Environmental Science: Key Terms and Concepts, Quizzes of Environmental Science

Download Environmental Science: Key Terms and Concepts and more Quizzes Environmental Science in PDF only on Docsity! TERM 1 Environment DEFINITION 1 *Conditions that surround organisms/group of organisms. *Social and cultural conditions that affect an individual or community. TERM 2 Science as a way of Knowing DEFINITION 2 *Assumes that world is knowable through study and logical analysis. *Reduces tendency to rely on emotional reactions. *Searches for testable evidence. Explanations are provisional. TERM 3 Environmental Science DEFINITION 3 Systematic study of our environment and our place in it. *Highly Interdisciplinary *Inclusive *Holistic *Mission- Oriented TERM 4 Science as a way of knowing (There are three ways) DEFINITION 4 Scientists collaborate in a cumulative, self-correcting process. *Must have peer review. 1. Scientific Design 2. Reasoning 3. Scientific Theory TERM 5 Science as a way of knowing: Scientific Design (1) Reproducibilty DEFINITION 5 Experiments must be designed and recorded such that they can be exactly reproduced by other researchers. TERM 6 Science as a way of knowing: Scientific Design (1) Controlled Studies DEFINITION 6 Comparisons are made between experimental and control populations. *Every factor but the one being studied is held constant. TERM 7 Science as a way of knowing: Scientific Design (1) Blind Experiment DEFINITION 7 Investigators don't know which group is the control and which is the experimental group, until after all data is collected and analyzed. TERM 8 Science as a way of knowing: Scientific Design (1) Double-Blind Experiment DEFINITION 8 Neither the subject or the investigator knows which participants are receiving an experimental treatment. TERM 9 Science as a way of knowing: Scientific Theory (3)Modeling/Natural Experiments DEFINITION 9 *Sometimes historical evidence can be examined for support or contradiction of an idea. *Another method of investigation is using a model t osimulate a phenomenon. *Models represents the researchers' assumptions about how a system works. TERM 10 Science as a way of knowing: Reasoning (2) Deductive DEFINITION 10 Starting with a general principle and deriving a testable predication about a specific case. ex. Gravity TERM 21 History of Conservation and Environmentalism: Modern Environmentalish (3) DEFINITION 21 Rachel Carson who wrote Silent Spring, awakened the public to the threats of pollution and toxic chemicals to humans as well as other species. *modern ENVIism estends concerns to include both NATURAL RESOURCES and ENVI POLLUTION. TERM 22 History of Conservation and Environmentalism: Gobal Concerns (4) DEFINITION 22 Increased travel and communication enables people to know about daily events in places unknown in previous generations. *Common environment shared on a global scale = Global ENVI. TERM 23 History of Conservation and Environmentalism: CURRENT ENVI Conditions DEFINITION 23 *More than 7 billion people now occupy the earth, and we add about 85 million more people each year. This is the cause of ENVI Degradation. *Most growth will be in poorer countries where present populations already strain resources and services. TERM 24 Human Dimensions of ENVI Science DEFINITION 24 A small fractoin of the world's population live in increasing luxury, while more than 1.4 billion prople live in acute poverty. *70% are Women and Children *Often meet short- term survial needs at the cost of long-term sustainability. *Cycle of poverty, illness and limited opportunities become cyclic. TERM 25 Human Dimensons: Ritch and Poor Countries DEFINITION 25 *20% of the worlds population lives in the Twenty richest countries. *Average per capita income is above $25,000 *Other 80% of worlds population live in middle or low-income countries. *Ten poorest countries each have an average per capita imcome of less than $200/ *Richest 200 people in the world have a combined wealth of $1 trillion. (More than total owned by the poorest half of hte world population.