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ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY
CHAPTER 1 - ENVIRONMENTAL INTERRELATIONSHIPS
Question | Answer |
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environmental science | an interdisciplinary area of study that includes both applied and theoretical aspectsof human impact on the world |
environment | everything that affects an organism during its lifetime |
science | a method for gathering & organizing info that involves observation, asking questions about observations hypothesis formation, testing hypothesis, critically evaluating the results, & publishing info so that others can evaluate the process & conclusions |
ecosystem | a group of interacting species along with their physical environment |
wilderness | designation of land use for the exclusion protection of the area's natural wildlife; thus, no human development is allowed |
ecology | a branch of science that deals with the interrelationship between organisms and their environment |
community | interacting groups of different species |
biotic factors | living portions of the environment |
abiotic factors | nonliving factors that influence the life and activities of an organism |
biome | a kind of plant and animal community that covers large geographic areas. climate is a major determiner of the biome found in a particular area |
population | a group of individuals of the same species occupying a given area |
niche | the total role an organism plays in its ecosystem |
decomposers | small organisms, such as bacteria or fungi, that cause the decay of dead organic matter and recycle nutrients |
habitat | the specific kind of place where a particular kind of organism lives |
autotrophic | any organism capable of self-nourishment by using inorganic materials as a source of nutrients and using photosynthesis or chemosynthesis as a source of energy, as most plants and certain bacteria and protists |
heterotrophic | an organism requiring organic compounds for its principal source of food |