Apes

ecosystem services

the processes by which life-supporting resources such as clean water, timber, fisheries, and agricultural crops are produced

examples of ecosystem services

Produce food, provide water, filter pollutants from water, purify air, reduce flooding, remove carbon from atmosphere, decompose wastes, dampen effects of extreme weather, pollinate plants, provide medicines, create/preserve soil

ecological footprint

the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources.

sustainable practices

Environmental systems must not be damaged beyond their ability to recover.

Renewable resources must not…

be depleted faster than they can regenerate.

Nonrenewable resources must be…

used sparingly.

Kuznets Curve

As per capita increases, environmental degradation first increases and then decreases.

NPP (Net Primary Productivity)

The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire

first law of thermodynamics

Energy can be transferred and transformed, but it cannot be created or destroyed.

second law of thermodynamics

Every energy transfer or transformation increases the entropy of the universe.

nitrogen fixation

process of converting nitrogen gas into nitrogen compounds that plants can absorb and use

Stratosphere

2nd layer of atmosphere; extends from 10 to 30 miles up; location of ozone layer; absorbs 95% of Ultraviolet radiation; temperature increases with altitude increase.

Mesosphere

3rd layer of the atmosphere - coldest and where meteors burn up

Thermosphere

The uppermost layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increases as altitude increases

Albedo

the percentage of incoming sunlight reflected from a surface

rain shadow

a region with dry conditions found on the leeward side of a mountain range as a result of humid winds from the ocean causing precipitation on the windward side

ENSO

El Nino Southern Oscillation, trade winds weaken & warm surface water moves toward South America. Diminished fisheries off South America, drought in western Pacific, increased precipitation in southwestern North America, fewer Atlantic hurricanes.

Upwelling

The movement of deep, cold, and nutrient-rich water to the surface

Biome

A group of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms

Oligotrophic Lakes

nutrient-poor and generally oxygen-rich

ecosystem diversity

variety of habitats, living communities, and ecological processes in the living world

external cost

a cost paid by people other than the consumer or the producer trading in the market

ecosystem boundaries

Some ecosystems, such as a caves and lakes have very distinctive boundaries. However, in most ecosystems it is difficult to determine where one ecosystems stops and the next begins.

GPP (gross primary productivity)

The total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time

species diversity

The number and relative abundance of species in a biological community.

species richness

the number of different species in a community

species evenness

the relative proportion of individuals within the different species in a given area

algal bloom

an immediate increase in the amount of algae and other producers that results from a large input of a limiting nutrient

climate

the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period.

Troposphere

0-17 km above Earth's surface, site of weather, organisms, contains most atmospheric water vapor. (temperature decreases with increasing altitude, pressure decreases)

natural selection

A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits.

polar cells

where polar air sinks and flows away from the poles downward meeting the ferrel cells at 60 degrees latitude

Hadley cells

a large-scale atmospheric convection cell in which air rises at the equator and sinks at medium latitudes, typically about 30° north or south.

Ferrell cells

A convection current in the atmosphere that lies between Hadley cells and polar cells

Founder effect

change in allele frequencies as a result of the migration of a small subgroup of a population

genetic drift

A change in the allele frequency of a population as a result of chance events rather than natural selection.

bottleneck effect

a reduction in the genetic diversity of a population caused by a reduction in its size

niche specialist

a species with very specific habitat or resource requirements that restrict where it can live

niche generalist

a species that can live under a wide range of abiotic or biotic conditions

realized niche

the range of abiotic and biotic conditions under which a species actually lives

Community

All the different populations that live together in an area

trophic level

each of several hierarchical levels in an ecosystem, comprising organisms that share the same function in the food chain and the same nutritional relationship to the primary sources of energy.

density dependent limiting factors

limiting factors that are affected by the number of individuals in a given area - example disease, competition

density independent limiting factors

limiting factor that affects all populations in similar ways, regardless of population size example - natural disaster

intrinsic growth rate

the maximum potential for growth of a population under ideal conditions with unlimited resources

age structures

the distribution of individuals in different age-groups

logistic growth

Growth pattern in which a population's growth rate slows or stops following a period of exponential growth - has a carrying capacity

exponential growth

Growth pattern in which the individuals in a population reproduce at a constant rate

competitive exclusion principle

Ecological rule that states that no two species can occupy the same exact niche in the same habitat at the same time - one will outcompete the other

mutualism

symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit from the relationship

parasitic

The relationship is beneficial to one organism and harmful to the other.

Commensalism

A relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected

primary succession

succession that occurs on surfaces where no soil exists

secondary succession

Succession following a disturbance that destroys a community without destroying the soil

total fertility rate

The average number of children born to a woman during her childbearing years.

island biogeography

The study of rates of colonization and extinction of species on islands or other isolated areas based on size, shape, and distance from other inhabited regions

demographic transition

change in a population from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates

crude birth rate

The total number of live births in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society.

crude death rate

The number of deaths per year per 1,000 people.

Earth's crust

Earth's outermost layer of rock

Asthenosphere

The soft layer of the mantle on which the tectonic plates move

core

The central part of the earth below the mantle

Lithosphere

the solid, outer layer of the earth that consists of the crust and the rigid upper part of the mantle

plate tectonics

The theory that pieces of Earth's lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by convection currents in the mantle.

continental crust

The portion of the earth's crust that primarily contains granite, is less dense than oceanic crust, and is 20-50 km thick

sedimentary rock

A type of rock that forms when particles from other rocks or the remains of plants and animals are pressed and cemented together

oceanic crust

the portion of Earth's crust that is usually below the oceans and not associated with continental areas, thinner and higher in density that continental crust and basaltic rather than granitic in composition

metamorphic rock

A type of rock that forms from an existing rock that is changed by heat, pressure, or chemical reactions.

igneous rock

a type of rock that forms from the cooling of molten rock at or below the surface

erosion

movement of small rock particles usually by wind or water

physical weathering

Any process that breaks rock down into smaller pieces without changing the chemistry of the rock; typically wind and water.

chemical weathering

The process in which rock is broken down by changes in its chemical makeup

soil layers

O, A, E, B, C, R

sand

A naturally occurring grainy material made of finely divided rock and mineral particles; - the larger soil particle

silt

fine particles of fertile soil - medium

clay

the finest soil, made up of particles that are less than 0.002 mm in diameter. - low porosity

Environmental justice- can be a social movement or an academic field of study

People who examine whether there is equal enforcement of environmental laws and elimination of disparities in exposure to pollutants and other harms affecting different groups in a society