ESS Case Studies and Examples by Topic

Case
Studies and Examples for ESS by Topic 1
The list below shows the broad examples and case studies you should know before si8ng the IB
ESS Exam in May. It is fairly comprehensive, but it is definitely not complete. You may find other
examples of each of these topics in the textbook, the class notes and presentaDons, news arDcles,
or other sources as well.
Topic 1
-‐ be able to idenDfy and describe inputs, outputs, processes, transfers, transformaDons, and
storages of both maFer and energy for systems at different scales, including specific examples
-‐ Biosphere 2
-‐ plant and animal cells
-‐ individual organism (one producer, one consumer)
-‐ farming systems outlined in Table 13.2 on p.250 of the Course Companion
Topic 2
-‐ Named examples of all trophic levels within named Tanzanian ecosystems (famous ones are
good)
-‐ SerengeD
-‐ Ngorogoro Crater
-‐ any other naDonal park
-‐ make sure all the examples are named → common names are OK, scienDfic (LaDn) names
not required
-‐ Named examples of the following bioDc components of ecosystems:
-‐ mutualism/symbiosis
-‐ parasiDsm
-‐ herbivory
-‐ predaDon
-‐ List and describe methods for measuring:
-‐ diversity (Simpson)
-‐ populaDons (Lincoln)
-‐ temperature, soil moisture, % cover, frequency,
-‐ Named examples of intraspecific and interspecific compeDDon
-‐ intraspecific: male lions compeDng for female mates and/or territory (many others too)
-‐ interspecific: crops and weeds compeDng for space, moisture, and light
-‐ Density-‐dependent and density-‐independent factors regulaDng human or other populaDons:
-‐ Density-‐dependent:
-‐ disease:
-‐ ferDlity:
-‐ Density-‐independent:
-‐ natural disasters
Topic 3
-‐ Examples of countries in each stage of the DTM and the reasons why each country is in that stage
-‐ early expanding: Afghanistan, most of sub-‐Saharan Africa
-‐ late expanding: India, Brazil, China, other emerging economies
-‐ staDonary: USA, Canada, most of the G8
-‐ contracDng: Germany,
-‐ Natural income examples for sustainability
-‐ growth of Dmber as a commodity (selecDve logging vs clear-‐cu8ng)
-‐ animal hunts (lion quotas in Selous; white-‐tail deer and other ‘game’ species in naDonal
forests of the US/Canada)
-‐ livestock holdings by subsistence farmers
InternaDonal School of Tanganyika IBDP Environmental Systems and SocieDes -‐ SL
Case Studies and Examples for ESS by Topic 2
-‐ Examples of renewable, non-‐renewable, and replenishable resources (not just energy resources!)
and explain why each is not categorized differently
-‐ renewable: Dmber, soils, sunlight
-‐ replenishable: groundwater, stratospheric ozone
-‐ non-‐renewable: minerals, fossil fuels, uranium
-‐ Examples of dynamic nature of a resource:
-‐ Uranium had liFle or no value as a mineral unDl the age of atomic weapons and
electricity, but once nuclear energy/weaponry was seen as a symbol of poliDcal power
and naDonal pride, it became highly valued as a resource. Aeer Chernobyl, nuclear energy
fell out of favor and so decreased in value, but once the focus on climate change and
global warming began, nuclear power’s value increased because it does not release
GHG’s.
-‐ Petroleum became much more valuable both as a commodity and poliDcally once the
BriDsh navy switched from coal-‐powered steam ships to oil-‐powered diesel engines.
-‐ Be able to discuss the significance of the Brundtland Report, the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, and
Agenda 21.
-‐ Give specific examples of people choosing different energy resources, and explain why:
-‐ Tibetan/Himalayan use of animal dung as a cooking/heaDng source because there are
few/no trees available for fuel wood, and the trees that do grow there are very slow-‐
growing due to climaDc limitaDons.
