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IB Environmental System and Societies > Glossary Vocab > Flashcards

Glossary Vocab Flashcards

1
Q

Acid Rain

A

Any precipitation that is distinctly more acidic than normal rainfall (ph 5.5-6.0). Cause by sulfur dioxides and/or oxides of nitrogen

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2
Q

Agenda 21

A

Outcome of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. A blue print for action to achieve sustainable development worldwide.

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3
Q

Agribusiness

A

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.

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4
Q

Albedo

A

the amount of incoming solar energy reflected back into the atmosphere by the earth’s surface

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5
Q

Altruism

A

Unselfish concern for the welfare of others

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6
Q

Anoxia

A

A total decrease in the levels of oxygen; very low levels of oxygen

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7
Q

Anthropocentric

A

Human-centered world view where nature exists and is used for human benefit

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8
Q

Bioaccumulation

A

pesticides build up in the body tissue of primary consumers

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9
Q

Biomagnification

A

pesticides become concentrated in animal tissues at each successive level of the trophic level of the food chain

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10
Q

Age specific birth rate (ASBR)

A

The number of live births per 1000 women of any specified age groups

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11
Q

Buffer zone

A

Areas of habitat, which either may be disturbed or managed, that surround conservation areas.

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12
Q

Carnivore

A

An organism that feeds on animals

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13
Q

Carnivory

A

The process of an organism feeding on an animal

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14
Q

CITES

A

An international agreement between governments that aims to ensure international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival

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15
Q

Interspecific competition

A

Competition between different species

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16
Q

Intraspecific competition

A

Competition within a species

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17
Q

Ex situ conservation

A

Helping to protect a species in zoos

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18
Q

In situ conservation

A

Helping to protect a species in their habitat

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19
Q

Consumers

A

Organisms that eat other organisms to obtain their food

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20
Q

DDT

A

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.

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21
Q

Decomposers

A

Bacteria and fungi that feed on dead & decaying organisms

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22
Q

Density dependent factors

A

Factors that lower the birth rate or raise the death rate as a population grows in size

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23
Q

Dry deposition

A

A form of acid rain. the deposition on the surfaces of dry gases/particles in the atmosphere

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24
Q

Wet deposition

A

A form of acid rain. the deposition on the surfaces of dissolved substances and particles formed by any form of precipitation

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25
Q

Diffusion

A

Describes the spread of species at the edge of their ranges into new areas. Diffusion often follows jump dispersion events.

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26
Q

Diversity

A

The number of species and their relative abundance in a given area or sample.

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27
Q

Density Independent Factors

A

Factors that affect a population irrespective of population density

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28
Q

Ecocentric

A

A world view that sees nature as having inherent value

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29
Q

Ecological deficit

A

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.

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30
Q

Ecological footprint

A

Represents the hypothetical area of land required by a society, group, or individual to fulfill all their resource needs and assimilation of wastes

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31
Q

Edge effects

A

Changed environment conditions at the edge of reserves

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32
Q

Stable equilibrium

A

Where the system returns to the original equilibrium following distrubance

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33
Q

Static equilibrium

A

Systems where there is no input or output of energy or matter, and there is no change in the system over time

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34
Q

Steady-state equilibrium

A

Despite constant inputs and outputs of energy and matter, the overall stability of the system remains

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35
Q

Unstable equilibrium

A

Where a system does not return to the same equilibrium following disturbance but forms a new equilibrium

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36
Q

Export subsidies

A

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

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37
Q

Mass extinctions

A

Periods when a large proportion of the total number of species on the Earth at the time have been wiped out

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38
Q

Commercial Farming

A

Production of crops or animals for profit. Often involves the production of one crop.

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39
Q

Extensive farming

A

Farms that are large in comparison to the money and labor put into them

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40
Q

Intensive farming

A

Farms that take up a small area of land but aim to have very high output

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41
Q

Shifting cultivation farming

A

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

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42
Q

Subsistence farming

A

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.

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43
Q

General fertility rate

A

The number of births per thousand women aged 15-49

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44
Q

Total Fertility rate

A

The average number of births per woman of child bearing age

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45
Q

Field capacity

A

The maximum amount of water that a soil can hold

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46
Q

Flows

A

Movement through a system in the form of inputs and outputs. Can either be transfers or transformations

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47
Q

Global Dimming

A

The effect of small droplets the reflect solar energy, blocking light from entering the lower atmosphere, thereby having a cooling affect on the Earth

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48
Q

Goods

A

Marketable commodities derived from natural capital such as timber and grain

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49
Q

Grain equivilent

A

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

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50
Q

Herbivore

A

An organism the feeds on plants

51
Q

Herbivory

A

The process of an organism feeding on a plant

52
Q

Holism

A

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

53
Q

Import tariffs

A

Taxes imposed on imports to a country that make them more expensive

54
Q

Inertia

A

Resistance of an ecosystem to being altered

55
Q

J-Curve

A

Population growth which shows exponential growth. Growth is initially slow and then increasingly rapid and does not slow down.

