ENVISCI 10 Module 1 Long Quiz Review (Vocabulary Flashcards)

Key vocabulary terms and concise definitions drawn from the lecture notes to support exam review.

Interdisciplinary

Using diverse skills and methods from sciences and humanities to study environmental problems.

Scientific Method

A systematic, orderly, rigorous approach to investigating environmental phenomena.

Observation

The first step in understanding; detailed evaluation of factors in the natural world.

Quantitative Reasoning

Interpreting data and patterns and relating them to relevant environmental problems.

Experimental Design

Approaches to studying the environment, with Natural (unmanipulated) and Manipulative (altered) designs.

Natural Design

Observation of events as they occur in the natural world, with uncertainty acknowledged.

Manipulative Design

Altering conditions to achieve a specific outcome; includes controlled studies and experiments like blind trials.

Controlled Study

An experimental design comparing a treatment group with a control group.

Blind Experiment

An experiment where the treatment group is not known to the researcher to prevent bias.

Critical Thinking

Reflective thinking about assumptions, evidence, and reasoning in research.

Life Cycle Thinking

Considering the upstream and downstream stages of a product or system through its life cycle.

Upstream Thinking

Focusing on root causes and prevention before problems occur.

Downstream Thinking

Focusing on effects and responses after events have occurred.

Big Picture Thinking

Seeing the overall system and interconnections between components.

Deep Thinking

Examining root causes and drivers behind patterns and events.

Environmental Systems

Systems made of components (people, infrastructure, etc.) with interactions and purposes.

Ecosystem

An open system of biotic (living) and abiotic (physical) components with energy flow and matter cycling.

Emergent Properties

New properties that arise when parts form a system, not present in individual parts.

Community (Ecology)

A group of different species living in the same area and interacting.

Population (Ecology)

A group of individuals from the same species in one area at a given time.

Habitat

The area where an organism lives and conditions for survival.

Greenhouse Effect

Infrared radiation is absorbed and redistributed by clouds and greenhouse gases, warming the lower atmosphere.

Positive Feedback

A reinforcing loop that amplifies a change in a system.

Negative Feedback

A balancing loop that regulates or dampens a change.

Ecology

Study of interactions between organisms and their environment at various scales.

Trophic Level

An organism’s position in a food chain or web based on feeding relationships.

Producers (Autotrophs)

Organisms that produce organic material via photosynthesis.

Consumers (Heterotrophs)

Organisms that obtain energy by eating other organisms.

Scavengers

Organisms that consume dead animal material.

Detritivores

Organisms that feed on litter and small waste left on the ground.

Decomposers

Organisms that break down and recycle nutrients in soil.

Productivity

The amount of biomass produced in an area over a given time; primary productivity is the ecosystem’s growth basis.

Primary Productivity

Photosynthesis-driven production that forms the base of the food web.

10% Rule

Only about 10% of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next.

Biogeochemical Cycles

Movement of elements through biological, geological, and chemical processes.

Water Cycle

Cycle of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff, infiltration, and percolation.

Carbon Cycle

Biogeochemical cycling of carbon through the environment.

Nitrogen Cycle

Movement of nitrogen through fixation, nitrification, assimilation, ammonification, and denitrification.

Nitrogenase

Enzyme that enables nitrogen fixation in certain bacteria.

Nitrogen Fixation

Conversion of nitrogen gas into ammonia or related compounds, via living organisms or non-living processes.

Nitrification

Biochemical oxidation of ammonia to nitrites and then to nitrates.

Denitrification

Microbial conversion of nitrates back to nitrogen gas.

Assimilation (Nitrogen)”

Uptake and incorporation of nutrients into organisms.

Ammonia (NH3)

A form of nitrogen produced during decomposition and fixation that can be used by not all organisms.

Dissolved Phosphates

Phosphate ions dissolved in water that plants and microbes uptake.

Erosion and Weathering

Breakdown and transport of rocks releasing phosphates.

Sedimentation

Deposition of sediments carrying phosphates.

Biogeochemical Cycle

Linked cycles (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus) connecting biological and geological processes.

Indicator Species

Species used to gauge environmental condition based on their presence/absence.

Generalist

Species with a wide tolerance for environmental conditions.

Specialist

Species with narrow environmental tolerance and high vulnerability to change.

Endemic Species

Species found only in a particular geographic area.

Fundamental Niche

Total range of environmental conditions a species could potentially occupy.

Realized Niche

Actual conditions and resources a species occupies in its environment.

Competitive Exclusion

No two species can occupy exactly the same niche; one will outcompete the other.

Niche

The role and position a species has within its environment, including resource use and interactions.

Symbiosis

Close, long-term interaction between two different species.

Mutualism

Both species benefit from the interaction.

Predation

One organism hunts, captures, and consumes another.

Commensalism

One species benefits, the other is largely unaffected.

Parasitism

One benefits at the expense of the other.

Competition

Species compete for limited resources.

Biome

A large ecological unit defined by climate (temperature and precipitation) and its characteristic life forms.

Biodiversity

Diversity within life, including genetic, ecosystem, and species diversity.

Genetic Diversity

Variation of genes within a population or species.

Ecosystem Diversity

Diversity of ecosystems in which species can thrive.

Species Diversity

Diversity and variety of species in an area.

Umbrella Species

A species whose conservation protects many other species sharing its habitat.

Keystone Species

A species with a disproportionately large effect on its ecosystem (often a top predator or regulator).

Critical Link Species

Species that connect others in ecological networks (e.g., pollinators, nutrient cyclers).

Edge Species

Species living at ecosystem boundaries (ecotones).

Extinction Rate

Annual rate at which species go extinct globally.

Endemism

Existence of species that are native to and restricted to a specific area.

Megadiverse

A country or region with an exceptionally high number of species.

Center of the Coral Triangle

Region with exceptionally rich marine biodiversity and coral reefs.

Biodiversity Hotspot

Area with high levels of biodiversity under threat from human activity.

Habitat Destruction

Loss of habitat for a population or species.

Habitat Fragmentation

Breaking up of habitat into smaller, isolated patches.