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key terms sas 26/10
26/10/25
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| perspective | is how a particular situation is viewed and understood by an individual |
| environmental value system | is a model that shows the inputs affecting our perspectives and outputs resulting from our perspectives |
| system | is a set of inter-related parts working toghether to make a functioning whole |
| stable equilibrium | is the condition of a system in which there isa tendency for it to return to the previous equilibrium following disturbance |
| steady-state equilibrium | is the condition of an open system in which flows are still ocurring, but inputs are balanced with outputs |
| feedback loop | is when information starts a reaction that may input more information which may start another reaction |
| neegative feedback loop | occur when the output of a process inhibits or reverses the operation of the same process in such a way as to reduce change, they stabilize the system |
| positive feedback loop | occurs when a disturbance leads to an amplification of thet disturbance which desestabilizes the system |
| tipping point | a no-return piont: when an ecosystem experiences a shift to a new state in which there are significant changes to it |
| albedo | is a measure of how much a surface reflects |
| model | a simplified version of the real thing |
| sustainability | It measures how well human actions support a system’s long-term survival, ensuring resources and conditions remain for future generations. |
| natural income | is the yield or harvest from natural resources. |
| natural capital | is the stock of natural resources on Earth. This includes rocks, soil, water, air and all living things. It also includes the services that support life such as photosynthesis and the water cycle. |
| renewable natural capital | can be generated or replaced as fast as it is being used. This includes all life and ecosystems as well as non-living systems such as the ozone layer or groundwater. |
| non-renewable natural capital | is either irreplaceable or can only be replaced over geological timescales (e.g. fossil fuels, soil, water in aquifers and minerals). |
| an ecological footprint (EF) | is the area of land and water required to sustainably provide all the resources required at the rate of consumption and to assimilate all wastes at the rate of production by a given population. |
| carrying capacity | is the maximum number of individuals of a species that the environment can sustainably support. |
| biocapacity | is the capacity of a biologically productive area to generate a supply of renewable resources and to absorb its waste. |
| species | is a group of organisms (living things) that share common characteristics and are able to interbreed and produce fertile offspring. |
| population | is a group of organisms of the same species living in the same area at the same time, and which are capable of interbreeding. is |
| habitat | is the environment in which a species normally lives. |
| ecosystem | is made up of the organisms and their physical environment and the interactions between the living and non-living components within them. |
| biotic factors | are the living components of an ecosystem-all organisms, their interactions and their waste that directly or indirectly affect another organism. |
| abiotic factors | are non-living, physical factors that influence organisms and ecosystems (e.g. temperature, sunlight, pH, salinity, pollutants). |
| predator | is a consumer that preys on other animals. |
| prey | are the animals a predator eats. |
| carnivores | are consumers that eat other animals. |
| herbivores | are consumers that eat plants. |
| parasites | live on or in living hosts and get their food from the host. |
| saprotrophs | are organisms that live on dead or decaying organisms and get their food from these. |
| scavengers | mostly eat decaying biomass and are usually carnivores. |
| detritivores | and decomposers break down dead organic materials to get their food. This means they recycle organic matter. |
| limiting factors | are factors which slow down growth of a population as it reaches its carrying capacity. |
| density-dependent limiting factors | cause a population's growth rate to change (usually decrease) with increasing population density. They are biotic-for example, disease, predation, competition within a species for food or space. |
| density-independent limiting factors | change the size of a population regardless of its density. They are abiotic- for example, forest fires, earthquakes, floods, pollution. |
| carrying capacity | is the maximum number of a species (the maximum "load") that can be sustainably supported by a given area. |
| fundamental niche | is the full range of theoretical conditions and resources in which a species could survive and reproduce with no competition. |
| realized niche | is the actual conditions and resources in which a species exists due to biotic interactions including competition from other species. |
| community | a group of two or more populations of species living in the same area at the same time. |
| first law of thermodynamics | is the principle of conservation of energy. This states that as energy flows through ecosystems, it can be transformed from one form to another, but cannot be created or destroyed. |
| second law of thermodynamics | states that as energy is transferred or transformed in a system, it is degraded to a less useful form of energy such as heat energy and entropy (disorder) increases. |
| consumer (heterotroph) | gains its food from other organisms. |
| trophic level | is the position that an organism occupies in a food chain, or a group of organisms in a community that occupy the same position in food chains. |
| producer (autotroph) | makes its own food by photosynthesis. |
| Productivity | is the conversion of energy into biomass over time. It is the rate of growth or biomass increase in plants and animals. It is measured for plants as mass per unit area per unit time |
| Gross productivity (GP) | is the total gain in biomass by an organism. |
| Net productivity (NP) | is the amount remaining after losses due to respiration. |
| Bioaccumulation | refers to the increasing concentration of non-biodegradable pollutants in organisms or trophic levels over time (as more are absorbed). |
| Biomagnification | refers to the increasing concentration of non-biodegradable pollutants along a food chain (due to the loss of biodegradable biomass through, for example, respiration). |
| Pesticides | are chemicals that kill pests. There are over 1,000. A few are found naturally but most are synthetic. Pesticides may also kill non-target organisms. |
| Heterotrophs | cannot make their own food. They eat other plants or animals to gain energy and nutrients. |
| Autotrophs | are organisms that can make their own food. Autotrophs include green plants, algae and photosynthetic bacteria. |
| Primary productivity | is the rate of production of biomass using an external energy source and inorganic sources of carbon and other elements. |
| Secondary productivity | is the gain in biomass by consumers, using carbon compounds absorbed and assimilated from ingested food. It can be estimated as ingested food minus faecal waste. |
| Biogeochemical cycles | are cycles of chemicals between biological and geological storages. |
| Stores (storages) | remain in equilibrium with the environment, with equal amounts absorbed and released. |
| Sinks | are where there is net accumulation of the element. |
| Sources | are where there is net release of the element. |
| Carbon fixation | is when living organisms sequester carbon naturally by absorbing carbon dioxide and converting it into biomass in photosynthesis. |
| Carbon sequestration | is the process of capturing gaseous and atmospheric carbon dioxide and storing it in a solid or liquid form. |
| biome | is a group of comparable ecosystems that have developed in similar climatic conditions wherever those conditions occur. |
| Climate | describes atmospheric conditions over relatively long periods of time. |
| Weather | describes the conditions in the atmosphere over a short period of time. |
| Succession | is the process of change over time in an ecosystem involving pioneer, intermediate and climax communities. |
| Zonation | is the change in a community along an environmental gradient due to factors such as changes in altitude, latitude, tidal level or distance from shore, coverage by water. |
| climax community | is one that has reached a stable stage of a limited number of species. |
| Primary succession | is the colonization of bare ground or rock with no existing living things. |
| Secondary succession | is a succession started by an event such as forest fire or flood when seeds that are dormant may be in the soil. |
| Species diversity | in communities is a product of two variables, the number of species (richness) and their relative proportions (evenness). Genetic diversity is the range of genetic material present in a gene pool or population of a species. |
| Habitat diversity | is the range of different habitats per unit area in a particular ecosystem or biome. |
| Extinction | is when a species ceases to exist after the last known individual of that species dies. |
| Speciation | is the process by which new species form. |
| Conservation biology | is the sustainable use and management of natural resources. |
| Preservation biology | attempts to exclude human activity in areas where humans have not yet encroached. |
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