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Science-Unit 3 Vocab
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Natural Resource | Anything that occurs naturally in the environment and is used by people. |
Pollution | The contamination of Earth's land, water, or air. |
Point Scource | A specific pollution source that can be identified. |
Nonpoint Scource | A widely spread source of pollution that is difficult to link to a specific point of origin. |
Environmental Science | The study of natural processes in the environment and how humans can affect them. |
Renewable Resources | A resource that is either always available or is naturally replaced in a relatively short time. |
Nonrenewable Resources | A natural resource that is not replaced in a useful time frame. |
Sustainable Use | The use of a resource in ways that maintain the resource at a certain quality for a certain period of time. |
Ecological Footprint | The amount of land and water that individuals use to meet their resource needs and to absorb the wastes that they produce. |
Conservation | The practice of using less of a resource so that it can last longer. |
Exponential Growth | Something that occurs when a population grows at an ever-increasing rate. |
Clear-Cutting | The process of cutting down all the trees in an area at once. |
Selective Cutting | Cutting down only some trees in a forest and leaving a mix of tree sizes and species behind. |
Sustainable Yield | An amount of a renewable resource 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 an ecosystem. |
Genes | A sequence of DNA that determines a trait and is passed from parent to offspring. |
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 become endangered in the near future. |
Habitat Destruction | The loss of a natural habitat and the major cause of extinction. |
Habitat Fragmentation | Breaking larger habitats into smaller, isolated pieces, or fragments. |
Poaching | The illegal killing or removal of wildlife from their habitats. |
Captive Breeding | The mating of animals in zoos or on wildlife preserves. |