened to the deer on the island had wolves NOT
been introduced?

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 Most biology textbooks describe that predators and prey exist in a balance. This "balance of nature"
hypothesis has been criticized by some scientists because it suggests a relationship between predators
and prey that is good and necessary. Opponents of this hypothesis propose the following questions:

a. Why is death by predators more natural or "right" then death by starvation? 

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b. How does one determine when an ecosystem is in "balance"?

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c. Do predators really kill only the old and sick prey? What evidence is there for this
statement?

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d. What is your opinion of the balance of nature hypothesis? Would the deer on the island
be better off, worse off, or about the same without the wolves? Defend your position.

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Questions from the Past Papers on Chapter 2.1

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Page 186 of 551
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Case Studies required for Chapter 2.1-

1. Fundamental/ Realised Niche/competitive exclusion-

https://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/unit/text.php?unit=4&secNum=7#fish_eagle

What went well:

Even better if:

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TOPIC 2.2 –COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS Date :

Significant ideas:

 The interactions of species with their environment result in energy and nutrient flow
 Photosynthesis and respiration play a significant role in the flow of energy in
communities
 The feeding relationships in an ecosystemcan be modeled using food chain, food webs
and ecological pyramids

Covered Revise
I’m
Objective Statement the d in
confident
notes class
Knowledge A community is a group of populations
and living and interacting with each other in a
Understandin common habitat
g An ecosystem is a community and the
physical environment it interacts with
Respiration and photosynthesis can be
described as processes with inputs, outputs
and transformations of energy and matter
Respiration is the conversion or organics
matter into carbon dioxide and water in all
living organisms, releasing energy. Aerobic
respiration can be simply described as:
glucose + oxygen  dioxide + water
During respiration, large amounts of energy
are dissipated as heat, increasing the
entropy in the ecosystem whilst enabling
the organisms to maintain relatively low
entropy/high organization
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Primary producers in the majority of
ecosystems covert light energy into
chemical energy in the process of
photosynthesis
The photosynthesis reaction is:
carbon dioxide + water + oxygen
Photosynthesis produces the raw material
for producing biomass
The trophic level is the position that an
organism occupies in a food chain, or a
group of organisms in a community that
occupy the same positions in a food chain
Producers (autotrophs) are typically plants
or algae and produce their own food using
photosynthesis and form the first trophic
level in a food chain. Exceptions include
chemosynthetic organisms which produce
food without sunlight
Feeding relationships involve producers,
consumers and decomposers. These can be
modeled using food chains, food webs and
ecological pyramids
Ecological pyramids include pyramids of
number, biomass and productivity and are
quantitative models are usually measured
for a given time and area.
In accordance with the second law of
thermodynamics, there is a tendency for
numbers and quantities of biomass and
energy to decrease along food chains,
therefore the pyramids become narrower
towards the apex.
Bioaccumulation is the build-up of
persistent/non-biodegradable pollutants
within an organism or trophic level because
they cannot be broken down
Biomagnificationis the increase in
concentration of persistent or non-
biodegradable pollutants along a food chain
Toxins such as DDT and mercury accumulate
along food chains due to the decrease of
biomass and energy
Pyramids of numbers can sometimes

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 display different patterns, for example,
when individuals at lower trophic levels are
relatively large (inverted pyramids)
A pyramid of biomass represents the
standing stock/storage of each trophic level
measured in units such as grams of biomass
per square metre (g m-2 ) or Joules per
square metre (J m-2 ) (units of biomass or
energy)
Pyramids of biomass can show greater
quantities at higher trophic levels because
they represent the biomass present at a
given time, but there may be marked
seasonal variations.
Pyramids of productivity refer to the flow
of energy through a trophic level, indicating
the rate at which that stock/storage is being
generated
Pyramids of productivity for entire
ecosystems over a year always show a
decrease along the food chain
Construct models of feeding relationships,
e.g. food chains, food webs and ecological
pyramids from given data
Explain the transfer and transformation of
energy as it flows through the ecosystem
Analyse the efficiency of energy transfers
Applications through a system
and Skills Construct systems diagrams representing
photosynthesis and respiration
Explain the relevance if the laws of
thermodynamics to the flow of energy
through ecosystems
Explain the impact of persistent/non-
biodegradable pollutant in an ecosystem

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 1. Match the key term to its correct definition from the study guide.

Key word Definition

SPECIES

HABITAT

COMMUNITY

POPULATION

ECOSYSTEM

NICHE

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2. Complete the tree below with definitions and examples of each type of feeding strategy.
Distinguish between the feeding strategies at each level of the diagram.

Feeding methods

Autotrophy Heterotrophy

Photoautotrophy Chemoautotrophy Consumers Decomposers

Detritivores Saprotrophs

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3. Annotate the diagram below to show the inputs, processes, transformations and
outputs associated with photosynthesis

4. Annotate the diagram below to show the inputs, processes, transformations and
outputs associated with photosynthesis

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5. Distinguish between a photoautotroph and a chemoautotroph

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6. Define Trophic Level

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7. Give one example of a marine food chain (min. 4 organisms)

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8. Give one example of a terrestrial food chain (min. 4 organisms)

9. For each of the food chains you have draw above, do the following
a) label the type of consumer (e.g. carnivore, herbivore, omnivore
b) label the producer
c) rank each consumer

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10. Construct a freshwater food web based on the following information:
(You may need to research some of the organisms to learn what they are)

Organism Energy sources

Water crowfoot Sunlight
Cased caddisfly Micro-plants, algae, particles of dead plants and animals
larva
Damselfly nymph Micro-plants, algae, particles of dead plants and animals
Mayfly nymph Micro-plants, algae, particles of dead plants and animals
Dragonfly Other adult insects and small flies
Duck All nymphs, all plants, snails, tadpoles, young frogs
Freshwater Particles of dead plants and animals
Shrimp
Water vole Plants
Algae Sunlight
Otter Fish, frogs and newts
Water starwort Sunlight
Pond snail Microplants, all water plants and algae
Alderfly nymph Micro-plants, algae, particles of dead plants and animals
Pond skater Particles of dead plants and animals
Frog Mayfly, pond skater, caddisfly, small flies
Tadpole Micro-plants, algae
Micro-plants Sunlight
Great diving Water flea, snails, tadpole, all nymphs
beetle
Bullhead fish Diving beetle, tadpole, all nymphs, snail,

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a) Create your food web in the space below:

b) For the food web created above

c) Identify organisms in each of the trophic levels.

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 d) Identify organisms that fit more than one trophic level.

e) Identify those which could be classed as detritivores

f) Suggest why it is sometimes difficult to classify organisms into trophic levels.

g) Outline why numbers of organisms are smaller at higher trophic levels.

h) State the original source of energy for almost all communities.

11. Analyse the efficiency of energy transfer through an ecosystem.

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12. Explain how energy flows through a community, including why energy transfers are
never 100% efficient referring to the Laws of Thermodynamics in your answer.

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13. Define Pyramid of Numbers

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14. Evaluate the usefulness of using a pyramid of numbers to represent the populations
with an ecosystem

Advantages Disadvantages

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15. Define biomass and outline how it can be collected and measured.

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16. State the units of biomass below

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17. Evaluate the usefulness of using a pyramid of biomass to represent the populations
with an ecosystem

Advantages Disadvantages

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18. Explain why biomass and numbers decrease as trophic levels increase.

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19. State the units for a pyramid of productivity

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20. Draw and annotate an example of a pyramid of productivity below including

 Values and units for each trophic level
 Labels for the different levels of consumer

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21. Evaluate the usefulness of using a pyramid of productivity to represent the
populations with an ecosystem

Advantages Disadvantages

22. Distinguish between bioaccumulation and biomagnifications

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23. The boxes on the left-hand side show the concentration of pesticide in the tissues of
the different organisms. Complete the rest of the boxes.

24. How does the pesticide get into the water?

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25. The small fish are not affected by the pesticide but the grebe will die from it. Why?

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Page 205 of 551
 26. Complete the following reading and then answer the questions

Cat-Dancing Disease

The following is a true story. The events took place in Minamata, which is a city located on the west
coast of the southernmost island of Japan

Minamata was a poor fishing community whose residents relied almost exclusively on fish and shellfish
from the surrounding bay as a source of protein. Chisso was a local company that produced
acetaldehyde, which is a chemical used to produce plastics. After World War II, the production of
acetaldehyde boomed and so did the local economy. Most residents welcomed their improved lifestyles
and life was good. About the same time, some strange things started to happen. Dead fish began to float
in Minamata Bay. Cats began exhibiting bizarre behavior. They started walking so strangely that the
people said the cats were “dancing”. Some cats even fell into the sea and drowned, in what residents
referred to as "cat suicides."

Soon after, some people began to act strangely. Fishermen and their families were the earliest and most
severely afflicted. They would stumble while walking, not be able to write or button their shirts. Some
had trouble hearing and swallowing, and sometimes trembled uncontrollably. In 1956 an apparent
epidemic of these symptoms broke out and confusion and fear spread in the community. The cause of
the epidemic was a mystery. Was it a virus that caused swelling of the brain? Was it alcoholism? Was it
infectious?

Who would have guessed, that when friends or family members occasionally shouted uncontrollably,
slurred their speech, or started dropping things, that the cause of these health problems was industrial
water pollution?

These subtle early symptoms were the start of a debilitating nervous condition caused by ingesting
Mercury. The effect on people’s health was dramatic and symptoms included loss of motor control, and
sometimes resulted in partly paralyzed and contorted bodies.

We now know that Mercury contaminated waste water from Chisso’s production of plastics spilled into
the bay. Once in the bay, Mercury entered the food chain. The Mercury traveled from microorganisms
inhabiting the bay, and then up the food chain to fish and shellfish, and then finally to the cats or
humans which ate the fish and shellfish.

Mercury concentrates itself in the brain and spinal cord. Early effects of Mercury poisoning include loss
of feeling in the hands and feet and loss of peripheral vision. Patients in advanced stages of the
condition show considerable shrinking of the brain. Symptoms include uncoordinated walking, tremors,
and violent convulsions. The effects of Mercury poisoning can even lead to death.

Epilogue

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Chisso finally stopped production of acetaldehyde in 1968, when an alternative technology for
producing plastics was developed. There are estimates the Mercury poisoning in Minamata killed 3, 000
people and made over 10, 000 people sick.

Chisso still operates in Minamata and now produces chemicals, fertilizer and floppy discs. Mercury has
contaminated the sediment of the bay, where fishing, which was a way of life for centuries, has banned.
The way of life in Minamata itself has been poisoned.

The outcome was tragic. A whole town was poisoned. This story shows how elements, such as Mercury,
can concentrate in the food chain and it also shows the importance of clean water. The activities of
people can have dramatic and deadly effects on the environment. Mercury poisoning is also know as
MinamataDisease because of this incident. The local people referred to this disease as Cat-Dancing
disease because of the strange behaviour of the cats.

*This narrative is adapted from Douglas Allchin’s web site called The Poisoning of Minamata located
athttp://www1.umn.edu/ships/ethics/minamata.htm .

a) The people of Minamata suffered from the effects of what element?

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b) Explain the events that led up to the poisoning of the people of Minamata.

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ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS AND SOCIETIES

STANDARD LEVEL

PAPER 1

Yellowstone National Park

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Figure 1. Map of Yellowstone National park

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Figure 2. Fact on File Yellowstone National Park

 Yellowstone is the first national park established in the United States and in the World
 Famous for geothermal features, such as Old Faithful

Figure 3a. Grey Wolf Figure 3b. Elk

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Figure 4. Yellowstone Trophic Cascade

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 Figure 5a. Numbers of wolves and Numbers of Wolf Packs at the end of each year in Yellowstone 1995-
2011

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

# wolves 21 51 86 112 118 119 132 148 174 171 118 136 171 124 96 97 98

# packs 3 9 7 11 11 8 10 14 14 16 13 13 11 12 14 11 10

Figure 5b. Livestock Predation by Grey Wolves between 1997 and 2004

Cows Dogs Goats Sheep Foal

1997 6 0 0 68 0

1998 3 1 0 0 0

1999 4 6 0 13 1

2000 7 8 0 39 0

2001 22 4 0 117 0

2002 37 1 0 74 0

2003 42 0 10 85 0

2004 74 4 2 81 0

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Figure 5c. Wolf and Elk Count between 1997 and 2011

Figure 7a. Realized vs Fundamental Niche

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Figure 7b. Competitive Exclusion

Dashed Line represents the Fundamental Niche and the Non-Dashed line represents the realized niche.
The “Resource Axis” represents a gradient of an environmental variable (an abiotic factor). Each color is
a species. The Y-axis is the number of individuals

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Figure 8. Temperature and Precipitation in Yellowstone Park

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Figure 9. Food Web of Yellowstone National park

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Figure 10. Types of Ecological Pyramids

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Figure 11. Energy Flow in Plant Cells

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Figure 12. A Dingo Induced Trophic Cascade in Australia

If dingoes suppress large herbivores (e.g. kangaroos and emus), then grass and herb biomass is expected
to increase. If dingoes suppress lower order predators (e.g. foxes and cats), then numbers of small
mammals (e.g. mice), reptiles (e.g. goannas), and birds (e.g. parrots) are expected to increase.
Invertebrates also may respond to improved vegetation conditions and contribute to soil quality.
However, the strength of all interactions may be influenced by the extent of rainfall and fires (hashed
arrows). Numbers represent the predicted sequence of events based on trophic cascade theory.

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Figure 13. Grand Effect Size of Dingo Removal

Negative values indicate variables that decreased in the absence of dingoes; positive values indicate
variables that increased in the absence of dingoes.

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Part I. Short Answers

1. The diagram below shows the energy flow in a river ecosystem in temperate latitudes.
All energy values are kJ m−2 yr−1

(a) Construct a complete food chain diagram of four trophic levels taken from this food web.

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(b) This ecosystem is in steady state equilibrium. What is meant by this statement?

(c) Suggest a negative feedback mechanism within this ecosystem that may regulate the
older fish population.

3. a. Distinguish between the terms predator and parasite.

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 b. i. State the name of the type of diagram shown above.

ii. Suggest why there are often more organisms at the third trophic level than at the
second trophic level in a food chain containing parasites.

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 c. Explain why the energy available to the predators in a food chain is much less than
that fixed by the producers.

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2. The table below gives data for the number of pheasants (a bird the size of a chicken) on
a small island off the northwest coast of the USA in the years following its introduction. The
island is too far from the coast for birds to reach it without assistance. Pheasants eat seeds and
insects.

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a. The percentage increase between spring and autumn (fall) in 1937 was 400% and in 1939 it
was 426%. Calculate the percentage increase between spring and autumn (fall) in 1941.
Show your working.

b. Is there evidence that the population was approaching its carrying capacity by 1942?

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 Explain your answer.

The data is plotted on the graph below.

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c. Describe and explain the shape of the curve.

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Questions from the Past Papers on Chapter 2.2

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Page 235 of 551
Case Studies required for Chapter 2.2-

Trophic levels, food chains and food webs-

Named organisms in named ecosystems required for the exam

a) Great Barrier Reef at risk as overfishing disrupts food chain, study finds-
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/22/great-barrier-reef-at-
risk-as-overfishing-disrupts-food-chain-study-finds

b) World's Oceans Face Worst Coral Die-Off in History, Scientists Warn-

https://www.ecowatch.com/worlds-oceans-face-worst-coral-die-off-in-
history-scientists-warn-1882106986.html?
utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_term=global
%20warming,coral
%20reef&utm_campaign=Oceans&__surl__=Ig2Zn&__ots__=144638445130
0&__step__=1

c) Great Barrier Reef: 30% of coral died in 'catastrophic' 2016 heatwave-

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/19/great-barrier-reef-
30-of-coral-died-in-catastrophic-2016-heatwave

d) Marine food chains at risk of collapse, extensive study of world's oceans

finds- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/13/marine-food-
chains-at-risk-of-collapse-extensive-study-of-worlds-oceans-reveals

e) Krill fishing poses serious threat to Antarctic ecosystem, report warns-

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/13/krill-fishing-poses-
serious-threat-to-antarctic-ecosystem-report-warns

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What went well:

Even better if:

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TOPIC 2.3 – FLOWS OF ENERGY AND MATTER Date-

Significant ideas:

 Ecosystems are linked together by energy and matter flows

 The sun’s energy drives these flows and humans are impacting flows of energy and
matter both logically and globally

Covered Revise
I’m
Objective Statement the d in
confident
notes class
Knowledge As solar radiation (insolation) enters the
and Earth’s atmosphere some energy becomes
Understandin unavailable for ecosystems as the energy is
g absorbed by inorganic matter or reflected
back into the atmosphere
Pathways of radiation through the
atmosphere involve a loss of radiation
through reflection and absorption
Pathways of energy through an ecosystem
include:
 Conversion of light energy to
chemical energy
 Transfer of chemical energy form
one trophic level to another with
varying efficiencies
 Overall conversion of ultraviolet and
visible light to heat energy by an
ecosystem
 Re-radiation of heat energy to the
atmosphere
The conversion of energy into biomass for a
given period of time is measured as
productivity
Net primary productivity (NPP) is
calculated by subtracting respiratory losses
(R) from gross primary productivity (GPP).
NPP=GPP – R
Gross secondary productivity (GSP) is the
total energy/biomass assimilated by
consumers and is calculated by subtracting
the mass of fecal loss from the mass of food
eaten. GSP = food eaten – fecal loss
Net secondary productivity (NSP) is

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 calculated by subtracting respiratory losses
(R) from GSP. NSP = GSP – R
Maximum sustainable yields are equivalent
to the net primary productivity of a system
Matter also flows through ecosystems
linking them together. This flow of matter
involves transfers and transformations
The carbon and nitrogen cycles are used to
illustrate this flow of matter using flow
diagrams. These cycles contain storages
(sometimes referred to as sinks) and flows
which move matter between storages
Storages in the carbon cycle include
organisms and forests (both organic), or the
atmosphere, soil, fossil fuels and oceans (all
inorganic)
Flows in the carbon cycleinclude
consumption (feeding), death and
decomposition, photosynthesis, respiration,
dissolving and fossilization
Storages in the nitrogen cycle include
organisms (organic), soils, fossil fuels,
atmosphere and water bodies, (all
inorganic)
Flows in the nitrogen cycle include nitrogen
fixation by bacteria and lightening,
absorptions, assimilation, consumption,
excretion, death and decomposition and
denitrification by bacteria in water logged
soils
Human activities such as burning fossil
fuels, burning, deforestation, urbanization
and agriculture impact energy flows as well
as the carbon and nitrogen cycles
Applications Analysequantitative models of flows of
and Skills energy and matter
Construct quantitative model of flows of
energy or matter for given data
Calculate the values of both GPP and NPP
from given data
Calculate the values of both GSP and NSP
from given data
Discuss human impacts on energy flows, the

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 carbon and nitrogen cycles

1. Define the term Albedo.

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2. Define Insolation.

