Term
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Definition
| interbreeding with and competition from escaped farm-raised salmon from the aquaculture industry threaten the wild salmon population |
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Term
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Definition
| reasons for decline include shooting, posioning, lead poisoning, collisions with power lines, egg collecting, pesticides, habitat loss, and the decline of large and medium sized native mammals due to encroachments of agriculture and urbanizations |
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Term
| Delhi Sands Flower-Loving Fly |
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Definition
| a 1-inch long insect currently restricting to only 12 known populations in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. An estimated 98% of its habitat has been converted to residential, agricultural, and commercial use |
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Term
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Definition
| hunting and developing that resulted in habitat loss and fragmentation |
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Term
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Definition
| subject of predator eradication programs sponsored by the Federal government. Prior to Endangered Species Act (1973), exterminated from the lower 48 states except for a few hundred inhabiting extreme northeastern Minnesota and a small number on Isle Royale, Michigan |
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Term
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Definition
| conflict with humans and development that resulted in habitat loss and fragmentation |
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Definition
| predation and human disturbance are thought to be the main causes of the plover's decline. It is listed as endangered in the Great Lakes region and as threatened in the Great Plains and on the Atlantic coast |
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Term
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Definition
| initial population decreases resulted from over harvesting for meat, oil, and leather. Today heavy mortality occurs from accidental collisions with boats and barges, and from canal lock operations |
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Term
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Definition
| drainage of wetlands conversion of grassland to agriculture and hunting for feathers |
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Term
| American Alligator (Not endangered_ |
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Definition
| overhunting and destruction of habitat caused original listing, removed from the list of endangered species by the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1987 |
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Term
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Definition
| ingested DDT by eating contaminated fish. The pesticide caused the shells of the bird's eggs to thin and resulted in nestling failures. Loss of nesting habitat and hunting for feathers also contributed to the population decline. Reclassified from endangered to threatened in 1995 and delisted in 2007. |
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Term
| Peregrine Falcon (Not endangered) |
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Definition
| ingested DDT by eating smaller birds, which had eaten contaminated prey. The pesticide caused the shell of the bird's eggs to thin and resulted in nesting failures. Removed from the list of endangered species by Fish and Wildlife Service in August 1999. |
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Term
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Definition
| The Eastern North Pacific stock of gray whale has the distinction of being the first population of a marine mammal species to be removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Species. |
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Term
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Definition
| large distinct terrestrial region having similar climate, soil, plants and animals |
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Term
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Definition
| characterized by the greatest diveristy of species, believed to include many undiscovered species. Occur near the equator. Soils tend to be low in nutrients. Distinct seasonality: winter is absent, and only two seasons are present (rainy and dry) |
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Term
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Definition
| occur in Eastern North America, Japan and north Eastern Asia and western and central Europe. Dominated by tall deciduous trees. Well-defined seasons include a distinct winter. Logged extensively, only scattered remnants of original temperate forests remain |
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Term
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Definition
| represent the largest terrestrial biome. Domined by needlelead, coniferous trees. Found in the cold climates of Eurasia and North America: two-thirds in Siberia with the rest in Scandinavia, Alaska, and Canada. Seasons are divided into short, moise, and moderately warm summers and long cold and dry winters. Extensive logging may soon cause their disappearance. |
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Term
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Definition
| occurs along the coast of Southern California and the Mediterranean region. Characterized by areas of Chaparral-miniature woodlands dominated by dense stands of shrubs. |
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Term
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Definition
| grassland with scattered individual trees. Cover almost held the surface of Africa and large areas of Australia, South America and India. Warm or hot climates where the annual rainfall is 20-50 inches per year. The rainfall is concentrated in six or eight months of the year, followed by a long period of drought when fire occurs |
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Term
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Definition
| dominated by grasses, trees and and large shrubs are absent. Temperatures vary more from summer to winter, and the amount of rainfall is less than in savannas. Temperate grasslands have hot summers and cold winters. Occur in South Africa, Hungary, Argentina, the steppes of the former Soviet Union, and the plains are parries of central North America. |
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Term
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Definition
| covers about one fifth of the Earth's surface and occur where rainfall is less than 50 cm/year. Most deserts occur at low latitudes, have a considerable amount of specialized vegetation as well as specialized animals. soils have abundant nutrients, need only water to become productive and have little or no organic matter. common disturbances include occasional fires, or cold weather, and sudden, infrequent but intense rains that cause flooding |
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Term
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Definition
| treeless plains that are the coldest of all the biomes. Occur in the arctic and antarctica. Dominated by lichens, mosses, sedges, and dwarfed shrubs characterized by extremely cold climate, permanently frozen ground (permafrost) low biotic diversity, simple vegetation structure, limitation of drainage, short season of growth, and reproduction |
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Term
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Definition
| areas of standing water that support aquatic plants including marshes, swamps, and bogs. Species diversity is very high |
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Term
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Definition
| defined as having low salt concentration (less than 1%). Plants and animals are adjusted to the low salt content and would not be able to survive in areas of high salt concentration. There are different types of freshwater regions: ponds and lakes, streams, and rivers and estuaries |
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Term
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Definition
| the largest of all the ecosystems. the ocean regions are separated into separate zones, intertdial, pelagic, abyssal, and benthic. All four zones have a great diversity of species. |
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Term
| Chernobyl, Ukraine ( April 26, 1986) |
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Definition
| April 26, 1986. Unauthorized safety test (irony), leads to fire and explosion at nuclear power plant--millions exposed to unsafe levels of radiation |
