IB ESS FINAL

Eco-centric

Excludes humans

Anthropocentric view

Humans are there to preserve nature

Gaia

It compares the Earths to a living organism in which feedback mechanisms maintain equilibrium.

Abiotic factor

A non-ling, physical factor that may influence an organism or ecosystem; i.e. the temperature, sunlight, pH, salinity, precipitation

Biotic factor

A living, biological factor that may influence an organism or ecosystem; for example, predation, parasitism, disease, competition.

Competition

A common demand by 2+ organisms upon a limited supply of a resource; for example, food, water, light, space, mates, nesting sites. It may be intraspecific or interspecific.

Intraspecific competition

Competition between members of the same species

Interspecific competition

Competition does not only occur between individuals of the same species.

Biochemical oxygen demand

Amount of oxygen required by aquatic bacteria to decompose a given load of organic waste;a measure of water pollution; A measure of the amount of dissolved oxygen required to break down the organic material in a given volume of water through aerobic biological activity.

Biodiversity

THe amount of biological or living diversity per unit area. It includes the concepts of species diversity, habitat diversity and genetic diversity

Diversity

A generic term for heterogeneity. The scientific meaning of the diversity becomes crease from the context in which it is used; it may refer to heterogeneity of species of habitat, or to genetic heterogeneity.

Species diversity

The variety of species per unit area. This includes both the number of species present and their relative abundance.

Diversity, habitat

The range of different habitats or number of ecological niches per unit area in an ecosystem, community or biome. Conservation of habitat diversity usually leads to the conservation of species and genetic diversity.

Genetic diversity

The range of genetic material present in a gene pool or population of a species.

Diversity index

Numerical measure of species diversity that is derived from both the number of species variety and their proportional abundance.

Equilibrium

A state of balance among the components of a system.

Static equilibrium

There is no change over time

Stability

The ability to maintain equilibrium

Resilience

Ability to recover after disruption

Stable equilibrium

Negative feedback will keep the system in order ;The condition of a system in which there is a tendency for it to return to a previous equilibrium condition following disturbance.

Unstable equilibrium

A system that does not return to the same equilibrium after it gets disturbance, but form a new equilibrium

Steady-state equilibrium

A characteristic of open systems where there are continuous inputs and outputs of energy and matter, but the system as a whole remains in a more or less constant state

Feedback loop

Systems are continually affected by information from outside and inside the system.

Feedback

The return of part of the output from a system as input, so as to affect the succeeding outputs.

Positive feedback

Feedback that amplifies or increase change; it leads to exponential deviation away form an equilibrium.

Negative feedback

Self-regulating method of control leading to the maintenance of steady-state equilibrium; Feedback that tends to damp down, neutralize or counteract any deviation from an equilibrium, and promotes stability.

Predatory prey

When the population of prey increase then the population of predator also increase because it has more food, but because it eats too much cause the population of prey decrease, which is means that the population of predator also have to decrease.

Transfers

・the movement of material through living organisms (carnivores eating other animals)

・the movement of material in a non-living process (water being carried by a stream)

・the movement of energy (ocean currents transferring heat)

Transformation

・matter to matter (soluble glucose converted to insoluble starch in plants)

・energy to energy (light converted to heat by radiating surfaces)

・matter to energy (burning fossil fuels)

・energy to matter (photosynthesis)

Internal density-dependent limiting factors

Within a species; food supply, availability of territories, etc

External density-dependent limiting factors

Between different species; disease, predation, etc.

S curve

(steady state)

logistic growth; it is when the rate of the population slows down as it reaches the carrying capacity when the environment can't no longer handle the number fo species

J curve

(negative feedback)

exponential growth; it is when population size increases at constant rate because everyone has access to abundant food (ideal conditions of living)

K-strategist

Species that usually concentrate their productives investment in a small number of offspring, thus increasing the survival rate and adapting them form living in long-term climax communities.

r-strategist

Species that tend to spread their reproductive investment among a large number of offspring so that they are well adapted to colonize new habitats rapidly and make opportunistic use of short-lived resources.

Mutualism

A relationship between individuals of 2+ species in which all benefit and non suffer.

Parasitism

A relationship between 2 species in which one species lives in or on another (host), gaining all or much of its food from it

Natural capital

A term sometimes used by economists for natural resources that if appropriately managed, can produce a "natural income" of goods and services. The natural capital of a forest might provide a continuing natural income of timber, water and recreation.

Renewable natural capital

Natural resources that have a sustainable yield or harvest equal to or less than their natural productivity; for example, food crops, timber.

Renewable

living species and ecosystems, is self-producing and self-maintaining and uses solar energy and photosynthesis. This natural capital can yield marketable goods such as wood fibre, but may also provide unaccounted essential services when left in place, for example, climate regulation

Replenishable natural capital

Non-living natural resources that depend on the energy of the Sun for their replenishment; for example, groundwater.

Replenishable

Groundwater and the ozone layer, is non-living but is also often dependent of the solar "engine" for renewal. Soil is replenishable, it takes such a long time for it to replenish itself so we have to be careful

Non-renewable natural capital

Natural resources that cannot be replenished within a timescale of the same order as that at which they are taken from the environment and used; for example, fossil fuels.

Direct value

Things that we directly benefit form

Indirect value

Things that we indirectly benefit form, or like trees that we get indirectly

Aesthetic values

Human appreciation of natural beauty but it has no market price

Ecological value

Have no formal market price, but are essential for human existence and have no direct monetary value

Economic values

Determined from the market price of goods and services

Existence values

Value people derive just from knowing that a resource or species exists

Ethical/Intrinsic value

Each species has a right to exist-bioright that is unrelated to human needs/biologically diverse ecosystems help to preserve their component species, reducing the need for fure conservation efforts on single species/preserve genes for genetic manipulation/native population should have a right to live

System

An assemblage of parts and the relationship between them, which together constitute an entity or whole.