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3. What percentage of sunlight is absorbed overall?

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4. What percentage of sunlight is reflected overall?

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 5. Define the following terms:

Key term Definition

Net primary productivity

Gross primary
productivity

Respiration

Organic matter

Biomass

Pyramid of productivity

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6. Draw a pyramid of productivity for the data above. Include labels and units.

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7. Calculate the efficiency (in %) of the conversion of light energy into gross production

8. Calculate the energy lost by plant respiration.

9. Calculate the net primary production of the autotrophs using the data from the
diagram below

10. Calculate the percentage of energy lost as heat in:

Autotrophs

Heterotrophs

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11. Suggest reasons for the differences in energy loss as heat between autotrophs and
heterotrophs.

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12. Distinguish between gross primary productivity and gross secondary productivity

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13. Draw the carbon cycle into the space below. Be sure to differentiate between
storages (sinks) and flows (fluxes).

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14. Outline the main ways that human have altered the carbon cycle.

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15. Draw the nitrogen cycle into the space below. Be sure to differentiate between
storages and flows.

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Page 248 of 551
 16. Use the article below to summarise each of the different ways that humans have
altered the nitrogen cycle. Restrict your notes to no more than 3 bullet points.

Process Impact

Human driven nitrogen fixation

Nitrogen fertilizer

Nitrogen-fixing crops

Fossil fuel burning

Mobilisation of stored nitrogen

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17. Silver Springs case study

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Analyse quantitative models of flows of energy and matter

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 18. The data in the table below relate to the transfer of energy in a small clearly defined
habitat. The units in each case are in kJ.m-2.yr-1

Trophic Level Gross Production Respiratory Loss Loss to

decomposers

Producers 60724 36120 477

Herbivores 21762 14700 3072

First Carnivores 714 576 42

Top Carnivores 7 4 1

Respiratory loss by 3120

decomposers

Construct an energy flow model to represent all these data

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18. Define Maximum Sustainable Yield.

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Questions from the Past Papers on Chapter 2.3

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Case Studies required for Chapter 2.3-

1. The impact of human activities on energy flows and matter cycles-

a) Biogeochemical cycles-
https://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/sectors/biogeochemical-cycles
b) What Human Activities Affect the Carbon Cycle?
https://sciencing.com/what-human-activities-affect-the-carbon-cycle-
12083853.html
c) The Carbon Cycle: Deforestation-
https://thecarboncycledio.weebly.com/deforesation.html
d) Nitrogen flows and fate in urban landscapes
http://www.nine-esf.org/files/ena_doc/ENA_pdfs/ENA_c12.pdf
e) The Role of Urbanization in the Global Carbon Cycle-
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82887132.pdf
f) The Nitrogen Cycle: Processes, Players, and Human Impact
https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/the-nitrogen-cycle-
processes-players-and-human-15644632

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What went well:

Even better if:

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TOPIC 2.4 –BIOMES, ZONATION AND SUCCESSION Date:

Significant ideas:

 Climate determines the type of biome in a given area although individual ecosystems
may vary due to many local abiotic and biotic factors
 Succession leads to climax communities that may vary due to random events and
interactions over time. This leads to a pattern of alternative stable states for a given
ecosystem
 Ecosystem stability succession and biodiversity are all intrinsically linked

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 Covered
Revised I’m
Objective Statement the
in class confident
notes
Biomes are collections of ecosystems
sharing similar climatic conditions that can
be grouped into five major classes: aquatic,
forest, grassland, desert and tundra. Each
of these classes has characteristic limiting
factors, productivity and biodiversity
Insolation, precipitation and temperature
are the main factors governing the
distribution of biomes.
The tricellular model of atmospheric
circulation explains the distribution of
precipitation and temperature and how
they influence structure and relative
productivity of different terrestrial biomes.
Climate change is altering the distribution
of biomes and causing biome shifts
Zonation refers to changes in community
along an environmental gradient due to
factors such as changes in altitude,
latitude, tidal level or distance from shore
(coverage by water)
Succession is the process of change over
time in an ecosystem involving pioneer,
intermediate and climax communities.
During succession, the patterns of energy
flow, gross and net productivity, diversity,
and mineral cycling change over time
Greater habitat diversity leads to greater
species and genetic diversity
r- and K-strategist species have
reproductive strategies that are better
adapted to pioneer and climax
Knowledge communities, respectively.
and In early stages of succession, gross
Understandin productivity is low due to the unfavourable
g initial conditions and low density of
producers. The proportion of energy lost
through community respiration is relatively
low too, so net productivity is high—that
is, the system is growing and biomass is
accumulating.
In later stages of succession, with an
increased consumer community, gross
productivity may be high in a climax
community. However, this is balanced by
respiration, so net productivity approaches
0 and the productivity–respiration (P:R)
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ratio approaches 1
In a complex ecosystem, the variety of
nutrient and energy pathways contributes
1. Define Biome.

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 ………………………………………………………………………………

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2. List the six main types of biomes.

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3. Biome Map Coloring Exercise -Color the map according to the clues listed below

a) The dotted lines represent the border between the U.S. and Mexico and Canada. All
other lines show biome boders. Color the country borders (dotted line) red.  
b) Northern Canada and Alaska are tundra - color the tundra light blue
c) Most of Canada is boreal forest. Color the boreal forest dark green.  
d) The west coast of the U.S. is mainly temperate forest where California is. The east coast,
all the way to the center of the country is also temperate forest. Color the temperate
forest light green.  
e) The Midwest (middle of the U.S.) is temperate grassland. Color the grassland yellow.  
f) The eastern edge of Mexico and Central America, Hawaii, and the Caribbean Islands are
all tropical rain forests. Color those purple.  
g) There is a northwest coniferous forest located in the far corner of the U.S (northwest).
Color the northwest coniferous forest brown.  
h) The great lakes and the lakes in Canada are freshwater. Find each freshwater lake and
color it pink.  
i) The bodies of water surrounding the continent are salt water. Color the coastal areas
dark blue.  
j) The western region of the U.S. as well as Northern Mexico is desert. Color the desert
orange.  
k) The western edge of Mexico is temperate forest. Color it the same color as you did the
other temperate forests. 
l) Color code the squares at the bottom to match your biome colors.  
m) Label the countries: U.S.A., Canada, Mexico .

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Explain the distributions, structure, biodiversity and relative productivity of contrasting
biomes. Part I
- Complete the following table using the NASA :Mission Biomes and any other source you need/find

[http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Experiments/Biome/] F = (C * 1.8) + 32.0

Biome Climate- Seasonal Typical Animals Other Distinguishing

Temp & trends Vegetation Facts
Example Rainfall
Location

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Coniferous
forest (Boreal)

Temperate
deciduous

Desert- 4
types

Grassland-2
types

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 Rainforest- 2
types

Chaparral

Tundra

Analyse data for a range of biomes

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Part II: Great Graph Match - Look at each graph and determine which biome best fits based on the given
data. [http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Experiments/Biome/graphmatch_advanced.php]

After correctly completing the Advanced User Mission, write down the correct biome for each city.

1. Frogmore, England ________________________________________________________

2. Goteborg, Sweden ________________________________________________________

3. Koombooloomba, Australia ________________________________________________________

4. Barrow, Alaska________________________________________________________

5. Alice Springs, Australia ________________________________________________________

6. San Bernadino, California________________________________________________________

7. Centralia, Kansas________________________________________________________

Part III: To Plant to not to Plant – Read about each plant and then determine which biome the plant
would best be suited for. After completing the webquest write the correct answers below.

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 [http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Experiments/Biome/plant_it.php]

1. Creote Bush ________________________________________________________

2. Spruce ________________________________________________________

3. Flowering Dogwood ________________________________________________________

4. Orchid ________________________________________________________

5. Lichen ________________________________________________________

6. White Sage ________________________________________________________

7. Saguaro Cactus________________________________________________________

Part IV: Ocean Biomes - Read about the 4 levels of marine biomes. Then describe their location and the
type of organisms that live at each on your sheet.

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 [http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/marine.php - oceans]

Intertidal-

Pelagic-

Abyssal-

Benthic-

2. Define the following terms:

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Key term Definition

Insolation

altitude

latitude

3. Explain how angle of insolation affects the temperature at different latitudes

referring to the diagram below:

4. Whittaker’s Climograph is a well-known representation of temperature, rainfall

and distribution of biomes in the world:

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Identify the biomes likely to be found under these conditions:

i) 180cm y-1, 10oC -

ii) 0-50cm y-1,0-30oC -
-1 o
iii) 60cm y , 10 C -
-1 o
iv) 250-450cm y , 20-30 C -
v) 0-50cm y-1,-15-0oC -

5. Use the word bank to complete the paragraphs below:

The Polar cell is located near the ____________________. In this cell the air is a
__________ temperature and moves in a _____________________ direction. Some
air escapes into the _____________ cell so it ____________________.
The next cell is called the _________________. The air is a ________ temperature
and moves in a _______________ direction. Some air escapes into the
______________ cell (so it _________________), although some air also blows
north back into the _______ cell and ________________.
The final cell is the ______________ which is found at the middle of the Earth near the
_______________. Air in this cell is a ___________ temperature because ___________

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_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________.

This air in this cell travels in a _______________ direction but some escapes into the ______________
cell where its temperature ___________ because it is moving ________.

warm Ferrel Ferrel

Hadley cold becomes cold
drops north clockwise
Equator becomes mild Ferrel cell
anticlockwise becomes warm Polar
mild North Pole Hadley cell
anticlockwise

6. Outline the effect of climate change on the Sahel region of Africa (define
desertification in your answer)

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7. Define zonation

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8. Compare zonation and succession

Zonation Succession

9. Reorganize the statements below into a table that shows, in order:

a) stage

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 b) name of stage
c) description of stage

Stage 0 The final stage or climax Competition

community is stable and self-
perpetuating. It exists in a
steady-state dynamic
equilibrium. The climax
represents the maximum
possible development that a
community can reach under
the prevailing environmental
conditions of temperature,
light and rainfall.
Fewer new species colonize Stage 1 Stage 5
as late colonisers become
established shading out early
colonizers. Complex food
webs develop. K-selected
species are specialists with
narrower niches. They are
generally larger and less
productive (slower growing)
with longer life cycles and
delayed reproduction
Stabilisation A lifeless abiotic environment Climax community
becomes available for
colonization by pioneer plant
and animal species. Soil is
little more than mineral
particles, nutrient poor and
with an erratic water supply
Microclimate continues to Stage 4 Colonization
change as new species
colonize. Larger plants
increase cover and provide
shelter enabling K-selected
species to become
established. Temperatures,
sun and wind are less
extreme. Earlier pioneer
species are unable to
compete with K-species for

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space nutrients or light and
are lost form the community.
Stage 2 Establishment Species diversity increases.
Invertebrate species begin to
visit and live in the soil
increasing humus content
and water-holding capacity.
Weathering enriches soil
with nutrients.
First species to colonize and Stage 3 Bare, inorganic surface
area are called pioneers and
adapted to extreme
conditions. Pioneers are
typically r-selected species.
Simple soil start from
windblown dust and mineral
particles.

10. Annotate the diagram below to show the different stages (with their names) of
primary succession. Don’t forget to add an x axis showing time (in years).

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Succession, a series of environmental changes, occurs in all ecosystems. The stages that any
ecosystem passes through are predictable. In this activity, you will place the stages of
succession of two ecosystems into sequence. You will also describe changes in an ecosystem
and make predictions about changes that will take place from one stage of succession to
another.

The evolution of a body of water from a lake to a marsh can last for thousands of years. The
process cannot be observed directly. Instead, a method can be used to find the links of stages
and then to put them together to develop a complete story.

The water level of Lake Van in Turkey was once 18 meters higher than it is today. As the water
level fell, land was exposed. Many small lakes or ponds were left behind where there were
depressions in the land. Below are illustrations and descriptions of four ponds as they exist
today. Use the illustrations and descriptions to answer the questions about the ponds.

Pond A: Cattails, bulrushes, and water lilies grow in the pond. These plants have their roots in
the bottom of the pond, but they can reach above the surface of the water. This pond is an
ideal habitat for the animals that must climb to the surface for oxygen. Aquatic insect larvae are
abundant. They serve as food for larger insects, which in turn are food for crayfish, frogs,
salamanders, and turtles.

Pond B: Plankton growth is rich enough to support animals that entered when the pond was
connected to the lake. Fish make nests on the sandy bottom. Mussels crawl over the bottom.

Pond C: Decayed bodies of plants and animals form a layer of humus over the bottom of the
pond. Chara, a branching green algae, covers the humus. Fish that build nests on the bare
bottom have been replaced by those that lay their eggs on the Chara.

Pond D: The pond is so filled with vegetation that there are no longer any large areas of open
water. Instead, the pond is filled with grasses. The water dries up during the summer months.

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a) Write the letters of the ponds in order from the youngest, to the oldest.

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b) Black bass and bluegill make their nests on sandy bottoms. In which pond would you
find them?

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c) What will happen to the black bass and blue gill as the floor of the ponds fills with
organic debris?

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d) Golden shiner and mud minnows lay their eggs on Chara. In which pond would you find
them?

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e) Some amphibians and crayfish can withstand periods of dryness by burying themselves
in mud. In which pond(s) would they survive?

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f) Dragonfly nymphs spend their early stages clinging to submerged plants. Then, they
climb to the surface, shed their skins and fly away as dragonflies. Which pond is best
suited for dragonflies?

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g) In which pond will gill breathing snails be replaced by lung breathing snails that climb to
the surface to breathe?

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h) Some mussels require a sandy bottom in order to maintain an upright position. In which
pond will they die out?

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 11. Succession cloze exercise – use the words form the word bank to complete the
statements below. Words can be used more than once.

__________________ is the orderly, natural changes and species replacements that take
place in the communities of an ecosystem.
* Succession occurs in stages that are somewhat predictable.
* Succession is difficult to observe because it takes
_____________________________________________ to see the community succeed from
one to another.

Two types of succession:

1. ____________________________________ is the colonization of new land that is
exposed by avalanches, volcanoes, or glaciers by pioneer organisms. (Starts from rocks)
2. ____________________________________ is the sequence of community changes
that take place after a community is disrupted by natural disasters or human actions.
(Start from soil & left over organisms)

Characteristics of primary succession:

 The first species to colonize an area in primary succession are
____________________________________ .
 The final community in succession that is a stable, mature community that undergoes
little or no change in species is called a ____________________________________ .

Characteristics of secondary succession:

 Secondary succession begins in places that have had communities of organisms exist
before. They also begin with soil instead of rock. This means they take
__________________ time to change than primary succession.
 Secondary succession begins with ____________________________________ and
ends with a ____________________________________ just like primary succession
communities.

Causes of plant succession:

1. Plants immigrate by means of ____________________________________ (spread)
and then germinate in new locations.
2. Plants __________________ with each other for light, water, and nutrients. The best
“competitor” wins.
3. ____________________________________: plants add organic matter to the topsoil
which alters the soil. This in turn changes the plants and animals that live in that site.
4. __________________ : As plants slowly modify the site, this leads to some stable state.
Succession “seeks” stability.

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WORD BANK

site modification compete less decades to centuries

rocks climax community soil succession

primary succession stabilization secondary succession

seed dispersal pioneer species

12. Distinguish between primary and secondary succession, with examples:

Primary Secondary

Example

Differences

Similarities

13. Sketch a graph showing how both GPP, respiration and biomass change over time
in an ecosystem

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 14. Complete the sentences below to describe your graph
• During early stages gross productivity is because of initial conditions and low
density of producers.
• The proportion of energy lost through respiration is relatively
• So net productivity is
• In middle stages gross productivity may be
• In later stages, GPP as climax community reaches maturity
• Respiration rates are so net productivity is

15. Sketch a graph showing how biodiversity in community changes over time in an
ecosystem during primary succession

16. What happens to the type of organism in the community as primary succession
occurs. Justify your answer.

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17. What happens to the size and number of organisms in the community as primary
succession occurs. Justify your answer.

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18. Sketch a graph showing how mineral content in the soil changes over time in an
ecosystem during primary succession.

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 19. The climax community in the area of the Taurus mountain range about 1,000
metres above sea level, over a hundred kilometres north of the tourist resort of
Antalya is an oak forest. After the ponds are filled in, the area will undergo another
series of stages of succession. This is illustrated below.

Briefly explain what is happening at each stage in the diagram below.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6. List examples of natural events that could lead to secondary succession in this forest?

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 20. What happens to the type of organism in the community as primary succession
occurs. Justify your answer.

21. Succession in an idealized sand dune

On the axes below, sketch a line showing the change of soil pH, humus content of soil, species
diversity and mineral content of soil over time. Don’t forget to include a key that identifies each line.

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 22.

The growth of new forest during secondary succession produces a habitat that is very different to the
original. Secondary forests tend to display denser growth and contain species not found in the
original primary forest. Why do you think that is?

