Term
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Definition
| the scientific study of how organisms interact with one another and with their environment |
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Definition
| a population's vital statistics |
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Term
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Definition
| the number of individuals that make up the gene pool of a population |
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Term
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Definition
| number of individuals in each age category for a population |
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Term
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Definition
| the number of actually and potentially reproducing individuals in a population |
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Term
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Definition
| count of individuals of a population in a habitat (by area or volume) |
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Definition
| place where an organism or species lives; characterized by its physical and chemical features and its species |
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Definition
| dispersal pattern for individuals of a population through a habitat |
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Term
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Definition
| the number of individuals in an area; it does not tell how the individuals are dispersed throughout the habitat |
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Term
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Definition
| a distribution pattern in which members of society form clumps |
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Term
| nearly uniform dispersion |
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Definition
| a distribution pattern in which members of society are in fierce competition for limited resources |
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Term
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Definition
| a distribution pattern in which members of society are neither attracting nor repelling each other |
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Definition
| a factor of population size that describes reproduction in society |
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Definition
| a factor of population size that describes incoming of members from another society |
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Definition
| a factor of population size that describes members dying in society |
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Definition
| a factor of population size that describes outgoing of members into another society |
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Term
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Definition
| recurring pattern of movement between two or more regions in response to environmental rhythms |
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Term
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Definition
| of a population, no overall increase or decrease during a specified interval; population size is stabilized |
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Term
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Definition
| of population studies, a term used when making head counts |
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Term
| "r" net reproduction per individual per unit time |
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Definition
| variable in population growth equations that signifies net population growth rate; birth and death rates are assumed to remain constant and are combined into this one variable |
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Term
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Definition
| pattern of population growth; a quantity increasing by a fixed percentage in a given interval |
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Term
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Definition
| time it takes for a population to double in size |
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Definition
| type of diagrammatic curve that emerges when unrestricted exponential growth of a population is plotted against time |
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Term
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Definition
| of population growth for given species, the maximum rate of increase per individual under ideal conditions |
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Term
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Definition
| any essential resource which in short supply, limits population growth |
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Term
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Definition
| the maximum number of individuals in a population (or species) that a given environment can sustain indefinitely |
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Term
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Definition
| a population growth pattern; a low-density population slowly increases in size, enters a phase of rapid growth, then levels off in size once the carrying capacity ahs been reached |
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Term
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Definition
| type of diagrammatic curve that emerges when logistic population growth is plotted against time |
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Term
| density-dependent control |
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Definition
| factor that limits population growth by reducing the birth rate or increasing death and dispersal rates |
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Term
| density-independent factor |
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Definition
| factor that causes a population's death rate to rise independently of density |
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Term
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Definition
| of a species, a set of adaptations that influence survival, fertility, and age at first reproduction |
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Term
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Definition
| group of individuals being studied |
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Term
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Definition
| a table of statistics relating to life expectancy and mortality for a population of animals divided into cohorts of given age |
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Term
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Definition
| plot of age-specific survival of a group of individuals in the environment, from the time of birth until the last one dies |
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Term
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Definition
| allows individuals and couples to anticipate and attain their desired number of children and the spacing and timing of their births |
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Term
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Definition
| average number of children born to women of a population during their reproductive years |
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Term
| demographic transition model |
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Definition
| model that correlates changes in population growth with four stages of economic development |
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Term
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Definition
| birth and death rates high, population grows slowly, infant mortality high |
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Term
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Definition
| death rate (infant mortality)lower, birth rates remain high, better health care, population grows fast |
