flash cards

ecology

study of ecosystems excluding social, economic, religious, and political factors

environmental science

"bigger picture," includes social, economic, religious, political, factors along with culture and attitude towards the enviroment

GNP

gross national product; sum of a nations economic output/ all goods/services in a nation in a year

GDP

gross domestic product; measure of a country's goods and services

pollution

any substance or chemical that, in excess, harms the environment

Tragedy of the Commons

environmental novel/statement written by Garret Hardin; demonstrates how to respect, treat, and use common ground

Tragedy of the Commons cause

environmental degradation/ issues over who owns what

Tragedy of the Commons effect

big political issue over how we use common ground + how we take care of it

layers of the earth

core, mantel, crust

core

35%- primarily composed of nickel and iron, solid + dense, under extreme pressure, center of the earth

mantle

64%- hot molten "lava," under extreme pressure, everything in between core and crust

crust

<1%- thin layer of earth that we live on, least dense of the three

who uses the most of the world's resources?

developed countries

layers of the atmosphere

troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere

troposphere

-1st layer/one we live in -78% N2, 21% O2, 1% O3 -solid particles in the air: dust, dirt, pollen, viruses, bacteria -where our weather comes from -dense layer compared to others

stratosphere

-2nd layer -temperature rises/hottest layer -where ozone belongs

mesosphere

-3rd layer -coldest air/very thin

thermosphere

-4th/outermost layer -N2 + 02 -absorbs radiant energy from the sun >northern liights = energy being absorbed -very very thin

ozone

filters/protects humans from UV rays

what form of energy is wasted/lost by members of a ecosystem?

heat

levels of organization of matter

cells-organisms-population-community-ecosystem

most important factors in defining a biome

-climate >temperature + precipitation

aquatic zones

terrestrial biomes

1st trophic level

producers -autotrophs (photosynthesis) -creates energy from sun, provides our energy

2nd trophic level

primary consumers -heterotrophs -eats plants (herbivore)

3rd trophic level

secondary consumer -eats primary consumer -omnivor

4th trophic level

tertiary consumer -eats secondary consumer

decomposers

microscopic, eats dead organisms

detritivore

big decomposer, eats dead plants and animals

how much energy is passed on to the next energy level?

10%

soil particles

sand, silt, clay

sand

-size of basketball -largest + gritty -will not ribbon -lots of air space -does not hold nutrients well

silt

-size of tennis ball -cannot see with human eye -water moves through slowly -has air space -will ribbon -good foundation

clay

-size of marbles -very small particles -does not let water come through -packed tight/sticky -lots of nutrients/ions >but does not let go of them -does not mix well with plants

herbivore

eats plants

carnivore

eats meat

omnivore

eats plants + meat

cosumers

heterotroph: must eat + consume energy

pH scale

measures the concentration of H+ ions in a solution

acidic pH

0-7

neutral pH

7

basic pH

7-12

hydrologic cycle

quick cycle of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation

properties of water

-polar covalent bond -universal solvent -cohesive: sticks to itself -adhesive: sticks to almost everything -can be present as a solid, liquid, or gas at a normal temp -needs A LOT of energy to change states -gains energy from gas -> solid

greenhouse gas

carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and ozone in the atmosphere, traps heat, absorbs + emits radiant energy

greenhouse effect

-carbon dioxide is making the atmosphere thicker -this thickness traps the suns heat/solar radiation, causing warming -has nothing to do with ozone

most important factor in defining a climate

long term patterns of weather (temp+rain)

biome

land regions defined by climate composed of many ecosystems, # is not fixated/strictly defined

niche

job; what an organism does in an ecosystem

wetlands

-areas of land, not always underwater, such as: bogs, marshes, swamps, and food plains saturated with water -supports aquatic plant life -very^3 important in water filtration and storage -highly regulated by the government

monoculture

farming strategy where large fields are planted with a single crop, year after year

what % of the earth is ocean?

70%

native species

-normally live + thrive in a particular ecosystem -keeps each others numbers in check

non-native species

-alien/invasive species -causes financial burdens -no-one to eat them so they over run native species

indicator species

-presence/absence tells something good or bad in an ecosystem

keystone species

-presence/absence can make or break a community -community depends on species

foundation species

-indirectly maintains the health of a community -usually micro-organisms

bio-diversity

variety of life in the world/ particular habitat or ecosystem

genetic diversity

-range of genetic material present in a gene pool or population of species, keeps legal genes from being shown

species diversity

-# of different species in an ecosystem; relative abundance of producers, consumers, and decomposers

niche diversity

-how organisms respond to changes/challenges within their ecosystems -more than one producer, consumer, or decomposers doing their jobs

habitat diversity

-all organisms cannot live in the same place

interspecies competition

two different species wanting the same resources; usually food, but can be living space or territory

generalist

invasive species in an island community that messes up stability

intraspecies competition

same species competing for mates (females)/ leadership

predator/prey

-who eats who -numbers usually follow each other up + down, it is very important to keep numbers in check -humans often interfere

parasite

-organism that lives in/on host: humans are perfect host -causes damage to host, but does not kill it: unless host is weak -can weaken host and not kill them -reproduces rapidly (millions)

mutualism

two species interact and both benefit

obligate mutualism

have to have each other

commensalism

when one organism benefits and the other is unaffected

symbiotic

relationship between two organisms: can be good, bad, or indifferent

immigration

coming into a environment

emigration

leaving an environment

biotic

capacity for growth

j-curve

-j shape: shows exponential/intrinsic growth -is impossible within a population because a population cannot continue to produce at the maximum for ever

K (carrying capacity)

maximum population size that a particular environment can sustain before it hits environmental resistance

overshoot

when a population becomes larger than the environments carrying capacity: takes a while for resistance to begin and results in a population growth

sigmoid curve

when a population fluctuates around the carrying capacity

name of line on a graph that can be moved due to human intervention

K/carrying capacity

exponential growth

-increase within a population that occurs at the same time over time, more realistic because is eventually slows down

density dependent factors

-limiting factor that depends on population size -less biodiversity->worse it affects populations -ex.) disease, humans, overcrowding, competition for food + space

density independent factors

-affects a population regardless of population size -ex.) nature (fire+floods), human activity

describe a stable ecosystem

-has biodiversity->consumers, producers, + decomposers -does not show many changes (consistence) -has resilience and inertia

consistence

-basic population remains the same size and are relative to each other -can fluctuate due to weather + climate -humans can influance

inertia

-everything in a community wants to keep doing what they are doing -produces a steady rate of reproduction

resilience

-a communities ability to handle stress and recover; can be humans or animals

demography

-scientific study of human populations

crude birth rate

number of live births per year per 1,000 people

age structure diagram

shows the momentum of population growth

rapid growth

slow growth

zero growth

doubling time/ rule of 70

70 / % growth rate = # of years to double

HDI

-human development index -established by United Nations to evaluate the quality of life across different nations

HDI is determined by:

-life expectancy -adult literacy -level of income/standard of living -child survival rate -childhood education -gender equality -clean water acess -sanitation

the single best indicator of quality of life:

infant mortality