Environmental Science Lecture Notes: Ecological Footprints and Biomes

Flashcards covering ecological footprints, environmental laws, species interactions, aquatic and terrestrial biomes, and the Tragedy of the Commons based on the provided lecture notes.

Ecological Footprint ($5.11$)

A measure of how much a person or group consumes, expressed in area of land required for food production, raw materials, electricity, waste disposal, and housing.

Global Hectare ($gha$)

A biologically productive hectare, equivalent to $2.47\,acres$, used as the unit of measurement for Ecological Footprints.

Carbon Footprint

The total amount of $CO_2$ produced per year from an individual or group's consumption and activities, measured in tons.

Fair Earthshare

The area of biologically productive land on Earth divided by the total number of people on Earth.

Individual

One single organism.

Population

A group of individuals of the same species.

Community

All living organisms in a specific area.

Ecosystem

All living and non-living things in an area, including plants, animals, water, and sunlight.

Biome

A large area with similar climate conditions that determine the specific plant and animal species found there.

Competition

An interaction where species fight over a limited resource, which can reduce population size.

Predation

Interaction where one organism uses another for energy, including parasites and Herbavores.

Mutualism

A symbiotic interaction where both species benefit ($+/+$).

Commensalism

A symbiotic interaction where one organism benefits and the other is not affected ($+/0$).

Herbavores

Organisms that eat plants for energy; the most common type are aquatic organisms.

True Predators (Carnivores)

Organisms that kill and eat prey for energy.

Parasites

Organisms that use a host for energy without immediately killing it.

Parasitoids

Organisms that lay eggs inside a host; the larvae then hatch and eat the host for energy.

Symbioses

Any close and long-term interaction between two organisms of different species, including mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.

Resource Partitioning

When different species use the same resource in different ways to reduce competition.

Temporal Partitioning

Using the same resource at different times, such as owls hunting at night and hawks during the day.

Spatial Partitioning

Using different areas of a shared habitat to access resources.

Morphological Partitioning

Using different resources based on evolved physical body features.

Competitive Exclusion Principal

The rule stating that two species competing for the exact same limiting resource cannot coexist.

Littoral Zone

The shallow region near the shore of a lake with soil and water where algae and emergent rooted plants grow.

Limvetic Zone

Refers to the open surface water of a lake as deep as sunlight penetrates, where phytoplankton are the primary producers.

Profundal Zone

The deep open water of a lake beyond the reach of light penetration where producers cannot survive.

Benthic Zone

The muddy bottom layer of a body of water underneath the other zones.

Oligotrophic Lake

A lake classified by low nutrients, clear water, deep depth, and high dissolved oxygen.

Mesotrophic Lake

A lake characterized by moderate nutrient levels and lower oxygen at the bottom.

Eutrophic Lake

A lake with high nutrients, turbid water, high algal growth, and low oxygen.

Dead Zone

An aquatic area where dissolved oxygen levels are less than $2\,ppm$.

Swamps

Wetlands characterized by the presence of emergent trees such as cypress.

Marshes

Wetlands containing non-woody plants like cattails and sedges.

Bogs

Acidic wetlands containing sphagnum moss and spruce trees.

Mangrove Swamps

Swamps containing halophytic (salt-tolerant) trees found in tropical and subtropical coasts.

Salt Marsh

One of the most productive biomes, found along coasts in temperate climates containing non-woody emergent vegetation.

Intertidal Zone

A band of coastline that exists between high tide and low tide, ranging from rocky areas to mudflats.

Tidal Range

The vertical difference between high and low tide, reaching up to approximately $17\,meters$ in the Bay of Fundy.

Photic Zone

The sunlit upper layer of the ocean where photosynthesis occurs, generally not exceeding $200\,m$ ($-660\,ft$) depth.

Aphotic Zone

The sunless lower layer of the ocean below the reach of light penetration.

Neritic Zone

Shallow ocean water located above the continental shelf, up to approximately $200\,m$ depth.

Oceanic Zone

Deep water located beyond the edge of the continental shelf.

Pelagic Zone

The open water of the ocean.

Abyssal Zone

The deepest part of the ocean floor.

Zooxanthellae

Microscopic algae that live inside coral tissue in a mutualistic relationship, providing sugar and color to the coral.

Coral Bleaching

A process where stressed corals expel their zooxanthellae and turn white, often caused by ocean warming or pollution.

Shrubland

A biome with hot/dry summers and mild/rainy winters, containing drought-resistant plants like yucca and sagebrush.

Temperate Grassland

Known as prairies in North America, this biome features nutrient-rich soil and is often used for agriculture and cattle.

Tropical Rainforest

A warm, wet biome with nutrient-poor soil due to high competition and rapid plant use, found in the Amazon and Congo Basins.

Savanna

A biome with a warm temperature and distinct wet and dry seasons, characterized by dense stands of shrubs and trees.

Hot Desert

An extremely dry biome receiving less than $10\,inches$ of rain per year, with plants like cacti that have spikes instead of leaves.

Tundra

A cold, treeless biome in the Northern Hemisphere with permafrost soil and little precipitation.

Taiga (Boreal Forest)

A biome dominated by evergreen trees like spruce, characterized by cold temperatures and nutrient-poor soil.

Temperate Rainforest

A mid-latitude coastal biome with mild temperatures and high precipitation, often containing sequoia trees.

Temperate Seasonal Forest

A biome with four seasons and deciduous trees that change color, found in the Eastern USA, Japan, and Europe.

Tragedy of the Commons (TOC)

The concept that individuals will use a shared public resource for their own benefit, leading to overuse and degradation.

Externalities

Negative costs associated with human actions that are not accounted for in the market price of a good or service.