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Term
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Definition
| decline in birth rate, population growth slows |
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Term
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Definition
| low birth and death rates |
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Term
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Definition
| coordinated response to stimuli involving sensory, neural, endocrine, and effector components; has a genetic basis, can evolve, and can be modified by learning |
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Term
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Definition
| a signaling molecule secreted by one cell that stimulates or inhibits activities of any cell with receptors for it; animal hormones are picked up and transported by the bloodstream |
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Term
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Definition
| a hormone secreted by the pineal gland that inhibits melanin formation and may regulate the reproductive cycle |
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Term
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Definition
| a light-sensitive pigment; its controlled activation and inactivation affect plant hormone activities that govern leaf expansion, stem branching, stem lengthening, and often seed germination and flowering |
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Term
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Definition
| several brain structures that control muscles of a bird's vocal organ |
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Term
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Definition
| a behavior performed without having been learned by experience |
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Term
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Definition
| simple environmental cues that trigger a response to a stimulus, which the nervous system is prewired to recognize |
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Term
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Definition
| program of coordinated, stereotypes muscle activity that is completed independently of feedback from environment |
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Term
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Definition
| lasting modification of a behavior as a result of experience or practice |
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Term
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Definition
| time-dependent form of learning, usually during a sensitive period for a young animal, triggered by exposure to sign stimuli |
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Term
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Definition
| a learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired: a response that is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone |
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Term
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Definition
| conditioning in which an operant response is brought under stimulus control by virtue of presenting reinforcement contingent upon the occurrence of the operant response |
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Term
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Definition
| the diminishing of a physiological or emotional response to a frequently repeated stimulus |
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Term
| spatial or latent learning |
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Definition
| a form of learning that is not immediately expressed in an overt response; it occurs without obvious reinforcement to be applied later |
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Term
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Definition
| reasoning is the cognitive process of looking for reasons, beliefs, conclusions, actions or feelings |
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Term
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Definition
| microevolutionary process; the outcome of differences in survival and reproduction among individuals in survival and reproduction among individuals that differ in details of heritable traits |
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Term
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Definition
| of individuals, production of viable, fertile offspring |
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Term
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Definition
| behavior that contributes to the individual's reproductive success |
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Term
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Definition
| diverse interactions among individuals of a species, which display, send, and respond to shared forms of communication that have genetic and learned components |
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Term
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Definition
| an individual protects or increases its own chance to produce offspring regardless of consequences to its social group |
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Term
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Definition
| behavior benefits other organisms, at a cost to itself |
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Term
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Definition
| an area that an animal is defending against competitors for mates, food, water, living space, and other resources |
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Term
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Definition
| social cue encoded in stimuli such as specific body coloration, body patterning, odors, sounds, and postures |
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Term
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Definition
| sender of a communication signal |
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Term
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Definition
| the individual responding to a communication signal |
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Term
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Definition
| sender of a communication signal |
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Term
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Definition
| the individual responding to a communication signal |
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Term
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Definition
| hormone-like, nearly odorless exocrine gland secretion; a signaling molecule between individuals of the same species that integrates social behavior |
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Term
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Definition
| communication signal with information encoded in more than one cue |
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Term
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Definition
| social signal, often ritualized with intended changes in functions of common patterns |
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Term
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Definition
| ritualized intraspecific signal conveying intent to attack |
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Term
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Definition
| pattern of ritualized social behavior between potential mates; commonly incorporates frozen postures, exaggerated yet simplified movements, and visual signals |
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Term
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Definition
| in intraspecific communication; a ritualized contact between individuals |
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Term
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Definition
| animal that intercepts signals between members of another species |
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Term
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Definition
| predator that lures prey by simulating an intraspecific signal |
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Term
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Definition
| a microevolutionary process; a type of selection that favors a trait giving an individual a competitive edge in attracting or keeping a mate (favors reproductive success) |
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Term
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Definition
| communal display ground for courtship behavior by some animals, including birds |
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Term
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Definition
rests on the proposition that we should
provide services only if their benefits outweigh their costs; considers the individual's success in contributing genes to the next generation |
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Term
| cooperative predator avoidance |
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Definition
| in a large group, a prey animal is less likely to become a victim; social animals are better able to repel a predator through group defense |
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Term
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Definition
| social group held together simply by reproductive self-interest |
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Term
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Definition
| social organization in which some individuals of the group have adopted a subordinate status to others |
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Term
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Definition
| behavior that lowers an individual's chance of reproductive success but helps others of its species |
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Term
| theory of indirect selection |
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Definition
| the theory of inclusive fitness holds that individuals can indirectly pass on their genes by helping relatives survive and reproduce; all individuals of the insect colonies are members of an extended family |
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Term
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Definition
| permanent acceptance of and caring of or offspring of other individuals as one's own |
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Term
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Definition
| five factors shape the structure of the community: interaction between climate and topography dictate rainfall, temperature, soil composition, and so on - availability of food and resources affects inhabitants - adaptive traits enable individuals to exploit specific s=resources - interactions of various kinds occur among the inhabitants; these include competition, predation, and mutualism - physical disturbances, immigration, and episodes of extinction affect the habitat |
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Term
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Definition
| place where an organism or species lives; characterized by its physical and chemical features and its species |
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Term
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Definition
| all populations in a habitat; also, a group of organisms with similar life-styles |
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Term
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Definition
| sum total of all activites and relationships in which individuals of a species engage as they secure and use the resources required to survive and reproduce |
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Term
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Definition
| species interaction in which neither species directly affects the other |
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Term
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Definition
| ecological interaction between two (or more) species in which one benefits directly and the other is affected little, if at all |
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Term
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Definition
| symbiotic interaction that benefits both participants |
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Term
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Definition
| ecological interaction in which a predator feeds on a prey organism |
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Term
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Definition
| symbiotic interaction in which a parasitic species benefits as it feeds on tissues of a host species, which it harms |
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Term
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Definition
| individuals of one species live near, in, or on individuals of a different species for t least part of life cycle |
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Term
| intraspecific competition |
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Definition
| type of ecological interaction in which individuals of the same population compete for a share of resources |
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Term
| interspecific competition |
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Definition
| type of ecological interaction in which individuals of the different population compete for a share of resources; species interaction in which both species are harmed by the interaction |
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Term
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Definition
| in exploitation competition, all individuals have equal access to a resource but differ in their ability (speed or efficiency) to exploit that resource |
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Term
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Definition
| in interference competition, some individuals limit others' access to the resource |
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Term
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Definition
| theory that two or more species requiring identical resources cannot coexist indefinitely |
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Term
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Definition
| similar species share the same resource in different ways; resource partitioning arises in two ways: ecological differences between established and competing populations may increase through natural selection - only species that are dissimilar from established once san succeed in joining an existing community |
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Term
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Definition
| a heterotroph that eats other living organisms, does not live in or one them (as parasites do), and may or may not kill them |
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Term
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Definition
| organism that another organism captures as a food source |
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Term
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Definition
| joint evolution of two closely interacting species by changes in the selection pressures operating between the two |
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Term
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Definition
| the maximum umber of individuals in a population (or species) that a given environment can sustain indefinitely |
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Term
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Definition
| coloration, form, patterning, or behavior that helps predators or prey blend with the surroundings and escape detection |
