81 Terms to know before starting ESS

Question 1

each of several hierarchical levels in an ecosystem, comprising organisms that share the same function in the food chain and the same nutritional relationship to the primary sources of energy

Answer 1

Trophic level

Question 2

the condition of an open system in which there are not changes over the longer term, but in which there may be oscillations in the very short term

Answer 2

Steady-state equilibrium

Question 3

exchanges energy but not matter with surroundings

Answer 3

Closed system

Question 4

exchanges both energy and matter across its boundary, isolated system that does not interact with its surroundings

Answer 4

Open/Isolated system

Question 5

the use and management of resources that allows full natural replacement of the resources exploited and full recovery of the ecosystems affected by their extraction and use

Answer 5

Sustainability

Question 6

the process of change over time in an ecosystem involving pioneer, intermediate and climax communities

Answer 6

Succession

Question 7

a group of individuals that actually or potentially interbreed in nature

Answer 7

Species

Question 8

the process through which new species form

Answer 8

Speciation

Question 9

what forms the outermost layer of the Earth’s surface

Answer 9

Soil

Question 10

companion, association or fellowship

Answer 10

Society

Question 11

being dried and withered

Answer 11

Sere

Question 12

typically live in unstable, unpredictable environments

Answer 12

R-strategist

Question 13

an organism which lives in more stable environments

Answer 13

K-strategist

Question 14

the generation of biomass of the consumer in a system

Answer 14

Secondary productivity

Question 15

gained through photosynthesis in primary producers

Answer 15

Gross primary productivity

Question 16

the gain by producers in energy or biomass per unit area per unit time remaining after allowing for respiratory losses

Answer 16

Net primary productivity

Question 17

a group of organisms of the same species living in the same area at the same time and capable of interbreeding

Answer 17

Population

Question 18

a single identifiable source of air, water, thermal, noise or light pollution

Answer 18

Point source pollution

Question 19

to both water and air pollution from different source

Answer 19

Non-point source pollution

Question 20

The host provides a habitat and food for the bacteria, but in return, the bacteria cause disease in the host

Answer 20

Parasitism

Question 21

the particular set of abiotic and biotic conditions and resources to which an organism or population responds

Answer 21

Niche

Question 22

crude birth rate (CBR) minus the crude death rate (CDR)

Answer 22

Rate of natural increase (know equation)

Question 23

the amount of time it takes for a given quantity to double in size or value at a constant growth rate, 70/rate growth

Answer 23

Doubling time (know equation)

Question 24

groundwater and the ozone layer, is nonliving but is also often dependent on the solar “engine” for renewal.

Answer 24

Replenishable natural capital

Question 25

living species and ecosystems that use solar energy and photosynthesis, as well as non-living items, such as groundwater and the ozone layer

Answer 25

Renewable natural capital

Question 26

irreplaceable or can only be replaced over geological timescales; for example, fossil fuels, soil and minerals

Answer 26

Non-renewable natural capital

Question 27

interaction between individuals of different species that results in positive (beneficial) effects on per capita reproduction and/or survival of the interacting populations

Answer 27

Mutualism

Question 28

a simplified version of reality

Answer 28

Model

Question 29

More Economically Developed Country (MEDC)

Answer 29

More Economically Developed Country (MEDC)

Question 30

Less Economically Developed Country (LEDC)

Answer 30

Less Economically Developed Country (LEDC)

Question 31

Latitude

Answer 31

left right

Question 32

up and down

Answer 32

Longitude

Question 33

The reproductive characteristics which prevent species from fusing

Answer 33

Isolationing mechanism (in regards to speciation)

Question 34

ozone depeleting substances like cfcs

Answer 34

Halogenated organic gasses (examples)

Question 35

aspects of behaviour or structure

Answer 35

Habit

Question 36

A community of interdependent organisms and the physical environment they inhabit

Answer 36

Ecosystem

Question 37

A group of populations living and interacting with each other in a common habitat.

