Environmental Science

Key Terms
Unit 1

Ecology is the relationships between organisms (species) and their abiotic and biotic
environment.

Species is the basic unit of biological classification and is a group of organisms that are
genetically similar and interbreed with one another.

A Population consist of all the members of a species living in an area at the same time.

An Ecosystem comprises all of the population in a given area together with the nonliving
components.

A Community consists of all living things in a habitat.

Biosphere is the part of earth that supports all life.

Atmosphere is the layer of air that surround planet earth.

Hydrosphere is the part of earth that is composed of all the water on earth.

Lithosphere is the upper layer of earth. It includes the oceanic and continental crust and parts of
the cooler, solid, upper mantle.

Habitat is the place where a particular organism lives and it’s characterized by a set of specific
environmental conditions.

Niche is the role that a species plays in a community.

Anushca Hurst
 Environmental Science
Key Terms
Unit 1
Biome is a type of ecosystem characterized by distinctive climate and soil conditions and a
distinctive type of biological community that is adapted to the specific set of conditions.

Ecotone is the border between two major ecosystems. A transitional area of vegetation between
two different plant communities.

Fundamental Niche is the larger potential niche that will occur without competition.

Realized Niche is an ecological niche restricted by the presence of a competitor.

Intraspecific Competition is a competition among members of the same species.

Interspecific Competition is competition between members of different species.

Food chains is a series of organism that depend on each other for survival.

Food webs is a detailed description of the species within a community and their relationships
with each other; it shows how energy is transferred up food chains that are interlinked with other
food chains.

Trophic Level are various steps in a food chain or ecological pyramid, at which the transfer of
food (or energy) takes place from one organism to another organism.

Symbiosis is an ecological relationship between two organisms of different species living closely
together and forming some type of feeding relationship between them.

Parasitism is when one of the organisms live off the other organism, the host, harming it and
sometimes causing death.

Commensalism when only one organism lives off the other organism, the host, not causing
harm.

Anushca Hurst
 Environmental Science
Key Terms
Unit 1
Mutualism is when both organisms live off each other without causing harm.

Ecological Succession is the gradual process by which ecosystems change and develop over
time.

Primary Succession take place when the community develops on bare, uncolonized ground.

Secondary Succession takes place in areas where there is oil and where life was already present
but which experienced some alternation or environmental changes.

Climax Communities exhibits ecosystem stability, which is a measure of its sensitivity to

disturbance of perturbation.
Species abundance is the term used to express the total number of organisms foundin a
biological community.

Species richness is a measure of the number of species found in a sample location.

Species diversity is a measure of the number of different species, ecological niches, genetic
variation or ecosystem present.

Natural Selection is the survival of the fittest.

Evolution is the change in heritable traits of biological populations over successive generations.
Keystone species.

An invasive species is any nonnative species that significantly modifies or disrupts the
ecosystems it colonizes.

Anushca Hurst
 Environmental Science
Key Terms
Unit 1
Adaption is the process by which a species becomes fitted to its environment; it is the result of
natural selection's acting upon heritable variation over several generations.

Ecosystem Stability is the ability of an ecosystem to return back to its state after a stress or
disturbance has occurred. / the ability of biological communities to remain stable and constant
overtime and is linked to the variety of feeding relationships in the ecosystem.

Carrying Capacity is the maximum sustainable population size that can be supported indefinitely
without degrading the habitat and limiting resources for future members of the population and
for future generations.

Morality Rate refers to the death rate; the number of people dying per 11000 in the population at
the current time.
Infant mortality rate the number of infant death per 1000 live births in a population.
Fertility rate refers to the average number of children that a woman will have throughout her
reproductive life.
Replacement fertility rate – refers to the number of children a couple must have to replace
themselves.
Life Span refers to the number of years an individual is expected to live.
Life Expectancy is an estimate of an average number of additional years a person could expect to
life if the age specific death rates for a given year prevailed for the rest of his or her life.
Immigration is the movement of people into a country.

Acclimatization -The short term reversible physiological response to a change in environmental

conditions.

Direct policies are those that offer tax breaks or childbearing incentives.

❖Indirect policies are those that target other societal goals but then inadvertently affect fertility
rates.

Emigration refers to the movement of people out of one country and into another.
Anti-natalist policies – Measures and methods utilized by a country which are designed to
reduce population number/growth.

Anushca Hurst
 Environmental Science
Key Terms
Unit 1
Pro – natalist policies – measures put in place by a government to encourage the growth of the
population.
Doubling time is the time it takes for a population to double in size/ value.
Fecundity- the maximum potential of an organism to produce offspring over its lifetime.

Consumerism - the protection or promotion of the interests of consumers.

Urbanization is the process whereby an increasing percentage of a population lives in cities and
urban areas, urbanisation is thereby the shift from rural to urban society.
Population control refers to policies and strategies which are deigned to limit or increase natural
increase in a population.
Population growth is the rise in population number over a period of time/.
Sustainable Development is development which meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

GDP measures the monetary value of final goods and services that is, those that are bought by
the final user produced in a country in a given period of time (say a quarter or a year).
•It counts all of the output generated within the borders of a country.

Natural Resources – These are substances that occur naturally in the environment, and are
utilized by mankind in his everyday life.
Renewable Resources – Those natural resources which have short cycle times, so can be
replenished naturally.
Non – Renewable Resources – These are natural resources which are formed naturally in the
environment, and can occur in fixed quantities. Once they are utilized, they cannot regenerate,
or are very slow to regenerate.
Inexhaustible resources - Resources that will never run out. Inexhaustible resources are also
renewable resources, but not all renewable resources are inexhaustible.
Exhaustible resources- these resources need time to regenerate themselves when harvested.
Consumptive use of natural resources – this refers to extracting a natural resource from its
source, and utilizing it so that the amount used no longer exists.

Anushca Hurst
 Environmental Science
Key Terms
Unit 1
Non consumptive use of natural resources – this refers to the utilization of a natural resource
without reducing its supply.

Biodiversity – this refers to the assortment of species and ecosystems and is a measure of the
health of an ecosystem.

Species depletion – this is the disappearance of a species from part or all of its range.
Extinction – this refers to when the last existing member of a species dies.
Habitat disruption – this is the interference or disturbance of a habitat by either natural or
anthropogenic activities.
Habitat destruction – this results from sustained and continued degradation and is a process of
natural environmental change that may be caused
Disruption of ecosystem process – this leads to a reduction of ecosystem services, such as
attenuation of the force of waves by coral reefs, seagrass and mangrove ecosystems etc.

Human Development Index

Gender development Index-
Bioprospecting is the systematic search for biochemical and genetic information in nature in
order to develop commercially valuable products for pharmaceutical, agricultural, cosmetic and
other applications. This is the search for plant and animal species in which medicinal drugs and
other important compound can be obtained/

What is a protected area?

A clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or
other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated
ecosystem services and cultural values.

Transboundary conservation means countries that share natural resources work together
to manage them wisely, for the benefit of all.

Ethical consideration

Aesthetical considerationn

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