Ecology and Environmental Science Key Terms

A comprehensive vocabulary review of core ecological concepts, including mining waste impacts, nutrient requirements, population growth models, toxicology in food chains, and trophic energy efficiency.

Tailings

Contaminated mine waste (leftovers from the mining process) made up of crushed rock and water, as well as chemicals used in mining and dissolved metals.

Acid Mine Drainage

The formation and leakage of highly acidic water containing metals from abandoned mine sites.

Nutrient

A substance needed for an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce.

Nitrogen

An essential nutrient needed by all organisms that serves as a key component of molecules like DNA.

Phosphorus

An essential nutrient needed by all organisms that is required for cells to produce proteins.

Limiting Factor

Anything that slows or stops the growth of a population.

Bioaccumulation

The gradual buildup of toxic substances in the tissue of an organism.

Biomagnification

The amplification of toxic substances through trophic levels in the tissue of an organism from ingesting other plants or animals.

Exponential Growth

A pattern where the population grows faster and larger as it gets bigger, with a growth rate not limited by external factors; creates a J-shaped curve.

Logistic Growth

A pattern where a population's growth slows and then stops as resources become limited; creates an S-shaped curve.

Carrying Capacity

The maximum population size of a species that an ecosystem can support.

$10\%$ Rule

The principle that energy transfer is inefficient, where only $10\%$ of energy moves on to the next trophic level while the other $90\%$ is used by the organism or lost as heat.