-$3 billion). TERM 26 U.S. with 4.5% of World Population: Conumes vs. Produces DEFINITION 26 Consumes Produces 26% of all OIL 50% of all TOXIC WASTES 24% of Aluminum 26% of Nitrogen Oxides 20% of Copper 25% of Sulfur Oxides 19% of Nickle 22% of Chlorofluorocarbons 13% of Steel26% of Carbon Dioxide TERM 27 Sustainable Development DEFINITION 27 Meeting the needs of the Present without compromising the ability of Future generaton to meet their own needs. TERM 28 Indigenous Peoples DEFINITION 28 Are generally among the least powerful, most neglected groups. *In man countries, traditonal caste systems, discriminatory laws, economics, or prejudices repress indigenous people. *In many places, indigenous people auard undisturbed habitats and rare species. (Recognizing native land rights ay safeguard ecological processes. TERM 29 Ecology DEFINITION 29 The scientific study of relationships between organisms and their encironment. *Examines the life histories, distribution, and behavior of individual species, also the structure and function of matural systems at the level of poulations, communities, ecosystems, and landscapes. *Encourages holistic thinking about interconnections that make whole systems more than jus the sum of their parts. *Examines how and why materials cycle between the living and nonliving parts of our environment. TERM 30 Matter and Energy DEFINITION 30 These are essential constituents of both the universe and living organisms. TERM 31 Matter DEFINITION 31 Everything that takes up space has mass. TERM 32 Energy DEFINITION 32 The Capacity to do work. TERM 33 Potential Energy DEFINITION 33 Stored energy that is latent but available for use. TERM 34 Kinetic Energy DEFINITION 34 Energy contained in moving objects. TERM 35 Low Quality Energy DEFINITION 35 *Diffuded, dispersed, or low in temperature *Difficult to gather and use for productive purposes ex. Heat stored in the Oceans Most of our common enery sources are low- quality and must be concentrated/transformed into high-quality sources before they are useful. TERM 46 Ionic Bond DEFINITION 46 Formed when one atom gives up an election to another atom. TERM 47 covalent Bond DEFINITION 47 Formed when two or more atoms share electrons. *Energy is needed to break chemicalbond. *Energy is released when bods are formed. TERM 48 Acid DEFINITION 48 Compouds thatreadily release hydrogen ions (H+) in water. pH of 1-6 Neutral = 8 TERM 49 Base DEFINITION 49 Substances that redily take up hydrogen ions (H+) and release hydroxide ions (OH-) in solution. ***Strength measured by concentration of H+ = pH scale (0-14) pH of 8- 14 TERM 50 Water Compound DEFINITION 50 *60%-70% of the weight of living organisms *Medium in which all of life's chemicals reactions occur *Good electrical conductor *Higest surface tension of any common, natural liquid. *Liquid over a wide temperature range *Expands when it crystallizes, unlike most substances *Heigh heat of vaporization *Heigh specific heat TERM 51 Cells: The Fundamental Units of Life DEFINITION 51 *Microsopic organisms, such as bacteria are composed of single cells. *The human body contains several trillion cells of about two hundred distinct types. TERM 52 Enzymes DEFINITION 52 Catalysts that speed up the rate of chemical reactions in living systems. TERM 53 Metabolism DEFINITION 53 All the energy and matter exchanges that occur within a living cell or organism. TERM 54 Photosynthesis DEFINITION 54 6CO2 + 6H2O + Suh C6H12O6 (sugar)+ 6O2. TERM 55 Cellular Respiration DEFINITION 55 C6H12O6 (glucose) + 6O2 (oxygen) 6CO2 (carbon dioxide) + 6H2O (water) +Energy TERM 56 Species DEFINITION 56 All organisms genetically similar enough to breed and produce live, fertile offspring in nature. TERM 57 Population DEFINITION 57 All members of a species that live in the same area at the same time. TERM 58 Biological Community DEFINITION 58 All populations living and interacting in an area. TERM 59 Ecosystem DEFINITION 59 A biological community and its physical environment. TERM 60 Productivity DEFINITION 60 In ecology, productivity or production refers to the rate of generation of biomass in an ecosystem. It is usually expressed in units of mass per unit surface (or volume) per unit time, for instance grams per square metre per day. TERM 71 Nitrogen Fixatio DEFINITION 71 Nitrogen fixation is a process by which nitrogen (N2) in the atmosphere is converted into ammonia (NH3). *Nodules on roots of plants contain bacteria that help convert nitrogen in the soil to a form the plant can utilize. TERM 72 Phosphorus Cycle DEFINITION 72 Phosphorus is released from rocks through weathering, it infiltrates soil and water. It's then absorbed by plants, and herbivors who eat the plants, then by carnivors who eat herbivors. When animals die Phosphorus returns to the soil and ocean through decaying. *Abundant phosphorus stimulates plant and algal productivity *Eanergy rich compounds (ATP and ADP) *Necessary for modern agricultural production (can be a major component of water pollution.