AP environmental science

Ecology

The study of interactions between organisms and their environment.

Biome

A large geographic area characterized by specific climate conditions, animal populations, and plant species.

Ecosystem

A community of living organisms interacting with each other and their physical environment.

Food Web

A complex network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem.

Trophic Level

Each step in a food chain or food web representing energy transfer.

Producers

Organisms that make their own food through photosynthesis (e.g., plants).

Consumers

Organisms that obtain energy by feeding on other organisms.

Decomposers

Organisms that break down dead organic matter, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem (e.g., bacteria, fungi).

Biodiversity

The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.

Endangered Species

A species at risk of extinction due to a critically low population size.

Invasive Species

A species that is not native to a specific location, and which has a tendency to spread to a degree believed to cause damage to the environment, human economy or human health.

Pollution

Contamination of the environment with harmful substances.

Acid Rain

Rainfall made acidic by atmospheric pollution that causes environmental harm.

Ozone Layer

A layer in the Earth's stratosphere containing high concentrations of ozone, which absorbs most of the Sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation.

Climate Change

Long-term changes in temperature and weather patterns, primarily caused by human activities.

Greenhouse Effect

The process by which certain gases in the atmosphere trap heat, warming the Earth.

Deforestation

The clearing of forests for other land uses.

Sustainability

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

Renewable Resources

Resources that can be replenished naturally over time (e.g., solar, wind, water).

Non-renewable Resources

Resources that cannot be easily replenished and are finite (e.g., fossil fuels).

Environmental Policy

Government laws and regulations designed to protect the environment.

Tragedy of the Commons

A situation where individuals acting independently and rationally deplete a shared resource, even when doing so is not in their best interest.

Keystone Species

A species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically.

Carrying Capacity

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

r-selected species

Species that reproduce early in their life span and produce large numbers of usually small and short-lived offspring in unstable environment.

K-selected species

Species that produce a few, often fairly large offspring, but invest a great deal of time and energy to ensure that most of those offspring reach reproductive age in a stable environment.

Demographic Transition Model

Model that describes population growth through stages of birth and death rates as a country develops.