Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
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dbscmfa@nus.edu.sg
TOPICS
What is Environmental Biology?
Why study? Learning objectives/outcomes
Module prerequisites
Module content
Time Table
Assessment, group project
Text book and references
Housekeeping
Your lecturer, Teaching assistant, your classmates
First assignment
Geologic history of the earth
Conditions in early earth
Early humans to today
Environmental Biology
Similar to Environmental Science
More emphasis on Biology, Ecology and Man
From conditions in the early Earth to current
Our impact on the environment and how they
impact us
Why study?
Ignorance is not an option
Urgent need to understand the impacts
What are the solutions and are they working
A reminder that we are but one species on
this planet, part of the ecosystem
To SURVIVE
Assessment
1. Continual assessment 50%
Self introduction assignment 1: 2.5%
Project 32.5%
CA1 test 15% - 1 hour
Multiple choice questions (MCQ)
closed book
Assignment 1
due: 21 Aug, 2359 (weightage: 2.5%)
Personal Intro assignment
A word doc will be sent to you. Please fill in the
info required.
Name of file:
student ID_GEK1515_assignment_1.doc
Please name file properly or 0.5% marks will be
deducted
Assignment 2
(due: 25 Aug, 2359) 2.5%
Once the students have been grouped, grouping will be
announced to you by 18 Aug
You are to meet and exchange tel no, emails, dates
when you are free, come up with agreements, submit
photo of each other to learn each others names and
also attendance. A group meeting record will be
submitted by the group leader to IVLE. Each
subsequent assignment will be submitted by a different
team member.
Submit in word doc format for us to comment.
Name of file: group no_GEK1515_assignment_2.doc
E.g. 1_GEK1515_assignment_2.pptx for group 1
Assignment 4 (continued)
No one is to go alone or in twos, the whole group go
together for safety. Find out about the number and
location of recycling bins in the area that you will be
visiting, locations, whats in there, who are the waste
collectors, recycling firm etc so as to answer queries
from households.
Prepare for potential questions. All members to take
turns speaking, holding the A4 posters and take photo
of members in action or with the household if they
dont mind, ask politely.
Submit in word document format
Name of file: Group no_GEK1515_assignment_4.doc
Assignment 17 Oct
6
Assignment 10 Oct
5
Assignment 25 Sept
4
Assignment 18 Sept
3b
return to
students
5 Sept
(2359)
Assignment 25 Aug
3a
25 Aug
(2359)
Assignment 18 Aug
2
Assignment 11 Aug
1
11 Aug
Task
Activity
Date
release
Task
Due date
Percen
tage
14 Aug (1200)
21 Aug
(2359)
2.5
2.5
10
10
3 Nov (2359)
2.5
2 Oct (2359)
(10 Oct return to
students)
2.5
25 Sept (2359)
(3 Oct return to
students)
6 Nov (2359)
Examinable topics
Lectures
Videos (given by weblinks or shown during
lectures)
Reference links
Straits Times articles
Housekeeping
IVLE please check for announcements regularly
Weblinks and articles will also be released here
Emails to lecturer and TA: please write in subject
header GEK1515 then the subject of email
e.g. GEK1515 query on lecture
Write proper emails: Dear Dr Choong, or Dear Ms
Cai.
Sign off properly, Regards, Sincerely etc, your
name
Your lecturer
Full time TA
Cai Hongxia
Full time Teaching assistant
Department of Biological Sciences
Room: S2-04
Tel: (65)-65167665
dbscaih@nus.edu.sg
Earth
Sun
5 billion years
ago
Meteor
brought
amino acids
Stromatolites
carried out
photosynthesis
Oxygen
transformed
the earth
700-650
million years
ago
Snow
ball
Earth
Organisms
become larger,
with bony
skeleton, worms,
sponges,
trilobites
Bacteria evolved
Plants
Cambrian
explosion
Snowball earth
Source:http://web2.
geo.msu.edu/geogmi
ch/Precambrian.html
Proterozoic
Archean
Hadean
Modern day examples of moss species, not necessarily present in the past
Phanerozoic eon
Paleozoic era
Tiktaalik
Extinction events
Ordovician-Silurian mass extinction 443 MYA
most marine life e.g. Trilobite
Late Devonian mass extinction -359 MYA life in
shallow seas went extinct except bacteria
Permian mass extinction 248 MYA, most life
forms went extinct
Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction 200 MYA mostly marine, large amphibians
Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction (aka K/T
impact) 65 MYA dinosaurs and many
flowering plants
Early human
ancestors
Source:
http://humanorigins.si.edu/ev
idence/human-fossils/species
Originated in Africa
Vegetarians, scavengers
Did not grow any edible plants, settle down or
urbanize
Did not use tools
Subsequently, started to use crude stone tools to
smash open bones to extract the marrow
Out of Africa
Homo heidelbergensis migrated northward
into Europe and evolved into Homo
neanderthalensis and spread out, occupying
most of Eurasia
H. neanderthalensis crafted many types of
tools
They hunted, skinned and carved up game
animals such as wooly mammoths, cave bears
etc.
