Glossary Vocab Flashcards
Acid Rain
Any precipitation that is distinctly more acidic than normal rainfall (ph 5.5-6.0). Cause by sulfur dioxides and/or oxides of nitrogen
Agenda 21
Outcome of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. A blue print for action to achieve sustainable development worldwide.
Agribusiness
Farming based on the desire to maximize productivity and profit in order to compete in a global market. Involves large scale mono cultures, intensive use of fertilizers and pesticides, mechanized plowing and harvesting, and food production geared toward mass markets, including export.
Albedo
the amount of incoming solar energy reflected back into the atmosphere by the earth’s surface
Altruism
Unselfish concern for the welfare of others
Anoxia
A total decrease in the levels of oxygen; very low levels of oxygen
Anthropocentric
Human-centered world view where nature exists and is used for human benefit
Bioaccumulation
pesticides build up in the body tissue of primary consumers
Biomagnification
pesticides become concentrated in animal tissues at each successive level of the trophic level of the food chain
Age specific birth rate (ASBR)
The number of live births per 1000 women of any specified age groups
Buffer zone
Areas of habitat, which either may be disturbed or managed, that surround conservation areas.
Carnivore
An organism that feeds on animals
Carnivory
The process of an organism feeding on an animal
CITES
An international agreement between governments that aims to ensure international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival
Interspecific competition
Competition between different species
Intraspecific competition
Competition within a species
Ex situ conservation
Helping to protect a species in zoos
In situ conservation
Helping to protect a species in their habitat
Consumers
Organisms that eat other organisms to obtain their food
DDT
Dichloro-diphenyl-triochloroethane. A synthetic pesticide that is strongly absorbed by soils. Not very soluble in water but very soluble in lipids, so it builds up in the fatty tissue of organisms.
Decomposers
Bacteria and fungi that feed on dead & decaying organisms
Density dependent factors
Factors that lower the birth rate or raise the death rate as a population grows in size
Dry deposition
A form of acid rain. the deposition on the surfaces of dry gases/particles in the atmosphere
Wet deposition
A form of acid rain. the deposition on the surfaces of dissolved substances and particles formed by any form of precipitation
Diffusion
Describes the spread of species at the edge of their ranges into new areas. Diffusion often follows jump dispersion events.
Diversity
The number of species and their relative abundance in a given area or sample.
Density Independent Factors
Factors that affect a population irrespective of population density
Ecocentric
A world view that sees nature as having inherent value
Ecological deficit
Relates to the available capacity of a country. If the ecological footprint of the country exceeds the biologically productive area then the country has an ecological deficit.
Ecological footprint
Represents the hypothetical area of land required by a society, group, or individual to fulfill all their resource needs and assimilation of wastes
Edge effects
Changed environment conditions at the edge of reserves
Stable equilibrium
Where the system returns to the original equilibrium following distrubance
Static equilibrium
Systems where there is no input or output of energy or matter, and there is no change in the system over time
Steady-state equilibrium
Despite constant inputs and outputs of energy and matter, the overall stability of the system remains
Unstable equilibrium
Where a system does not return to the same equilibrium following disturbance but forms a new equilibrium
Export subsidies
Government policy to encourage export of goods and discourage sale of goods on the domestic market through low cost loans or tax relief for exporters
Mass extinctions
Periods when a large proportion of the total number of species on the Earth at the time have been wiped out
Commercial Farming
Production of crops or animals for profit. Often involves the production of one crop.
Extensive farming
Farms that are large in comparison to the money and labor put into them
Intensive farming
Farms that take up a small area of land but aim to have very high output
Shifting cultivation farming
Rotational system where a small area of land is cleared for crops. Also known as “slash and burn” reflecting how the land is cleared. Once land has been exhausted a new area is used. Old land can be returned to once the fertility has recovered
Subsistence farming
Produces only enough food to feed the family or small community working it, not for profit. Typically uses no machines and follows the polyculture approach.
General fertility rate
The number of births per thousand women aged 15-49
Total Fertility rate
The average number of births per woman of child bearing age
Field capacity
The maximum amount of water that a soil can hold
Flows
Movement through a system in the form of inputs and outputs. Can either be transfers or transformations
Global Dimming
The effect of small droplets the reflect solar energy, blocking light from entering the lower atmosphere, thereby having a cooling affect on the Earth
Goods
Marketable commodities derived from natural capital such as timber and grain
Grain equivilent
Allows comparison between different food types, where food can be converted into grain equivalents, the mass of grain needed to produce the equivalent amount of the given food type
Herbivore
An organism the feeds on plants
Herbivory
The process of an organism feeding on a plant
Holism
The view that a system has properties that can only be perceived by looking at the inter-relationships of its components and the functioning of the whole system
Import tariffs
Taxes imposed on imports to a country that make them more expensive
Inertia
Resistance of an ecosystem to being altered
J-Curve
Population growth which shows exponential growth. Growth is initially slow and then increasingly rapid and does not slow down.
