In the course of one day, a human experiences several dozen ecosystem services other than the essential provisioning services supplying us with food, water, and the air we breathe

Explain three additional ecosystem services that are essential to maintaining life on Earth.


One might begin with a focus on the ecosystem services that regulate climate (solar energy budget), the flow of water through ecosystems (water cycle), or the absorption of pollutants (microbial decomposition and the essential recycling of matter). One could also describe the basic ecosystem processes such as any of the nutrient cycles (N cycle, which provides the critical N-compounds to plants that humans consume in order to build their essential N-containing compounds of DNA/RNA, enzymes, and proteins). The carbon cycle, moving O2 and CO2 through the ecosystem via the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration could also be described.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

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The greatest progress in reducing atmospheric levels of lead pollution resulted from

A) the elimination of leaded gas. B) the switch from lead to graphite in pencils. C) the development of new types of batteries that use lithium instead of lead. D) new types of lead scrubbers on smokestacks that removed lead from the air.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Brown-headed cowbirds lay their eggs in the nests of other species of songbirds, relying upon the other species to raise their chicks. Many of these species unknowingly raise the cowbird chicks at the cost of their own reproductive success

The relationship between cowbirds and these other species of birds most closely matches which one of the following relationships? A) Parasitism B) Commensalism C) Mutualism D) Intraspecific competition

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

After the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil-drilling platform in 2010, Scientists estimate that about ________ of the oil hasn't been fully accounted for

A) 10% B) 25% C) 40% D) 75% E) 90%

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

This mapping process has led to concerns about privacy

A) participatory GIS B) citizen science C) mashup production D) geotagging E) remote sensing

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences