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Chapter 1: 1. Environmental Science – the field of study that looks at interactions among human systems and those found in nature 2. Biophillia – an appreciation for life 3. Replication – the data collection procedure of taking repeated measurements 4. Precision – how close the repeated measurements of a sample are to one another 5. Inductive Reasoning – the process of making general statements from specific facts or examples 6. Environmental Justice – a social movement and field of study that focuses on equal enforcement of environmental laws and eliminating disparities in the exposure of environmental harms to different ethnic and socioeconomic groups within a society. 7. Environmentalists – a person who participates in environmentalism, a social movement that seeks to protect the environment through lobbying, activism, and education. 8. Sustainability – living on Earth in a way that allows humans to use its resources without depriving future generations of those resources 9. Biodiversity – the diversity of life forms in an environment 10. Anthropogenic – derived from human activities 11. Ecological development – improvement in human well-being through economic advancement 12. Theory – a hypothesis that has been repeatedly tested and confirmed by multiple groups of researchers and has reached wide acceptance Chapter 2: 1. Matter – anything that occupies space and has mass 2. Mass – a measurement of the amount of matter an object contains 3. Molecule – a particle containing more than one atom 4. Isotope – atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons 5. Radioactive decay – the spontaneous release of material from the nucleus of radioactive isotopes 6. Half-life – the time it takes for one-half of an original radioactive parent atom to decay 7. Law of Conservation of Matter – a law of nature stating that matter cannot be created or destroyed 8. Inorganic Compound – a compound that does not contain the element carbon or contains carbon bound to elements other than hydrogen 9. Organic Compound – a compound that contains carbon-carbon and carbon-hydrogen bonds 10. 1st Law of Thermodynamics 11. 2nd Law of Thermodynamics – the law stating that when energy is transformed, the quantity of energy remains the same, but its ability to do work diminishes 12. Entropy – randomness in a system 13. Open System – a system in which exchanges of matter or energy occur across system boundaries 14. Closed System – a system in which matter and energy exchanges do not occur across boundaries Chapter 3: 1. Detritivores – an organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissue and waste products into smaller particles 2. Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) – the total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time. 3. Net Primary Productivity (NPP) – the energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire 4. Biomass – the total mass of all living matter in a specific area 5. Standing Crop – the amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a given time 6. Ecological Efficiency – the proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another 7. Biosphere – the region of our planet where life resides, the combination of all ecosystems on Earth 8. Biogeochemical Cycle – the movements of matter within and between ecosystems 9. Hydrologic Cycle – the movement of water through the biosphere 10. Transpiration – the release of water from leaves during photosynthesis 11. Evapotranspiration – the combined amount of evaporation and transpiration 12. Runoff – water that moves across the land surface and into streams and rivers 13. Macronutrients – the six key elements that organisms need in relatively large amounts: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur 14. Limiting Nutrient – a nutrient required for the growth of an organism but available in a lower quantity than other nutrients 15. Nitrogen Fixation – a process by which some organisms can convert nitrogen gas molecules directly into ammonia 16. Leaching – the transportation of dissolved molecules through the soil via groundwater 17. Disturbance – an event, caused by physical, chemical, or biological agents, resulting in changes in population size or community composition 18. Water Shed – all land in a given area that drains into a particular stream, river, lake, or wetland 19. Resistance – a measure of how much a disturbance can affect flows of energy and matter in an ecosystem 20. Resilience- the rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance 21. Restoration Ecology – the study and implementation of restoring damaged ecosystems 22. Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis – the hypothesis that ecosystems experience intermediate levels of disturbance are more diverse than those with high or low disturbance levels 23. Instrumental Value – something that has worth as an instrument or a tool that can be used to accomplish a goal 24. Intrinsic Value – the worth independent of any benefit it may provide to humans, the moral value of a life 25. Provisions – a good that humans can use directly Chapter 4: 1. Troposphere – a layer of the atmosphere closest to the surface of Earth, extending up to approximately 16km and containing most of the atmosphere’s nitrogen, oxygen, and water vapor. Where weather occurs. 2. Stratosphere – the layer of the atmosphere above the troposphere, extending roughly 16 to 50km above the surface of the Earth. Where you find the ozone layer 3. Albedo – the percentage of incoming sunlight reflected from a surface 4. Saturation Point – the maximum amount of water vapor in the air at a given temperature 5. Adiabatic Cooling – the cooling effect of reduced pressure on air as it rises higher in the atmosphere and expands 6. Adiabatic Heating – the heating effect of increased pressure on air as it sinks toward the surface of Earth and decreases in volume 7. Latent Heat Release – the release of energy when water vapor in the atmosphere condenses into liquid water 8. Hadley Cell – a convection current in the atmosphere that cycles between the equator and 30 oN and 30oS 9. Polar Cell – a convection cell in the atmosphere, formed by air that rises at 60oN and 60oS and sinks at the poles, 90oN and 90oS 10. Coriolis Effect – the deflection of an object’s path due to the rotation of Earth 11. Gyres – a large-scale patter of water circulation that moves clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere 12. Upwelling – the upward movement of ocean water toward the surface as a result of diverging currents 13. Thermohaline Circulation – an oceanic circulation patter that drives the mixing of surface water and deep water 14. Rain Shadow – a region with dry conditions found on the leeward side of a mountain range as a result of humid winds from the ocean causing precipitation on the windward side 15. Permafrost – an impermeable, permanently frozen layer of soil 16. Littoral Zone – the shallow zone of soil and water in lakes and ponds where most algae and emergent plants grow 17. Limnetic Zone – a zone of open water in lakes and ponds 18. Phytoplankton – floating algae 19. Profundal Zone – a region of water where sunlight does not reach, below the limnetic zone in very deep lakes 20. Intertidal Zone – the narrow bank of coastline between the levels of high tide and low tide 21. Photic Zone – the upper layer of water in the ocean that receives enough sunlight for photosynthesis 22. Aphotic Zone – the layer of ocean water that lacks sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis 23. Chemosynthesis – a process used by some bacteria in the ocean to generate energy with methane and hydrogen sulfide Chapter 5: 1. Ecosystem Diversity – the variety of ecosystems within a given given region 2. Species Diversity – the variety of species within a given ecosystem 3. Genetic Diversity – the variety of genes within a given species 4. Microevolution – evolution occurring below the species level 5. Macroevolution – evolution that gives rise to new species, genera, families, classes, or phyla 6. Genotype – the complete set of genes in an individual 7. Mutation – a random change in the genetic code produced by a mistake in the copying process 8. Recombination – the genetic process by which one chromosome breaks off and attaches to another chromosome during reproductive cell division 9. Phenotype – a set traits expressed by an individual 10. Genetic Drift – a change in the genetic composition of a population over time as a result of random mating 11. Bottleneck Effect – a reduction in the genetic diversity of a population caused by a reduction in its size 12. Founder Effect – a change in population descended from a small number of colonizing individuals 13. Geographic Isolation – physical separation of a group of individuals from others of the same species 14. Reproductive Isolation – the result of two populations within a species evolving separately so they can no longer interbreed and produce viable offspring 15. Allopatric Selection – the process of speciation that occurs with geographic isolation 16. Sympatric Speciation – the evolution of one species into two, without geographic isolation 17. Genetic Engineering – techniques, scientist can now copy genes from a species with some desirable trait 18. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) – an organism produced by copying genes from a species with a desirable trait and inserting them into another species 19. Range of Tolerance – the limits to the abiotic conditions that a species can tolerate 20. Fundamental Niche – the suite of ideal environmental conditions for a species 21. Realized Niche – the range of abiotic and biotic conditions under which a species actually lives 22. Distribution – areas of the world in which a species lives 23. Niche Generalists – a species that can live under a wide range of abiotic or biotic conditions 24. Niche Specialists – a species that is specialized to live in a specific habitat or to feed on a small group of species Chapter 6: 1. Population – the individuals that belong to the same species and live in a given area at a given time 2. Community – all of the populations of organisms within a given area 3. Sex-ratio – the ratio of males to females 4. Age Structure – a description of how many individuals fit into particular age categories 5. Density-dependent Factors – a factor that influences an individual’s probability of survival and reproduction in a manner that depends on the size of the population 6. Limiting Resource – a resource that a population cannot live without and that occurs in quantities lower than the population would require to increase in size 7. Carrying Capacity (K) – the limit of how many individuals in