Assignment W13L1
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School
Fullerton College *
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Course
105
Subject
Geography
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
2
Uploaded by MajorTeamSardine10
Assignment W13L1 (Submit through canvas as a .pdf)
Part 1: Complete This Modules Lesson and Answer the Following Questions:
1.
What is a mass extinction?
A mass extinction is a sudden decline of biodiversity in a short period of time.
2.
Explain how mass extinctions change the course of evolution.
One way is by the creation of an ecological niche, it creates new opportunities for species to exploit resources that were once occupied by a different species.
3.
Explain how adaptive radiation facilitates the recovery of biodiversity following a mass extinction.
Adaptive radiation helps produce new species from ancestral species that help fill the gaps left by extinct species. Trying to fix the ecosystem.
4.
What is the historical rate of extinction on the planet?
1000 times higher than the background extinction rate.
5.
Summarize the end-Permian extinction.
It is the most significant extinction of the 5 historical mass extinctions, with over 95% of species disappearing. The leading hypothesis is that it was caused by prolonged volcanic activity that burned enormous amounts of coal releasing huge amounts of carbon dioxide and coal into the atmosphere causing climate change and ocean acidification.
6.
Summarize the end-Cretaceous extinction.
The end-cretaceous extinction appears to have been a more rapid extinction with most of the dying occured in 6 months or left. An asteroid impact has been a contributing factor if not the main factor.
7.
Summarize the sixth extinction.
The sixth extinction has not yet fully happened but is something we are currently experiencing. We are able to conclude that the sixth extinction will be caused by human activities.
8.
Discuss the similarities and differences between the sixth extinction and the five historical mass extinctions.
Similarities:
1.
Huge loss of diversity Differences:
1.
The sixth extinction is happening at a rate faster than past extinctions
2.
The sixth extinction is caused by humans
Part 2: Read Wignall, Paul. 2019. How to Kill Nearly Everything.
Download How to Kill Nearly Everything.
In Extinction: A Very Short Introduction.
Oxford University Press. Oxford, UK.
Answer the following questions. Focus on these ideas. 1.
Look at Table1 on P.78. What are the two most commonly documented causes of mass extinction?
LIP and Ocean anoxia
2.
Look at Table1 on P.78. What causes of mass extinction are correlated with the P-Tr (End-Permian) extinction event?
LIP, Warming, Ocean anoxia and Ocean acidification
3.
Look at Table1 on P.78. What causes of mass extinction are correlated with the End Cretaceous extinction event?
LIP, Meteorite, ocean acidification and cooling.
4.
Why are anoxic oceans a major problem for marine life?
Marine life needs dissolved oxygen to survive, without it many species are unable to survive.
5.
What does the author suggest was the single most devastating consequence of the cosmic impact that triggered the end-cretaceous event?
The destruction of species and environmental impact on the earth.
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