apes 2.1-2.4 Flashcards
Ecosystem services
The processes by which life-supporting resources such as clean water, timber, fisheries, and agricultural crops are produced
Environmental indicator
An indicator that describes the current state of an environmental system (biodiversity, CO2 concentration, temperature, human population, resource depletion, etc.).
Per capita
Amount per each person in a country or unit of population
Sustainability
Living on Earth in a way that allows humans to use its resources without depriving future generations
Requirements for sustainability
Environmental systems must not be damaged beyond their ability to recover. Renewable resources must not be depleted faster than they can regenerate. Nonrenewable resources must be used sparingly.
Ecological footprint
A measure of how much an individual consumes, expressed in area of land
Disturbance
An event, caused by physical, chemical, or biological agents, resulting in changes in population size or community composition
Resistance
A measure of how much a disturbance can affect flows of energy and matter in an ecosystem
Resilience
The rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance
Restoration ecology
The study and implementation of restoring damaged ecosystems
Watershed
All land in a given landscape that drains into a particular stream, river, lake, or wetland
Intermediate disturbance hypothesis
The hypothesis that ecosystems experiencing intermediate levels of disturbance or more diverse than those w/ high or low disturbance levels
Species richness
The number of species in a given area
Species evenness
The relative proportion of individuals within the different species in a given area
Phylogeny
The branching pattern of evolutionary relationships
Phylogeny
The blanching pattern of evolutionary relationships
Evolution
A change in the genetic composition of a population over time
Microevolution
Evolution below the species level
Macroevolution
Evolution that gives rise to new species, genera, families, classes, or phyla
Gene
A physical location on the chromosomes within each cell of an organism
Genotype
The complete set of genes of an individual
Phenotype
A set of traits expressed by an individual
Mutation
A random change in the genetic code produced by a mistake in the copying process
Recombination
The genetic process by which one chromosome breaks off and attaches to another chromosome during reproductive cell division
Evolution by artificial selection
The process in which humans determine which individuals breed, typically with a preconceived set of traits in mind
Evolution by natural selection
The process in which the environment determines which individuals survive and reproduce
Fitness v. Adaptation
Fitness is an individual’s ability to survive and reproduce, while adaptation is a trait that improves an individual’s fitness
Gene flow
The process by which individuals move from one population to another and thereby alter the genetic composition of both populations
Genetic drift
A change in the genetic composition of a population over time as a result of random mating
Bottleneck effect
A reduction in the genetic diversity of a population caused by a reduction in its size
Extinction
The death of the last member of a species
Founder effect
A change in the genetic composition of a population as a result of descending from a small number of colonizing individuals
Range of tolerance
The limits to the abiotic conditions that a species can tolerate
Fundamental niche
The suite of abiotic conditions under which a species can survive, grow, & reproduce
Realized niche
The range of abiotic and biotic conditions under which a species actually lives
Distribution
Areas of the world in which a species lives
Niche generalist
A species that can live under a wide range of abiotic or biotic conditions
Niche specialist
A species that is specialized to live in a specific habitat on a small group of species
Tragedy of the commons
The tendency of a shared, limited resource to become depleted if it’s not regulated in some way
Externality
The cost or benefit of a good or service that isn’t included in the purchase price of that good or service otherwise accounted for
Maximum sustainable yield (MSY)
The maximum amount of a renewable resource that can be harvested without compromising the future availability of that resource
Managed Resource Protected Areas
Open for the sustained use of biological, mineral, and recreational resources (mining, logging, road building)
Habitat or Species Management Area
Managed to maintain biological communities ex. through controlled fires
Strict Nature Reserves and Wilderness Areas
Protect species and ecosystems
Protected landscapes and seascapes
Combine the nondestructive use of natural resources with opportunities for tourism and recreation
National monuments
Greater benefit for natural environment through more protection but indigenous human populations are sometimes evicted
Resource conversation ethic
The belief that people should maximize use of resources, based on the greatest good for everyone
Multiple-use lands
A U.S. classification used to designate lands that may be used for recreation, grazing, timber harvesting, and mineral extraction
Threatened species
According to International Union for Conversation of Nature, species that have a high risk of extinction in the future
Near-threatened species
Species that are very likely to become threatened in the future
Least-concern species
Species that are widespread and abundant
Intrinsic v. Instrumental value
Value independent vs dependent to human benefits
Provision
Goods produced by ecosystems that humans can use directly
Regulating
Natural ecosystems help to regulate environmental conditions
Support
Natural ecosystems provide numerous support services that would be costly for humans to generate
Cultural
Ecosystems provide cultural or aesthetic benefits to many people
Why GDP isn’t reliable
Only considers production - countries that produce more could use more resources which could lead to more environmental degradation
GPI
A measure of economic status that includes personal consumption, income distribution, levels of higher education, resource depletion, pollution, and the health of a population
Kuznets curve
As per capita income in a country increases, environmental degradation first increases and then decreases
Technology transfer
The phenomenon of less developed countries adopting technological innovations developed in wealthy countries
Leapfrogging
The phenomenon of less developed countries using new technology without first using the precursor technology
Natural capital
The resources of the planet, such as air, water, and minerals
Human capital
Human knowledge and abilities
Manufactured capital
All goods and infrastructure that humans produce
Market failure
When the economic system does not account for all costs
Environmental economics
A subfield of economics that examines the costs and benefits of various policies and regulations that seek to regulate or limit air and water pollution and other causes of environmental degradation
Ecological economics
The study of economics as a component of ecological systems. Attempt to assign monetary value to intangible benefits and natural capital
Valuation
The practice of assigning monetary value to intangible benefits and natural capital
Ecological succession
The predictable replacement of one group of species by another group over time
Primary succession
Ecological succession occurring on surfaces that are initially devoid of soil
Secondary succession
The succession of plant life that occurs in areas that have been disturbed but not lost soil
Pioneer species
A species that can colonize new areas rapidly and grow well in full sunshine
Climax community
Historically described as the final stage of succession