No more Neanderthals.
Genetic study showed their genetic make up was
very homogenous, poor immunity. Climate
change or interaction with Homo sapiens could
have caused its extinction.
Weather in Europe didn't permit agrarian
lifestyle. Short growing season and scarce arable
land.
Cave dwellers followed their game animals,
stored meat during winter. Collected wild grains,
edible plants during lean times.
Lack of awareness
Where does our food come from?
How do we get water?
Where the raw materials that make stuff come
from?
What happens to our waste?
The importance of biodiversity
Impact of climate change
References
http://www.snowballearth.org/what.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/history_of_the_earth#e
xtinction_events
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/dinosaursother-extinct-creatures/mass-extinctions/endpermian-mass-extinction/index.html
http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/humanevolution-timeline-interactive
http://paleobiology.si.edu/geotime/main/htmlversion/
hadean2.html
http://smithsonianscience.org/2014/07/humanevolution-rewritten-flexible-response-climate-change/
Index
4.00
GDP
7-10 years
3.00
Current Population:
5.399 mil
Semakau Landfill
2.00
Population
Waste Disposal
8,289 tons/day (2013)
1.00
0.00
1970
1980
1990
Year
2000
30-35 years
New offshore landfill
But
2010
there will be less land available 2
GWC
PWC
HougangPunggol
Ang Mo
Kio-Toa
Payoh
5 7
2
Jurong
3
Clementi
TanglinBukit
Merah
9
1
Pasir RisTampines
1
Bedok
2
City
5
Waste-to-Resource Loop
Consumers
Commercial &
Retail
Reduce
Residential
Reuse
Collection
Waste Generated
21,511 t/d
3%
Landfill
Non-Incinerable Waste
549 t/d
Ash
1,883 t/d
61%
Recyclables
Waste Recycled
13,222 t/d
36%
Incinerable Waste
7,740t/d
Factories &
Industries
Producers
Electricity
Waste-to-Energy
2013 figures
Waste Strategies
1) Waste Minimisation
Promote efficient use of resources in production processes
Encourage reduce and reuse in homes & businesses 2Rs
2) Recycling
Maximise resource recovery from waste
Adopt recycling methods to sustain clean environment
3) Waste-to-Energy / Volume Reduction
90% volume reduction in refuse
Recovery of scrap metal and energy
4) Landfill
1 Waste Minimisation
Singapore Packaging Agreement (SPA)
Voluntary agreement jointly developed by
government, industry and NGOs
Signatories set targets voluntarily;
formulate action plans to reduce and
reuse packaging waste
Objective
Reduce packaging waste (1/3 of
household waste)
Scope
Food & beverage packaging,
product packaging
Waste Minimisation
1 Waste Minimisation
2007
139
1st
Singapore
Packaging
Agreement (SPA)
10,000 tonnes
S$22 million
In savings
Signatories
315
2012
2nd
6,500 tonnes
By
2014
>200
50,000 sq ft
Shopping
mall
Hotel rooms
1 Waste Minimisation
Bring your own bag (BYOB) campaign
Plastic Bags are made from finite natural
resources - Oil
3 billion/year consumed
Work with NGOs e.g. SEC to encourage
reduction of use of plastic bags at
supermarkets and retail shops
Encourage retailers to play their part to
provide fewer plastic bags
Encourage consumers to ask for only
the minimal plastic bags they need,
and use reusable bags whenever
possible
10
Recycling
Recycling Rate
70%
65%
% of waste recycled
60%
60%
70%
2030
2012
61%
55%
50%
45%
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
O)S()S
O)S()S
1,683,000 tons
97%
77%
11%
13%
54%
91,100 tons
254,600 tons
s
48%
97%
679,400 tons
6
344,800 tons
1,369,200 tons
1
120,900 tons
84%
20%
114,000 tons
Y
Y
Y
14,600 tons
16,300 tons
19,000 tons
10%
88%
100,000 tons
1%
4,800 tons
7%
14,200 tons
Sorting
Sorting of commingled
recyclables at Material
Recovery Facility
Recycling
Recyclables are sent to
respective recycling plants
Local recycling facilities
Sarimbun Recycling
Park
Exported to overseas
recycling
cycling facilities
Recycling in
Landed Estates
s
Recycling bins
Recycling bins
Weekly collection
Recycling bags
Commingled
recycling system
Incentive schemes
Cash for Trash
GRIN programme
Recycling in Condominiums
and Private Apartments
2008
Mandatory provision of
recycling receptacles
Dual
Recycling Chute
Refuse Chute
Convenience
Recyclables and refuse can be deposited
at the same time
Recycling
Hotels
3R Programme for Hotels jointly launched by NEA and
d
Singapore Hotel Association
18
Styrofoam
Glass
Wooden Pallets
