Enviromental Science Flashcards
Birthrate
The number of births in a population in a certain amount of time.
Estimate
An approximation of a number, based on reasonable assumptions.
Death rate
The number of deaths in a population in a certain amount of time.
Immigration
Moving into a population.
Emigration
Leaving a population.
Population density
The number of individuals in an area of a specific size.
Limiting factor
An environmental(
Carrying capacity
The largest population that area can support
Succession
Series of predictable changes that occur in the community overtime.
Primary succession
Series of changes that occur in the area where no soil or organisms exist.
Pioneer species
The first species to populate the area.
Secondary succession
The series of changes that occur in an area with the ecosystem has been disturbed but where soil and organisms exist.
Producer
In organism that can make its own food
Consumer
An organism that pertains energy by feeding on other organisms
Herbivores
Consumers that only eat plants
Carnivores
Consumers that eat only animals
Omnivores
Consumers that eat both plants and animals
Scavenger
Carnivores that eat the bodies of dead organisms
Decomposers
Organisms that break down Wastes and dead organisms
Food chains
A series of events in which one organism eats another and obtains energy
Food webs
A food web consists of many overlapping food chains in ecosystem
Energy pyramid
A diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from one level to another
Water cycle
The continuous process by which water moves from the earth’s surface to the atmosphere and back.
Evaporation
The process by which molecules of liquid water stored energy and change to a gas
Condensation
The process by which a gas changes to a liquid
Precipitation
Rain snow sleet or hail
Nitrogen fixation
The process of changing free nitrogen into a usable form of nitrogen
Biogeography
Description of where living things are found on earth
Continental drift
The continents move with the plates in this process
Dispersal
The movement of organisms from one place to another
Exotic species
An organism that is carried into a new location by people
Climate
The typical weather patent in an area over a long period of time
Natural resources
Anything in the environment that is used by people
Renewable resources
Resources that are available or are naturally replaced in a relatively short time.
Nonrenewable resources
Natural resources that are not replacing his full amount of time.
Pollution
The contamination of the earth’s land, water, or air
Environmental science
The study of natural processes in the environment and how humans can affect them
Clear-cutting
Cutting all trees at once
Selective cutting
Cutting a certain species of trees
Sustainable yield
Amount of renewable resources
Fisheries
Areas with a large population of fish
Municipal solid waste
The materials produced in homes, businesses, schools, and other places in a community.
Incineration
Burning of solid waste.
Leachate
A polluted liquid.
Sanitary landfill
Landfills that are constructed wastes more safely.
Recycling
Process of reclaiming wrong materials and reusing them to create new products.
Hazardous wastes
Any material that can be harmful to human health or the environment if it is not properly disposed of.