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23. Reading exercise

Aborigines improve biodiversity by starting fires
Posted by Ed Yong on September 23, 2008

Imagine that you have been given responsibility over a tract of land. Your goal is to maintain its
precious biodiversity (increasing it if at all possible), prevent the local habitats from becoming
degraded and among all that, find a way to eke out a way of life. Of the many possible ways of doing
this, regularly and deliberately setting fire to the local plants might be low on the list. But that’s
exactly what Aborigine populations in Australia have been doing for centuries and a new study
shows that this counter-intuitive strategy does indeed work.

A team of American anthropologists led by Rebecca Bird at Stanford University studied the practice
of “fire-stick farming” among the Martu people of Australia’s Western Desert. The Martu live mostly
as hunter-gatherers and supplement their food with the odd supply bought from local outstations.
Their homelands are mostly dominated by sandy plains and the ubiquitous spinifex grass (Triodia)
and these are the areas that the Martu start fires in.
They have different words for land at various stages of post-fire recovery: nyurma is freshly scorched
earth, waru-waru describes land where shoots have started to sprout; mukura turns up after a few
years when grasses, flowering shrubs and edible plants have arrived; mangul occurs a few years
later still when the growing spinifex starts to outcompete edible plants, leading to kunarka when the
spinifex starts to die and leaves behind sterile hollows.

The “successional stages” follow one after another in predictable ways and the Martu only ever set
fire to the last two, when spinifex is dominant. In doing so, they effectively press an ecological reset
button, allowing plants to return to areas that had previously been won by the unbeatable spinifex.

Burning desire

The burning process is an important social ritual that the Martu take great pride in and it’s far from
haphazard; fires are carefully ignited in areas that are upwind of known firebreaks and they are
typically set during the winter season when winds are stronger and more consistent in direction. With
such control, most fires burn out very quickly and it’s in an individual’s interest to ensure that they do

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so; everyone has a right to start a fire, but individuals fire-starters are accountable for any that rage
out of control and damage sacred sites. .

The women set the majority of the fires and they do so to hunt for goannas (monitor lizards), pythons
and skinks, which typically hide in spinifex bushes and are hard to spot. They flee from flames by
digging fresh burrows and by searching for fresh tracks in the wake of the blaze, hunters can extract
the lizards with a specialised digging stick.
The Martu are all too aware of the comparative ease of goanna-hunting on freshly burnt ground, but
they cite many other benefits too – the practice provides more food for both people and animals
(particularly large ones like kangaroos and emus) and somewhat paradoxically, it can also prevent
big bushfires.

Bird’s team evaluated these claims by using satellite images to analyse 34 circles of land with a
radius of 3km. They found that those where the Martu would frequently set alight had a much greater
degree of plant diversity than those where fires only ever erupted spontaneously, mostly due to
lightning strikes. They contained more “edges”, where one type of habitat gives way to another. And
they contained a broader and more even range of vegetation at different successional stages, from
the early collection of shoots (waru-waru) to the later dominance of spinifex (mangul).

So by carefully scorching the land, the Martu actually protect it from habitat loss and increase its
biodiversity. They use fire not to destroy their environment but to rearrange it, creating a mosaic of
different communities of plants at a local level. They use fire to construct their own ecosystem in a
way that directly benefits them.

Everyone wins

In 2002, Bird followed more than 150 hunting excursions and found that after burning, the hunters
are able to catch about 25% more food, equivalent to an extra 400 calories per day. They also take
less time to net this bounty and the chance of failure on any individual hunt falls from 22% to 4%.

Clearing away the mature spinifex removes the hiding places that small reptiles shelter in. But it also
creates a finer mosaic of different habitats that are easier to move about it, which means that
hunters spend less time making their way through difficult terrain. These benefits also fall
dramatically as habitats become more diverse, which makes burning a self-limiting activity. After a
certain point, there’s no extra worth in starting more fires and the Martu know it.

The Martu’s man-made fires also help to control natural ones. Fires started by lightning strikes often
sweep through vast tracts of bush and find plenty of fuel in the large areas of spinifex. But in the
patchier mosaics created by the Martu, natural bushfires burn out more quickly.

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That has two paradoxical consequences: the Martu don’t actually subject the land to any more
burning than it would normally experience, even though they actively start fires; and the spinifex
actually benefit from being periodically burnt because they are less likely to be completely wiped out
from local areas by large-scale bushfires.

Bird’s study suggests that fire-starting, as the Martu assert, is a very effective way of managing their
land. The hunter-gatherers and the local species benefit from it, the land becomes more diverse,
bushfires are kept in check and most importantly, it is a self-limiting strategy with no incentives for
overuse. If any party gets a raw deal, it’s probably the goannas…

Reference: R. B. Bird, D. W. Bird, B. F. Codding, C. H. Parker, J. H. Jones (2008). The “fire stick
farming” hypothesis: Australian Aboriginal foraging strategies, biodiversity, and anthropogenic fire
mosaics Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0804757105

Sort the statements below into the correct column in the table

Adapted to High investment

Rapid growth Long life stable in individual Early maturity
environment offspring

Little parental High parental

Many small Fewer large
Late maturity care or care and
offspring offspring
protection protection

Little investment Examples: annual Adapted to

Pioneers,
in individual plants, flour Slower growth unstable
colonizers
offspring beetles, bacteria environment

Examples: trees,
Later stages of
Niche generalists Niche specialists Short life albatrosses,
succession
humans

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r- strategists K-strategists

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 24. Annotate the survivorship curve

ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS AND SOCIETIES

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STANDARD LEVEL

PAPER 1

Whale Poop

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Figure 1. Nutrient Flow of Aquatic System

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Figure 2. Fact on File on Blue Whales

 IUCN lists the Blue Whale as an Endangered species

 Found in all oceans except the Arctic
 Regeneration time is around 31 years
 Global population is estimated to be around 10,000-25,000, which is 3-11% of the
numbers in 1911
 Originally threatened by harpoon hunting in the late 1800’s, they have been
protected since 1966.
 Currently there are no known threats to the Blue Whale, however depletion of sea ice
may well impact their food supply of krill.

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Figure 3. The Dynamics of Whale Poop

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Figure 4. Sperm Whale Ambergris, or Whale Poop

Figure 5. Whale Fall

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Figure 6. Blue Carbon

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Figure 7. Aquatic Nitrogen Cycle

Figure 8. Nitrogen Compounds in an Aquarium

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Figure 9. Terrestrial Nitrogen Cycle

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Figure 10a. Antarctic Food Web

Figure 10b. Krill

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Figure 10c. Relationship between Ice Index and Krill Biomass over 12 years

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Figure 11. Global Carbon Cycle

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 Deep Ocean

Figure 1 Biotic and abiotic components of the deep-ocean ecosystem

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Figure 2 Adaptations to the deep-ocean environment

Examples of adaptations of deep-ocean species:

• long arms and ability to be able to sift through mud and detritus for food
• bioluminescence (the ability to produce light) – used to attract mates, to obtain food, for
camouflage or to confuse predators
• nets of tentacles to trap falling detritus for food
• angler fish use light-producing bacteria that live on a special fishing rod-like fin that hangs
over the angler’s head and wiggles in the water to attract prey
• red or purple coloration (in normal light) e.g. deep-ocean prawn – because of the absence of
red light at depth these animals are invisible
• bodies that are completely filled with water so that an increase in pressure has little effect.
For this reason jellyfish, squid etc. have no difficulty when moving through the water
column.

Deep-ocean prawn ejecting bioluminescence Deep-ocean prawn

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Figure 3 Diversity hot spots – deep-ocean vents

Of great interest to marine scientists was the discovery of communities of animals living
around deep vents on the ocean floor. From these vents pour large quantities of heated
seawater which contain high quantities of hydrogen sulfides and dissolved minerals.
These vents occur where tectonic plates are slowly moving apart. Clouds of bacteria are
found around these vents. The bacteria draw their energy not from the sun as plants do but
from the hydrogen sulfides discharged from the vents. The bacteria in turn provide food
for a range of other animals including shrimp, crabs and worms, which in turn support
species of fish.

Meter-long tube worms in the vents have developed an unusual relationship with the
bacteria around the vents. The tube worms have no mouth and no digestive tract. Instead,
they have bacteria living inside an interior sac. The red hemoglobin in the tube worms’
feathery gills can bind to the hydrogen sulfide in the hot vent water and carry it to the
bacteria. The bacteria are able to oxidize the hydrogen sulfide and in doing so, convert
large amounts of carbon dioxide from seawater into organic carbon, which is then
absorbed by the tube worms.

Deep-ocean vent Tube worms

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Figure 4 Nutrient cycling in the deep ocean

The habitat is a predominately dark and cold environment with much lower productivity than
shallower waters. No light penetrates beyond 1000 m and even at depths of 150 m light levels
are reduced to 1 % of those at the surface and are insufficient to support photosynthesis.

Therefore, organic material must be transferred into the deep waters, which occurs in various
ways. Dead phytoplankton sink, and though much is consumed as it settles, sufficient
amounts enter the deep water to sustain much of the biomass there. The constant rain of
organic detritus (remains of organisms from above) can be so thick it is called “marine
snow”. Many species migrate, feeding in the surface waters and moving down during the day,
avoiding predators. In this way, surface production is cascaded through to deeper layers.

Of relatively minor productive importance is organic material from large carcasses (e.g. dead
whales) sinking to the ocean floor and sulfur-based organic production associated with deep-
ocean vents. The concentration of organic material decreases exponentially with depth.

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Page 309 of 551
Figure 5 Fishing in the deep ocean

Until recently, the great depth of the oceans has made them difficult to exploit as the existence of
more abundant resources in shallower waters have meant that little incentive existed to fish in the
deep oceans.

With the reduction of opportunities for development of inshore fisheries and the improvement of
fishing technology and navigation instruments, deep-ocean fishing expanded in the 1990s. A
well-known example is that of the Orange roughy, a deep-ocean species found around New
Zealand. Specially aimed trawling techniques have been developed. Maximum sustainable levels
of exploitation of Orange roughy may be as low as 5-10 % of un-fished biomass. Accumulating
evidence about stock declines indicates that Orange roughy are being exploited unsustainably and
ongoing yields are likely to be around 5 % of those initially obtained.

Orange roughy

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Figure 6 The deep ocean as a carbon sink

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PART I: Case Study
The resource booklet provides information on the island of Borneo. Use the resource booklet
and your own studies to answer the following question.

1. (a) (i) Explain why phytoplankton is found mainly near the surface in ocean

Ecosystems.

...................................................................................................................
.

...................................................................................................................
.
(1)

(ii) State an abiotic factor responsible for the zonation observed in the deep
ocean.

...................................................................................................................
.
(1)

(iii) With reference to Figure 1, state which trophic level is occupied by the
seagull.

...................................................................................................................
.
(1)

(b) With reference to Figure 2, identify two adaptations of the deep-ocean prawn
to life on the ocean floor.

.............................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................
(2)

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(c) (i) A simplified energy flow diagram for a tropical forest food chain is shown
below.

In the space provided below, sketch a simplified energy flow diagram to

show how energy flows through the food chain at a deep-ocean vent.

(1)

(ii) Suggest which features of deep-ocean food webs make them

particularly vulnerable to disturbance.

...................................................................................................................
.

...................................................................................................................
.

...................................................................................................................
.

...................................................................................................................
.

(2)

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 (iii) State one way in which organic matter leaves the deep-ocean
ecosystem.

...................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................
.
(1)

(d) (i) With reference to Figure 5, describe and explain the pattern shown in
the graph of catches of Orange roughy during the 1990s.

...................................................................................................................
.

...................................................................................................................
.

...................................................................................................................
.

...................................................................................................................
.

...................................................................................................................
.

...................................................................................................................
.
(3)

(ii) Suggest how the problem of unsustainable fishing practices might be

overcome, from an ecocentric viewpoint and a technocentric viewpoint.

Ecocentric

...................................................................................................................
.

...................................................................................................................
.

...................................................................................................................

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...................................................................................................................
.

Technocentric

...................................................................................................................
.

...................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................
.
(4)

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(e) (i) With reference to Figure 6, state the amount of carbon stored in the
world’s oceans.

...................................................................................................................

(1)

(ii) Suggest why scientists are increasingly interested in the role that oceans
play as carbon sinks.

...................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................
.
(1)

(iii) Describe two reasons why ocean levels are expected to increase as a
result of global warming.

...................................................................................................................
.

...................................................................................................................
.
(1)

(f) Suggest why there is relatively little public pressure to conserve deep-ocean
ecosystems and justify the need for them to be conserved.

............................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................

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 (4)

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PART II: Short Answer Questions

2. The first and second laws of thermodynamics suggest that energy is neither made or lost,
merely transformed. Using a named ecosystem, outline how this occurs.

............................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................
(3)

3. The following is a schematic diagram of an “ecotron”. This is a walk-in chamber with

computer controlled climatic conditions for studying small communities representative of natural
ecosystems.

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(a) State whether this is an open, closed or isolated system. Give one reason for
your answer.

.............................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................
(1)

(b) Identify and explain two ways in which the inputs to the system would differ
from the outputs while communities are growing within the ecotron.

.............................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................
(4)
(c) If a fall in temperature of the system is detected by the sensors, mechanisms
will be automatically initiated to increase the temperature. State which kind of
feedback this demonstrates.

.............................................................................................................................
(1)

(d) (i) Outline how the second law of thermodynamics can explain the pyramid
shape associated with most food chains including that found in the
ecotron.

...................................................................................................................
.

...................................................................................................................
.

...................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................
(2)

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 (ii) In this context, explain why food chains studied in the ecotron are
generally limited to no more than three trophic levels.

...................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................
.

...................................................................................................................
.
(2)

PART III. Long Answer Question

The diagram below shows the carbon cycle.

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(a) Describe and explain the processes by which carbon is added to, and lost
from, the atmospheric storage. State examples of the organisms involved in
the processes.
(8)

(b) Human activities have changed the balance of carbon dioxide. How has this
balance changed and what activities have altered it?
(4)

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Case Studies required for Chapter 2.4-

1. Spatial and temporal changes in communities

a) Mountain altitude zonation
https://www.climate-policy-watcher.org/ecological-limits/zonation-case-
studies.html
b) Mount St. Helens
https://www.plt.org/stuff/contentmgr/files/
1/47089543432aae6ee76a2c1d9fd698cf/files/
focus_on_forests_activity_2_sp_1_mount_st_helens.pdf
c) Coastal sand dunes
http://www.countrysideinfo.co.uk/successn/primary.htm
d) Secondary succession in an abandoned car park
https://www.field-studies-council.org/urbaneco/urbaneco/wasteland/
carpark.htm
e)  Heathland Project site 
http://www.countrysideinfo.co.uk/successn/second.htm

What went well:

Even better if:

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TOPIC 2.5 –INVESTIGATING ECOSYSTEMS Date:

Significant ideas:

 The description and investigation of ecosystems allows for comparisons to be made

between different ecosystems and for them to be monitored, modeled and evaluated
over time, measuring both natural change and human impacts
 Ecosystems can be better understood through the investigation and quantification of
their components

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 Covered Revise I’m
Objective Statement the d in confiden
notes class t
The study of an ecosystem requires that it be
named and located; for example,
Deinikerwald in Baar, Switzerland—a mixed
deciduous–coniferous managed woodland.
Organisms in an ecosystem can be
identified using a variety of tools
including keys, comparison to herbarium
or specimen collections, technologies
and scientific expertise.
Sampling strategies may be used to
measure biotic and abiotic factors and
their change in space, along an
environmental gradient, over time,
through succession, or before and after a
human impact (for example, as part of an
EIA).
Measurements should be repeated to
increase reliability of data. The number of
repetitions required depends on the factor
being measured.
Methods for estimating the biomass and
energy of trophic levels in a community
include measurement of dry mass,
controlled combustion and extrapolation
from samples. Data from these methods
can be used to construct ecological
pyramids
Knowledge Methods for estimating the abundance
and of non-motile organisms include the use
understandin of quadrats for making actual counts,
g measuring population density,
percentage cover and percentage
frequency
Direct and indirect methods for
estimating the abundance of motile
organisms can be described and
evaluated. Direct methods include actual
counts and sampling. Indirect methods
include the use of capture–mark–
recapture with the application of the
Lincoln index.
Species richness is the number of species
in a community and is a useful
comparative measure
Species diversity is a function of the
number of species and their relative
abundance and can be compared using
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Pageof
an index. There are many versions
diversity indices, but students are only
expected to be able to apply and
evaluate the result of the Simpson
1. Measuring Plant Biomass

1) Calculate your mass in grams (see conversions above). Follow your teacher’s
instructions about what to do with this information. Your mass will be used by the
teacher to determine total classroom fresh mass.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2) Your teacher will announce the total classroom fresh mass. Record this value.

 To calculate the dry mass you must assume what percent of human body is
comprised of water. According to literature humans, on average are 65%
water by mass. Multiply total classroom fresh mass by percent water to get
water mass.
For e.g. 1,207, 640 g (class fresh mass) x 0.65= 784, 966 g (water mass).

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 Calculate your classroom dry mass in grams by subtracting the water mass
from total fresh mass. For e.g. 1,207,640 g- 784,966g= 422,674 g

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3) As a class, measure the classroom dimension using a tape measure or a meter stick.
Calculate the total area in square meters.
Area of the rectangle= length x width.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

4) Find the biomass of your classroom in g/m2. (using total classroom dry mass and
classroom area).

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

5) How would biomass change if one of the biomass components, either area of the
room or the number/ composition of the students in the room changed? For each
scenario state whether there would be an increase or a decrease in biomass.

 Football field
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 Elementary school students

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

 Maintenance Closet

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 All the students in the school

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

 Professional Hockey Players

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

6) Calculate the current carbon storage of the classroom in g C/ m2.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

7. Measuring plant productivity

In aquatic ecosystems the light and dark bottle technique can be used to measure both the gross and
net productivity of aquatic plants (including phytoplankton). This is simple but has given us a good idea
of the productivity of oceans and many of the lakes.