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Term
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Definition
| of many toxic species and their mimics, avoidance signals (strong colors and patterns) that predators learn to recognize |
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Term
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Definition
| close resemblance in form, behavior, or both between one species (the mimic) and another (its model); serves in deception, as when an orchid mimics a female insect and attracts males, which pollinate it |
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Term
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Definition
| organism that lives in or on a host for at least part of its life cycle; it feeds on specific tissues and usually does not kill its host outright |
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Term
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Definition
| living organism exploited by a parasite; a definitive host harbors the mature stage of a parasite's life cycle; one or more intermediate hosts harbor immature stages |
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Term
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Definition
| micro parasites include bacteria, viruses, and protistans |
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Term
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Definition
| macro parasites include flatworms, nematodes, and small arthropods |
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Term
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Definition
| holoparasitic plants are nonphotosynthetic; they withdraw nutrients and water from young roots |
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Term
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Definition
| hemiparasites retain a capacity for photosynthesis, but they withdraw nutrients and water from host plants |
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Term
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Definition
| social parasites alter the social behavior of another species to complete their life cycle |
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Term
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Definition
| type of insect larva that grown and develops in a host organism (usually another insect), consumes its soft tissues, and kills it |
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Term
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Definition
| processes by which a community develops in sequence, from pioneer species to an end array of species that remain in equilibrium over a given region |
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Term
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Definition
| any opportunistic colonizer of barren or disturbed habitats; adapted for rapid growth and dispersal |
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Term
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Definition
| array of species that has stabilized under prevailing habitat conditions |
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Term
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Definition
| development of climax community through a series of species that replace one another, starting with pioneers |
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Term
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Definition
| a disturbed area recovers and moves toward a climax state |
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Term
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Definition
| idea that environmental factors may have different effects in a large region, so stable communities other than the climax stage may also persist in that region |
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Term
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Definition
| [restoration ecology] attempts to reestablish biodiversity in ecosystem severely altered by mining, agriculture, and other disturbances |
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Term
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Definition
| a species with a dominant role in shaping community structure |
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Term
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Definition
| an organism moves out of its home range and becomes established in a new community as an exotic species |
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Term
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Definition
| during the course of a lifetime, individuals may be rapidly transported across great distance (jump dispersal), as in bilge water of large ships |
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Term
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Definition
| idea that only species adapted for long-distance dispersal can be potential colonists of islands far from their home range |
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Term
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Definition
| idea that larger islands support more species than smaller ones at equivalent distances from sources of colonizer species |
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Term
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Definition
| all organisms the same number of transfer steps away from the energy input into an ecosystem |
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Term
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Definition
| straight-line sequence of steps by which energy stored in autotroph tissues passes on to higher trophic levels |
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Term
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Definition
| of ecosystems, cross-connecting food chains consisting of producers, consumers, and decomposers, detritivores, or both |
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Term
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Definition
| network of food chains in which energy flows from plants to an array of herbivores, then to carnivores |
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Term
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Definition
| network of food chains in which energy flows mainly from plants through arrays of detritivores and decomposers |
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Term
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Definition
| of ecosystems, the rate at which primary producers capture and store energy in tissues during a specified interval |
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Term
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Definition
| of ecosystems, all the energy plants have accumulated through their growth, reproduction in a given interval (net primary production), minus the energy that the plants and soil organisms have used |
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Term
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Definition
| trophic structures can be diagrammed as a pyramid in which producers form a base for successive tiers of consumers above them |
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Term
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Definition
| makes provision for differences in size of organisms by using the weight of the members in each trophic level |
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Term
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Definition
| reflects trophic structure most accurately because it is based on energy losses at each level |
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Term
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Definition
| slow movement of an element from environmental reservoirs, through food webs, then back to the environment |
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Term
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Definition
| biogeochemical cycle driven by solar energy; water is moved through the atmosphere, on or through land, to the ocean, and back to the atmosphere |
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Term
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Definition
Carbon Cycle
Nitrogen Cycle |
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Term
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Definition
| biogeochemical cycle; an element having no gaseous phase moves form land, through food webs, to the seafloor, then returns to land through long-term uplifting |
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Term
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Definition
| any specific region in which all precipitation drains into one stream or river |
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Term
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Definition
| an atmospheric cycle; carbon moves from reservoirs (sediments, rocks, the ocean), through the atmosphere (mostly as CO2), food webs, and back to the reservoirs |
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Term
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Definition
| atmospheric gases impede escape of infrared wavelengths (heat) from Earth's sun-warmed surface, absorb them, and radiate much of the heat back toward Earth |
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Term
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Definition
| atmospheric cycle; nitrogen moves from its largest reservoir (atmosphere), through the ocean, ocean sediments, soils, and food webs, then back to the atmosphere |
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Term
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Definition
| major nitrogen cycle process; certain bacteria convert gaseous nitrogen to ammonia, which dissolves in their cytoplasm to form ammonium (used in biosynthesis |
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Term
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Definition
| in general, processes by which prokaryotic cells and fungi degrade organic matter (e.g., nitrogenous wastes of organisms) |
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Term
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Definition
| of nitrogen cycle, process by which soil fungi and bacteria break down nitrogenous wastes or remains to forms that plants can take up |
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Term
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Definition
| major nitrogen cycle process; certain bacteria in soil break down ammonia or ammonium to nitrite, then other bacteria break, down the nitrite to nitrate (a form that plants can take up) |
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Term
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Definition
| conversion of nitrate or nitrite by certain soil bacteria to gaseous nitrogen and a small amount of nitrous oxide |
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Term
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Definition
| the pH-dependent process by which ions dissociate from soil particles, and other ions dissolved in soil water replace them |
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Term
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Definition
| a sedimentary cycle; the movement of phosphorus (mainly phosphate ions) from land, through food webs, to ocean sediments, then back to land |
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Term
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Definition
| nutrient enrichment of a body of water; typically causes reduced transparency and a phytoplankton-dominated community |
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Term
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Definition
| scientific study of the world distribution of species |
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Term
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Definition
| all regions of the Earth's waters, crust, and atmosphere in which organisms live |
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Term
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Definition
| all water on or near the earth's surface |
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Definition
| the earth's outer, rocky layer |
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Term
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Definition
| gases, particles, and water vapor enveloping the earth |
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Term
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Definition
| for a specified region, the prevailing weather conditions (e.g., temperature, cloud cover, wind sped, rainfall, and humidity |
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Term
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Definition
| a layer in the earth's stratosphere at an altitude of about 10 km (6.2 miles) containing a high concentration of ozone, which absorbs most of the ultraviolet radiation reaching the earth from the sun |
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Term
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Definition
| globe-spanning bands of temperature defined by latitude (e.g., cool temperature, warm temperate, equatorial) |
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Term
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Definition
| a continuous body of water that covers more than 71 percent of the Earth; its currents distribute nutrients and marine ecosystems and influence regional climates |
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Term
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Definition
| refers to physical features of a region, such as elevation; mountain, valleys, and other features influence regional climates |
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Term
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Definition
| a reduction in rainfall on leeward side of a high mountain range that results in arid or semiarid conditions |
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Term
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Definition
| on or toward the side sheltered from the wind or toward which the wind is blowing; downwind |
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Term
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Definition
| facing the wind or on the side facing the wind |
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Term
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Definition
| air circulation pattern that moves moisture-laden air arising from warm oceans to continents north or south of them |
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Term
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Definition
| one of six cast land areas with distinctive species |
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Term
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Definition
| subdivision of a biogeographic realm |
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Term
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Definition
| broad land or ocean region defined by climate, geography, producer species |
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Term
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Definition
| mixture of mineral particles of variable sizes and decomposing organic material; air and water occupy spaces between particles |
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Term
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Definition
| decomposing organic matter in soil |
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Term
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Definition
| the composition of soil from the surface downward: topsoil has the most humus and is the most vulnerable to weathering - loam topsoil have the best mix of sand, silt, and clay for agriculture |
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Term
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Definition
| biome that forms where the potential for evaporation greatly exceeds rainfall, and where soil is thin and vegetation sparse |
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Term
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Definition
| the conversion of grassland or irrigated or rain-fed cropland to a desert-like condition |
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Term
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Definition
| biome that forms when annual rainfall is less than 25 to 60 centimeters; short, multi-branched woody shrubs dominate |
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Term
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Definition
| biome that forms when annual rainfall is about 40 to 100 centimeters; it may have many tall trees but no dense canopy |
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Term
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Definition
| biome that has flat or rolling land, 25-100 centimeters of annual rainfall, warm summers, and a distinct array of grazers; fires recur and regenerate dominant plant species |
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Term
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Definition
| of the American Midwest; short, drought-resistant grasses that have been replaced by grains that require irrigation |
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Term
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Definition
| originally found in the American West where water was more plentiful |
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Term
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Definition
| broad belt of warm grassland with a smattering of shrubs and trees |
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Term
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Definition
| of southern Asia; experience seasons of torrential rain alternating with near drought |
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Term
| evergreen broadleaf forest |
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Definition
| tropical forest in regions of heavy rainfall; rapid decomposition |
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Term
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Definition
| a biome characterized by regular, heavy rainfall, an annual mean temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, humidity of 80+ percent, and stunning but threatened biodiversity |
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Term
| deciduous broadleaf forest |
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Definition
| lie farther from the equator; the regions are more mild in temperature with moderate rain fall |
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Term
| tropical deciduous forest |
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Definition
| its trees drop all or some of leaves in a pronounced dry season; nutrients in litter accumulate on forest floor |
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Term
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Definition
| located in Southeast Asia; many trees drop some or all of their leaves during the pronounced dry season |
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Term
| temperate deciduous forest |
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Definition
| of North America, conditions of temperature and rainfall do not favor rapid decomposition; thus, nutrients are conserved to provide fertile soil |
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Term
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Definition
| the typical "tree" in these forests I some variety of evergreen cone-bearer with needlelike leaves |
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Term
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Definition
| a swamp forest (or taiga) in glaciated regions with cold lakes and streams; found in the cool to cold northern regions of North America, Europe, and Asia; spruce and balsam fir are dominant |
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Term
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Definition
| synonymous with boreal forest; the sometimes swampy coniferous forest of high northern latitudes, esp. that between the tundra and steppes of Siberia and North America |
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Term
| montane coniferous forest |
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Definition
| extend southward through the great mountain ranges; fir and pine dominate |
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Term
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Definition
| parallels the west coast of North America and features sequoias and redwoods |
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Term
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Definition
| dominates coastal plains of south Atlantic and Gulf states; adapted to dry, sandy, nutrient-poor soils, and fires of relatively low heat, which can clear understory |
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Term
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Definition
| biome with poor drainage, extremely low temperatures, short growing season, poor decomposition; artic tundra is a treeless plain between the polar ice cap and belts of northern boreal forests; alpine tundra occurs at high elevations in mountains throughout the world |
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Term
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Definition
| lies to the north of the boreal forests; it sis a vast treeless plain, very cold, with low moisture; it is characterized by permafrost, which prevents growth of large trees |
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Term
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Definition
| a water-impermeable, perpetually frozen layer, up to 500 meters thick, beneath the soil surface of the arctic tundra |
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Term
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Definition
| occurs at high elevations in mountains throughout the world |
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Term
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Definition
| a body of standing freshwater produced by geologic processes, as when an advancing glacier carves a basin in the Earth |
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Term
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Definition
| extends from the shore to where rooted plants stop growing |
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Term
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Definition
| includes open, sunlit waters beyond the littoral to a depth where photosynthesis is no longer significant; plankton life is abundant |
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Term
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Definition
| the deep, open water below the depth of light penetration; detritus sinks from the limnetic and is acted upon by decomposers |
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Term
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Definition
| aquatic community of floating or weakly swimming photoautotrophs |
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Term
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Definition
| a community of suspended or weakly swimming heterotrophs of aquatic habitats; most species are microscopic |
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Term
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Definition
| of many bodies of water in spring, a downward movement of oxygenated surface water and an upward movement of nutrient-rich water from mud and sediments below; fans primary productivity |
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Definition
| by midsummer a thermocline between the upper layers and lower cooler layers prevents vertical warming |