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Term
| Three Mile ISland, Pennsylvania |
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Definition
| March 29, 1979. nuclear power plants loses cooling water 50% of core melts, radioactive materials escape into atmosphere, near meltdown. (disaster) |
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Term
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Definition
| contraversial as proposed site for permanent storage of high-level nuclear waste, 70-miles northwest of Las Vegas, near volcano and earthquake faults. |
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Term
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Definition
| chemicals buried in old canal, school and homes built over it led to birth defects and cancers |
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Term
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Definition
| The silt that made the Nile region fertile fills the reservior. Lack of irrigation controls causes waterlogging and salinization. The parasitic disease stichistosomaisis thrives in the stagnant water of the reservior. |
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Term
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Definition
| Mental impairments, birth defects, and deaths caused by mercury dumped into Miamata bay by factory. Mercury entered humans through their diet |
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Term
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Definition
| December 2, 1984. methyl isocyanate released accidentally by Union Carbide pesticide plant kills over 5,000. |
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Term
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Definition
| March 24, 1989. tanker Exxon Valdez hits submerged rocks in prince william sound, worst oil spill in U.S. Waters |
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Term
| Aral Sea, Uzbekistan/Khazakhstan |
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Definition
| Large inland sea is drying up as a result of water diversion |
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Term
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Definition
| World's largest dam on Yangtze river will drown ecosystems, cities archeological sites, fragment habitats and displace 2 million people |
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Term
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Definition
| Mental impairments, birth defects, and deaths caused by mercury dumped into Miamata bay by factory. Mercury entered humans through their diet |
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Term
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Definition
| December 2, 1984. methyl isocyanate released accidentally by Union Carbide pesticide plant kills over 5,000. |
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Term
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Definition
| March 24, 1989. tanker Exxon Valdez hits submerged rocks in prince william sound, worst oil spill in U.S. Waters |
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Term
| Aral Sea, Uzbekistan/Khazakhstan |
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Definition
| Large inland sea is drying up as a result of water diversion |
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Term
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Definition
| World's largest dam on Yangtze river will drown ecosystems, cities archeological sites, fragment habitats and displace 2 million people |
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Term
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Definition
| World’s largest aquifer, under parts of Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas. Holds enough water to cover the U.S. with 1.5 feet of water. Being depleted for agricultural use. |
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Term
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Definition
| March 24, 1989, tanker Exxon Valdez hits submerged rocks in Prince William Sound – largest oil spill in US waters before BP oil spill in 2010 |
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Term
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Definition
| April 20, 2012, site of the deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP oil spill)—oil flowed for three months, making it the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry |
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Term
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Definition
| March 11, 2011, the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami led to a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdown, and releases of radioactive materials from the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant – the largest nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster, but more complex |
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Term
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Definition
| Set maximum contaminant levels for pollutants that may have adverse effects on human health |
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Term
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Definition
| Attempt to reduce non-point source pollution |
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Term
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Definition
| Bans ocean dumping of sewage sludge and industrial waste |
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Term
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Definition
| Set maximum permissible amounts of water pollutants that can be discharged into waterways. Aim: to make surface waters swimmable and fishable |
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Term
| Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act |
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Definition
| Requires coal strip mines to reclaim the land |
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Term
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Definition
| Moratorium on mineral exploration for 50 years in Antarctica |
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Term
| National Environmental Poly Act (NEPA) |
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Definition
| Environmental Impact Statements must be done before any project affecting federal lands can be started |
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Term
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Definition
| controlling global warming by setting greenhouse gas emissions targets for developed countries |
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Term
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Definition
| phase out of ozone depleting substances |
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Term
| Resource Conservation & Recovery Act |
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Definition
| controls hazardous waste with a cradle to grave system |
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Term
| Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability ACT |
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Definition
| controls hazardous waste with a cradle to grave system |
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Term
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Definition
| Identifies threatened and endangered species in the US and puts their protection ahead of economic considerations |
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Term
| Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species |
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Definition
| lists species that cannot be commercially traded as live specimens or wildlife products |
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Term
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Definition
| prohibits interstate transport of wild animals dead or alive without federal permit |
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Term
| Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act |
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Definition
| Regulates effectiveness of pesticides |
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Term
| Food Quality Protection Act |
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Definition
| set pesticide limits in food & all active and inactive ingredients must be screened for estrogenic/endocrine effects |
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Term
| Low-level Radioactivity Policy Act |
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Definition
| all states must have facilities to handle low-level radioactive wastes |
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Term
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Definition
| US government must develop a high level nuclear waste site by 2015 (Yucca Mountian) |
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