Experimental Scenario:
1. Fill six bottles with water containing a culture of photosynthetic algae.
2. Measure the initial dissolved oxygen content of the water.
3. Leave one bottle alone, cover one bottle in tin foil and use increasing numbers of screens to
cover the remaining bottles.
4. Place all of the bottles under a light source for 24 hours. This will simulate a decrease in
the amount of light available to the algae since each additional screen will block out more
light and the tin foil will completely obscure the light from the algae.
5. Wait 24 hours and then measure the dissolved oxygen level of each bottle.
6. Use the O2 readings to determine the primary productivity conducted in each bottle.

a.

b.

c.

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 Analysis:
1. Why is dissolved oxygen a good measure of primary productivity?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. What process(es) occur in each of the following bottles:

a. 100% light bottle :

b. Dark bottle:

3. For each of the calculations show in Step #5 of the Procedure, explain how it provides
the given measurement. (Example, for calculation a, why does subtracting the amount
of dissolved oxygen in the dark bottle from the amount of dissolved oxygen in the initial
sample provide a measure of respiration?)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

4. The following dissolved oxygen readings were taken. Assume the initial DO was
measured at 4 mg O2/L. Complete the first three columns of the data table below, the
last column will be done after Part Two.

Light Bottle Gross Productivity Net Productivity

(mg O2/L) (mg O2/L)
O% E=1 1–1=0 1-4 = -3
2% F=2 2–1=1 2 – 4 = -2
10%
25%

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 65%
100%

5. Under what circumstance would an autotroph have no net productivity? For the above
problem, at what light intensity do you expect that to happen? Please explain.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

8. In terrestrial ecosystems, a similar experiment can be done with square

‘patches’.

Experimental Scenario:
1. Select three equally sized patches with similar vegetation e.g. grass
2. The first patch (A) is harvested immediately and the biomass is measured
3. The second patch (B) is covered with black plastic (no photosynthesis, just respiration)
4. The third patch (C) is just left as it is
5. After a suitable time period (depending on the season) patched B and C are harvested and
the biomass measured

A B C

How could the information gathered from the experiment above be used to find the net primary
productivity of the grassland?

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……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Measuring abiotic components of a marine ecosystem

Abiotic component Measured with… Reading (include units)

Salinity

Temperature

Dissolved oxygen

pH

SAMPLING A TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM

Ecology is often referred to as the "study of distribution and abundance". This being true, we would
often like to know how many of a certain organism are in a certain place, or at a certain time.
Information on the abundance of an organism, or group of organisms is fundamental to most questions
in ecology. However, we can rarely do a complete census of the organisms in the area of interest
because of limitations to time or research funds. Therefore, we usually have to estimate the abundance
of organisms by sampling them, or counting a subset of the population of interest.

For example, suppose you wanted to know how many ants there were in the forest in Belgrad. It

would take a lifetime to count them all, but you could estimate their abundance by counting all the ants
in carefully chosen smaller areas throughout the park.

RANDOM SAMPLING USING QUADRATS

Random sampling is usually carried out when the area under study is fairly uniform, very large, and or
there is limited time available. When using random sampling techniques, large numbers of
samples/records are taken from different positions within the habitat. A quadrat is most often used for
this type of sampling. The frame is placed on the ground and the animals, and/ or plants inside it are

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counted. This is done many times at different points within the habitat to give a large number of
different samples.

In the simplest form of random sampling, the quadrat is thrown to fall at ‘random’ within the site.
However, this is usually unsatisfactory because a personal element inevitably enters into the throwing
and it is not truly random. True randomness is an important element in ecology, because statistics are
widely used to process the results of sampling.

Many of the common statistical techniques used are only valid on data that is truly randomly collected.
This technique is also only possible if quadrats of small size are being used. It would be impossible to
throw anything larger than a 1m2 quadrat and even this might pose problems. Within habitats such as
woodlands or scrub areas, it is also often not possible to physically lay quadrat frames down, because
tree trunks and shrubs get in the way. In this case, an area the same size as the quadrat has to be
measured out instead and the corners marked to indicate the quadrat area to be sampled.

A better method of random sampling is to map/mark out your area to be sampled with tape or rope.
Using a pair of random numbers you can locate a position within the sampling area to collect your data.
The random numbers can be pulled from a set of numbers in a hat, come from random number tables,
or be generated by a calculator or computer. The two numbers are used as coordinates to locate a
sampling position within the area. The first random number gives the position on the first tape and the
second random number gives the position on the second tape.

USING A QUADRAT TO MEASURE ABUNDANCE OF A SPECIES

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 Questions from Past Paper on Chapter 2.5

1 List the significant abiotic (physical) factors of an ecosystem.

.2 Describe and evaluate methods for measuring at least three abiotic (physical) factors within
an ecosystem.

Assignment: Measuring Abiotic Factors - Practical Write-up assessed. Read pp.306-309 in the IB
ESS Course Companion before studying the notes below!

There's a wide variety of abiotic factors that influence what may live in an ecosystem, some
examples of which are listed below:

Marine ecosystems:

• salinity - many marine organisms tolerate a variety of salt concentration levels in the
water, which can be checked with a few tools:
◦ hydrometer measures specific gravity or density of a sample (relative weight of
1.0L salt water compared to 1.0L pure fresh water)
◦ refractometer measures differences in light refraction between the saltwater
sample and a freshwater control
◦ electrical conductivity can also indicate the amount of dissolved ions in solution
• pH - use a pH meter. The pH of saltwater is naturally higher (i.e. more alkaline) than that
of fresh water. According to several marine aquarium websites, a pH of 8.2 is ideal for
saltwater fish.
• temperature - every organism has an optimal temperature range in which it thrives. An
organism may be able to survive at warmer or cooler temperatures, but it will do so
under stress, which requires more energy (and therefore food), and decreases its' ability
to compete for other resources within the ecosystem. This is particularly important for
ectothermic (cold-blooded) organisms, which are a majority of marine animals. A change
in temperature can also influence the pH of water.
• dissolved oxygen (DO) - the amount of oxygen available for marine organisms, like
terrestrial organisms, determines which organisms can survive in a particular location.
DO levels fall with increased temperature and organic compounds from either sewage,
agriculture, or industry. DO can range from 0-18 ppm, but most healthy ecosystems
have a DO level of 5-6 ppm
• (http://www.ncsu.edu/sciencejunction/depot/experiments/water/lessons/do/). Measuring DO can be
tricky and labor-intensive, requiring either a complicated Winkler titration or oxygen-
selective electrodes.
• wave action - waves carry energy; thus, larger and prolonged waves can move larger
particles, thereby 'mixing' water, oxygen, and sediment more. Areas with a lot of wave
action tend to have higher DO levels. Waves can also increase the turbidity of the water
and determine the nature of a coast line - i.e. sandy vs rocky.

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Freshwater ecosystems:

◦ turbidity - "A cloudy condition in water due to suspended silt or organic matter."
Cloudy = high turbidity and clear = low turbidity.
◦ "Turbidity in lakes, reservoirs, channels, and the ocean can be measured using a
Secchi disk. This black and white disk is lowered into the water until it can no
longer be seen; the depth (Secchi depth) is then recorded as a measure of the
transparency of the water (inversely related to turbidity). The Secchi disk has the
advantages of integrating turbidity over depth (where variable turbidity layers
are present), being quick and easy to use, and inexpensive."
• flow velocity - the rate at which water moves through a specified area in a given amount
of time. Some aquatic organisms prefer high flow velocity (fast water) while others
thrive at lower flow velocities. The simplest way is to time how long a partially-
submerged object takes to travel a certain distance. For an explanation of how to more
precisely measure stream flow, visit this site from the USGS describing the method - it's
complicated!
• pH - normal readings for freshwater ecosystems range from about 6.5 (acidic) to 8.5
(basic) depending on the underlying rock substrata, surrounding vegetation, and human
activities within the watershed
• temperature - see notes above
• dissolved oxygen - see notes above

Terrestrial ecosystems

• temperature - depends on insolation (incoming sunlight), wind & ventilation, latitude, color
and texture of the surface. Measure temperature with liquid thermometers or data
logging sensors
• light intensity - influences photosynthesis rates as well as body temperature of ectotherms
(cold-blooded animals). Light intensity is highly variable with weather conditions,
season, time of day, and surrounding terrain & vegetation cover. It can be measured
with light meters (measured in
lux….http://www.use-ip.co.uk/datasheets/lux_light_level_chart.pdf)
• wind speed - wind carries sediment and acts as a dessicating (drying) force in ecosystems,
increasing evaporation and transpiration rates. Wind speed is measured with a few
different tools:
◦ anemometer: spinning cups on a permanent or hand-held post. The number of
revolutions per time period can be converted to a wind velocity.
◦ Ventimeters use differences in air pressure to determine the velocity of wind
passing over the open end of a tube.
◦ Beaufort scale of wind speed from 0 to 12. The table below describes it better
than I can. Image source:
(http://media.graytvinc.com/images/beaufort_scale_tbp.gif)

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 • particle size - influences how well a soil holds water as well as its cation exchange capacity
(CEC) - the mechanism by which nutrients are swapped between the physical soil matrix
and the organisms living in the soil. Soils with large average particle sizes (such as
boulders, pebbles, and sand) drain more quickly and hold fewer cations than soils with
small particles (silt and clay). Sieving through different size screens is the most
frequently used method to determine particle sizes.
• slope - steep slopes drain water rapidly and dry out quickly, have thinner soil layers, and
tend to have lower levels of organic matter (OM) than more gently-sloping areas. Steep
slopes also erode faster than gentle slopes. Slope can be measured with a clinometer, a
field level, or calculated as a % (rise/run).
• soil moisture - influenced by particle size and climatic factors. The easiest way to measure
soil moisture is to measure the mass of a sample, then dry it for several days until its
mass is constant. The difference in the two masses is the mass of the water evaporated
from the sample.
• drainage - influenced by slope and particle size
◦ internal drainage: how rapidly water percolates down through soil layers
◦ external drainage: how rapidly water moves across the landscape
• mineral content - Soils are a combination of minerals from eroded rock, organic matter in
the form of detritus, pore spaces (the gaps between particles) which hold air and/or
water, and living organisms. Mineral content is usually measured by burning off all the
living material in a sample at very high temperatures.
Questions to consider for the exams:

1. How might each of these factors vary in a given ecosystem with depth? At different times
of day? At different distances? During different seasons?
2. Outline and evaluate a method for measuring three of the abiotic factors listed above.

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REFLECTION-

What went well:

Even better if:

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TOPIC 3.1 –AN INTRODUCTION TO BIODIVERSITY Date:

Significant ideas:

 Biodiversity can be identified in a variety of forms, including species diversity, habitat

diversity and genetic diversity
 The ability to both understand and quantify biodiversity is important to conservation
efforts

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 Covered
Revised I’m
Objective Statement the
in class confident
notes
Biodiversity is a broad concept
encompassing the total diversity of living
systems, which includes the diversity of
species, habitat diversity and genetic
diversity

Species diversity in communities is a

product of two variables: the number of
species
(richness) and their relative proportions
(evenness).
Communities can be described and
compared through the use of diversity
indices. When comparing communities
that are similar, low diversity could be
indicative of pollution, eutrophication or
recent colonization of a site. The number
Knowledge
of species present in an area is often
and
indicative of general patterns of
Understandin
biodiversity.
g
Habitat diversity refers to the range of
different habitats in an ecosystem or
biome.
Genetic diversity refers to the range of
genetic material present in a population of
a species.
Quantification of biodiversity is important
to conservation efforts so that areas of
high biodiversity may be identified,
explored, and appropriate conservation
put in place where possible.

The ability to assess changes to

biodiversity in a given community over
time is
important in assessing the impact of
human activity in the community.
Distinguish between biodiversity, diversity
of species, habitat diversity and genetic
diversity.

Comment on the relative values of

Applications biodiversity data.
and Skills Discuss the usefulness of providing
numerical values of species diversity to
understanding the nature of Page 362 of 551
biological
communities and the conservation of
biodiversity.
1. Define Biodiversity

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2. Complete the mind map below to define and illustrate the different factors that affect
biodiversity.

Genetic
diversity

Biodiversity

Habitat Species
diversity diversity

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3. Define Biodiversity Hotspot

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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4.

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 The island of Madagascar is part of one of the world’s 25 biodiversity hotspots. A

Biodiversity hotspot is a region with an especially large number of species. Madagascar i

Is the world’s only home for lemurs , a primitive primate. Of the more than 40 species

Of Lemurs , most are either endangered or at some risk of becoming so. This map

shows distribution of populations of five lemur species.

Use the map above to answer the questions below

1. Using a key which lemur species has the largest population distribution? Which
has the smallest?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2. Using a key what is the status of the hairy eared dwarf lemur?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

3. Analyzing Data Which two lemur species are found near the distribution area
of the ring-tailed lemur?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

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 4. Making Conclusions- The golden bamboo lemur is the most endangered
species shown on the map. However, it does not have the smallest
distribution. Why do you think this might be?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

QUESTIONS FROM THE PAST PAPERS ON CHAPTER 3.1

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CASE STUDIES FOR CHAPTER 3.1

1. Relative values of biodiversity- You need to be able to comment on relative values of

biodiversity & why it is low/high in a specific area
a) Amazon rainforest is home to 16,000 tree species, estimate suggests
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/18/amazon-rainforest-tree-
species-estimate

b) Life in the tundra (Chapter 5 – maintain the balance)

https://books.google.ba/books?id=wUMnt-
xzhWEC&pg=PA48&lpg=PA48&dq=tundra+low+biodiversity&source=bl&ots=7fpU
g8kWNl&sig=ACfU3U21yV_4e4SvYhD0nPr-
vO4W8pttSA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjgwbXNuL3gAhVitosKHW2hDFMQ6AEw
F3oECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q&f=true

2. You need to be able to discuss the usefulness of providing numerical values of species
diversity in terms of the conservation

a) Biodiversity and ecosystem stability-

https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/biodiversity-and-
ecosystem-stability-17059965

b) The importance of species diversity to the ecosystem-

https://sciencing.com/importance-species-diversity-ecosystem-6508788.html

c) Case Study: Amphibian Species Diversity in Bolivia

http://www.unikiel.de/ecology/users/fmueller/salzau2006/studentpages/
Frogs_in_Bolivia/index.html

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REFLECTIONS-

What went well:

Even better if:

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TOPIC 3.2 –ORIGINS OF BIODIVERSITY Date:

Significant ideas:

 Evolution is a gradual change in the genetic character of populations over many

generations, achieved largely through the mechanism of natural selection.
 Environmental change gives new challenges to species, which drives the evolution of
diversity.
 There have been major mass extinction events in the geological past.

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 Covered
Revised I’m
Objective Statement the
in class confident
notes
Biodiversity arises from evolutionary
processes.
Biological variation arises randomly and
can either be beneficial to, damaging to, or
have no impact on, the survival of the
individual.

Natural selection occurs through the

following mechanism.
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
This natural selection will contribute to the
evolution of biodiversity over time.
Environmental change gives new
challenges to species: those that are suited
Knowledge will survive, and those that are not suited
and will not survive.
understanding Speciation is the formation of new species
when populations of a species become
isolated and evolve differently from other
populations.
Isolation of populations can be caused by
environmental changes forming barriers
such as mountain formation, changes in
rivers, sea level change, climatic change or
plate movements. The surface of the Earth
is divided into crustal, tectonic plates that
have moved throughout geological time.
This has led to the creation of both land
bridges and physical barriers with
evolutionary consequences

The distribution of continents has also

caused climatic variations and variation in
food supply, both contributing to evolution.
Mass extinctions of the past have been
caused by various factors, such as tectonic
plate movements, super-volcanic
Page eruption,
372 of 551
climatic changes (including drought and ice
ages), and meteorite impact—all of which
resulted in new directions in evolution and
ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS AND SOCIETIES

STANDARD LEVEL

PAPER 1

Galapagos Islands

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Figure 1. Map showing the location of the Galapagos Islands off the coast of South America

Figure 2. Fact on File on the Galapagos Islands

 Made of 13 main islands, 6 small islands, and 42 islets

 About 906 km off the western coast of South America and belong to Ecuador
 Formed by underwater volcanos, slowly bubbling magma
 The oldest islands are 3-4 myo
 The population is just over 25,000

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Figure 3. Postal Stamp from Ecuador

Figure 4. Number of Tourists visiting Galapagos from 1970 to 2011

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Figure 5a. Wind Direction and Current Direction near Galapagos Islands

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Figure 5b. Impact of El Nino and La Nina on the Chlorophyll concentration in 1998

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Figure 6. Location of Tectonic Plates Near Galapagos Islands

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Figure 7. Climatograph of the Galapagos Islands

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Figure 8. Infographic of Various lifecycles of Endemic Organisms found on Galapagos Islands

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Figure 9. Topographic Map of the Galapagos Islands

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Figure 10. Stratified drawing of one of Galapagos Islands

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Figure 11. Habitats found on Galapagos Islands

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Figure 12. Organisms Found on the Galapagos Islands

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 1. Define Evolution.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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2. What causes variation?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Read the following situations below and identify the 5 points of Darwin’s natural selection.

3) There are 2 types of worms: worms that eat at night (nocturnal) and worms that eat
during the day (diurnal). The birds eat during the day and seem to be eating ONLY the
diurnal worms. The nocturnal worms are in their burrows during this time. Each spring
when the worms reproduce, they have bout 500 babies but only 100 of these 500 ever
become old enough to reproduce.

 What worm has natural selection selected AGAINST? _________________ FOR?

________________

Darwin's 5 points: Identify the 5 points in the scenario above.

 Population has variations.
_________________________________________________________________
 Some variations are favorable.
_________________________________________________________________
 More offspring are produced than
survive.___________________________________________________________
 Those that survive have favorable traits.
_________________________________________________________________
 A population will change over time.
_________________________________________________________________

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4) There are 3 types of polar bears: ones with thick coats, ones with thin coats and ones with
medium coats. It is fall, soon to be winter. The temperatures are dropping rapidly and the
bears must be kept warm, or they will freeze to death. Many of the bears have had ~2 cubs
each but due to the extreme temperatures, many mothers only have one cub left.