=reduced leves of dissolved oxygen). TERM 73 Eutrophication DEFINITION 73 Enrichment of surface waters with nutrients that leads to: *increased alge growth *decreased dissolved oxygen *reduced water transperency TERM 74 Sulfur Cycle DEFINITION 74 Found in underground rocks, deep oceanic deposits. Sulfur is released from weathering of rock, and gases are released from seafloor vents, volcanic eurptions and for either hydrogen sulfide or sulfur dioxide. Surfur dioxide converts to sulfur trioxide into diny droplets of sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid mixes with rain, which falls to the Earth as acid rain. *Important component of proteins. *Surlfur compounds are importand determinants of the acidity of watr.(Particulates may also act as critical regulators of global climate.) TERM 75 Environmental Factor DEFINITION 75 ex. Temperature, nutrient supply, ect. *All Environmental Factors have Tolerance Limits. TERM 76 Tolerance Limits DEFINITION 76 Theminimum andmaxium levels beyond which a species can't survive or it's unable to reproduce. *Many species exhibit tolerance limits that are more critical for the young than adults. TERM 77 Abudance and Distribution of Species: Liebig DEFINITION 77 Liebig proposed that the single environmental factor in shortest supply relative to demand is the critical determinant in species distribution. TERM 78 Abudance and Distribution Species: Shelford DEFINITION 78 Shelford added to Liebig's work by proposing that the single environmental factor clostestto tolerance limits determines where a particular organism can live. TERM 79 Liebig's Law of the Minimum DEFINITION 79 States that plant growth will continue as long as all required factors are present (e.g. light, water, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium etc.). When one of those factors is depleted, growth stops. Increasing the amount of the limiting component will allow growth to continue until that component (or another) is depleted. TERM 80 Abudance and Distribution Today DEFINITION 80 *Today we know that for many species the interaction of several factors, rather than a single limiting facotor, determines biogeographical distribution. *Sometimes, the requirments and tolerances of species are useful indicators of specific environmental characteristics. TERM 81 Adaptation (Two Types) DEFINITION 81 1. Acclimation 2. Evolution TERM 82 Acclimation DEFINITION 82 Changes in an individual organism due to non-permanent physiological modifications. TERM 83 Evolution DEFINITION 83 Gradual changes in a species due to changes in genetic material and competition. TERM 84 Theory of Evolution DEFINITION 84 Developed by Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace. TERM 85 Natural Selection DEFINITION 85 Genetic combinations best adapted for present environmentalconditions tend to become abundant. *Spontaneous, random mutations occur. *Selective Pressure TERM 96 Generalists vs. Specialists DEFINITION 96 Specialists are species with a narrow nuche. It survives on a fairly limited diet (e.g. koalas, which feed almost exclusively on certain species of eucalyptus leaves) or is restricted to a particular locality (such as the tuatara of New Zealand, a species found in only a few offshore islands of the country). Generalists are species with much broader niches. They can survive in a wide variety of habitats, or feed on a range of different foods (e.g. the Virginia opossum, or the mouse). TERM 97 Pioneer Species DEFINITION 97 Can quickly colonize open, disrupted, or bare ground. TERM 98 Predation DEFINITION 98 A predator is an organism that feeds directly upon another living organism, whether or not it kills the prey in doing so. *Preys most successfully on the slowest, weakest, least