a population the food supply can sustain 8. Density-independent Factors – a factor that has the same effect on an individual’s probability of survival and the amount of reproduction at any population size 9. Growth Rate – the number of offspring an individual can produce in a given time period, minus the death of the individual or any of its offspring during the same period 10. Intrinsic Growth Rate (r) – the maximum potential for growth of a population under ideal conditions with unlimited resources 11. Overshoot – when a population becomes larger than the environment’s carrying capacity 12. Die-off – a rapid decline in a population due to death 13. K-selected Species – a species with a low intrinsic growth rate that causes the population to increase slowly until it reaches carrying capacity 14. R-selected Species – a species that has a high intrinsic growth rate, which often leads to population overshoots and die-offs 15. Corridors – a strip of natural habitat that connects separated populations 16. Metapopulations – a group of spatially distinct populations that are connected by occasional movements of individuals between them 17. Competition – the struggle of individuals to obtain a limiting resource 18. Competitive Exclusion Principal – the principle stating that two species competing for the same limiting resource cannot coexist 19. Resource Partitioning – a situation in which two species divide a resource, based on differences in their behavior or morphology 20. Keystone Species – a species that is far more important in its community than its relative abundance might suggest 21. Ecosystem Engineers – a keystone species that creates or maintains habitat for other species Chapter 7: 1. Demography – the study of human populations and population trends 2. Immigration – the movement of people into a country or region, having come from another country or region 3. Emigration – the movement of people out of a country or region, to settle in another country or region 4. Crude Birth Rate (CBR) – the number of births per 1,000 individuals per year 5. Crude Death Rate (CDR) – the number of deaths per 1,000 individuals per year 6. Doubling Time – the number of years it takes a population to double 7. Total Fertility Rate (TFR) – an estimate of the average number of children that each woman in a population will bear throughout her childbearing years 8. Replacement Level Fertility – the total fertility rate required to offset the average number of deaths in a population in order to maintain the current population size. 9. Developed Countries – a country with relatively high levels of industrialization and income 10. Developing Countries – a country with relatively low levels of industrialization and income 11. Life Expectancy – the average number of years that an infant born in a particular year in a particular country can be expected to live, given the current average life span and death rate in that country 12. Infant Mortality Rate – the number of death of children under 1 year of age per 1,000 live births 13. Child Mortality Rate – the number of deaths of children under the age of 5 per 1,000 live births 14. Population Momentum – continued population growth that does not slow in response to growth reduction measures 15. Net Migration Rate – the difference between immigration and emigration in a given year per 1,000 people in a country 16. Family Planning – the practice of regulating the number or spacing of offspring through the use of birth control 17. Affluence – the state of having plentiful wealth; the possession of money, goods, or property 18. Urban Area – an area that contains more than 385 people per square kilometer (1,000 people per square mile) 19. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – a measure of the value of all products and services produced in a country in a year Chapter 8: 1. Magma – molten rock 2. Plate Tectonics – the theory that the lithosphere of Earth is divided into plates, most of which are in constant motion 3. Tectonic Cycle – the cycle of processes that build up and break down the lithosphere 4. Subduction – the process of one crustal plate passing under another 5. Volcano – a vent in the surface of Earth that emits ash, gases, and/or molten lava 6. Divergent Plate Boundary – an area beneath the ocean where tectonic plates move way from each other 7. Seafloor Spreading – the formation of new ocean crust as a result of magma pushing upward and outward from Earth’s mantle to the surface 8. Convergent Plate Boundary – an area where plates move toward one another to collide 9. Transform Fault Boundary – an area where tectonic plates move sideways past each other 10. Fault – a fracture in rock caused by a movement of Earth’s crust 11. Earthquakes – the sudden movement of Earth’s crust caused by a release of potential energy along a geologic fault and usually causing a vibration or trembling at Earth’s surface 12. Seismic Activity – the frequency and intensity of earthquakes 13. Epicenter – the exact point on the surface of Earth directly above the location where rock ruptures during an earthquake 14. Rock Cycle – the continue formation and destruction of rock on and below the surface of Earth 15. Fractures – in geology, a crack that occurs in rocks as it cools 16. Physical Weathering – the mechanical breakdown of rocks and minerals 17. Chemical Weathering – the breakdown