 What bear will natural selection select AGAINST? ___________________ FOR?

_________________

Darwin's 5 points: Identify the 5 points in the scenario above.

 Population has variations.
_________________________________________________________________
 Some variations are favorable.
_________________________________________________________________
 More offspring are produced than
survive.___________________________________________________________
 Those that survive have favorable traits.
_________________________________________________________________
 A population will change over time.
_________________________________________________________________

5) In ostriches, there are 2 types: ones that run fast and those that run slowly. The fast birds
can reach up to 40 miles an hour. Jackals love to eat ostrich, and they can reach speeds of
up to 35-40 miles per hour. A flock of ostrich will lay about 10 eggs (each mother only
lays ,1but many rodents break into the eggs and eat the fetus before they hatch.

 What ostrich will natural selection select AGAINST? __________________ FOR?

________________

Darwin's 5 points: Identify the 5 points in the scenario above.

 Population has variations.
_____________________________________________________________
 Some variations are favorable.
_____________________________________________________________
 More offspring are produced than
survive._______________________________________________________
 Those that survive have favorable traits.
_____________________________________________________________
 A population will change over time.
_____________________________________________________________

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6) MECHANISM OF NATURAL SELECTION

7) Define Speciation

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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8) Distinguish between reproductive isolation and geographical isolation when referring to

speciation.

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9.

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10.

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1. In your own words state the theory of Plate Tectonics.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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2. Describe what happens when two plates carrying continental crust collide.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

3. Describe what happens when a plate carrying oceanic crust collide with a plate carrying
continental crust.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4. Explain what force caused the movement of continents from one supercontinent to
their present position.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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 11. A scientific _________________ is a well-tested concept that explains a wide
range of observations.

Breaks in Earth’s crust where rocks have slipped past each other are called _________________.

The lithosphere is broken into separate sections called _________________.

A(n) _________________ is a deep valley on land that forms along a divergent boundary.

The geological theory that states that pieces of Earth’s crust are in constant, slow motion is called

__________________________.

12. Outline the effect the splitting up of Pangea 200 million years ago had on
species diversity and distribution.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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13. MASS EXTINCTION READING EXERCISE:

Extinction is the process in which groups of organisms (species)
die out. If the birth rate is less than the death rate over time,
extinction results. Extinction is a natural result of evolution.
Species go extinct when they are unable to adapt to changes in
the environment or compete effectively with other organisms.
Well over 99% of the species that have ever lived have gone
extinct.

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Background Extinctions vs. Mass Extinctions:

Most extinction (perhaps up to 95 per cent of all extinctions) occurs as background extinctions,
occurring throughout time. These extinctions are not caused by major catastrophes or horrendous
climactic changes, but by small changes in climate or habitat, depleted resources, competition, and
other changes that require adaptation and flexibility.
A mass extinction is a relatively sudden, global decrease in the diversity of life forms. Mass extinctions
have occurred periodically throughout the existence of life on Earth. To be a mass extinction, the
following must occur:

 Extinctions occur all over the world.

 A large number of species go extinct.
 Many types of species go extinct.
 The extinctions are clustered in a short amount of geological time (a few million years is very
short in terms of geological time).

The five mass extinctions in Earth's history

 The late Ordovician period (438 million years ago)

 The late Devonian (360 mya) -
 At the end of the Permian period (245 mya)
 The late Triassic (208 mya)
 At the Cretaceous-Tertiary(K-T) boundary (65 mya) - about half of all life forms died out, all
land animals over about 55 pounds went extinct including the dinosaurs

Asteroid Impact and The Extinction of the Dinosaurs

When a large object impacts the surface of the Earth, the rock at the
site of the impact is deformed and some of it is ejected into the
atmosphere to eventually fall back to the surface.  This results in a
bowl shaped depression with a raised rim, called an impact crater. 
There are many impact craters on Earth. A 120-mile-wide (180 km), 1-
mile-deep (1600 m) impact crater, Chicxulub, is found at the tip of the
Yucatán Peninsula, in the Gulf of Mexico. This crater dates back to 65
million years ago, and is probably the site of the K-T meteorite impact
that lead to the extinction of the dinosaurs (KT extinction)

a) What is extinction?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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b) What makes a mass extinction different from background extinction?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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c) How many Mass Extinctions have occurred during the Earth’s history?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

d) What mass extinction was responsible for the extinction of dinosaur?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

e) What event is believed to have caused the extinction of dinosaur?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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f) Where is the crater located that has caused this extinction?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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 14. How is the Sixth Extinction different from previous events?
At first glance, the physically caused extinction events of the past might seem to
have little or nothing to tell us about the current Sixth Extinction, which is a
human-caused event. For there is little doubt that humans are the direct cause
of ecosystem stress and species destruction in the modern world through such
activities as:

 Habitat destruction
 Overexploitation of species (Poaching)
 Pollution
 The introduction of exotic species

Because Homo sapiens is clearly a species of animal (however peculiar an animal), the Sixth Extinction
would seem to be the first recorded global extinction event that has a biotic, rather than a physical or
abiotic cause.

Yet, upon further reflection, human impact on the planet is like the meteors striking earth. Sixty-five
million years ago that extraterrestrial impact wreaked havoc on the living systems of Earth. That is
precisely what human beings are doing to the planet right now: humans are causing vast physical
changes on the planet. 

What is the Sixth Extinction?

Everywhere, shortly after modern humans arrived, many native species typically became extinct.
Humans were like bulls in a China shop: 

 They disrupted ecosystems by overhunting game species, which never experienced contact with
humans before.
 They disrupted ecosystems by turning them into farm land.

And perhaps they spread microbial disease-causing organisms as well.

Why does the Sixth Extinction continue?

Agriculture represents the single most profound ecological change in the entire 3.5 billion-year
history of life. With its invention:

 humans did not have to interact with other species for survival, and so could manipulate other
species for their own use

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  humans did not have to adhere to the ecosystem's carrying capacity, and so could overpopulate

Homo sapiens became the first species to stop living inside local ecosystems. Indeed, to develop
agriculture is essentially to declare war on ecosystems - converting land to produce one or two food
crops, with all other native plant species all now classified as unwanted "weeds" -- and all but a few
domesticated species of animals now considered as pests.

This explosion of human population, especially in the post-Industrial Revolution years of the past two
centuries, coupled with the unequal distribution and consumption of wealth on the planet, is the
underlying cause of the Sixth Extinction. There is a vicious cycle:

 More lands are cleared and more efficient production technique to feed the growing number of
humans -- and in response, the human population continues to expand.
 Higher fossil energy use is helping agriculture spread, further modifying the environment.
 Humans continue to fish (12 of the 13 major fisheries on the planet are now considered severely
depleted) and harvest timber for building materials and fuel, pollution, and soil erosion from
agriculture creates dead zones in fisheries.

Can conservation measures stop the Sixth Extinction?

The world's ecosystems have been plunged into chaos, with some conservation biologists
thinking that no system, not even the vast oceans, remains untouched by human presence.
Conservation measures seem to offer some hope that the Sixth Extinction will not develop to
the extent of the third global extinction, some 245 mya, when 90% of the world's species were
lost.

Though it is true that life, so incredibly resilient, has always recovered after major extinction spasms, it is
only after whatever has caused the extinction event has disappeared. That cause, in the case of the
Sixth Extinction, is ourselves--HUMANS. This means we can continue on the path to our own extinction,
or, preferably, we modify our behavior toward the global ecosystem of which we are still very much a
part. The latter must happen before the Sixth Extinction can be declared over, and life can once again
rebound.

a) Name the causes of the 6th extinction.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Page 408 of 551

b) How are the first 5 extinctions similar to and different from the current 6 th
extinction. Use the Venn Diagram to show similarities and differences.

c) What four activities do humans do that causes mass extinction.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

d) The industrial revolution caused a viscous cycle to begin between technology

and the destruction of ecosystems. Describe the 3 specific aspects of these
cycles.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

e) Do you think humans will ever become extinct? Why or why not?

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 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

PAST PAPER QUESTIONS FROM CHAPTER 3.2

Page 410 of 551

Page 411 of 551
Page 412 of 551
CASE STUDIES FOR CHAPTER 3.2- ORIGINS OF BIODIVERSITY

1. Evolution through speciation- Pay attention to the role of isolation (genetic,

reproductive, behavioral, geographic, env. gradient…)
a) Birthplace of the evolution-
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2001/jan/23/endangeredspecies.endan
geredhabitats
b) How sea level influenced evolution in the Galapagos
https://www.theguardian.com/science/animal-magic/2014/apr/24/sea-level-
evolution-galapagos
c) Galápagos giant tortoises show that in evolution, slow and steady gets you places
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/mar/01/galapagos-giant-tortoises-
show-that-in-evolution-slow-and-steady-gets-you-places
d) Darwin's finches, Flashy guppies, Armour Plated Sticklebacks
https://darwin200.christs.cam.ac.uk/node/15
e) Peppered Moths & Melanism
https://darwin200.christs.cam.ac.uk/node/13
f) Mimicry and evolution
https://darwin200.christs.cam.ac.uk/node/14
g) Reproductive isolation: courtship rituals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7QZnwKqopo
h) Grand Canyon marks the Birthplace of Squirrel Speciation
https://scienecerules.wordpress.com/2015/11/06/the-speciation-of-squirrels/

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 2. Plate tectonics
You need to be able to explain how plate tectonics has influenced evolution and
biodiversity
a) Madagascar's record of biodiversity: 600 species discovered in a decade
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jun/06/madagascar-biodiversity-600-
species-discovered
b) Ice Age Drove Split Between Reindeer and Caribou
https://www.seeker.com/ice-age-drove-split-between-reindeer-and-caribou-
1768156384.html
c) The Great American Biotic Interchange
https://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/2018/09/09/episode-43-the-
great-american-biotic-interchange-gabi/

REFLECTIONS-

What went well:

Even better if:

Page 414 of 551

TOPIC 3.3 –THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY Date:

Significant ideas:

 While global biodiversity is difficult to quantify, it is decreasing rapidly due to human

activity
 Classification of species conservation status can provide a useful tool in the conservation
of biodiversity

Page 415 of 551

 Covered
Revised I’m
Objective Statement the
in class confident
notes
Estimates of the total number of species
on the planet vary considerably. They are
based on mathematical models which are
based on classification issues and lack of
finance for scientific research, resulting in
many habitats and groups being
significantly under-recorded
The current rate of species loss are far
greater now than in the recent past, due to
increased human influence. The human
activities that cause species extinction
include habitat destruction, introducing
invasive species, pollution, overharvesting
and hunting.
The International Union for Conservation
of Nature (IUCN) publishes data in the Red
Knowledge List of Threatened Species in several
and categories. Factors used to determine
understanding conservation status of a population
include; population size, degree of
specialization, distribution, reproductive
potential and behavior , geographic range
and degree of fragmentation, quality of
habitat, trophic level and the probability of
extinction
Tropical biomes contain some of the most
globally diverse areas and their
unsustainable exploitation results in
massive losses of biodiversity sand their
ability to perform globally important
ecological services
Most tropical biomes occur in LEDCs and
therefore there is conflict between
exploitation, sustainable development and
conservation
Discuss the case histories of three different
species: one that has become extinct due
to human activity, another that is critically
endangered, and a third who’s
conservation status has improved by
intervention
Applications Describe threats to biodiversity from
and Skills human activity in a given natural area of
biological significance or conservation area
Evaluate the impact of human activity on
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the biodiversity of tropical biomes
Discuss the conflict between exploitation,
sustainable development and conservation
in tropical biomes
1. What is the current rate of extinction?

Page 417 of 551

 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2. Why is it difficult for scientists to estimate global biodiversity?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. Complete the table below to describe the factors that help maintain biodiversity

Factor Summary

Complexity of
the ecosystem

Stage of
succession

Limiting
factors

Inertia

4. Complete the table below to outline the factors that threaten biodiversity

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 Factor Summary

Natural hazards
and disaster

Fragmentation
of habitat

Pollution

Overexploitation

Introducing
alien species

Spread of
disease

Modern
agricultural
practices

5. Evaluate the impact of human activity on the biodiversity of tropical biome.

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Read the article at http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Deforestation/
Summarise the article into bullet points into the table below:

Subheading Summary (no more than 3 points)

Impacts of
deforestation

Soil impacts

Social impacts

Climate
impacts

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 Carbon cycle
and global
warming

Causes of
deforestation:
Direct causes

Underlying
causes

Rates of
tropical
deforestation

Sustaining
tropical forests

Page 421 of 551

6. The table below to outline the factors that make a species prone to extinction

Factor Summary

Narrow
geographical
range

Small population
size (low genetic
diversity)

Low population
densities and
large territories

Few populations
of the species

A large body

Low
reproductive
potential

Seasonal
migrants

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Poor dispersers

Specialised
feeders or niche
requirements

Edible to humans
and herding
together

Island organisms

Page 423 of 551

7. Outline the criteria used to determine the conservation state of population.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

8.
Specie Carnaby’s cockatoo Golden lion tamarin Thylacine

Status

Description

Ecological niche

Pressures

Method of restoring
population

Page 424 of 551

QUESTIONS FROM PAST PAPER ON CHAPTER 3.3

CASE STUDIES FOR CHAPTER 3.3- Threats to biodiversity

a) Human causes-
Habitat loss threatens all our futures, world leaders warned-
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/17/habitat-loss-biodiversity-wildlife-
climate-change
Destruction of nature as dangerous as climate change, scientists warn
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/23/destruction-of-nature-as-
dangerous-as-climate-change-scientists-warn
The top 10 threats to the most biodiverse place on planet Earth
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/andes-to-the-amazon/2017/mar/11/
top-10-threats-most-biodiverse-place-on-earth

Page 425 of 551

 Britain has lost half its wildlife. Now’s the time to shout about it
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/26/wildlife-modern-
farming-insects-birds
Toxic toad invasion puts ecology of Madagascar at risk
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/24/madagascar-toxic-toads-
lemurs-ecology-threat
Our seas are being degraded, fish are dying – but humanity is threatened too
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/20/fish-are-dying-but-human-
life-is-threatened-too
One football pitch of forest lost every second in 2017, data reveals
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2018/jun/27/one-
football-pitch-of-forest-lost-every-second-in-2017-data-reveals
'The last place on Earth': how Sumatra's rainforest is being cleared for palm oil
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/sep/28/last-place-on-
earth-deforestation-palm-oil-threat-leuser-rainforest
Agriculture and overuse greater threats to wildlife than climate change – study
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/10/agriculture-and-overuse-
greater-threats-to-wildlife-than-climate-change-study

b) You need to know details of a species that has become extinct due to human
activities, including: description of species, ecological role, pressures - ecological,
socio-political and economical, causes and consequences of disappearance.

From five billion to zero: the passenger pigeon – and other beautiful animals driven to extinction-

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/lists/beautiful-extinct-animals/

Why Did The Passenger Pigeon Go Extinct?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/grrlscientist/2017/11/24/why-did-the-passenger-pigeon-go-
extinct/#51641f1b2a9d

Dodo bird- http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/ext_dodobird.htm

Blue pike- http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/ext_blupike.htm

Caribbean monk seal- http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/ext_carbmonk.htm

Moa- http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/ext_moas.htm

Monteverde golden toad- http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/van_anim_gldtoad.htm

Tasmanian wolf- http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/ext_taswolf.htm

Page 426 of 551

 c) Protection of species- You need to know details of a species that is critically
endangered (consult IUCN Red list!), including: description of species, ecological role,
pressures - ecological, socio-political and economical, causes of decline in numbers,
measures taken to improve the status & the outcomes of measures.

black eyed lemur- https://www.speciesconservation.org/case-studies-projects/blue-eyed-

black-lemursclaters-black-lemur/2671

https://www.saveourspecies.org/projects/lemurs/reinforcing-conservation-activities-ensure-
long-term-survival-critically-endangered

Kakapo- https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22685245/129751169

http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/van_anim_kakapo.htm

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/21/kakapo-new-zealand-
conservationists-celebrate-rare-parrot-breeding-success

https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/199856/9129626#conservation-actions

Sumatran elephants- https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/sumatran-elephant

https://greenglobaltravel.com/endangered-species-spotlight-sumatran-elephant/

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/the-pygmy-hog-to-the-brink-of-
extinction-and-back-60315

Pygmy Hog- https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/the-pygmy-hog-to-the-

brink-of-extinction-and-back-60315

http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Porcula_salvania.html

https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/21172/9254675#threats

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 d) You need to know details of a species (consult IUCN Red list!) whose CONSERVATION
STATUS has improved by intervention, including: description of species, ecological
role, pressures - ecological, socio-political and economical, causes of decline in
numbers, measures taken to improve the status & the outcomes of measures. The
focus should be on the conservation efforts that resulted in the improvement of the
status

Amur tiger-
https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/teacher_resources/best_place_species/
back_from_the_brink/amur_tigers.cfm

http://theconversation.com/zoos-have-a-vital-role-to-play-in-ensuring-survival-of-amur-tiger-30391

Gray Whale-

https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/teacher_resources/best_place_species/
back_from_the_brink/gray_whale.cfm

http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/van_anim_grywhale.htm

Southern White Rhinnoceros-

http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/van_anim_grywhale.htm

https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/teacher_resources/best_place_species/
back_from_the_brink/southern_white_rhinoceros_.cfm

http://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/rhinoceros/african_rhinos/
white_rhinoceros/

https://institute.sandiegozoo.org/species/white-rhino

Mountain gorilla

https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/teacher_resources/best_place_species/
back_from_the_brink/mountain_gorilla.cfm

https://gorillafund.org/mountain-gorillas-tragedy-fragile-success/

Page 428 of 551

e) You need to be able to describe the threats to biodiversity from a human activity in a
named protected area. Attention to ecological, socio-political and economical
pressures

A Third of the World’s ‘Protected’ Areas Are Under Threat-

https://www.thenation.com/article/third-worlds-protected-areas-threat/

Problems with protected areas

http://wwf.panda.org/our_work/biodiversity/protected_areas/
protected_area_problems/

Virunga (DRC)
http://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/where_we_work/congo_basin_forests/
oil_extraction/virunga_under_threat/

http://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/where_we_work/congo_basin_forests/
oil_extraction/virunga_under_threat/?256331/Africas-oldest-national-park-now-
under-new-threat

Borneo forests
http://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/where_we_work/borneo_forests/
borneo_deforestation/

Page 429 of 551

REFLECTIONS-

What went well:

Even better if:

Page 430 of 551

TOPIC 3.4 –CONSERVATION TO BIODIVERSITY Date:

Significant ideas:

 The impact of losing biodiversity drives conservation efforts

 The variety of arguments given for the conservation of biodiversity will depend on
environmental value systems
 There are various approaches to the conservation of biodiversity, with associated
strengths and limitations

Page 431 of 551

 Covered
Revised I’m
Objective Statement the
in class confident
notes
Arguments about species and habitat
preservation can be based on aesthetic,
ecological, economic, ethical and social
justifications
International, governmental and non-
governmental organisations (NGOs) are
involved in conserving and restoring
ecosystems and biodiversity, with varying
levels of effectiveness due to their use of
media, speed of response, diplomatic
constraints, financial resources and political
influence
Recent international conventions on
biodiversity work to create collaboration
between nations for biodiversity
conservation
Conservation approaches include habitat
conservation, species-based conservation
and a mixed approach
Criteria for consideration when designing
protected areas include: size, shape, edge
Knowledge
effects, corridors, and proximity to
and
potential human influence
understanding
Alternative approaches to the development
of protected areas are species-based
conservation strategies that include:
 The Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
 Captive breeding and reintroduction
programmes and zoos
 Selection of ‘charismatic’ species to
help protect others in an area
(flagship species)
 Selection of keystone species to
protect the integrity of a food web
Community support, adequate funding and
proper research influences the success of
conservation efforts
The location of a conservation area in a
country is a significant factor in the success
of the conservation effort. Surrounding
land use for the conservation area and
distance from urban centres are important
factors for conservation area design
Explain criteria used to design and manage
protected areas
Applications Evaluate the success of a named 432 of 551
Pageprotection
and Skills area
Evaluate different approaches to
protecting biodiversity
 1.
Read the different reasons for conserving species and habitats and number them from 1-13
with one being the most important and thirteen the least.

