Unit 2: Chapters 5 & 7 Environmental Science Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering biodiversity, aquatic and marine ecosystems, conservation biology, soil management, and modern agricultural practices from Unit 2 Chapters 5 and 7.

Invasive species

An exotic species that spreads widely and alters or changes an ecological community.

Defaunation

A reduction in the abundance of a species.

Causes of Biodiversity Loss

The five major drivers of species decline: Habitat Destruction, Invasive Species, Pollution, Population of People, and Overharvesting (HIPPO).

Island Biogeography

The theory describing the principle that larger land areas closer to the mainland support greater biodiversity than smaller land areas situated further away.

Endangered Species Act (ESA) Components

The four main provisions of the ESA: criteria for identifying species at risk, directions for planning their recovery, landowner assistance, and enforcement.

Mangrove Tree Roots

Specialized root systems that curve upward to take in oxygen and downward to physically support the tree.

Coral Reefs

Shallow tropical ecosystems housing tiny organisms that receive nourishment from symbiotic algae, absorb waves to protect shorelines, and possess staggering biodiversity.

Abyssal zone

The deep ocean layer situated between $4000$ and $6000\,\text{m}$ below the surface.

Bogs

A type of wetland characterized by the accumulation of a thick layer of partially undecayed peat.

ESA Priority Species Types

The four categories of species that receive the majority of funding under the Endangered Species Act: Keystone, Indicator, Flagship, and Umbrella species.

RH MacArthur and EO Wilson

The two scientists responsible for developing the theory explaining island biogeography.

Lionfish

An invasive marine fish characterized by high fecundity, buoyant egg masses transported by ocean currents, generalist feeding habits, and venomous or toxic spines.

Endemic species

A species that is native and strictly restricted to only one geographic area, making it exceptionally vulnerable to extinction.

$30 \times 30$ global movement

A global conservation target and proposed solution dedicated to protecting and ensuring biodiversity across the planet.

CITES

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species; an international treaty that restricts and regulates the illegal commercial trade of endangered species.

Rachel Carson

The environmental researcher whose work documented the toxic impacts of chemical pollution that pushed birds of prey toward endangerment.

Salt marshes

Coastal wetland environments located primarily within coastal temperate regions.

Biome Determinants

The two primary climatic factors that determine the type and distribution of a biome: temperature and precipitation.

Thermocline

A distinct vertical temperature gradient observed across depth strata in freshwater lakes.

Invasive Species Management Methods

The three distinct strategies employed to handle invasive species: prevention, eradication, and control.

EO Wilson (HIPPO)

The biologist who coined the acronym HIPPO to represent the five primary threats driving biodiversity loss.

Vulnerable Species

A species that is naturally rare or has experienced local population declines caused by human activity to a level that places it at risk.

RE Grumbine

The conservation biologist who developed four core principles for protecting biological diversity.

Tidal pools

Ecosystems consisting of shallow rocky depressions that alternate between being submerged in shallow seawater and having waves crash over resident organisms.

Epipelagic zone

The uppermost ocean layer (top $10$ to $20\,\text{m}$) characterized by sunlight penetration, wind-driven water mixing, and warmer temperatures.

Norman Borlaug

The agricultural scientist who created high-yielding semi-dwarf wheat varieties by cross-hybridizing desirable genetic traits from different strains.

Contour farming

The agricultural technique of plowing and planting furrows perpendicularly across the natural slope or contour of a hill to reduce erosion.

Undernutrition

A nutritional deficiency resulting from a failure to ingest an adequate number of total daily calories.

Malnutrition

A dietary condition caused by an insufficient intake of essential vitamins and nutrients.

Gully erosion

An advanced stage of water erosion that develops when smaller rill channels widen and deepen into extensive ravines.

Desertification

A form of extreme soil degradation in arid or semi-arid lands leading to a decrease in agricultural yield of at least $10\%$.

Traditional agriculture

Farming practices defined by small-scale production, human and animal labor, hand tools, simple machines, and the planting of diverse polycultures.

Soil Profile Horizons

The five vertical master soil layers designated from top to bottom as O, A, E, B, and R.

Pesticide treadmill

The cyclical escalation in which crops are sprayed with chemicals to reduce herbivory, leading to evolved pest resistance that demands the repeated application of increasingly toxic substances.

CAFOs

Confined Animal Feeding Operations; facilities that yield cheap meat and reduce grazing damage, but consume $45\%$ of world grain, create severe manure pollution, require heavy drug usage, and emit greenhouse gases.

Locavore

A consumer who primarily eats food produced close to home and purchases produce from local farmers markets.

Aquaculture

The farming of aquatic organisms; it lessens pressure on overharvested wild fisheries and eliminates bycatch, but generates high waste loads and consumes wild fish as fish meal.

Recombinant DNA

DNA produced by splicing a bacterial plasmid together with a target gene containing a desired trait from another organism.

Integrated Pest Management

An ecological pest control strategy that incorporates crop rotation, transgenic crops, biocontrol, habitat alteration, and alternative tillage practices.

Community supported agriculture

A direct-to-consumer farming model in which buyers pay a farmer upfront before planting season in exchange for receiving a recurring share of the crop yield.

Genetic Engineering Steps (GMO Production)

The laboratory sequence: extract bacterial plasmid; extract target gene; combine into recombinant DNA; insert into bacteria; allow replication; insert DNA into the target organism.