Open system

A system in which both matter and energy are exchanged with its surrounding.

Closed system

A system in which energy, but not matter is exchanged with its surroundings.

Isolated system

A system that exchanges neither matter nor energy with its surroundings. e.g. the Earth

Energy subsidy

The additional energy that we have to put into the system that which comes form the sun's energy

% of solar energy at it reaches the Earth

Solar radiation: 100%

Albedo (reflected): 35%

Earth's surface: 1-4%

Absorbed by atmosphere: 60%

Trophic level

The position that an organism occupies in a food chain, or a group of organisms in a community that occupy the same position in food chains.

Trophic level 1

Producer

Trophic level 2

Herbivore/primary consumer

Trophic level 3

Carnivore/secondary consumer

Trophic level 4

Carnivore/tertiary consumer

Producers/autotrophs

Manufacture their own food form simple inorganic substances

Consumers/heterotrphs

Organisms that rely on other living organisms or organic particulate matter for their energy. These individuals continue the flow of energy through the cycle.

Decomposers

Organisms that obtain their nutrients form the breakdown of dead organic matter. They recycle nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus back into the soil for producers to use for growth and production

Micro-organisms

eat dead material and breaks down into nutrients

Invertebrates (detritivores)

Organisms which have no backbone - often involved in the break-down of organic matter into soil nutrients

Biodegradable

Capable of being broken down by natural biological processes; i.e. the activities of decomposer organisms

Keystone species

Almost all to predators/engineer species/build the habitat around them.

Photosynthesis

6CO2 + 6H2O -> C6H12O6 + 6O2

Respiration

C6H12O6 + 6O2-> ENERGY +6H2O + 6CO2

Food chain

Shows the flow of energy form one organism to the next

Food web

A complex network of interrelated food chains

Bioaccumulation

The building up of chemicals within the bodies of animals over time as a trophic levels increased. This may reach levels which are dangerous or lethal (single). DDT is the famous chemical used.

Biomagnification

The magnification of the impact of bioaccumulated chemicals at the higher trophic levels. A carnivore will eat lots of herbivores and ingest the chemicals in each and therefore have a greater concentration. The same amount of chemical has a greater effect at trophic level 4 due to it being in less biomass therefore more concentrated (chain)

Pyramid of numbers

Shows the number of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain

Advantage of pyramid of number

Simple easy method of giving an over view and is good for comparing changes in population numbers over different times or seasons

Disadvantages of pyramid of number

All organisms are included regardless of their size/number of species may be too big hence lack of accuracy

Pyramid of biomass

Contains the biomass at each trophic level

Pyramid of productivity

The flow of energy through each trophic level

Habitat

The environment in which a species normally lives

Niche

A species' share of a habitat and the resources in it. An organism's ecological niche depends not only on where it lives but also on what it does.

Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)

The total gain in energy or biomass per unit area per unit time fixed by photosynthesis in green plants.

Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

The gain by producers in energy or biomass per unit area per unit time remaining after allowing for respiratory losses

Gross Secondary Productivity (GSP)

The total gain by consumers in energy or biomass per unit area per unit time through absorption.

Net Secondary Productivity (NSP)

The gain by consumers in energy or biomass unit time remaining after allowing for respiratory losses

Biomass

The mass of organic material in organisms or ecosystems, usually per unit area. Sometimes the term "dry weight biomass" is used where mass is measured after the removal of water. Water is not organic material and inorganic material is usually relatively insignificant interms of mass.

Biome

A collection of ecosystems sharing similar climatic conditions i.e. tundra, tropical rainforest, desert.

Tropical Rainforest

located within 5 degree North and South equator/highest NPP/high biodiversity/lots of niches&hotspot so it has many endemic species/very rich in resources/thin nutrient soil because of sun penetration/decomposition happens fast because of sunlight/biomass is immediately going to take up the nutrients/very hard to have recovery because it doesn't have good strong soil and this can lead to desertification

Stratification

The layers of the rainforest

Desert

covers over 1/5 of the world about 30 North and South of the equator/very low rainfall/animals have adapted to the climate/lowest NPP

Arctic Tundra

extremely cold climate/low biotic diversity/simple vegetation structure/limitation of drainage/short season of growth and reproduction/energy and nutrients in the form of dead organic material/trees cant grow

Community

A group of populations living and interacting with each other in a common habitat.

Pollution

The addition to an environment of a substance or an agent (such as heat) by human activity, at a rate greater than that at which it can be rendered harmless by the environment, and which has an appreciable effect on the organisms within it.

Non-point source pollution

The release of pollutants form numerous, widely dispersed origins; for example, gases form the exhaust systems of vehicles, or leached fertilizer into aquatic system from agriculture.

Point-source pollution

The release of pollutants form a single, clearly identifiable site; for example, a factory chimney or the waste disposal pipe of a factory into a river.

Ecosystem

A community of interdependent organisms and the physical environment they inhabit.

Smog

The term now used for any haziness in the atmosphere caused by air pollutants.

Eutrophication

The natural or artificial enrichment of a body of water, particularly with respect to nitrates and phosphates, that result in depletion of the oxygen content of the water. Eutrophication is accelerated by human activities that add detergents, sewages or agricultural fertilizers to bodies of water.

Indicator species

Species that are sensitive to pollution and die, thus they are an indicator to an area's population

Carrying capacity

The maximum number of species that can be sustainably supported by a given environment.