Page 433 of 551

 Direct values:
Food sources – we eat other species both animals and plants
Natural products – Many of the medicines, fertilizers and pesticides we use are
derived from plants and animals
Indirect values:
Ecosystem productivity – e.g. soil aeration depends on worms. Fertilization and
pollination of some food crops depend on insects.
Scientific and educational value
Biological control agents – some organisms help us control invasive species
Genetic diversity – potential source of valuable genes
Environmental monitors – e.g. canaries in the mines
Recreational and ecotourism – areas of outstanding national beauty and parks
Human health – antibiotics originally obtained from fungi
Humans rights – indigenous communities
Ethical / intrinsic value – each species has a right to exist
Biorights – diverse ecosystems help to preserve their component species
Aesthetic value – a beautiful ecosystem or species provides pleasure

1. Using your list what reasons can you come up with for conserving rainforests?
Illustrate your answer by adding ideas to the mind map that has been started for you in the space
below.

Try and include specific ideas based on the factors listed in the table above

Page 434 of 551

 We have an ethical
responsibility Maintains oxygen /
Produces sustainable carbon dioxide
resources (wood, fuel, balance reduces
timber, food, carbon dioxide –
medicine) reduces global
warming

Maintains biodiversity
(habitat complexity,
Aesthetically pleasing
niche availability,
number of species)

Reduces
Why
environmental
damage (soil erosion,
conserve Provide a place for
indigenous
sedimentation and
flooding
the populations to live

rainforest?

2. Compare and contrast the different roles and activities of intergovernmental and non-
governmental organizations.

Page 435 of 551

 IGOs (e.g. UNEP) GOs (e.g. EPA) NGOs (e.g. WWF,
Greenpeace)
Identifying
factors
(description)

Use of Media

Speed of
response

Diplomatic
constraints

Political
influence

Enforceability

Public image

Legislation

Agenda

Funding

Extent of
geographical
influence
Monitoring Page 436 of 551
activities
International Convention on Biodiversity

UNEP was established after the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm,
Sweden, proposed the creation of a global body to act as the environmental conscience of the UN
system.

The Stockholm Conference marked the formal acceptance by the international community that
development and the environment are inextricably linked. It prompted a growing body of research that
has greatly improved understanding and awareness of critical environmental issues over the past three-
plus decades, and it provided the impetus for new national, regional and international environmental
legislation worldwide.

In the subsequent two decades, a proliferation of environmental conferences and conventions

addressed various environmental issues, including conserving endangered species, controlling the
movement of hazardous wastes, and reversing the depletion of the ozone layer. The most successful
and well-known convention from this period was the 1987 Montreal Protocol of the Vienna Convention
for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, an example of international environmental cooperation whose
inspiration reverberates to this day.

In 1980 the IUCN established the World Conservation Strategy (WCS) along with UNEP and WWF. The
WCS outlined a series of global priorities for action and recommended that each country prepare its own
national strategy that would take into account the conservation of natural resources for long-term
human welfare. The strategy also drew attention to the importance of making the users of natural
resources become their guardians.

In 1992, the UN Conference on Environment and Development—the Earth Summit—was convened in

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, bringing together an unprecedented number of representatives from
governments, civil society, and the private sector. The purpose of the Earth Summit was to examine
progress made since Stockholm, and to “elaborate strategies and measures to halt and reverse the
effects of environmental degradation in the context of strengthened national and international efforts
to promote sustainable and environmentally sound development in all countries”.

It gave birth to two major conventions—the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
Convention on Biological Diversity—and saw the creation of the UN Commission on Sustainable
Development. The Rio Declaration reaffirmed the principles first elaborated in Stockholm twenty years
earlier, while Agenda 21 gave the world an action programme for building sustainable development into
the 21st century

In May 2000, UNEP convened the first Global Ministerial Environment Forum, in Malmö, Sweden. One of
the Forum’s functions was to send a strong message to the UN General Assembly, which was due to
revisit the sustainable development debate at the Millennium Summit in September 2000.

The principal outcome of the Millennium Summit was the Millennium bound objectives and measurable
targets collectively known as the Millennium Development Goals. Environmental sustainability is

Page 437 of 551

highlighted among the goals as an objective in itself, and is widely recognized as a major factor
underlying the attainability of all the other goals. Finally, in September 2005, governments at the 2005
World Summit reaffirmed their commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, Agenda 21 and the
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.

3. When was UNEP formed?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

4. What are UNEP’s responsibilities?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

5. What is World Conservation Strategy? Who set it up and why?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

6. What are the main objectives of WCS?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Page 438 of 551

7. What were the main aims of THE Earth Summit of 1992?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

8. What is Agenda 21?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

9. What was the outcome of the UN Millenium Summit held in 2000?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

10. Distinguish between Habitat Conservation and Species Based Conservation.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Page 439 of 551

 11.
Conservation method Strengths Weaknesses

CITES (Convention on
International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild
Flora and Fauna)

Captive breeding,
reintroduction programmes
and zoos

Botanical gardens and seed

banks

Keystone species

Aesthetic vs. ecological value

Page 440 of 551

 12.

Criteria to think about Reasons?

Area

Edge effects

Shape

Corridors

Buffer zone

13. Explain the criteria used to design and manage protected area.

Page 441 of 551

14. Evaluate the success of a named protected area.

Page 442 of 551

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

PAST PAPER QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 3.4

Page 443 of 551

Page 444 of 551
Page 445 of 551
Page 446 of 551
Page 447 of 551
Identify four factors that can lead to the loss of biological diversity in an area, giving an
example of each.
Award [1] for each factor plus example.
volcanic eruption (e.g. Mount St Helens/Krakatoa);
glaciations (quaternary ice advances in northwest Europe);
meteorite impact (mesozoic impact in the Americas held by some
to be responsible for a major extinction event);
deforestation (northwest highlands of Scotland: “The Great Wood
of Caledon”);
monoculture (West Australian wheat belt/North American prairies);
introduction/escape of non-native species (New Zealand);
pollution (River Thames/reduction of predators through use of
pesticides in 1960s);
over-hunting/collecting (extinction of passenger pigeon in North
America/thyracine in Tasmania);
Any other reasonable suggestion 4 max
When marking be tolerant. Give benefit of the doubt to any apparently
reasonable examples.
Allow [2 max] for appropriate factors but without named examples.

Page 448 of 551

Page 449 of 551
Page 450 of 551
Page 451 of 551
Page 452 of 551
Page 453 of 551
Page 454 of 551
Evaluate the role of local support, government agencies and research in the protection of a
named protected area you have studied.

local support: [2 max]

local guides and rangers earn a living assisting tourists within the
park and prevent poaching;
their economic future and the future of the park are intrinsically linked;
they have a positive vested interest in the park;
they have a respect and pride for the park that they view as theirs;
government agencies: [2 max]
government through its employees, wildlife agencies, rangers, guides,
provides the park with security
and infrastructure;
they monitor and control visitor numbers;
co-ordinate anti-poaching activities;
punish poachers;
manage park funding;
maintain communications;
provide resources;
liaise with local groups, non-government groups and international
organizations;
research: [2 max]
scientific research discovers change/damage/stress/new species/
monitors abiotic and biotic conditions within the park;
highlights new information;
research identifies new hazards and new goals;

Page 455 of 551

 produces information that supports the parks existence and informs
management decisions;
helps educate those inside and those outside the park;
Award [4 max] if no named protect area

Evaluate species based conservation as an approach for preserving biodiversity and

suggest why trophy hunting (i.e. hunting animals for sport) may represent an
acceptable method of achieving this goal.

.
species based conservation: [3 max]
concentrates on one or two key species;
usually organisms that possess strong aesthetic qualities, tigers,
bears, pretty birds etc.;
habitat conditions are maximized to meet the needs of the key species;
indirectly such management techniques may benefit many
non-target species and the ecosystem per se;
habitat protection for one species may protect many species;
however, a species based approach may result in a species
being conserved artificially outside its habitat, thus the organism
and not the habitat it belongs in is protected;
trophy hunting: [3 max]
the protection of animals for sport/hunting may also be seen as a
species based approach to conservation;
though the animal is being maintained for economic gain and
pleasure, it is none the less being conserved;
numbers are kept high by managing habitat, controlling predators
providing additional food;
managing habitat for “game” may have benefits for many other species;
game reserves may have less disturbance, less alien species
(e.g. cattle and sheep); 6 max
Expression of ideas [2 max]

Page 456 of 551

Page 457 of 551
Page 458 of 551
Page 459 of 551
CASE STUDIES FOR CHAPTER 3.4- Conservation of Biodiversity

Evaluating a success of a protected area- You need to be able to evaluate a success of a

named protected area

Madagascar’s first community-run, self-sustaining Marine Protected Area

https://californiampas.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Madagascars_first_MPA.pdf

Spectacular rebirth of Belize's coral reefs threatened by tourism and development

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/22/belize-coral-reefs-improving-
grassroots-restoration

How the Belize Barrier Reef beat the endangered list

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/belize-reef-beats-endangered-list-
180969485/

Environmentalists weigh in on the Belize Barrier Reef removal from UNESCO’S In-Danger list

https://www.sanpedrosun.com/environment/2018/06/29/environmentalists-weigh-belize-
barrier-reef-removal-unescos-danger-list/

Goukamma: A success story

https://www.saveourseasmagazine.com/goukamma-success-story/

Page 460 of 551

REFLECTIONS-

What went well:

Even better if:

Page 461 of 551

 TOPIC 4.1 –INTRODUCTION TO WATER SYSTEMS Date:

Significant ideas:

 The hydrological cycle is a system of water flows and storages that may be disrupted by
human activity

Covered
Revised I’m
Objective Statement the
in class confident
notes
Solar radiation drives the hydrological
cycle We
Fresh water only makes up a small fraction have
(approximately 2.6% by volume) of the a
Earth’s water storages
Storages in the hydrological cycle include
organisms and various water bodies
including oceans, groundwater (aquifers),
lakes, soils, rivers, atmosphere, and glaciers
and ice caps
Flows in the hydrological cycle include
evapotranspiration, sublimation,
Knowledge evaporation, condensation, advection
and (wind-blown movement), precipitation,
understanding melting, freezing, flooding, surface run-off,
infiltration, percolation and stream-flow or
currents
Human activities such as agriculture,
deforestation, and urbanization have a
significant impact on surface run-off and
infiltration
Ocean circulation systems are driven by
differences in temperature and salinity.
The resulting difference in water density
drives the ocean conveyor belt, which
distributes heat around the world and thus
affects climate
Discuss human impact on the hydrological
Applications cycle
and Skills Construct and analyze a hydrological cycle
diagram

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water planet. 75% of Earth’s surface is covered with water, only 25% is covered with land.
Where is Earth's water located and in what forms does it exist? You can see how water is
distributed by viewing these bar charts. The left-side bar shows where the water on Earth
exists; about 97 percent of all water is salt water, found in oceans, bays, and saltwater lakes.
Only 3% of all water is freshwater. The middle bar breaks that 3% down into its parts. Almost
69% is locked up (frozen!) in glaciers and icecaps, mainly in Greenland and Antarctica. A little
over 30% of all freshwater is ground water. This leaves 0.9% coming from other sources
(atmosphere, plants and animals, etc.) and a tiny 0.3% of all freshwater coming from surface
water. The right-side bar shows the distribution of the surface water. Notice that only 2% of
the 0.3% of freshwater comes from rivers.

How much of Earth's water is available for our uses ... and in what forms does it exist? You can
best see how water is distributed by viewing these pie charts. We use both surface and ground
water to meet our water needs.

Ground vs. Surface Water

Usable vs. Unusable Water on Earth
Used by Humans

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The left-side pie chart shows that over 99 percent of all water (oceans, seas, ice, and
atmosphere) is not available for our uses. And even of the remaining 0.3 percent (the small slice
in the left pie chart), much of that is out of reach. Most of the water we use in everyday life
comes from rivers. The right-side pie shows that not only do we use surface water to meet
many of our needs; ground water is used as well.

Information taken from http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/

1. What kind of water is most abundant on Earth, freshwater or saltwater?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

2. How do you know from the charts?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

3. Humans can only use freshwater for most needs (drinking, watering animals and
crops, hydroelectric plants, etc.) Much of the freshwater on Earth is “locked up” and
unavailable to be used because it is in what form?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

4. What percentage of Earth’s freshwater is in a frozen form?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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5. What are some examples of surface water as shown in one of the charts?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

6. From the pie charts, what are the sources of water that are usable by humans?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

7. Which of these sources are most used by humans?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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 8. Draw a systems diagram of the water budget and cycle showing the flows and
storages given in the table.
 Make your storage boxes and width of flow arrows correspond to the proportions of
these volumes.
 Label all these storages and flows.

Storages Water volume (km2 x 103)

Snow and ice 27000
Ground water and aquifers 9000
Lakes and rivers 250
Oceans 1350000
Atmosphere 13
Soil 35000
Flows
Precipitation over oceans 385
Precipitation over land 110
Ice melt 2
Surface run off 40
Evapotranspiration over land 70
Evaporation form sea 425

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9. List some of the human impacts on the water cycle.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

10. Case Study

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Use the information in the article and the website to complete the table below outlining the different
causes for the floods:

HUMAN PHYSICAL (Natural)

11. Label each of the currents on the blank ocean currents map by writing the
name next to the arrow.

Choose two different colored pencils. Shade in the arrows that represent the cold-water
currents in one color and the warm-water currents in another color.

Include a key to identify which colors represent the cold and warm currents.

Number Name of Surface Current Characteristic Temperature of

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 Water Transported by Current

1 Kuroshio Current warm

2 California Current cold

3 East Australian Current warm

4 Antarctic Circumpolar Current cold

5 Peru Current (Humboldt) cold

6 Gulf Stream warm

7 Canary Current cold

8 Brazil Current warm

9 Benguela Current cold

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The sun’s energy drives the major wind systems of the atmosphere. Because of Earth’s
spherical shape, the surface is heated unequally. The result is global wind patterns, which cause
winds to blow across the oceans and drive surface ocean currents.

As these currents flow along the edges of continents they affect the land’s climate. Cold-water
currents tend to have a cooling effect on the continental coastlines they border, while warm-
water currents tend to have a warming effect. On the East Coast, the Gulf Stream, which comes
from the equatorial region, carries warm water and keeps the eastern coast of the U.S.
relatively warm. The California Current comes from the polar region and carries cold water
along the West Coast. This is why it is too cold for most people to swim at northern California
beaches.

Deep currents also flow throughout the ocean basins due to differences in the density of
different masses of water. Heating and cooling water affects a body of water’s density. Heating
water causes water molecules to speed up and bounce off of each other more, and thus move
further apart. Therefore, warm water is less dense than cold water. When water is heated, it
becomes less dense and rises. Cooler, denser water sinks. As water is cooled, water molecules
move more slowly and get closer together, becoming more dense and sinking. The process of
warm water rising and cool water sinking forms convection currents. Convection currents
transfer most of the heat energy in the oceans. The process of convection also happens in
atmosphere when warm air rises and cool air sinks.

Adding or subtracting certain materials to water, such as salt, can also change a body of water’s
density. If salt is added to fresh water, the amount of matter within the space the water
occupies is increased, since salt molecules are crowded into the same space as the water. This
makes salt water more dense than fresh water. Oceanographers use the word salinity to
describe the amount of salt in water.