Jump dispersal
Long distance dispersal of species to remote areas by one or a few individuals
Life expectancy
The average number of years that a person can be expected to live, given that demographic factors remain unchanged
Liquid limit
Occurs when there is sufficient water to reduce cohesion between the soil particles
Plastic limit
Occurs when each soil particle is surrounded by a film of water sufficient to act as a lubricant
Shrinking limit
The state at which the soil passes from having a moist to a dry appearance
Macrophyte
A plant that grows in or near water
Age Specific Mortality Rate (ASMR)
The number of deaths per 1000 population of a age specific group
Infant mortality rate (IMR)
The total number of deaths of children under a year per 1000 live births
Standardized mortality rate (SMR)
death rate per 1000 people of a particular age group (ex: IMR)
Mutualism
An interaction in which 2 organisms live together and both species benefit from each other
Neonatal deaths
Deaths that occur between birth and 7 days
Optimum population
The number of people which, when working with all the available resources, will produce the highest per capita return
Governmental Organizations
Bodies established through international agreements to bring together governments to work on an international scale
Non-governmental organizations
Bodies not run by, funded by, or influenced by governments of any country
Overpopulation
Occurs when there is too many people relative to the resources and technology locally available to maintain an adequate standard of living
Paradigm
A model or template based on evidence or experience
Parasitism
Interaction where one organism benefits at the expense of the other
Percentage Cover
The proportion of the quadrat covered by a species, measured as a percentage
Percentage frequency
The percentage of the total number of quadrats that a species was present in
Perinatal deaths
Deaths that occur after the first week of life but before the end of the first 4 weeks of life.
Phase out
Cessation of production which may occur in a series of stages
Photochemical smog
a pollution cloud at ground level caused by a mixture of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds
Photosynthesis
The process by which green plants convert light energy from the sun into usable chemical energy stored in organic matter. It requires carbon dioxide, water, chlorophyll, and light.
Plagioclimax
Interrupted succession where interference halts the process of succession so that the climax community is not reached; often a result of human activities
Polyculture
Farming system that uses many crop species
Post-neonatal period
Deaths that occur after the first week of life and before the end of the first year
Population density
The number of individuals of a species per unit area
Predidation
Process of an animal eating another animal
Producers
Organisms that can produce their own food
Pyramid of biomass
The amount of biomass present at each trophic level at a certain point in time, and represents the standing stock of each trophic level measured in in units such as grams of biomass per square meter. Biomass may also be measured in units of energy such as joules per meter.
Pyramid of numbers
The number of organisms (producers and consumers) coexisting in an ecosystem. Quantitative data for each trophic level are drawn to scale as horizontal bars arranged symmetrically around a central axis
Pyramid of productivity
Show the rate of production over a period of time. Each level represents energy per unit area per unit time. Productivity is measured is units of flow. These pyramids show the flow of energy through the food chain.
Resilience
The ability of an ecosystem to recover after a disturbance
Respiration
The process that releases energy from glucose and other organic molecules inside all living cells
S-Curve
Population growth curve which shows and initial rapid growth then slows down as carrying capacity is reached.
Continuous sampling
Every organism along a transect is recorded
Random sampling
Used when habitat is homogeneous throughout an area. A random number generator can be used to produce coordinates
Stratified random sampling
Used when 2 very different habitats are sampled, with samples taken at random from both areas
Systematic sampling
Samples are taken at fixed distances along a transect
Secular migration
Dispersal of species over geological time scales
Services
Ecological services derived from natural capital (ex: climate stabilization)
Species richness
The number of species in a given area or sample
Storages
The stock or reservoir of matter and energy in a system
K-Strategists
Individuals with lower reproductive rates but higher competitive ability
r-Strategists
Individuals with a high reproductive rate and rapid development
Maximum sustainable yield
The largest yield that can be taken from a species’ stock over and indefinite period. Aims to maintain the population size and the point of maximum growth rate by harvesting the individuals that would normally be added to the population, allowing the population to continue to be productive indefinitely. It is the point where the highest rate of recruitment can occure
Succession
The orderly process of change over time in a community.
Primary Succession
Succession occurring on previously uncolonized substrate
Secondary Succession
Occurs in places where a previous community has been destroyed
Technocentric
A worldview that sees technology as providing solutions to environmental problems even when human effects push natural systems beyond their normal boundaries
Belt transect
A band of chosen width along an environmental gradient
Continuous transect
Sample where the whole transect is sampled
Interrupted transect
Samples taken at points of equal distance along the gradient
Transfer
Movement that does not involve change of form or state
Transformation
Movement that involves a change of form or state
Transpiration
The evaporation and diffusion of water from leaves
Trent biotic index
A measure of levels of pollution in aquatic ecosystems, based on indicator species which tend to disappear from a river as the level of organic pollution increases
Turnover time
Time for a water molecule to enter and leave part of the system
Underpopulation
Occurs when there are far more resources in an area than can be used by the people living there
Consumptive Use
The harvesting of resources for consumption
Direct Use
Ecosystem goods and services that are directly used by human populations
Indirect Use
Values derived from ecosystem services that provide benefits outside the ecosystem itself
Non-consumptive Use
Uses that include the enjoyment of recreational and cultural activities that do not require the harvesting of resources
Optional values
Values derived from potential future use of ecosystem goods and services which are not currently used
Existence values
Aesthetic and intrinsic values
Recreational values
Natural resources that have a value in terms of holiday destinations and as places for people to relax and take time away from their daily lives
Environmental value system
Set of criteria through which personal environmental issues are judged
Xerophytes
Plants adapted to dry conditions