-‐ Tuareg/nomadic people of the African Sahel using dung for cooking source for same
reasons as Tibetans.
-‐ United States, DRC, and China using hydropower because they have the right combinaDon
of large rivers and steep-‐sided gorges to build efficient dams.
-‐ Historical example of fishermen and whaling communiDes using whale oil for lighDng
before coal-‐fired electricity was invented.
-‐ All the case studies in chapter 12 regarding soil degradaDon and conservaDon:
-‐ What is the acDvity that caused the soil degradaDon?
-‐ How did/does that acDvity degrade the soil?
-‐ What is the intervenDon/strategy that conserved the soil?
-‐ How did/does that strategy conserve the soil?
-‐ All the case studies in chapter 11 regarding water resources’ degradaDon and conservaDon:
-‐ What is the cause of the degradaDon of this water resource? How is it causing the
degradaDon? Answer these 2 quesDons for each of the case studies below.
-‐ Aral Sea
-‐ Colorado River
-‐ 3 Gorges Dam
-‐ River Jordan
-‐ Explain why the ecological footprint is different between a named MEDC and a named LEDC (can
also focus on differences between rural/urban areas in the same country). IdenDfy and explain
specific differences between them in each of the areas below:
-‐ food land
-‐ infrastructure land
-‐ wood land
-‐ waste absorbing land
Topic 4
-‐ Natural SelecDon: Describe specific examples of isolaDon and speciaDon.
-‐ Darwin’s finches
-‐ Bonobos and chimpanzees in West Central Africa
-‐ African and Indian elephants
Case Studies and Examples for ESS by Topic 3
-‐ Black panthers in West African tropical forest and leopards in East African savannas
-‐ many other examples: Madagascar plants and animals, chameleons in Eastern Arc
Mountains of Tanzania
-‐ Factors diminishing biodiversity: List and describe examples of all the factors leading to a loss in
biodiversity around the world.
-‐ fragmentaDon and loss of bamboo forest for the giant panda
-‐ invasive species (rabbits in Australia, kudzu in southeastern USA, Indian crows in Tanzania)
-‐ populaDon pressure (human encroachment on mountain gorilla habitat, leopards in India)
-‐ At least 2 examples each of exDnct, threatened, and recovered species around the world:
-‐ your own endangered species presentaDon
-‐ download and study at least one other student’s presentaDon as well
-‐ Evaluate the success of different conservaDon/protected areas:
-‐ physical components (size, shape, corridors, etc)
-‐ interacDon with local human populaDons
-‐ examples from Tanzania -‐-‐ many to choose from, but sDck the most famous
-‐ case studies in Ch. 6
-‐ case 1 and case 2 on p.25 of the Course Companion
Topic 5
-‐ Examples of specific types of pollutants: Be able to describe the human acDvity and the resulDng
polluDon problem from all the major events chronicled in the history of the modern
environmental movement:
-‐ Silent Spring
-‐ Minimata
-‐ 3 Mile Island
-‐ Love Canal
-‐ Chernobyl
-‐ Bhopal
-‐ Know the purpose, relaDve success, and reasons behind that success of both the Montreal
Protocol (1987) and the Kyoto Accord (1994)
Topic 6
-‐ Why was Kyoto needed? Why was it / wasn’t it successful? A general outline of the idea of Kyoto.
-‐ Effects of global warming: Give specific examples of the impacts of climate change listed below
-‐ spread of tropical diseases
-‐ movement of biomes
-‐ impacts on coastal populaDons and infrastructure
-‐ sea levels
-‐ weather paFerns
-‐ agricultural producDvity
Topic 7
-‐ Discuss how the events listed under history of the modern environmental movement shaped the
people who lived through them.
-‐ Compare the environmental value systems of two disDnctly contrasDng socieDes:
-‐ Course Companion pp. 22-‐25
-‐ communist vs capitalist
-‐ Buddhist vs Judeo-‐ChrisDan

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