Deep ocean currents form as colder, more saline water masses sink and warmer, less saline
water masses rise. Warmer water masses are found near equatorial regions and colder water
masses are found near polar regions. More saline water masses are found in areas where there
is a lot of evaporation or in polar areas where ice is formed. Less saline water is found where
there is more precipitation or river input.

Currents and Earth’s Climate

Together, the surface and deep currents of the oceans distribute heat. The ocean regulates
global climate by absorbing and releasing heat as the water is transported around the Earth.
The surface ocean currents have a strong effect on Earth’s climate. Areas near the equator
receive more heat than areas near the poles. However, these areas are not constantly getting

Page 470 of 551

warmer. This is because the oceans and winds transport heat around the Earth from lower
latitudes near the equator to higher latitudes near the pole.

The deep (density) ocean currents also have a strong effect on Earth’s climate. Water in the
North Atlantic Ocean is cold and salty. This colder, salty water sinks because of its greater
density. It then flows southward deep in the ocean. This deep current flows throughout the
Earth’s oceans and eventually mixes with the surface currents and helps return surface water to
the North Atlantic. This “great ocean conveyer belt” circulation of water moves heat around the
Earth. One drop of ocean water in the North Atlantic Ocean takes about 1000 years to return to
the same spot.

Scientists do not completely understand this flow of water, but they do believe that if Earth’s
atmosphere continues to warm, water will not sink as much in the North Atlantic Ocean. This
may cause the global flow of ocean water to slow, drastically changing Earth’s climate.
Scientists think that if the conveyor slows or stops, the warmer surface water would not be

Page 471 of 551

propelled back toward the north Atlantic through the Gulf Stream. This could cause Europe to
be frozen.

Over the past few million years, ocean currents have flowed in the same general patterns.
Some small changes have occurred as Earth’s climate has slowly varied between ice ages and
warmer periods. Today, however, we are facing a situation unlike any in the past. Due to an
increased amount of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere, the Earth’s temperature is rising,
causing the oceans to also warm. Warmer ocean temperatures will have a great effect on
currents, sea level, and the climate on Earth.

12. What are the two types of ocean current?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

13. What seems to determine whether a current carries warm or cold water?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Page 472 of 551

14.Find the United States on the map. Look at the pattern of currents in the Northern
Hemisphere. What current affects the eastern coast of the United States? How do
you think this current affects the climate on the east coast?

................................................................................................................................................................................

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

15. Look at the pattern of currents in the Northern Hemisphere. What current affects
the western coast of the United States? How do you think this current affects the
climate in the western coast?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

16.At what locations on the Earth would you expect to find very cold and saline
water entering the ocean? How would this water cause the deep currents in the
ocean?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Page 473 of 551

17. Explain thermohaline circulation.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

18.How do surface currents affect the Earth’s climate?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

19. How can deep density driven currents affect Earth’s Climate?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

20. What is the great ocean conveyor belt?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

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21. List some examples of what El Niño can do to the weather of the world.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

22. How does El Nino develop?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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Page 475 of 551

23. Draw a sketch of the ocean under normal, El Niño and La Niña conditions and label
the Thermocline.

24. Estimate the latitude where warm El Niño water is located.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

25. During which months do ocean surface elevations begin to rise along the equator,
indicating the beginning of an El Niño?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Page 476 of 551

 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

26. During which months does El Nino end and La Nina begin?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

27. Describe the thermocline during normal, El Niño, and La Niña phases.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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28. Describe changes in ocean temperatures characterizing each phase.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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Page 477 of 551

29. Choose one of the images or animations, and describe how it illustrates a particular
part of the El Niño-La Niña cycle.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

30. How does the North Pacific jet stream change from the mean during the January-
March 1998 phase of the El Niño?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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31. Compare temperature and precipitation patterns around equatorial Southeast Asia
during El Niño and La Niña.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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32. What is upwelling?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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33. Why does upwelling occur?

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34. What is a thermocline? How does it affect sea surface temperatures?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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35. How are layers of the ocean divided?

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36. Why does a deeper thermocline (seen in El Nino years) affect fish?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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Page 480 of 551

QUESTIONS FROM PAST PAPER ON CHAPTER 4.1

Page 481 of 551

Page 482 of 551
REFLECTIONS-

What went well:

Even better if:

Page 483 of 551

 TOPIC 4.2 –ACCESS TO FRESHWATER Date-

Significant ideas:

 The supplies of freshwater resources are inequitably available and unevenly distributed,
which can lead to conflict and concerns over water security
 Freshwater resources can be sustainably managed using a variety of different
approaches

Covered
Revised I’m
Objective Statement the
in class confident
notes
Access to an adequate supply of freshwater
varies widely
Climate change may disrupt rainfall
patterns and further affect this access
As population, irrigation, and
industrialization increase, the demand for
freshwater increases
Freshwater supplies may become limited
through contamination and unsustainable
Knowledge
abstraction
and
Water supplies can be enhanced through
understanding
reservoirs, redistribution, desalination,
artificial recharge of aquifers and rainwater
harvesting. Water conservation (including
grey water recycling) can help to reduce
demand but often requires a change in
attitude by the water consumers
The scarcity of water resources can lead to
conflict between human populations
particularly when sources are shared
Evaluate the strategies which can be used
to meet increasing demand for freshwater
Applications
Discuss, with reference to a case study,
and Skills
how shared freshwater resources have
given rise to international conflict

Page 484 of 551

 1. Define water scarcity as a concept.

………………………………………………………………………………..

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2. Read the following article from http://www.gracelinks.org/2380/the-impact-of-

climate-change-on-water-resources

The relationship between water, energy, agriculture and climate is a significant one. More and
more, that relationship is falling out of balance jeopardizing food, water and energy security.
Climate change is a phenomenon we can no longer deny as its effects have become increasingly
evident worldwide. On the list of warmest years on record, almost every year since 1992 is
included and, according to NASA and NOAA data, 2015 was the hottest.

As the earth's temperature continues to rise, we can expect a significant impact on our fresh
water supplies with the potential for devastating effects on these resources. As temperatures
increase, evaporation increases, sometimes resulting in droughts. The US is currently in one of
the most severe, multi-state, multi-year droughts in decades.

In addition, rising temperatures are melting glacial ice at an unprecedented rate. Glaciers are an
important source of freshwater worldwide, and some, like those at Glacier National Park, are in
danger of disappearing within the 21st century. Once these glaciers have melted away, they can't
be restored. Areas that previously depended on glaciers for freshwater will then have to seek
other sources.

More than 50 percent of the world's freshwater comes from mountain runoff and snowmelt.

Complicating this potential outcome is the prediction that in a warmer environment, more
precipitation will occur as rain rather than snow. Although more rain than snow may seem like a
plus, it could mean more frequent water shortages. When snow and ice collect on mountaintops,
water is released slowly into reservoirs as it melts throughout the spring and summer. When rain
falls, reservoirs fill quickly to capacity in the winter, which can also result in excess water runoff
that can't be stored. Because rain flows faster than melting snow, higher levels of soil moisture
and groundwater recharge are less likely to occur. Areas that rely on snowmelt as their primary
freshwater source could increasingly experience water shortages, like having low water supplies
by summer's end.

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The relationship between climate change and water doesn't end there. The systems used to treat
and move public water supplies require large amounts of energy, produced mainly by burning
coal, natural gas, oil and other fossil fuels. So, when we use water we also use energy and
contribute to climate change. In addition, bottled water is a small but real contributor to
greenhouse gas emissions, because it takes fuel to make plastic bottles and ship them around the
country (and even the world). This is unnecessary when you consider that bottled water is often
just filtered tap water.

There's a lot we can do to reduce emissions, prevent climate change and protect our threatened
freshwater sources. Using less energy is a great place to start. This can be done by turning off
lights, better insulating our homes to conserve heat and air conditioning, driving more fuel
efficient cars and driving less. Cars and light trucks (like vans and SUVs) are responsible for
about 20 percent of U.S. energy-related carbon emissions. In addition, eating lower on the food
chain, even going meatless just one day a week can have a significant impact on environmental
resources because industrial meat production has significant greenhouse gas emissions associated
with it.

Conserving water, food and other resources is an important step towards reducing overall energy
use, because most everything that is made, transported and thrown away requires the use of fuel
and water. By carpooling, using public transportation, driving less, and reducing our
consumption of food and consumer goods, each individual can make an impact on curbing
greenhouse gases.

Summarise the article in five bullet points.

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 3. Match up potential solutions with the issues listed below by writing the number(s) into
the spaces provided.
ISSUES Number SOLUTIONS
Climate change may be disrupting 1. Increase freshwater supplies by:
rainfall patterns, even changing  Reservoirs
monsoon rains, causing further  Redistribution
inequality of supplies  Desalination
 Rainwater harvesting
systems
 Artificially recharging
aquifers
Low water levels in rivers and streams 2. Reduce domestic use of
freshwater by using water efficient
appliances
Slow water flow in the lower courses 3. Wash cars in car washes with a
of river results in sedimentation, which closed water system
makes the already shallow river even
shallower and may extend deltas
further into the sea
Underground aquifers are being 4. Grey water recycling
exhausted (affects agriculture,
damages buildings and shrinking soil)
Pumping rates form aquifers too fast 5. Irrigation
causing a cone of exhaustion making  Closed pipes instead of open
the well unusable canals
 Trickle systems instead of
sprinklers/sprayers
 Subsurface drip irrigation
Freshwater becomes contaminated 6. Reduce fertilizer and pesticide use
Irrigation results in soil degradation Prevent overspray (so fertilizers and
Water evaporates before it has a pesticides don’t end up in streams)
chance to be absorbed causing
salinization (rendering soil unusable
for agriculture)
Fertilizers and pesticides pollute 7. Replace chemical fertilizers with
streams and rivers organic ones
Industries release pollutants into water 8. Use highly selective pesticides or
bodies biological control methods
Industry and electricity plants release 9. Industries can removes pollutants
warm water into rivers. from their wastewater with water
treatment plants
10. Regulate maximum
temperatures of released cooling

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 water, cooling towers that
evaporate the water can be used

4.
Key Term Definition
Redistribution of
water

Desalination

Artificial recharge
of aquifers

Rainwater
harvesting

Grey water

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5. Which countries have few problems with water scarcity?

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6. Which countries have physical water scarcity?

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7. Which countries are approaching physical water scarcity?

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8. Which countries have economic water scarcity?

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 9.

The demand for freshwater has grown extremely quickly in the last 100 years.

State three reasons for why you think this is…

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

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10. What does sustainability mean?

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11. Why is global freshwater use increasing?

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12. What is freshwater degradation?

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13. What causes water scarcity?

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 14. CASE STUDIES:
https://oxfamblogs.org/education/water_for_all/water/problem/index_pupil.htm

DAMS WAR HEALTH AND HYGEINE

Problems: Problems: Problems:

Solutions: Solutions: Solutions:

DROUGHT TOURISM AND TRADE LARGE SCALE IRRIGATION

Problems: Problems: Problems:

Solutions: Solutions: Solutions:

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 15.

Discuss, with reference to a case study, how shared freshwater resources have given rise to
international conflict

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Page 495 of 551
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QUESTIONS FROM PAST PAPER ON CHAPTER 4.2

Page 497 of 551

Page 498 of 551
Describe, with examples, how human population growth affects the world’s fresh water
resources.

an increase in the following activities makes demands on the

supplies of fresh water:
agriculture (irrigation);
provision of water for stock;
increased industrialization (manufactured products);
public uses such as street cleaning, watering of parks;
enlargement of urban areas;
Any other reasonable points, e.g.
increase in population has contributed to large increase in
pollution e.g. eutrophication;
industrial and sewage pollution of rivers;

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 contamination of aquifers by industrial activities e.g. leaking fuel
tanks, heavy metals;
excessive water pumping of aquifers leading to salination of
water in coastal areas;
in some areas water use is exceeding available supplies;
this leads to political difficulties; 7 max

Describe and explain how food production systems and fresh water resources can be
managed sustainably.
(10)
food production:
crops or animals are renewable resources;
food can be produced sustainably provided that farming procedures
do not cause long-term damage to soil;
e.g. use of contour plowing techniques;
salinisation of soils can be caused by excessive irrigation;
restrictions on hunting/fishing of wild populations (e.g. fish)
may be needed to conserve breeding stock;
lower density stocking of animals needed to minimize damage
to soil/vegetation;
Any other appropriate examples.
fresh water:
fresh water resources are replenished by the water cycle;
fresh water is used sustainably if the rate of extraction is no
greater than the rate of replenishment;
e.g. by aquifer recharge, rainfall etc.;
over-exploitation of aquifers in coastal areas can cause intrusion
of salt water;
lowering of water table;
e.g. parts of coastal western Australia;
over-extraction of river water reduces flow downstream/
affects ecosystems/affects fishing;
e.g. Murray River;
water can be used more sustainably by reducing wastage;
e.g. more water-efficient appliances (low flush toilets, water
saving taps etc.);
use of grey or recycled water for purposes other than drinking
and cooking;
mending leaks;
drip irrigation systems; 10 max
Allow any other valid points and examples.
Award [7 max] if only food or water are discussed.

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With reference to a named case study, describe how water resources are being used unsustainably.
(6)

e.g. the Aral Sea, Former Soviet Union;

sustainable use of water resources means using them at a rate
that allows natural regeneration and minimizes damage to
the environment;
this has not happened in the Aral Sea which has been
shrinking in size due to excessive removal of water from
feeder rivers;
water was taken and used to irrigate cotton fields by the
Soviet government;
high rates of evaporation together with high applications of
chemical fertilizers led to salinization;
and pollution of remaining water resources;
this has had a knock-on effect on local communities as water
supplies were decimated;
and local farming and fishing industries collapsed; 6 max

CASE STUDIES FOR CHAPTER 4.2 - Access to fresh water

a) Inequalities in water supply-
Access to drinking water around the world – in five infographics
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/
2017/mar/17/access-to-drinking-water-world-six-infographics

More than 800m people need to travel 30 mins for safe water, report finds
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/mar/21/more-than-
800m-people-need-to-travel-30-mins-for-safe-water-report-finds

Reducing Inequalities in Water Supply,

Sanitation, and Hygiene in the era of the Sustainable Development Goals
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/27831/
W17076ov.pdf

b) Conflicts arising from shared water resources

Dispute over Water in the Nile Basin-
https://factbook.ecc-platform.org/conflicts/dispute-over-water-nile-basin

Water Shortages and Public Discontent in Yemen

https://factbook.ecc-platform.org/conflicts/water-shortages-public-
discontent-yemen

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Turkey, Syria and Iraq: Conflict over the Euphrates-Tigris
https://factbook.ecc-platform.org/conflicts/turkey-syria-and-iraq-conflict-
over-euphrates-tigris

Transboundary Water Disputes between Afghanistan and Iran

https://factbook.ecc-platform.org/conflicts/transboundary-water-disputes-
between-afghanistan-and-iran

Dam projects and disputes in the Mekong River Basin

https://factbook.ecc-platform.org/conflicts/mekong-river-basin-
contemporary-dam-disputes

Dispute over Water in the Cauvery Basin in India

https://factbook.ecc-platform.org/conflicts/interstate-dispute-over-water-
cauvery-basin-india

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REFLECTIONS-

What went well:

Even better if:

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TOPIC 4.3 –AQUATIC FOOD PRODUCTION SYSTEMS Date:

Significant ideas:

 Aquatic ecosystems provide a source of food production

 Unsustainable use of aquatic ecosystems can lead to environmental degradation and
collapse of wild fisheries
 Aquaculture provides potential for increased food production

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 Covered
Revised I’m
Objective Statement the
in class confident
notes
Demand for aquatic food resources
continues to increase as human population
grows and diet changes
Photosynthesis by phytoplankton supports
a highly diverse range of food webs
Aquatic (freshwater and marine) flora and
fauna are harvested by humans
The highest rates of productivity are found
near the coast or in shallow seas where
upwellings and nutrient enrichment of
surface waters occurs
Harvesting some species can be
controversial e.g. seals and whales. Ethical
issues arise over biorights, rights of
indigenous cultures and international
conservation legislation
Knowledge Developments in fishingequipment and
and changes to fishing methods have led to
understanding dwindling fish stocks and damage to
habitats
Unsustainableexploitation of aquatic
systems can be mitigated at a variety of
levels (international, national, local and
individual) through policy, legislation and
changes in consumer behavior
Aquaculture has grown to provide
additional food resources and support
economic development and is expected to
continue to rise
Issues around aquaculture include loss of
habitats, pollution (with feed, antifouling
agents, antibiotics and other medicines
added to the fish pens), spread of diseases
and escaped species (some involving
genetically modified organisms)
Discuss with reference to a case study, the
controversial harvesting of a named species
Evaluate strategies that can be used to
Applications avoid unsustainable fishing
and Skills Explain the potential value of aquaculture
for providing food for future generations
Page 505 of 551
Discuss a case study that demonstrates the
impact of aquaculture
1. Distinguish between phytoplankton and zooplankton.

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2. Use the information in the table below to construct a marine food web

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 3. Define Fishery.

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4. Describe each of the fishing methods below

Method Description

Dredging

Gillnets

Trawling

Blast fishing

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 5. Discuss with reference to a case study the controversial harvesting of a named species.

Hunting whales is irrelevant to feeding Japan's population, draws global condemnation

and is certainly not economic. So why does Japan still do it?

The answer from the Japanese government is that whaling is an ancient part of Japanese culture,
that fishermen have caught whales for centuries, and that Japan will never allow foreigners to tell
its people what they can and cannot eat.

One Japanese official once said to me: "Japanese people never eat rabbits, but we don't tell
British people that they shouldn't". I pointed out that rabbits are not exactly an endangered
species.

Still, there is some merit to the government's argument.

A number of coastal communities in Japan have indeed hunted whales for centuries, and
continue to do so. Taiji in Wakayama prefecture is well known, many would say infamous, for
its annual dolphin hunts. There are other places, in Chiba Prefecture and in Ishinomaki in
northern Japan, that also do coastal whaling.

