APES 1st semester exam terminology

organism

An individual living thing

species

A group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring.

sustainability

meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

natural capital

Natural resources and natural services that keep us and other species alive and support our economies.

natural resources

Materials or substances such as minerals, forests, water, and fertile land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain

ecosystem services (natural services)

the benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes such as climate regulation, natural hazard regulation, water purification and waste management, pollination or pest control.

renewable resource

A natural resource that can be replaced at the same rate at which the resource is consumed

sustainable yield

Highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply

nonrenewable resource

A natural resource that is not replaced in a useful time frame.

developed country

a modern, industrialized country in which people are generally better educated and healthier and live longer than people in developing countries do

developing country

A country that has low industrial production and little modern technology

point-source pollution

pollution that comes from a specific site

nonpoint-source pollution

pollution that comes from many sources rather than from a single, specific site

affluence

wealth; richness

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.

per capita

per person

IPAT

Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology

hunter-gatherers

People who hunt animals and gather wild plants, seeds, fruits, and nuts to survive

agricultural revolution

The time when human beings first domesticated plants and animals and no longer relied entirely on hunting and gathering

industrial revolution

A period of rapid growth in the use of machines in manufacturing and production

information-globalization revolution

cultural shift in which new technologies mean we have increasingly rapid access to much more information on a global scale

environmental worldview

a set of assumptions and values reflecting how you think the world works and what you think your role in the world should be

half life

length of time required for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay

radioactive decay

A spontaneous process in which unstable nuclei lose energy by emitting radiation

Law of conservation of matter

Matter is not created nor destroyed in any chemical or physical change

high-quality energy

organized & concentrated; can perform useful work (fossil fuel & nuclear)

low-quality energy

disorganized, dispersed (heat in ocean or air wind, solar)

first law of thermodynamics (law of conservation of energy)

When energy is converted from one form to another in a physical or chemical change, no energy is created or destroyed

second law of thermodynamics

when energy is transformed, the quantity of energy remains the same, but its ability to do work diminishes (energy becomes lower quality)

system

A group of parts that work together as a whole

negative feedback loop

A feedback loop that causes a system to change in the opposite direction from which it is moving

positive feedback loop

Causes a system to change further in the same direction.

tipping point

Threshold level at which an environmental problem causes a fundamental and irreversible shift in the behavior of a system.

atmosphere

A thin layer of gases surrounding Earth

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.

geosphere

The mostly solid, rocky part of the Earth; extends from the center of the core to the surface of the crust.

troposphere

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

hydrosphere

All the water at and near the surface of the earth, 97% of which is in oceans

biosphere

part of Earth in which life exists including land, water, and air or atmosphere

population

A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area

community

All the different populations that live together in an area

ecosystem

A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

biotic

living

abiotic

Non-living

autotroph

An organism that makes its own food

heterotroph

An organism that cannot make its own food.

herbivores

Consumers that eat only plants

omnivores

Consumers that eat both plants and animals.

carnivores

Consumers that eat only animals

detritivores

feed on plant and animal remains and other dead matter

decomposers

organisms that break down wastes and dead organisms and return raw materials to the environment

aerobic respiration

Respiration that requires oxygen

anaerobic respiration

Respiration that does not require oxygen; produces methane

biomass

total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level

net primary productivity

the rate at which biomass accumulates in an ecosystem

gross primary productivity

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

respiration

The process by which cells break down simple food molecules to release the energy they contain.

Formula for net primary productivity

GPP - respiration = NPP

surface runoff

Water flowing off the land into bodies of surface water.

transpiration

Evaporation of water from the leaves of a plant

acquifer

a body of permeable rock below the Earth's surface that contains water, known as groundwater

infiltration

Flow of water from the land surface into the subsurface.

percolation

The process by which water moves downward in the soil, toward the water table

short term carbon cycle

dominated by photosynthesis and respiration

long term carbon cycle

involves rock weathering biological evolution and burial and surfacing of fossilized organic carbon

denitrification

process in which fixed nitrogen compounds are converted back into nitrogen gas and returned to the atmosphere

nitrogen fixation

Process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia

nitrification

ammonia is converted to nitrate ions (NO3-).

ammonification

decomposers convert organic waste into ammonia

nitrate

form of nitrogen most usable by plants

phosphorus cycle

The movement of phosphorus atoms from rocks through the biosphere and hydrosphere and back to rocks; the only nutrient cycle with no atmospheric component

biodiversity

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

functional diversity

the variety of processes such as matter cycling and energy flow taking place within ecosystems

genetic diversity

a measure of the genetic variation among individuals in a population

ecological diversity

the variety of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems found in an area or on the earth

biome

A group of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms

evolution

The gradual change in a species over time

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.

mutation

change in a DNA sequence that affects genetic information

adaptive trait (adaptation)

a trait that confers greater likelihood that an individual will reproduce

speciation

Formation of new species

geographic isolation

form of reproductive isolation in which two populations are separated physically by geographic barriers such as rivers, mountains, or stretches of water

reproductive isolation

Separation of species or populations so that they cannot interbreed and produce fertile offspring

artificial selection

Breeding organisms with specific traits in order to produce offspring with identical traits.

extinction

A term that typically describes a species that no longer has any known living individuals.

endemic species

species that are native to and found only within a limited area

background extinction

normal extinction of various species as a result of changes in local environmental conditions

mass extinction

A large extinction of species in a relatively short period of time

species evenness

relative abundance of each species

species richness

the number of different species in a community

niche

An organism's particular role in an ecosystem, or how it makes its living.

habitat

Place where an organism lives

generalist species

Species with a broad ecological niche. They can live in many different places, eat a variety of foods, and tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions. Examples are flies, cockroaches, mice, rats, and human beings. Compare specialist species.

specialist species

Species with a narrow ecological niche. They may be able to live in only one type of habitat, tolerate only a narrow range of climatic and other environmental conditions, or use only one type or a few types of food.

native species

Species that normally live and thrive in a particular ecosystem

nonnative species

Species that migrate into an ecosystem or are deliberately or accidentally introduced into an ecosystem by humans.

indicator species

Species that serve as early warnings that a community or ecosystem is being degraded.

keystone species

A species that influences the survival of many other species in an ecosystem

interspecific competition

competition between members of different species

intraspecific competition

competition between members of the same species