IB ESS Key terms (ALL)

Environmental Value System (EVS)

A worldwide view that shapes the way an individual or group of people perceive and evaluate environmental issues.

Cornucopians

See the world as having infinite resources to benefit humanity

Environmental Managers

See the earth as a garden that needs tending to

Ecocentric

Believes that the views on earth are to simplistic. They also believe in preserving the earth

Biocentric

All life has an inherent value, a value for themselves, not just of humans

Deep Ecologists

More value on nature than humans

Anthropocentric

Says that humans must sustainably manage the world

Technocentric

Technology can fix all of our problems

A system approach

Way of visualizing a complex set of interactions which may be ecological or societal

Open system

Exchanges both energy and matter across the boundary

Closed system

Only exchanges energy across a boundary

Isolated system

Hypothetical concept in which neither energy nor matter is exchanged

Transfers

Occur when energy or matter flows and changes location but does not change its state

Transformations

Occur when energy or matter flows and changes its state

First law of thermodynamics

Energy cannot be created nor destroyed

Second law of thermodynamics

Entropy of a system increases overtime

Entropy

A measure of the amount go disorder in a system

Negative Feedback loop

stabilizing

Positive Feedback loop

destabilizing

Resilience

tendency to avoid such tipping points and maintain stability

Steady State equilibrium

Characteristic of an open system where there are continuous inputs and outputs of energy and matter. (usually occurs in a climax ecosystem)

Natural Capital

Natural resources; wood, water, oil

Natural income

Goods and services

Species

Group of organisms sharing common characteristics and can produce fertile offspring

Population

Group of organisms of same species living in the same area at the same time

Habitat

Environment in which a species usually lives

Abiotic factors

Non-liviing (ie. rocks, water)

Biotic Factors

Living (i.e.. plants, animals)

Niche

Describes a particular set of abiotic and bionics conditions and resources to which an organisms or population responds

Fundamental Niche

Describes the full range of conditions and resources in which a species could survive and reproduce

Realized Niche

Describes the actual conditions and resources in which a species exits due to biotic interactions

Population dynamics

The study of the factors that causes populations to change size

Predation

One organism eats another

Herbivore

Animals eats only plants

Parasitism

One species lives off of the other (i.e. virus, tick)

Mutualism

Two or more species who both benefit from the interaction (i.e.. dogs and humans)

S and J curve

generalized response of populations to a particular set of conditions

S curve

Has hit carrying capacity

J curve

Increasing exponentially

Community

Group of populations living and interacting with each other

Ecosystem

Biotic and abiotic factors interact

Trophic Level

Position that an organisms occupies in the food chain

Autotrophs

Make own energy (plants)

Heterotrophs (herbivores-plants, carnivores-meat, omnivores-both, detrivores-decomising material)

Consume energy from other organisms

Ecological Pyramids

Pyramid of numbers, biomass and productivity

Biome

Collection of ecosystems charing similar climatic conditions

Biosphere

part of the earth inhabited by organisms

Know different types of biomes

-Tropical Rainforest

-Desert

-Temperate forest

-Arctic tundra

-Deep ocean

Zonation

Change in community along an environmental gradient due to factors such as changes in altitude, latitude, tidal level etc.

Succession

The process of change over time in an ecosystem involving pioneer, intermediate and climax communities

K vs R strategies

R

Short life

rapid growth

Many small offspring

K

Long life

slow growth

few large offspring

Turbidity

The coldness of a body of fresh water

Species diversity

Number of species and their relative abundance

Habitat Diversity

The range of different habitats per unit area in a particular ecosystem or biome

Hotspot

Biodiversity hotspot is a region with high level of biodiversity that is under threat from human activity

Speciation

Gradual change of a species over a long time

Types of physical barriers

Land bridges

Continental drift

Tectonic plates

Holocene extinction event

The 6th mass extinction, we are currently in it

What makes a species prone to extinction?

Narrow geographical range

Small population sizes

Low population densities

Few populations

Large body

Low reproductive potential

Seasonal migrants

Poor dispersers

Specialized niches

Edible to humans

Island organisms

Conservation Biology

Sustainable use and management of natural resources

Preservation Biology

Attempts to exclude human activity in areas where humans have not yet touched

Approaches to conservation

CITIES (makes trade for animals difficult)

Captive breeding and zoos

Botanical gardens

Flagship species

Keystone Species

Flagship Species

Charismatic, instantly recognized and usually cute and fully. Get more recognition

Keystone Species

Plays a critical role in maintaining their ecosystem

Water budget

Quantitative estimate of the amounts off water in storages and flows of the water cycle

Fishery

Exists when fish a re harvested in some way

Aquaculture

Farming of aquatic animals

Water pollution

contamination of bodies of water from pollutants

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)

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 by microorganisms

Indicator species

plants and animals that show something about the environment by their presence, absence, abundance and scarcity

Biotic Index

Indirectly measures pollution by assaying the impact on species within the community according to their tolerance, diversity and realize abundance

Eutrophication

can occur when lakes, estuaries, and coastal waters receive inputs of nutrients which results in excess growth of plants and phytoplankton

What is soil made of?

Mineral particles

Organic remains

Water

Air

Order of soil layers (top to bottom)

O horizon

A horizon

E

B

C

R

O Horizon

Newly added organic material, leaf litter

A Horizon

Humus layer, organic matter enrichment

E Horizon

Depletion of organic matter, clay, iron and aluminum compounds

B Horizon

Enrichment of clay material, iron, aluminum and organic compounds

C Horizon

mainly weathered rock

R Horizon

parent material (bedrock)

Fertile soil

is a non-renewable source

main nutrients are- nitrates, phosphates and potassium

LEDC

Less economically developed country

MEDC

More economically developed country

Commercial vs subsistence farming

Commercial = large scale

Subsistence = small and self-sufficient

Increasing sustainability of food supplies

Maximize the yield

-improve technology

-alter what we grow

-a green revolution

Reduce food waste

-production and storage

-consumption

Monitoring and control

Change attitudes towards food and diet

Human activities that lead to soil degradation

Overgrazing

Deforestation

Unsustainable agriculture

Soil conserving cultivation techniques

Cover crops- different crops in-between main crops

Terracing- method used to reduce steepness

Plowing- increases drainage

Contour farming- cultivating perpendicular to the slope

Levels of the atmosphere (bottom to top)

troposphere

stratosphere

mesosphere

thermosphere

Three main greenhouse gasses

Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane

Montreal Protocol

No more use or production of CFC's

Ozone

Ozone is a toxic gas and an oxidizing agent

Thermal Inversion and Smog

occurs over big cities, usually a positive feedback loop

Energy security

Ability to secure affordable, reliable, and sufficient energy supplies for the needs of a particular energy

Understand the difference between renewable and non-renewable sources and examples

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Weather vs climate

Weather is short term

Climate is long term

Impacts of climate change

On oceans

Polar ice caps

Glaciers

Weather patterns

Food production

Biodiversity and ecosystems

Human health

Human migration

national economies

Clouds as positive and negative feedback loop

Positive- keep heat on earth

negative- their high albedo reflects heat back into space

Mitigation Strategies

Stabilize or reduce GHG emissions

Remove carbon dioxide from atmosphere

geo-engineering

Adaptation strategies

Change land use

Build to resist flooding

change agricultural flooding

Manage the weather

Migrate to other areas

Understand the impact of the increasing human population on the sustainability of resources and