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Background: As global temperatures rise, melting occurs on the surface of polar glaciers. This meltwater trickles down through cracks in the glacier, reaching its base. At the glacier’s base, the water acts as a lubricant between the ice and the bedrock, allowing the glacier to slide. Part A: Explain how the sliding of glaciers into the ocean, driven by this lubrication process, could influence global temperatures. Be sure to describe the mechanism through which this process affects the climate system. Part B: Propose an intervention to slow this glacier sliding process and explain how it would work in terms of modifying the described mechanism.

Which species would make the best candidate for a flagship conservation effort?

This question is to ensure that you are in the room taking the exam. What is the two word passcode for this exam?  

Analyze this dataset on forest recovery after fire: Time Post-Fire (years) Species Richness Productivity 1 5 Low 5 15 Moderate 10 25 High Which hypothesis about the relationship between ecosystem function and species richness does this best support?

In a study led by Dave Tilman at the University of Minnesota, researchers measured a variety of parameters every year in grassland plots that had been planted with different species richnesses.  One year there was a severe drought.  The researchers compared the biomass of plants in the year following the drought to the biomass of the plants in the year preceding the drought and got the following data.  What are reasonable conclusions from these data? Choose “supported” or “not supported” for each statement.   *numbers in graph indicate how many plots had that number of species. Plots with high species richness (compared to those with very low species richness) had greater resistance to the effects of the drought on biomass. [ans2] The drought decreased species richness[ans3] If we assume that the species-rich plots are also higher in diversity, these data support the diversity-stability hypothesis[ans4]

According to the redundancy hypothesis, species are redundant if

Assuming they all have the same total size, which shape would most likely preserve the highest species richness?

A hot spot of endemism would have

Which of these predictions of the Equilibrium Model of Island Biogeography is least supported by evidence?

The amount of land needed to produce all the resources someone uses and to absorb all the CO2 they release through their choices is called their: