ENVIRON 201: Ecological Issues Exam I Comprehensive Vocabulary

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, concepts, scientific processes, and policies from Lectures 1 through 13 of ENVIRON 201.

Environment

The surroundings and conditions in which organisms live, shaped by interactions between natural systems and human systems.

Environmental Science

The systematic study of environmental systems and problems using scientific approaches.

Fact

Readily observable evidence, contrasted with personal beliefs or opinions.

Opinion

A personal belief or judgment.

Bias

A tendency or influence that can distort how evidence is interpreted or presented.

Science

A systematic process for learning about the world and testing our understanding of it.

Scientific Method

A formalized process involving observation/question $\rightarrow$ hypothesis $\rightarrow$ predictions $\rightarrow$ test $\rightarrow$ results that support or reject the hypothesis.

Hypothesis

A statement intended to explain a question or phenomenon and generate testable predictions.

Prediction

A specific statement generated from a hypothesis that can be directly tested.

Theory

A well-tested, widely accepted explanation of observed cause-and-effect relationships repeatedly tested through multiple hypotheses.

Law

An indisputable principle that describes or governs a consistent pattern in the universe.

Paradigm Shift

A dramatic upheaval in scientific thought that alters the dominant viewpoint.

Burden of Evidence

The principle that as evidence accumulates, a theory becomes more validated; evidence contradicting a well-established theory must itself be highly validated before producing a major shift.

Morals

An individual's or society's distinction between right and wrong.

Ethics

A systematic structure of moral principles.

Environmental Ethics

The application of ethical standards to relationships between humans and nonhuman entities.

Ecological Footprint

Environmental impact measured as the biologically productive land and water needed to supply resources and handle/recycle waste.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

A conventional economic measure of production and economic activity.

Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI)

An alternative economic indicator that incorporates broader societal and environmental wellbeing beyond simple economic production.

Domination of Nature

An environmental management philosophy aimed at controlling and taming nature for human benefit, often leading to resource depletion and the tragedy of the commons.

Altruistic Preservation

An environmental strategy that protects nature and wilderness for its own inherent value and preservation, exemplified by the National Park System.

Resource / Utilitarian Conservation

An environmental strategy focused on using resources for the greatest good of the largest number over the longest time, exemplified by National Forests and maximum sustained yield.

Ecological Management

An environmental strategy focused on maintaining functioning natural systems, species interactions, and the biotic community's integrity, viewing humans as part of ecosystems.

Tragedy of the Commons

An economic and ecological dilemma where individuals with open access to a common resource independently deplete or overuse it because the private benefit goes to the individual while costs are shared.

Maximum Sustained Yield

The practice of managing and harvesting a resource at the highest rate possible without impairing its continuous production over time.

Ecosystem Services

Processes and functions performed by natural ecosystems that benefit people, such as pollination, water purification, climate regulation, and soil fertility.

Species

A population or group of individuals whose members share characteristics and can freely interbreed to produce fertile offspring.

Population

A group of individuals of the same species living together in the same defined geographic area.

Biological Evolution

Genetic change in populations across successive generations over time.

Natural Selection

The evolutionary process where inherited traits that enhance survival and reproduction become more frequent in a population over time due to differential reproductive success.

Adaptation (Adaptive Trait)

A characteristic or trait that promotes reproductive success and becomes more prevalent in a population over generations.

Mutation

An accidental alteration in an organism's DNA that can be inherited and supplies genetic variation for natural selection.

Phenotype

The observable physical and behavioral traits expressed by an organism.

Genotype

The specific genetic makeup and DNA sequence of an organism.

Niche

An organism's functional role in its ecological community and its specific pattern of resource use.

Specialist

A species with a narrow ecological niche and specific requirements, making it particularly vulnerable when environmental conditions shift.

Generalist

A species with a broad ecological niche that can use diverse resources, tolerate varying habitats, and live in many environments.

Allopatric Speciation

The formation of new species resulting from physical or geographic isolation of populations.

Convergent Evolution

The independent evolution of similar traits in unrelated species due to adaptation to similar environmental pressures.

Coevolution

The reciprocal evolutionary change occurring when two interacting species exert selective pressures on one another.

Extinction

The irreversible disappearance of an entire species from Earth.

Endemic Species

A species found naturally exclusively within a single, specific geographic area.

Intraspecific Competition

Competition for identical limited resources between individuals of the same species, recognized as more aggressive than competition between differing species.

Interspecific Competition

Competition for shared limited resources between individuals of different species.

Competitive Exclusion

An ecological outcome where one species outcompetes and completely excludes another from using a resource.

Species Coexistence

An ecological outcome where competing species persist together because differences in their niches minimize direct competition.

Artificial Selection

Selective breeding of organisms directed by humans to produce desired, specific traits.

Adaptive Radiation

The rapid diversification of related species into different ecological niches and habitats, each evolving distinct adaptive traits.

Population Density

The number of individuals of a population per unit of area or volume.

$K$-Selected Species

Species adapted to stable environments near carrying capacity ($K$), characterized by late maturity, few offspring, high parental investment, and strong competitive ability.

$r$-Selected Species

Colonizing species adapted to unstable or disturbed environments, characterized by high growth rate ($r$), rapid maturation, short lifespans, numerous offspring, and little to no parental care.

Natality

The birth rate within a population.

Mortality

The death rate within a population.

Immigration

The influx of individuals into a population from external areas.

Emigration

The departure of individuals from a population to external areas.

Exponential Growth

Population increase by a fixed percentage per unit of time, displaying a J-shaped curve that occurs temporarily under ideal, resource-unlimited conditions.

