Question | Answer |
natural resources | anything in the environment used by people |
renewable resources | resources naturally replaced in a short period of time |
nonrenewable resources | can't be replaced |
pollution | contamination of the earths land, water, and air |
environmental science | the study of natural process in the environment and how humans affect them |
clear-cutting | process of cutting down all trees in an area at once |
selective cutting | cutting down only some trees in an area and leaving a mix of trees |
sustainable yield | is an amount of renewable resources such as trees that can be harvested regularly without reducing the future supply |
fishery | an area with a large population of valuable ocean organisms |
aquaculture | the practice of raising fish and other water dwelling organisms for food |
biodiversity | the number of different species in an area |
keystone species | a species that influences the survival of many other species in a ecosystem |
genes | the structures in an organism's cells that carry its hereditary information |
extinction | the disappearance of all members of a species from earth |
endangered species | species in danger of becoming extinct in the near future |
threatened species | species that could be endangered in the near future |
habitat destruction | the loss of natural habitat |
habitat fragmentation | breaking larger habitats into smaller isolated pieces, or fragments |
poaching | the illegal killing or removal of wildlife from their habitat |
captive breeding | the mating of animals in zoos or wildlife preserves |