Answer 37

Community

Question 38

atmospheric gases that absorb infrared radiation, causing global temperatures to be higher than they would otherwise be

Answer 38

Greenhouse gasses (GHG)

Question 39

total monetary or market value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period

Answer 39

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Question 40

the total value of all finished goods and services produced by a country's citizens in a given financial year, irrespective of their location

Answer 40

Gross National Product (GNP)

Question 41

Earth and its biological systems behave as a huge single entity

Answer 41

Gaia Hypothesis

Question 42

a scientific explanation of a phenomenon based on evidence

Answer 42

Theory (natural science definition)

Question 43

falsifiable statement that explains some observed phenomenon in nature

Answer 43

Hypothesis (natural science definition)

Question 44

the average number of births per woman of child-bearing age

Answer 44

Total fertility

Question 45

the number of births per thousand woman aged between 15-49 years old

Answer 45

Fertility rate

Question 46

destabilizing and tend to amplify changes and drive the system towards a tipping point where a new equilibrium is adopted

Answer 46

Positive feedback loop

Question 47

occur when the output of a process inhibits or reverses the operation of the same process in such a way as to reduce change

Answer 47

Negative feedback loop

Question 48

only the characteristics of animals who were able to survive long enough to create progeny are passed down

Answer 48

Evolution by Natural Selection

Question 49

addition of excess nutrients to a water system, which leads to the growth and subsequent death of algae, which reduces the dissolved oxygen available for other aquatic organisms

Answer 49

Eutrophication

Question 50

steady state because the inputs and outputs that affect it approximately balance over a long period of time

Answer 50

Equilibrium

Question 51

a planning tool that provides decision makers with an understanding of the potential effects that human actions, especially technological ones, may have on the environment

Answer 51

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

Question 52

measure of the amount of disorder in a system

Answer 52

Entropy

Question 53

area required to sustainably support a given population

Answer 53

Ecological Footprint

Question 54

a mathematical measure of species diversity in a community

Answer 54

Species Diversity Index

Question 55

the genetic range that is present in a population of a species

Answer 55

Genetic Diversity

Question 56

A concept in demography that elucidates the transition from high to low birth and death rates as a country or a region develops from a pre-industrial to an industrialized economic system

Answer 56

Demographic Transition

Question 57

number of death per year x 1000 Total population Example. In 2007, there were 4,000 death in a city with population of 2,000,000

Answer 57

Crude death rate

Question 58

number of live births occurring among the population of a given geographical area during a given year, per 1,000 mid-year total population of the given geographical area during the same year

Answer 58

Crude birth rate

Question 59

a measure of the extent to which two variables are related

Answer 59

Correlation

Question 60

relationship between organisms that strive for the same resources in the same place

Answer 60

Competition

Question 61

maximum number of individuals of a given species that an area's resources can sustain indefinitely without significantly depleting or degrading those resources

Answer 61

Carrying capacity

Question 62

living organism that shapes its environment

Answer 62

Biotic factor

Question 63

non-living organism that shapes its environment

Answer 63

Abiotic factor

Question 64

The part of the Earth inhabited by organisms

Answer 64

Biosphere

Question 65

groups of ecosystem that have the same climate and dominant communities

Answer 65

Biome

Question 66

organic, meaning it is made of material that comes from living organisms, such as plants and animals

Answer 66

Biomass

Question 67

Capable of being broken down by natural biological processes

Answer 67

Biodegradable

Question 68

measure of the total demand for oxygen by living and chemical components in a water body

Answer 68

Biological Oxygen Demand

Question 69

graphical representation of the energy found within the trophic levels of an ecosystem

Answer 69

Energy pyramid

Question 70

graphical models of the quantitative differences that exist between the trophic levels of a single ecosystem

Answer 70

Biomass pyramid

Question 71

shows the total number of individual organisms at each level in the food chain of an ecosystem

Answer 71

Numbers pyramid

Question 72

water, carbon dioxide, and energy in the form of sunlight

Answer 72

Photosynthesis inputs

Question 73

glucose and oxygen

Answer 73

Photosynthesis outputs

Question 74

how pollutants enter a food chain

Answer 74

Bioaccumulation

Question 75

the tendency of pollutants to concentrate as they move from one trophic level to the next

Answer 75

Biomagnification

Question 76

glucose + oxygen

Answer 76

Respiration inputs

Question 77

carbon dioxide + water

Answer 77

Respiration outputs

Question 78

The growth of the population eventually slows nearly to zero as the population reaches the carrying capacity (K) for the environment

Answer 78

Logistical growth curve (s-curve)

Question 79

the population density of an organism increases rapidly in an exponential or logarithmic form

Answer 79

Exponential growth curve (j-curve)

Question 80

any force that affects the size of a population of living things in response to the density of the population

Answer 80

Density-dependent factors

Question 81

any force that affects the size of a population of living things regardless of the density of the population

Answer 81

Density-independent factors