of rocks and minerals by chemical reactions, the dissolving of chemical elements from rocks, or both 18. Acid Precipitation/Rain – precipitation high in sulfuric acid and nitric acid from reactions between sulfur dioxide and water vapor and nitrogen oxides and water vapor in the atmosphere 19. Erosion – the physical removal of rock fragments from a landscape or ecosystem 20. Deposition – the accumulation or depositing of eroded material such as sediment, rock fragments, or soil 21. Soil – a mix of geologic and organic components that forms a dynamic membrane covering much of Earth’s surface 22. Parent Material – rock underlying soil; the material from which the inorganic components of a soil are derived 23. Horizons – layers in the soil that are developed as the soil develops, have distinct characteristics 24. Topsoil (A Horizon)– frequently the top layer of soil, characterized by mixing of organic material and mineral material 25. Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) – the ability of a particular soil to absorb and release cations 26. Base Saturation – the proportion of soil bases to soil acids, expressed as a percentage 27. Soil Degradation – the loss of some or all of a soil’s ability to support plant growth 28. Crustal Abundance – the average concentration of an element in Earth’s crust Chapter 9: 1. Aquifers – a permeable layer of rock and sediment that contains groundwater 2. Unconfined Aquifer – an aquifer made of porous rock covered by soil, which water can easily flow into and out of 3. Confined Aquifer – an aquifer surrounded by a layer of impermeable rock or clay that impedes water flow 4. Water Table – the uppermost level at which the water in a given area fully saturates rock or soil 5. Groundwater Recharge – a process by which water percolates through the soil and works its way into an aquifer 6. Springs – a natural source of water formed wen water from an aquifer percolates up to the ground surface 7. Artesian Well – a well created by drilling a hole into a confined aquifer 8. Cone of Depression – an area from which the groundwater has been rapidly withdrawn 9. Saltwater Intrusion – an infiltration of salt water in an area where groundwater pressure has been reduced from extensive drilling of wells 10. Floodplain – the land adjacent to a river 11. Oligotrophic – a lake with a low level of productivity as a result of low amount of nutrients in the water 12. Mesotrophic – a lake with a moderate level of productivity 13. Eutrophic – a lake with a high level of productivity 14. Impermeable Surfaces – pavement or buildings that do not allow water penetration 15. Levee – an enlarged bank built up on each side of a river to prevent flooding 16. Dikes – a structure built to prevent ocean waters from flooding adjacent land 17. Dam – a barrier that runs across a river or stream to control the flow of water 18. Reservoir – a body of water created by blocking the natural flow of a waterway 19. Fish Ladders – a stair-like structure that allows migrating fish to get around a dam 20. Aqueducts – a canal or ditch used to carry water from one location to another 21. Desalination – the process of removing the salt from salt water 22. Hydroponic Agriculture – the cultivation of plants in greenhouse conditions by immersing roots in a nutrient rich solution Chapter 10: 1. Tragedy of the Commons – the tendency of a shared, limited resource to become depleted because people act form self-interest for short-term gain 2. Externality – the cost or benefit of a good or service that is not included in the purchase price of that good or service 3. Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) – the maximum amount of a renewable resource that can be harvested without compromising the future availability of that resource 4. Resource Conservation Ethic – the belief that people should maximize use of resources, based on the greatest good for everyone 5. Multiple-Use Land – a US classification used to designate lands that may be used for recreation, grazing, timber harvesting, and mineral extraction 6. Clear Cutting – a method of harvesting trees that involves removing all or almost all of the trees within a given area 7. Selective Cutting – the method of harvesting trees that involves the removal of single trees or relatively small number of trees from among many in a forest 8. Ecologically Sustainable Forestry – an approach to removing trees from forests in ways that do not unduly affect the viability of other trees 9. Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) – a document outlining the scope and purpose of a development project, describing the environmental context, suggesting alternative approaches to the project, and analyzing the environmental impact of each alternative 10. Environmental Mitigation Plan – a plant that outlines how a developer will address concerns raised by a project’s impact on the environment 11. Suburban – an area surrounding a metropolitan center, with a comparatively low population density 12. Exurban – an area similar to a suburb, but unconnected to any central city or densely populated area 13. Urban Sprawl – urbanized area that spread into rural areas, removing clear boundaries between the two 14. Urban Blight – the degradation of the built and social environments of the city that often accompanies and accelerates migration to the suburbs 15. Induced Demand – the phenomenon in which increase in the supply of a good causes demand to grow 16. Zoning – a planning tool used to separate industry and business from residential neighhborhoods 17. Multi-use Zoning – a zoning classification that allows retail and high-density residential development to coexist in the same area 18. Smart Growth – a set or principles for community planning that focuses on strategies to encourage the development of sustainable, healthy communities 19. Stakeholders – a person or organization with an interest in a particular place or issue 20. Sense of Place – the feeling that an area has distinct and meaningful character 21. Transit-oriented Development (TOD) – development that attempts to focus dense residential and retail development around stops for public transportation, a component of smart growth 22. Infill – development that fills in vacant lots within existing communities 23. Urban Growth Boundaries – a restriction on development outside a designated area 24. Eminent Domain – a principle that grants government the power to acquire a property at fair market value even if the owner does not wish to sell it Chapter 11: 1. Undernutrition – the condition in which not enough calories are ingested to maintain health 2. Malnourished – having a diet that lacks the correct balance of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals 3. Food Security – a condition in which people have access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs for an active and healthy life 4. Food Insecurity – a condition in which people do not have adequate access to food 5. Famine – the condition in which food insecurity is so extreme that large numbers of deaths occur in a given area over a relatively short period 6. Anemia – a deficiency of iron 7. Overnutrition – ingestion of too many calories and improper foods 8. Industrial Agriculture – agriculture that applies the techniques of mechanization and standardization 9. Energy Subsidy – the energy input per calorie of food produced 10. Green Revolution – a shift in agricultural practices in the twentieth century that included new management techniques, mechanization, fertilization, irrigation, and improved crop varieties, and resulted in increased food output 11. Economics of Scale – the observation that average costs of production fall as output increases 12. Waterlogging – a form of soil degradation that occurs when soil remains under water for prolonged periods 13. Salinization – a form of soil degradation that occurs when the small amount of salts in irrigation water becomes highly concentrated on the soil surface through evaporation 14. Organic Fertilizers – fertilizer composed of organic matter from plants and animals 15. Synthetic/Inorganic fertilizers – fertilizer produced commercially, normally with the use of fossil fuels 16. Monocropping – an agricultural method that utilizes large plantings of a single species or variety 17. Pesticides – a substance, either natural or synthetic, that kills or controls organisms that people consider pests 18. Insecticides – a pesticide that targets species of insects and other invertebrates 19. Herbicides – a pesticide that targets plant species that compete with crops 20. Broad-Spectrum Pesticide – a pesticide that kills many different types of pests 21. Selective Pesticide – a pesticide that targets a narrower range of organisms 22. Persistent – the length of time a chemical remains in the environment 23. Bioaccumulation – an increased concentration of a chemical within an organism over time 24. Nonpersistant Pesticide – a pesticide that breaks down rapidly, usually in weeks or months 25. Resistance – a measure of how much a disturbance can affect flows of energy and matter in an ecosystem 26. Pesticide Treadmill – a cycle of pesticide development, followed by pest resistance, followed by new pesticide development 27. Conventional Agriculture/Industrial Agriculture – agriculture that applies the techniques of mechanization and standardization 28. Shifting Agriculture – an agricultural method in which land is cleared and used for a few years until the soil is depleted of nutrients 29. Desertification – the transforming of arable, productive land to desert or unproductive land due to climate change or destructive land use 30. Nomadic Grazing – feeding herds of animals by moving them to seasonally productive feeding grounds, often over long distances 31. Sustainable Agriculture – agriculture that fulfills the need for food and fiber while enhancing the quality of the soil, minimizing the use of nonrenewable resources, and allowing economic viability for the farmer 32. Intercropping – an agricultural method in which two or more crop species are planted in the same field at the same time to promote a synergistic interaction 33. Agroforestry – an agricultural technique in which trees and vegetables are intercropped 34. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) – an agricultural practice that uses a variety of techniques designed to minimize pesticide inputs 35. Organic Agriculture – production of crops with the goal of improving the soil each year without the use of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers 36. Fishery – a commercially harvestable population of fish within a particular ecological region 37. Aquaculture – farming aquatic organisms such as fish, shellfish, and seaweeds