Unit 0 APES

Environment

The sum of all the conditions surrounding us that influence life.

Ecosystem services

Life supporting processes and resources provided by the ecosystem

Provision services

A good produced by an ecosystem that humans can use directly

Aquaculture

The farming of fish, shellfish, and seaweed

Externality

The cost or benefit of a good or service that is not included in the purchase price of that good or service, or otherwise accounted for

Tragedy of the Commons

The tendency of a shared, limited resource to become depleted if it is not regulated in some way

Environmental science

The field of study that looks at interactions among human systems and those found in nature

Hypothesis

A testable conjunction about how something works

Scientific method

An objective method to explore the natural world, draw inferences from it, and predict the outcome of certain events, processes, or changes

Ecosystem

A particular location on earth with interacting biotic and abiotic components

Biotic

Living

Abiotic

Non-living

Environmentalism

A social movement that seeks to protect the environment through lobbying, activism, and education

Environmental studies

The field of study that includes environmental science and additional subjects such as environmental policy, economics, literature, and ethics

Big idea 1

Energy transfer

Big idea 2

Interactions between earth systems

Big idea 3

Interactions between different species

Big idea 4

Sustainability

Sustainability

Being able to do something now with jeopardizing the ability of future generations to engage in similar activities

Variable

Any categories, conditions, factors, or traits that differ in the natural world or in experimental situations

Independent variable

A variable that is not dependent on other factors

Dependent variable

A variable that is dependent on other factors

Null Hypothesis

A prediction that there is no difference between the groups or conditions that are being compared

Control group

In a scientific investigation, a group that experiences exactly the same conditions as the experimental group, except for the single variable under study.

Natural experiment

A natural event that acts as a experimental treatment in an ecosystem

Replication

The data collection procedure of taking repeated measurements

Sample size

The number of times a measurement is replicated in data collection

Accuracy

How close a measured value is to the actual or true value

Precision

How close the repeated measurements of a sample are to one another

Uncertainty

An estimate of how much a measured or calculated value differs from a true value

Inductive reasoning

The process of making general statements from specific facts or examples

Deductive reasoning

The process of applying a general statement to specific facts or situations

Theory

A hypothesis that has been repeatedly tested and confirmed by multiple groups of researchers and has reached wide acceptance

First law of thermodynamics

A theory with no know exception that states that energy is neither created nor destroyed but it can change from one form to another

Second law of thermodynamics

A theory with no know exceptions that states that when energy is transformed, the quantity of energy remains the same, but its ability to do work diminishes

Example of Energy Transfer

Sunlight converted by photosynthesis into Glucose

Example of Interactions Between Earth Systems

Carbon Cycles between Photosynthesis and Cellular respiration in living things

Examples of Interactions between Different Species and the Environment

Forest that absorb pollutants and store carbon dioxide. Deforestation leads to carbon dioxide release and climate change.

Example of Sustainability

Renewable energy like solar, wind, and many others

Example of Tragedy of the Commons

Overfishing of Cod in the North Atlantic leading to extinction of fish in that region

Supporting Services

Things that support provisioning services

Cultural Services

Services that improve lifestyle through beauty of nature

Regulating Services

keep ecosystem in balance

Results of Anthropogenic activities to Ecosystem services

Damage to Ecosystem and the ability for them to give resources that humans can use

Variables Measured in an Ecological Footprint

area of land and water that a population, individual, or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to process the waste it generates.

Results of the availability of resources influencing species interactions

Leads to Competition, population dynamics, and evolutionary changes

Types of Greenhouse Gases

Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide

Sources and potency of the Greenhouse gases

From Human and Natural sources/activities

Triple Bottom Line

Social, Environment, and Money that need to be balanced to have a sustainable future for that shared resource

Environmental Indicators

Qualitative and Quantitative data that indicate the current state of the environment and the services it provides

Climate

When Temperature and Precipitation accounted for over hundreds of years to determine an area’s climate

Anthropogenic

Created by Man

Ecological Overshoot

When the Footprint of someone exceeds the biocapacity

Biocapacity

the amount of land earth has for each person on earth

Carbon Footprint

A measure of the total carbon dioxide gas and other greenhouse gases emissions from other activities, both direct and indirect, of a person, country, or other entity