Bio 116 Hw Asssignment

Professor Markham
5 October 2012
Homework assignment # 4
Ch. 5 p. 113
8. What factors most strongly influence the type of biome that forms in particular place on land? What type of factors determines the type of aquatic system that may form in a given location?
The two factors that strongly influence the type of biome on land is the temperature and the precipitation. The type of factors that strongly influence aquatic systems is water temp, salinity, dissolved nutrient’s, wave action, currents, depth, and substrate.
Ch. 6 p. 376 1. What is the approximate climate current human global population? How many people are being added each day?
The approximate human population is 7 billion. An estimation of 200 thousand people is being added each day. 2. Why has the human population continued to grow in spite of environmental limitations? Do you think this growth is sustainable?
Because there isn’t any regulations or laws pertaining to how many children a women can have. So unless that happens, the population will continue to grow despite environmental limitations. I think eventually this growth will not be sustainable because eventually the natural resources we need in order to survive will be gone.
4. Explain the IPAT model. How can technology either increase or decrease environment impact? Provide at least two examples.
The IPAT model is an equation that provides an estimation to analyze the determinates of environment impact. The “I” stands for total impact, The “P” stands for population, the “A” stands for affluence, and the “T” stands for technology. Technology can either increase or decrease environment impact. Technology can enhance our ability to exploit our environment around us. It can increase it can increase the amount of our natural resources we use by for example just running the technology, but it can also decrease environment impact by harnessing renewable energy, improving manufacturing efficiency, or many other things.
5. What characteristic and measures do demographers use to study human population? How does each of these help determine the impact of human population on the environment? They use population size, population density and distribution, age structure, and sex ratio. All these factors help because its helps to have all the information since we’re able to use it to determine how much of an impact we have on the environment.
6. What is total fertility rate (TFR)? Can you explain why the replacement fertility for humans is approximately 2.1? How is Europe’s TFR affecting its natural rate of population change? TFR is the average number of children born per women during her life span. Replacement fertility is 2.1 because that amount keeps a population size stable. With Europe’s TFR being below average, its affects the population harshly by reducing it.
7. Why have fertility rates fallen in many counties? Fertility rates have fallen in many counties from the following: higher education, economic development, urbanization, contraception, female social role, government policies, etc.
8. How does the demographic transition model explain the increase in population rates in recent centuries? How does it explain the decrease in population growth rates in recent decades? The demographic transition model explains the increase and decrease in population rates in recent decades the model shows different stages for born rates and death rates. The stage I think we’ve been in though these recent decades is post- industrial. So, that’d explain why the increase and decrease of the population because in that stage, those two factors are constantly fluxing.
9. Why are the empowerment of women and the pursuit of gender equality viewed as being important to controlling population growth? Describe the aim of family planning programs. The empowerment of women and the pursuit of gender equality is viewed as being controlling population growth because it pushes women to get as good of an education as they can get and pushes them to be in the work field to prove themselves. While doing this, it decreases the chance for them to settle down and have children. The aim of family planning is to introduce contraceptives and prevent pregnancy to reduce the growth rate of human population.
10. Why do poorer societies have higher population growth rates than do wealthier societies? How does poverty affect the environment? How does affluence affect the environment?
Poorer societies have a higher population growth rate because they don’t have what most wealthy societies have to prevent pregnancy. Poverty affects the environment because if it’s over populated, it’ll cause desertification to happen from the carrying capacity being over exceeded.