Ecology and Environmental Science Key Terms

Vocabulary flashcards covering core ecological concepts, including mining pollution, essential nutrients, population growth patterns, community dynamics, toxic accumulation, and energy transfer.

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 over time.

Biomagnification

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

Keystone Species

A species that exerts strong control on a community relative to its abundance.

Direct Interactions

Interactions between two species that directly influence each other.

Indirect Interactions

When one species influences another through its interactions with other species.

Trophic Cascade

Changes to the structure of an ecosystem resulting from the addition or removal of an animal or plant.

Exponential Growth

A pattern where a population grows faster and larger as it gets bigger because its growth rate is not limited by external factors, creating a J-shaped curve.

Logistic Growth

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

Carrying Capacity

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

10% Rule

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