Earth systems Flashcards
system
any assemblage or set of correlated members:
a system of currency; a system of shortland characters.
feedback
A reaction or response to a particular process or activity:
He got very little feedback from his speech.
model
worthy to serve as a model; exemplary and atmosphere that supports life.
biosphere
The part of the earth’s crust waters, and atmosphere that supports life.
ecosystem
any system or network of interconnecting and interacting parts as in a business: The success of apple’s ecosystem depends on hardware/software integration.
biome
A complex biotic community characterized by distinctive plant and animal species and maintained under the climatic conditions of the region especially such a community that has developed to climax.
organism
A form life considered as an entity; an animal, plant, fungus, protistan, or moneran
population
The body of inhabitants of a place: The population of the city opposes the addition of fluorides to the drinking water.
biotic factor
A living thing as an animal or plant that influences or affects an ecosystem: How do humans affect other biotic factors? weather is not a biotic factor because it is not alive.
abiotic factor
nonliving condition or thing as climate or habitat that influences or affects an ecosystem and the organism in it: Abiotic factors can determine which species of organisms will survive in a given environment.
community
A locality inhabited by such a group.
habitat
The place where a person or thing is usually found: paris is a major habitat of artists.
niche
A distinct segment of a market.
biodiversity
biological diversity among and within plant and animal species in an environment: coral reefs are not just havens for marine biodiversity they also underpin the economies of many coastal communities
keystone species
A species whose presence and role within an ecosystem has a disproportionate effect on other organisms within the system. A keystone species is often a dominant predator whose removal allows a prey population to explode and often decreases overall diversity.
exponential growth
growth whose rate becomes ever more rapid in proportion to the growing total number or size.
logistic growth
Is population increase that happens in a manner that starts slowly as there are few individuals then increase in speed as numbers increase, but then decreases to a halt as numbers get high enough that resources are depleted and cannot support further growth.
carrying capacity
The maximum, equilibrium number of organisms of a particular species that can be supported indefinitely in a given environment.
density dependent
density-dependent factor also called regulating factor in ecology any population of living things in…
density independent
density-independent factor, also called limiting factor, in ecology, any force that affects the size of a population of living things regardless of the individuals per unit area.
population density
population density is the concentration of individuals within a specific geographic locale.
emigration
The act of leaving one’s own country to settle permanently in another moving abroad.
disturbance
The interruption of a settled and peaceful condition.
resilience
The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
resistance
The refusal to accept or comply with something; the attempt to prevent something by action or argument.
ecological succession
The process by which the structure of a biological community evolves over time.