56
Q

Jump dispersal

A

Long distance dispersal of species to remote areas by one or a few individuals

57
Q

Life expectancy

A

The average number of years that a person can be expected to live, given that demographic factors remain unchanged

58
Q

Liquid limit

A

Occurs when there is sufficient water to reduce cohesion between the soil particles

59
Q

Plastic limit

A

Occurs when each soil particle is surrounded by a film of water sufficient to act as a lubricant

60
Q

Shrinking limit

A

The state at which the soil passes from having a moist to a dry appearance

61
Q

Macrophyte

A

A plant that grows in or near water

62
Q

Age Specific Mortality Rate (ASMR)

A

The number of deaths per 1000 population of a age specific group

63
Q

Infant mortality rate (IMR)

A

The total number of deaths of children under a year per 1000 live births

64
Q

Standardized mortality rate (SMR)

A

death rate per 1000 people of a particular age group (ex: IMR)

65
Q

Mutualism

A

An interaction in which 2 organisms live together and both species benefit from each other

66
Q

Neonatal deaths

A

Deaths that occur between birth and 7 days

67
Q

Optimum population

A

The number of people which, when working with all the available resources, will produce the highest per capita return

68
Q

Governmental Organizations

A

Bodies established through international agreements to bring together governments to work on an international scale

69
Q

Non-governmental organizations

A

Bodies not run by, funded by, or influenced by governments of any country

70
Q

Overpopulation

A

Occurs when there is too many people relative to the resources and technology locally available to maintain an adequate standard of living

71
Q

Paradigm

A

A model or template based on evidence or experience

72
Q

Parasitism

A

Interaction where one organism benefits at the expense of the other

73
Q

Percentage Cover

A

The proportion of the quadrat covered by a species, measured as a percentage

74
Q

Percentage frequency

A

The percentage of the total number of quadrats that a species was present in

75
Q

Perinatal deaths

A

Deaths that occur after the first week of life but before the end of the first 4 weeks of life.

76
Q

Phase out

A

Cessation of production which may occur in a series of stages

77
Q

Photochemical smog

A

a pollution cloud at ground level caused by a mixture of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds

78
Q

Photosynthesis

A

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.

79
Q

Plagioclimax

A

Interrupted succession where interference halts the process of succession so that the climax community is not reached; often a result of human activities

80
Q

Polyculture

A

Farming system that uses many crop species

81
Q

Post-neonatal period

A

Deaths that occur after the first week of life and before the end of the first year

82
Q

Population density

A

The number of individuals of a species per unit area

83
Q

Predidation

A

Process of an animal eating another animal

84
Q

Producers

A

Organisms that can produce their own food

85
Q

Pyramid of biomass

A

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.

86
Q

Pyramid of numbers

A

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

87
Q

Pyramid of productivity

A

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.

88
Q

Resilience

A

The ability of an ecosystem to recover after a disturbance

89
Q

Respiration

A

The process that releases energy from glucose and other organic molecules inside all living cells

90
Q

S-Curve

A

Population growth curve which shows and initial rapid growth then slows down as carrying capacity is reached.

91
Q

Continuous sampling

A

Every organism along a transect is recorded

92
Q

Random sampling

A

Used when habitat is homogeneous throughout an area. A random number generator can be used to produce coordinates

93
Q

Stratified random sampling

A

Used when 2 very different habitats are sampled, with samples taken at random from both areas

94
Q

Systematic sampling

A

Samples are taken at fixed distances along a transect

95
Q

Secular migration

A

Dispersal of species over geological time scales

96
Q

Services

A

Ecological services derived from natural capital (ex: climate stabilization)

97
Q

Species richness

A

The number of species in a given area or sample

98
Q

Storages

A

The stock or reservoir of matter and energy in a system

99
Q

K-Strategists

A

Individuals with lower reproductive rates but higher competitive ability

100
Q

r-Strategists

A

Individuals with a high reproductive rate and rapid development

101
Q

Maximum sustainable yield

A

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

102
Q

Succession

A

The orderly process of change over time in a community.

103
Q

Primary Succession

A

Succession occurring on previously uncolonized substrate

104
Q

Secondary Succession

A

Occurs in places where a previous community has been destroyed

105
Q

Technocentric

A

A worldview that sees technology as providing solutions to environmental problems even when human effects push natural systems beyond their normal boundaries

106
Q

Belt transect

A

A band of chosen width along an environmental gradient

107
Q

Continuous transect

A

Sample where the whole transect is sampled

108
Q

Interrupted transect

A

Samples taken at points of equal distance along the gradient

109
Q

Transfer

A

Movement that does not involve change of form or state

110
Q

Transformation

A

Movement that involves a change of form or state

111
Q

Transpiration

A

The evaporation and diffusion of water from leaves

112
Q

Trent biotic index

A

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

113
Q

Turnover time

A

Time for a water molecule to enter and leave part of the system

114
Q

Underpopulation

A

Occurs when there are far more resources in an area than can be used by the people living there

115
Q

Consumptive Use

A

The harvesting of resources for consumption

116
Q

Direct Use

A

Ecosystem goods and services that are directly used by human populations

117
Q

Indirect Use

A

Values derived from ecosystem services that provide benefits outside the ecosystem itself

118
Q

Non-consumptive Use

A

Uses that include the enjoyment of recreational and cultural activities that do not require the harvesting of resources

119
Q

Optional values

A

Values derived from potential future use of ecosystem goods and services which are not currently used

120
Q

Existence values

A

Aesthetic and intrinsic values

121
Q

Recreational values

A

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

122
Q

Environmental value system

A

Set of criteria through which personal environmental issues are judged

123
Q

Xerophytes

A

Plants adapted to dry conditions

IB Environmental System and Societies (2 decks)

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