Carrying Capacity ($K$)

The maximum population size of a given species that a specific environment can sustainably support.

Limiting Factors

Physical, chemical, or biological conditions and resources that restrain or halt population growth.

Density-Dependent Factors

Limiting influences whose impact intensifies as population density increases, such as disease transmission, predation, and competition for food.

Density-Independent Factors

Limiting influences whose impact is entirely unaffected by population density, such as severe weather events or volcanic eruptions.

Logistic Growth

Population growth characterized by an S-shaped curve, where rapid initial growth decelerates and levels off as limiting factors constrain the population near carrying capacity ($K$).

Ecology

The scientific discipline studying relationships between living organisms and their physical and biological environments.

Trophic Level

A rank or feeding stage within the feeding hierarchy of a food chain or food web.

Keystone Species

A species whose ecological influence is disproportionately large relative to its abundance, such that its removal causes drastic ecosystem disruption or collapse.

Food Chain

A linear, simplified sequence illustrating the pathway of energy and nutrient transfer between organisms across trophic levels.

Food Web

A complex network of interconnected food chains reflecting the true feeding relationships within an ecological community.

Biogeochemical Cycles

The pathways through which essential chemical substances (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, water) cycle between biotic organisms and abiotic physical environments.

Eutrophication

A process of nutrient enrichment (primarily nitrogen and phosphorus) that triggers excessive algal growth, subsequent microbial decomposition, and severe dissolved oxygen depletion.

Dead Zone

A region in an aquatic ecosystem experiencing hypoxic or anoxic conditions (dissolved oxygen $< 2\text{ ppm}$ in the Gulf of Mexico) where marine life cannot survive.

Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB)

A rapid expansion of toxic phytoplankton or microalgae that produces toxins damaging to aquatic organisms, human health, and shellfish consumers.

Negative Feedback Loop

A regulatory system where output drives a corrective response in the opposite direction, promoting stabilization and homeostasis (e.g., body temperature regulation).

Positive Feedback Loop

A system where an output amplifies and drives further change in the same direction, destabilizing the system (e.g., the melting sea ice albedo effect).

Genetic Diversity

The range of DNA variations among individuals within a species, serving as the essential raw material for adaptation.

Inbreeding Depression

The reduced biological fitness and survival resulting from mating between closely related individuals with similar genetic makeups.

Species Diversity

The variety of species present in a particular ecological region, comprising both species richness and species evenness.

Species Richness

The total count of distinct species present in a defined community or geographic region.

Species Evenness

A measure of the relative abundance and mathematical equality of individuals among different species in a community.

Latitudinal Gradient

The biogeographical pattern showing that species richness increases as one approaches the equator.

Endangered Species

A species in imminent danger of complete extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

Threatened Species

A species likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

Vulnerable Species

A species that is naturally rare or locally depleted to a level that puts it at ecological risk.

Umbrella Species

A species with large habitat requirements whose formal conservation indirectly provides protection to numerous other species inhabiting the same ecosystem.

Biodiversity Hotspot

A biogeographic region characterized by exceptionally high species richness and endemism that faces significant habitat loss.

Conservation Biology

The scientific discipline devoted to understanding the factors behind biodiversity loss, protection, and ecological restoration.

Endangered Species Act (ESA)

The primary U.S. federal law enacted in 1973 designed to prevent species extinction by stabilizing declining populations and facilitating their recovery.

God Squad

A high-level federal review committee created by the 1979 ESA amendments empowered to grant exemptions to the Endangered Species Act under strictly defined criteria.

Demography

The statistical study of human populations, including size, composition, geographic distribution, and temporal dynamics.

Anthropocene

The proposed geological epoch recognizing that human activities now exert the dominant geological and environmental influence on Earth systems.

IPAT Model

A conceptual formula stating that environmental Impact ($I$) is the product of Population ($P$), Affluence ($A$), and Technology ($T$).

Fossil Fuels

Non-renewable carbon fuels (coal, crude oil, natural gas) formed underground from ancient biological matter under high temperature and pressure over roughly $100\text{--}500\text{ million years}$.

Acid Drainage

A form of water pollution occurring when exposed sulfur-containing mining waste reacts with water and oxygen to produce sulfuric acid, leaching toxic heavy metals into aquatic systems.

Vampire Electronics

Electronic devices that continuously consume electrical power while plugged into an outlet even when turned off or set on standby mode.

Coal Ash

Solid combustion residue remaining after burning pulverized coal, typically containing hazardous toxic elements including arsenic, mercury, and selenium.

Cleaner Coal

Technologies that reduce air pollutants and capture/sequester $\text{CO}_2$ from coal plants, though failing to eliminate surface mining impacts or toxic coal-ash disposal issues.

Nuclear Fission

A nuclear reaction where atomic nuclei split to release thermal energy used to produce steam and generate electricity, yielding zero operational greenhouse gas emissions.

Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking)

A method of fossil fuel extraction that injects a pressurized slurry of water, sand, and chemicals deep underground to fracture shale rock and release trapped hydrocarbons.

Shale Gas

Natural gas (primarily methane, $\text{CH}_4$) trapped within fine-grained sedimentary shale rock formations that is extracted via horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

Weather

The short-term, day-to-day atmospheric conditions and meteorological fluctuations of a specific locality.

Climate

The long-term patterns, statistical averages, and variability of meteorological conditions across large regions over decadal timescales.

Greenhouse Gases

Atmospheric gases (such as $\text{H}_2\text{O}$, $\text{CO}_2$, $\text{CH}_4$, and $\text{N}_2\text{O}$) that absorb and re-emit outgoing infrared radiation, retaining thermal energy in Earth's lower atmosphere.