So, yes, coastal whaling is part of Japanese culture, like Norway and Iceland and the Inuit of
northern Canada. But only Japan continues to sail a fleet of ships half way across the globe to
hunt whales in the Antarctic and maintains a large factory ship that can process hundreds of
whales at sea.

Nothing about these Antarctic whaling expeditions is historic. Japan's first whaling voyage to the
Antarctic took place in the mid-1930s but the really huge hunts didn't get going until after World
War Two.

Japan lay in ruins, its population starving. With the encouragement of General Douglas
MacArthur, Japan converted two huge US Navy tankers into factory ships and set sail for the
Southern Ocean.

From the late 1940s to the mid-1960s whale meat was the single biggest source of meat in Japan.
At its peak in 1964 Japan killed more than 24,000 whales in one year, most of them enormous fin
whales and sperm whales.

Today Japan can afford to import meat from Australia and America. There is no deep-sea
commercial whaling in Japan. The fleet that is now hunting in Antarctic waters is paid for by
Japanese taxpayers to carry out what the Japanese government describes as "scientific research".

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Japan's other justification is that it needs to kill hundreds of whales each year to study them. But
the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has systematically dismantled that argument. In 2014 it
ruled that there was no scientific case for Japan's programme of "lethal research" in the Southern
Ocean, and ordered Tokyo to stop.

For a year Japan stopped. But last year it sent its fleet to sea again insisting, to widespread
disbelief, that its new, smaller, Antarctic whaling programme satisfies the ICJ's requirements.

Junko Sakuma used to work for Greenpeace in Japan. For the last 10 years she has been
researching Japan's whaling industry.

"There is no benefit to Japan from whaling...but nobody knows how to quit," she tells me at
Tokyo's famously chaotic Tsukiji fish market, the biggest in the world renowned for its pre-dawn
tuna auctions.

Of the thousands of fish wholesalers in Tsukiji only two still deal in whale meat.

At one stand we find a few large hunks of minke whale meat, deep red and oozing blood. At the
next there are two long slabs of lighter-coloured fin whale meat, an endangered species its
trading banned by CITES.

Business is bad, complains the stall owner. Last year Japan caught no whales in the Antarctic, so
there is less minke whale meat available, he says.

If there is a whale meat shortage, the price should be soaring. But according to Junko it is not.

"The fact is, most Japanese people do not eat whale meat," she says. "Consumption has been
falling for years," and adds that "even as the amount of whale meat decreases, the price doesn't
go up".

According to Junko's research, the average consumption of whale meat by Japanese people in
2015 was just 30g (one ounce) per person.

If eating whale is such an integral part of Japanese culture, why are so few eating it?

I turn to my old friend Etsuo Kato. Over the 20 years we have known each other he has, on
occasion, tried to persuade me to eat whale meat with him. Kato-San grew up in Kita-Kyushu in
western Japan, close to the big whaling port at Shimonoseki.

We are sitting in a cosy restaurant in Tokyo's notorious red light district, Kabukicho. Above us
hangs a very large, and rather ancient, mummified whale penis. On the wall are picture of
whales.

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The first plate to arrive is whale sashimi - it is raw. The owner points to the different delicacies;
steak, heart, tongue and even raw whale skin.

My stomach turns, but I steel myself. Gingerly, I put a bit of raw whale steak into my mouth. It
has a strong gamey flavour, chewy and fibrous. Next, I try the tongue. It is salty and fishy. Kato-
San points to the heart. I politely decline.

"When I was a child I ate this every day," he says. "Meat meant whale meat. I didn't know what
beef was, or pork. Steak was whale steak, bacon meant whale bacon."

But if Japan stopped whale hunting you would be sad?

He looks at me smiling and gently shaking his head.

"I don't need whale hunting" he says. "Once you have eaten beef there is no need to eat whale
meat."

The other customers in the restaurant are all middle-aged salary men. Eating a bit of whale meat
is nostalgic, remembering school meals 50 years ago.

So I come back again to my original question: why does Japan still do it?

Recently I was at a private briefing with a high-ranking member of the Japanese government.
Japan had just announced it was going to resuming whaling. I outlined to him why I thought it
made no sense, and asked him to respond. His answer was astonishingly frank.

"I agree with you," he said. "Antarctic whaling is not part of Japanese culture. It is terrible for
our international image and there is no commercial demand for the meat. I think in another 10
years there will be no deep sea whaling in Japan."

"So why not stop now?" asked another journalist.

"There are some important political reasons why it is difficult to stop now." he said. He would
say no more.

But Junko Sakuma thinks the answer lies in the fact that Japan's whaling is government-run, a
large bureaucracy with research budgets, annual plans, promotions and pensions.

"If the number of staff in a bureaucrat's office decreases while they are in charge, they feel
tremendous shame," she says.

"Which means most of the bureaucrats will fight to keep the whaling section in their ministry at
all costs. And that is true with the politicians as well. If the issue is closely related to their
Page 510 of 551
constituency, they will promise to bring back commercial whaling. It is a way of keeping their
seats."

It may seem incredibly banal. But Japan's determination to continue whaling may come down to
a handful of MPs from whaling constituencies and a few hundred bureaucrats who don't want to
see their budgets cut.

a) What is the main controversy surrounding Japan’s whaling programme?

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b) What reasons are given for the existence of the whaling programme?

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c) Is governmental policy on whaling supported by the Japanese population?

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d) What does RFMO stand for?

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e) What is the role of an RFMO?

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f) List three factors that make it difficult to enforce fishing regulations.

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g) What is the role of the NPAFC?

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h) What is by catch?

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i) How does the NPAFC plan to make salmon fishing sustainable?

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6. Define Aquaculture

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7. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of aquaculture in a table

Advantages of aquaculture Disadvantages of aquaculture

8. Enlist four strategies for combating overfishing

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9. Discuss a case study that demonstrates the impact of aquaculture.

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10. Maximum sustainable yield

Define sustainable yield

11.

Define maximum sustainable yield

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 12.

Define optimum sustainable yield

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13. Describe the relationship between MSY and k

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14. Why is it difficult to calculate k for a population of fish?

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Page 517 of 551

Questions from past papers on Chapter 4.3

Page 518 of 551

Page 519 of 551
CASE STUDIES FROM CHAPTER 4.3- Aquatic food production systems

a) Overfishing- Case studies - named species whose populations declined due to

overfishing
90% of fish stocks are used up – fisheries subsidies must stop emptying the ocean

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/07/fish-stocks-are-used-up-fisheries-subsidies-must-
stop/

The state of world fisheries and aquaculture

http://www.fao.org/state-of-fisheries-aquaculture

Fisheries: The lessons of the Grand Banks

http://oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/3526/
Fisheries:_The_lessons_of_the_Grand_Banks.html

The Collapse of the Grand Banks Cod Fishery

https://britishseafishing.co.uk/the-collapse-of-the-grand-banks-cod-fishery/

Where have all the Orange Roughy gone?

http://savethedeepsea.blogspot.com/2011/07/where-have-all-orange-roughy-gone.html

Rough Going for Orange Roughy

https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/fish/rough-going-orange-roughy

Orange roughy

https://www.afma.gov.au/fisheries-management/species/orange-roughy

Orange roughy – a ‘sustainable’ fish certification too far

https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/orange-roughy-sustainable-fish-certification-too-far-
20160621/

b) Impacts of aquaculture-
https://wwf.panda.org/our_work/markets/mti_solutions/certification/seafood/
aquaculture/impacts/

Impact of Aquaculture and Contemporary environmental issues in Bangladesh

http://www.fisheriesjournal.com/archives/2017/vol5issue4/PartB/5-3-103-566.pdf

Murky Waters: Shrimp Farming in Bangladesh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlX7nkxAqWY&t=390s

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 Salmon farming in crisis: 'We are seeing a chemical arms race in the seas
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/01/is-farming-salmon-bad-for-
the-environment

Skye salmon farms approved despite warnings of 'irrecoverable damage'

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/18/skye-salmon-farms-
approved-despite-warnings-of-irrecoverable-damage

Salmon farmers ‘put wild fish at risk’ in fight to kill off sea lice
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/10/salmon-farmers-put-wild-
wrasse-at-risk--sea-lice-scotland-anglers

c) Whaling- Japan

Australia considers legal action against Japan's decision to resume whaling

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/07/australia-considers-legal-
action-against-japans-decision-to-resume-whaling

Japan asked to prove its whaling is for scientific research

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/19/japan-asked-to-prove-
whaling-for-scientific-research

Japan confirms it will quit IWC to resume commercial whaling

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/26/japan-confirms-it-will-quit-
iwc-to-resume-commercial-whaling

Subsistence whaling

Small-scale whaling in north America- http://www.fao.org/3/Y1290E/y1290e0f.htm

Whale hunting in Alaska: Point Hope, the village caught between tradition and
climate change
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/jul/16/alaska-point-hope-whaling-climate

People of the Whale – a portrait of traditional hunting in Alaska

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/feb/04/people-of-the-whale-a-
portrait-of-traditional-hunting-in-alaska?
fbclid=IwAR2Nri283BtJ5wywDVU12fIHa1FuL8DnfXLbyFC_Iv6jLjGMoSP0OuY
K6XA

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REFLECTIONS-

What went well:

Even better if:

Page 522 of 551

TOPIC 4.4 –WATER POLLUTION Date:

Significant ideas:

 Water pollution, both groundwater and surface water, is a major global problem the
effects of which influence human and other biological systems

Page 523 of 551

 Covered
Revised I’m
Objective Statement the
in class confident
notes
There are a variety of freshwater and
marine pollution sources
Types of aquatic pollutants include
organic material, inorganic plant nutrients
(nitrates and phosphates), toxic metals,
synthetic compounds, suspended solids,
hot water, oil, radioactive pollution,
pathogens, light, noise, and biological
(invasive species)
A wide range of parameters can be used
to directly test the quality of aquatic
ecosystems, including pH, temperature,
suspended solids (turbidity), metals,
nitrates and phosphates
Biodegradation of organic material
utilizes oxygen which can lead to anoxic
conditions and subsequent anaerobic
decomposition which leads to formation
of methane, hydrogen sulphide and
ammonia (toxic gases)
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is a
measure of the amount of dissolved
oxygen required to break down the
organic material in a given volume of
water through aerobic biological activity.
BOD is sued to indirectly measure the
amount of organic matter within a sample
Some species can be indicative of
Knowledge polluted waters and be used as indicator
and species
understanding A biotic index indirectly measures
pollution by assaying the impact on
species within the community according
to their tolerance, diversity and relative
abundance
Eutrophication can occur when lakes,
estuaries and coastal waters receive
inputs of nutrients (nitrates and
phosphates) which result in an excess
growth of plants and phytoplankton
Dead zones in both oceans and
freshwater can occur when there is not
enough oxygen to support marine life
Application of pollution management
strategies to include:
1. Reducing human activities that
produce pollutants (e.g.
Page 524 of 551
alternatives to current fertilisers
and detergents)
2. reducing release of pollution into
 1. Define the following types of pollution with an example of each

Type Definition Example

anthropogenic

point source

non-point source

organic

inorganic

direct

indirect

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2. Describe the difference between direct and indirect measurements of water pollution

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3. Give some examples of indirect and direct measurements of water pollution

Direct Indirect

4. Define B.O.D.

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5. How is B.O.D calculated?

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6. How is B.O.D measured?

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Page 527 of 551

 7. Below is the diagram of a river and its surrounding area

The river flows from west to east and passes a factory, arable farmland and woodland. It has
been divided into four sections, labelled A, B, C and D.

The river is going to be surveyed to assess its water quality, using the following invertebrates as
indicators of different pollution levels:

High pollution Moderate pollution Slight pollution Unpolluted

Sludgeworm Water louse Freshwater shrimp Mayfly larva
Rat-tailed maggot Bloodworm Caddisfly larva Stonefly larva

Referring to the river diagram and the table above, answer the following questions:

1. If the factory is polluting the river and reducing oxygen levels, which species might you
expect to find in the different sections of the river?

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2. If mayfly larvae have been found to be abundant in section B, what might this tell you?

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3. High numbers of sludgeworms and bloodworms were found in section C. What possible
explanations might there be?

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4. How could you investigate this further?

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5. Both fertilisers and pesticides are used on the arable farmland. Explain how these could
potentially affect invertebrates living in the river.

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6. Who might want to survey the river to find out if the water is polluted?

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 7. Can you think of any other species which could be used to indicate that the river is clean
and healthy? Explain your answer.

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8. The Hilsenhoff Biotic Index (HBI) estimates the overall tolerance of the community in a
sampled area, weighted by the relative abundance of each taxonomic group (family,
genus, etc.). Organisms are assigned a tolerance number from 0 to 10 pertaining to that
group's known sensitivity to organic pollutants; 0 being most sensitive, 10 being most
tolerant.

An example of how one would use this equation to calculate a biotic index looking at
water quality of a stream

Can you complete the rest of the table?

Species (taxa) Tolerance Value (a) Specimens (n) Product (n x a)

Stonefly 2 5 10
Mayfly 4 3
Caddisfly 3 7
Total Tn =15 T(nxa)
 
To calculate the Hilsenhoff Biotic Index number (HBI):

Divide the total product T (n x a) by the total number of specimens (Tn)

HBI = _____________

Use the table below to determine the health of the stream in the example above:

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9. The water quality rating of the stream is __________________________

10. Other than pollution, why else may indicator species be absent from a specific area?

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11. What is the impact of the answer on the reliability of using indicator species to assess
water quality?

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12. Explain the process and impacts of Eutrophication.

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13.

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14. Figure 1 below shows the estimated biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) for a
series of point and non-point sources along the river Mersey.

(a) (i) Define what is meant by the term biochemical oxygen demand.

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(ii) Using figure 1, complete the scatter graph below by adding data for trade
effluent from Widnes and for trade effluent from Ellesmere Port and Stanlow.

Figure 2. Selected BOD values for the river Mersey.

(iii) Suggest one reason why the BOD values for the Manchester Ship Canal
and the “river upstream” are so different.

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(1)

(iv) Suggest why some sites contribute more pollution to the river Mersey
than others.

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(2)

(b) (i) Define what is meant by the term eutrophication.

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(1)

(ii) State one way in which humans can accelerate the process of
eutrophication.

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(1)

(iii) Outline and evaluate how eutrophication can be controlled from

• an ecocentric perspective

• a technocentric perspective.

Ecocentric:

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Technocentric: ..................................................................................................

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 15. For the empty evaluation column, try and right one advantage and disadvantage for each
of the management strategies listed

Strategy
for
Example of action Evaluation of strategy
reducing
pollution
Ban or limit detergents with
phosphates

Use eco detergents with no

phosphates or new technology in
washing machines
Altering
Plant buffer zones between the fields
the human
and water courses to absorb excess
activity
nutrients
producing
pollution
Stop leaching of slurry (animal waste)
or sewage from their sources

Educate farmers about more

effective timing for fertilizer
application

Treat wastewater before release to

remove phosphates and nitrates
Regulating
Divert or treat sewage waste
and
effectively
reducing
pollutants
Minimize fertilizer dosage on
at point of
agricultural lands or use organic
emission
matter instead

Pumping air through lakes

Dredging sediments with high

Clean up
nutrient levels from the river and lake
and
beds
restoratio
Remove excess weeds physically or
n
by herbicides and algicides
Restock ponds or water bodies with
appropriate organisms

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QUESTIONS FROM PAST PAPER ON CHAPTER 4.4

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 CASE STUDIES OF CHAPTER 4.4- WATER POLLUTION

a) Eutrophication- You should be able to explain the process and impacts of

eutrophication

Eutrophication in the Baltic Sea: Revealing linkages to our food system and
consumption

https://gridarendal.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?
appid=754d823a47264d0b85466c80a4675381

Eutrophication: Causes, Consequences, and Controls in Aquatic Ecosystems

https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/eutrophication-causes-
consequences-and-controls-in-aquatic-102364466

Nitrate pollution raises water bills

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2003/aug/11/
sciencenews.theguardianlifesupplement1

How animal waste is helping turn China's lakes green

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/31/eutrophication-algae-
how-animal-waste-is-turning-chinas-lakes-green

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 b) Damage to marine environment

Plastic pollution discovered at deepest point of ocean

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/20/plastic-pollution-
mariana-trench-deepest-point-ocean

Microplastic pollution in oceans is far worse than feared, say scientists

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/12/microplastic-
pollution-in-oceans-is-far-greater-than-thought-say-scientists

Microplastic toxins leave shellfish at mercy of predators – research

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/28/microplastic-toxins-leave-
shellfish-at-mercy-of-predators-research

‘Stop treating seas as a sewer,’ MPs urge in bid for protection treaty

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/17/stop-treating-seas-as-a-
sewer-mps-urge-in-bid-for-protection-treaty

'Dead zone' in Gulf of Mexico will take decades to recover from farm pollution

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/22/dead-zone-gulf-of-mexico-
decades-recover-study

Toxic 'red tide' blamed for rise of manatee deaths in Florida

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/aug/20/manatee-deaths-toxic-red-tide-
algae-bloom-florida

Oceans suffocating as huge dead zones quadruple since 1950, scientists warn

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/04/oceans-suffocating-dead-
zones-oxygen-starved

Meat industry blamed for largest-ever 'dead zone' in Gulf of Mexico

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/01/meat-industry-dead-zone-
gulf-of-mexico-environment-pollution

Newfoundland oil spill: biologists fear scale of devastation may never be known

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/20/newfoundland-oil-spill-latest-
damage-wildlife

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Environment- This is the worst oil disaster you’ve never heard of

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/28/worst-oil-disaster-youve-
never-heard-of-taylor-energy-gulf-of-mexico

Deepwater Horizon disaster altered building blocks of ocean life

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/28/bp-deepwater-horizon-oil-
spill-report

China: oil slick from sunken tanker trebles in siz

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/22/china-oil-slick-from-sunken-tanker-
trebles-in-size

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REFLECTIONS-

What went well:

Even better if:

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