Recycling bins at
bin centres, food
centres & in
common areas
Paper boxes
After Collection
Sorting and
Recovery of
Recyclables in
MRF
1. Incoming Recyclables
21
Tuas South
h
waste-to-energy
rgyy
plant
Senoko
waste-to-energy
plant
Tuas
waste-to-energy
w
a
gy
plant
pl
lant
Incineration
ti
ash
Semakau landfill
Sema
23
Waste-to-Energy Plants
Year
1986
1992
2000
2009
Tuas IP
Cost ($)
200 million
560 million
890 million
160 million
Tuas South IP
Capacity (tonnes/day)
1,700
2,100
3,000
800
Total: 7,600
Waste-to-Energy Plants
Semakau Landfill
Reduce
In School
Use refillable writing materials
Use refillable writing materials
Use both sides of the paper
Avoid printing unnecessarily
Bring food in a reusable box
At home
Reuse
In School
Recycling (Paper)
Newspapers
Books
Magazines
Writing / printed paper
Flyers
Paper packaging
Paper bags
Envelopes / Window envelope
Shoe boxes
Drink cartons
To be emptied before depositing
into recycling bin
Recycling (Plastics)
Plastic bags
CDs
Plastic packaging
Empty drink bottles
Plastic food containers/trays
Rinse to remove food
contamination
Empty detergent/shampoo
bottles
Leftover detergent/shampoo
in bottles to be added with
water and used till empty
Recycling (Glass)
Glass bottles
Perfume bottles
Cosmetic containers
Glass jars
Recycling (Metal)
Metal tins
Metal cans
Metal containers
Furniture
Batteries (Disposable)
Thermos flasks
Glass cookware (pyrex),
Porcelain, ceramic
Polystyrene
Composites materials
Medicine packaging
Chips packaging
Plastic Toys
Pillows/bolsters
Bulbs and lamps
3
Deposit your
D
recyclables into the
re
re
recycling bin. Leave
nothing outside.
no
2
Empty recyclable
containers of any
contents.
Rinse
them if necessary.
4
Do not put any food and
liquid wastes, and other
liq
non-recyclables into the
no
recycling bin. Do not
rec
leave bulky items and
lea
furniture beside the
recycling bin.
Recycling Box
Twin Bins
Recycled Materials
iii.
Glass will
be used
Work
with to produce
building materials
ii.
Phosphorus-mercury powder
matrix will be distilled into
elemental mercury for production
of new lamps
i.
Locations of collection points and cash for trash stations can be found on OneMap:
http://www.onemap.sg/index.html (under
Themes > Environment)
Future Reference
Link to our "Waste Minimisation and Recycling" webpage for
further information on our recycling programme.
Learning Objectives
Explain concepts of species, population and
community
Define habitat, niche and biosphere
Summarize fundamental biological principle and flow
of Energy
Explain continental drift and how it affects species,
population, climate and partially explains past
extinction event
Topics
Species, population, community
Species
Gray wolf
source: wikimedia
Seedless Watermelons
The mule of the plant world
1. Normal watermelons with 2 sets of chromosomes (diploid).
Normal plants (diploid) are treated with colchicine
2. 2 sets of chromosomes become 4 (tetraploid). Colchicine
allows chromosome to duplicate but prevent them from
separating.
3. The tetraploid plant is crossed with a normal diploid to yield
triploid offspring.
4. Triploid seeds are grown into adult plant. Female flower will
be used to produce watermelons.
5. Triploid watermelon plant cannot produce offspring on its
own.
6. Diploid plants with normal pollens are grown near to Triploid
plant flowers so that seedless watermelons can be
produced.
Population
A few members of one species living in a certain area.
E.g grey wolves living in Yellowstone National Park
E.g. Dust mites in your bed, different populations in
different areas in Singapore
Dust mite
source: Wikipedia
Biological Community
All populations living and interacting in a particular area.
orchids
elephant
tiger
trees
mosses
eagle
palms
ferns
grass
monkey
termites
Pictures sourced from Wikimedia
Ants
Soil bacteria
Soil fungi
Ground dwelling
bird
Biosphere: Sum
of all the
ecosystems,
where all the
living organisms
exist.
Biosphere
Atmosphere consists of
gases and water vapour
Hydrosphere is water in
liquid and solid state, in
oceans, groundwater, ice.
Lithosphere is the Earths
crust, made of rocks and
minerals ( to 100 km deep)
Fundamental Biological
Principle
Every species has an optimal range, zones of stress, and
limits of tolerance with respect to every abiotic factor,
and these characteristics vary between species.