fit members of target population. *Reduces competition, population overgrowth, and stimulates natural selection. *Co- Evolution TERM 99 Co-Evolution DEFINITION 99 Selective pressure of predator on prey and vice-versa. TERM 100 Interspecific Competition DEFINITION 100 Competition between members of a different species. TERM 101 Intraspecific Competition DEFINITION 101 Compeitiion amound members of the same species. *Oftens intense due to same space and nutritional requirments. *Territoriality TERM 102 Territoriality DEFINITION 102 Organisms defend a specific area containing resources, primarily against member of it's own species. *Resource Allocation and Spacing TERM 103 Symbiosis (Three Types) DEFINITION 103 Intimate living together of member of two or more species. (Close/long-term interaction between 2 or more different species). 1. Commensalis 2. Mutualism 3. Parasitism TERM 104 Commensalism DEFINITION 104 `Relationship between organisms where one benefits while the other is neither benfited nor harmed. ex. epiphytes TERM 105 Mutualism DEFINITION 105 Relationship between organisms where both benefit. ex. Lichens Cw and Cattle Egrets TERM 106 Parasitism DEFINITION 106 Relstionship between organism where one benefits at the expense of the other. ex. Human and Tapeworm TERM 107 Defensive Mechanisms (Two Types) DEFINITION 107 Organism uses to protect it's self. 1. Batesian Mimicry 2. Mullerian Mimicry TERM 108 Batesian Mimicry DEFINITION 108 A palatable or harmless species mimics an unpalatable or harmful model. ex. Catapiller and Snake TERM 109 Mullerian Mimicry DEFINITION 109 Two or more unpalatable or harmful species resemble each other. ex. Wasp and fly. TERM 110 Keystone Species DEFINITION 110 Species that play exssential community roles. ex. Mycorrhizae, Giant Kelp TERM 121 Intrinsic DEFINITION 121 *Attributes of a Species *Slow Reproduction = example. TERM 122 Extrinsic DEFINITION 122 *External to a Species *Predators, Competitors, and Environmental Risks are examples. TERM 123 Adaptation Strategies (Two Types) DEFINITION 123 1. Reproduction & Growth (r-adapted) 2. Logistic (K-shaped) TERM 124 Reproduction and Growth (r-adapted) DEFINITION 124 Short Life Rapid Growth Early Maturity Many Small Offspring Little investment in individual Offspring Adapted to unstable environment Pioneers, colonizers Niche generalists Prey Regulated mainly by extrinsic factors Low trophic level ex. Bacteria TERM 125 Logistic (K-adapted) DEFINITION 125 Long Life Slower Growth Late Maturity Fewer Large Offsprine High Parental Care and Protection High investment in individual offspring Adapted to stable environment Later stages of succession Niche specialists Predatore Regulated mainly by intrinsic factors High trophic level ex. Humans TERM 126 Primary Productivity DEFINITION 126 A community's rate of biomass production, or the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy stored in living/once- living organisms. TERM 127 Net Primary Productivity DEFINITION 127 Primary Productivity minus the energy lost in Respiration. *Productivity depends on light levels, temperature, moisture, and nutrient availability. TERM 128 Abundance DEFINITION 128 The number of individuals of a species in an area. ***Depends on the total resource availability in an ecosystem. TERM 129 Diversity DEFINITION 129 The number of different species in an area. *A useful measure of the variety of ecological niches or genetic variation in a community. *Decreases as we go from the equator towards the poles. ***Depends on the total resource availability in an ecosystem. TERM 130 Complexity DEFINITION 130 The number of species at each trophic level and the number of trophic levels in a community. TERM 131 Stability DEFINITION 131 A dynamic equilibrium amoung the physical and biogical factors in an ecosystem or a community. TERM 132 Resiliency DEFINITION 132 The ability to recover from disturbance. TERM 133 Community Structure (Three Types) DEFINITION 133 Patterns of spatial distribution. 1. Random 2. Clustered 3. Uniform TERM 134 Random Community Structure DEFINITION 134 Indiciduals live whereever resources are available. TERM 135 Clustered Community Structure DEFINITION 135 Individuals cluster together for protection, assistance, or resourse access.