(5) AP Environmental Science Unit 3 Review (Everything you Need to Know!)

Generalist species

Species that have a wide range of tolerance in terms of food and habitat requirements.

Specialist species

Species that rely on a narrow niche or unique set of habitat or food requirements.

R-strategists

Species that produce many offspring, have high population growth rates, and provide little parental care.

K-strategists

Species that produce few offspring and invest significant energy into nurturing and caring for them.

Carrying capacity

The maximum number of individuals of a species that an ecosystem can support.

Density-dependent factors

Factors that affect population growth based on the density of the population.

Density-independent factors

Factors that limit population growth regardless of the population's density.

Exponential growth

A growth model that shows a J-shaped curve where growth occurs without any limiting factors.

Logistic growth model

A growth model that depicts how population growth slows as it approaches carrying capacity.

Age structure diagrams

Graphs used to visualize the composition of a population by age cohorts.

Total fertility rate (TFR)

The average number of children a woman will have in her lifetime.

Replacement level fertility

The average number of children a woman needs to have for a population to remain stable.

Crude birth rate (CBR)

The number of births per 1,000 people in a population.

Crude death rate (CDR)

The number of deaths per 1,000 people in a population.

Rule of 70

A method used to estimate the doubling time of a population based on its growth rate.

Demographic transition theory

The model that describes population changes as countries industrialize, showing changes in birth and death rates.