Plant which grows on land, cant grow in water,
terrestrial spider cant swim in water, some bacteria
can live in hot spring, others in the Antarctic but they
cant live in both.
Organic Compounds
Natural found in living things
Breakdown completely
Skin cells, excrements, longtong and wrap
Energy
Is the ability to do work such as moving matter over a
distance or causing a heat transfer between two objects
of different temperatures.
Heat
Energy that can be transferred between objects of
different temperature
When a substance absorbs heat, the kinetic energy of
its molecules increases, or it may change state: solid ->
liquid or liquid -> gas
Concentration Of Energy
Diffuse energy or of low temperature is difficult to
gather and use for productive purposes.
Heat stored in oceans is immense but hard to capture
and use. Another example is wind.
Intense, concentrated energy like hot fire or high
voltage electricity are valuable and can do work.
Energy Conversions
Only green plants have chlorophyll and this compound
allows plants to carry out the process of photosynthesis
Chlorophyll absorbs suns energy, converts carbon
dioxide, water and dissolved compound of nitrogen,
phosphorous and other elements to energy rich
molecules
6CO2 + 12H2O -> C6H12O6 (glucose) + 6O2 + 6H2O
Cell Respiration
C6H12O6 + 6O2 -> 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + energy
Extremophiles
In the past, scientists used to think that nothing is alive in
the deepest part of the sea, where it is cold, dark and
under immense pressure
1970s, undersea explorations found blind shrimp, giant
tubeworms, strange crabs, bizarre clams around black
chimneys, where boiling hot, mineral laden water
bubbles out of cracks in the earths crust.
Chemosynthesis
Bacteria use hydrogen sulfide or hydrogen gas released from
the earths crust and use them for synthesis of organic
molecules, a process call chemosynthesis
CO2 + 4H2S + O2 -> CH20 + 4S + 3H2O
Other examples of severe conditions: hot springs at
Yellowstone National park, intensely salty lakes
Pyrolobus fumarii can withstand temperatures up to 113oC
an example of Archaea, single celled organisms that are
similar to the first life forms on earth
Bacteria also generate a lot of methane at the deep sea
floor
They are in the form of methane hydrate and another group
of bacteria eat up these methane and generate CO2
Food Chain
Figure 5-7
Third
level
consumer
Total combined
= Biomass of fourth trophic
mass of third
level
order consumers
Total combined
= Biomass of third trophic
mass of
level
all carnivores
1/10
Second
level
consumer
First
level
Consumer
Total combined
Biomass of second
=
mass of
trophic level
all herbivores
10
Producers
Total combined
mass of
all producers
Biomass of first
= trophic level
100
Plate Tectonics
Alfred Wagener proposed in 1915 that 225 to 250
million years ago, continents were connected into a
giant landmass called Pangaea
Now accepted as the theory of Plate tectonics
Theory explains that continents have been in motion
since the earth was formed
This theory also explains earthquakes, volcanic activity
and the geographic distribution of present organisms
(biota)
Source:
wikimedia
Earth
The Core is composed of a dense,
immensely hot mass of metal
mostly iron
Immense mass generates magnetic
field that envelopes the earth
Protecting the earth from solar
wind that travels up to speed of 3.2
Mkm/h and radiation
Earth
Mantle is less dense than the core as it contains
oxygen, silicon and magnesium
Outermost layer of the earth is the crust, which is cool,
lightweight and brittle
Crust below oceans is thin and young (less than 200
million years old) because of constant recycling. It is
made of basaltic rock
Crust beneath continents are thicker and lighter
Lithosphere
Source: wikimedia
Pearson pg. 95
Ring Of Fire
Trenches and volcanic mountains ring the Pacific
Ocean rim to Indonesia to Japan to Alaska down to
the west coast of the Americas.
Soil in these countries are very rich and excellent for
agriculture
Polar Regions
Antarctica and Australia were once connected to
Africa and they were near the Equator
Rich forests were present
Redistribution of continents were thought to be
responsible for mass extinctions and climate change
Extinction Events
Ordovician-Silurian mass extinction 443 MYA most
marine life e.g. Trilobite
Late Devonian mass extinction -359 MYA life in shallow
seas went extinct except bacteria
Permian mass extinction 248 MYA, most life forms went
extinct
Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction 200 MYA - mostly
marine, large amphibians
Result Of Continental
Plate Movement
Other than earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions,
continental movements lead to major shift in climate in 3
ways:
3.
2.
1.
Conclusion
Our Earth is amazing
atmosphere protect us from most of the Ultra violet rays
magnetic fields protect us from solar winds
Interaction of hydrosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere
results in high numbers of species diversity
References
Wright and Boorse
Chapter 3 Organisms in their environment
Chapter 4 pg. 94, 95
Chapter 5 pg. 103-109