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| vertical mix of a body of water in fall; its upper layer cools, gets more dense, sinks, oxygenated surface water moves down, nutrients from bottom sediments move up |
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| lakes are deep, nutrient-poor, and low in primary productivity |
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| lakes are shallow and nutrient-rich often due to agricultural and urban runoff wastes |
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| nutrient enrichment of a body of water; typically causes reduced transparency and a phytoplankton-dominated community |
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| a flowing-water ecosystem that starts out as a freshwater spring or seep |
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| includes all the sediments and rocky formations of the ocean bottom; its zones begin with the continental shelf and extend downward to the deep-sea trenches |
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| includes the entire volume of ocean water and is subdivided into two zones: the neritic zone constitutes the relatively shallow water overlying the continental shelves - the oceanic zone is the water over the ocean basins; photosynthetic activity is restricted to the surface |
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| photosynthetic bacteria, no more than 2 um wide, that may account for 70 percent of the ocean's primary productivity |
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| organic matter, drifting down from ultraplankton to mid-oceanic water; the basis of food webs and staggering biodiversity |
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| a steaming fissure in the deep ocean floor; has unique ecosystem |
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| a nutrient-rich ecosystem of tidal flats at tropical latitudes |
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| partly enclosed coast region where seawater mixes with fresh water and runoff from land, as from rivers |
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| region between the low and high water marks of a rocky or sandy shore |
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| an intertidal area of seacoasts where solid rock predominates; are biologically rich environments, and make the ideal natural laboratory for studying intertidal ecology and other biological processes |
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| is submerged only during the highest possible lunar tide; it is sparsely populated |
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| is submerged during the regular tide and exposed at the lowest tide of the day |
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| exposed only during the lowest lunar tide |
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| unstable stretches of loose sediments; detrital food webs occur; invertebrates are plentiful |
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| an upward movement of deep, nutrient-rich water along coasts; it replaces surface waters that move away from shore when the prevailing wind direction shifts |
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| massive eastward movement of warm surface waters of the western equatorial pacific; displaces cool water off South America; recurs and disrupts climates throughout the world |
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| nautral synthetic substance with which an ecosystem has no prior evolutionary experience, in terms of kinds or amounts; it accumulates to disruptive or harmful levels |
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| a layer of dense, cool air trapped beneath a layer of warm air; can hold air pollutants close to the ground |
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| a gray air found in industrial cities that burn fossil fuel |
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| brown air found in large cities in warm climates; the key culprit is nitric oxide |
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| peroxyacyl nitrate; an oxidant in photochemical smog; sting eyes, irritate lungs, and damage crops |
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| airborne oxides of sulfur, nitrogen fall to Earth during dry weather |
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| wet acid-deposition; falling or rain (or snow_ rich in sulfur and nitrogen oxides |
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| a pronounced and seasonal thinning of the atmosphere's ozone layer |
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| CFC; a compound of chlorine, fluorine, and carbon; is contributing to ozone thinning |
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| in developing countries, use of improved crop strains, modern agricultural equipment, and practices to raise crop yields |
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| farming that provides for the basic needs of the farmer without surpluses for marketing; runs on energy inputs from sunlight and human labor |
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| animal-assisted agriculture |
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| energy inputs from oxen and other draft animals |
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| requires massive inputs of fertilizers, pesticides, and ample irrigation to sustain high-yield crops |
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| removal of all the trees from a large tract of land |
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| once called slash-and-burn agriculture; trees are cut, the land used for a few growing seasons and then abandoned as fertility plummets |
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| the conversion of grassland or irrigated or rain-fed cropland to a desert-like condition |
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| removing salt from seawater |
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| salt buildup in soil through poor drainage, evaporation, and heavy irrigation |
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| upper limit at which ground in a specified region is fully saturated with water |
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| part of the High Plains Aquifer System, is a vast yet shallow underground water table aquifer located beneath the Great Plains in the United States |
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| processing of liquid wastes to remove sludge, organic matter |
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| removes and then burns sludge before it is dumped in landfills and waste dumps |
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| uses microbes to degrade organic matter - nitrates, viruses, toxic substances remain |
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| experimental methods to remove solids, phosphates, organics, etc.; it is used on only about 5% of the nation's wastewater |
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| coal, petroleum, or natural gas; a nonrenewable energy source that formed long ago from remains of swamp forests |
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| with nuclear energy, the net energy produced is low and the cost high compared with coal-burning plants; meltdowns may release large amounts of radioactivity to the environment; nuclear waste is so radioactive that it must be isolated for 10,000 years |
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| accidental overheating of the core in a nuclear power plant |
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| unit in a device designed to convert sunlight energy into electricity |
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Definition
| sunlight energy captured, converted to hydrogen as a fuel source |
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| where winds travel faster than 7.5 meters per second, wind turbines are cost-effective producers of electricity; because winds do not blow on a regular schedule, wind turbines cannot be the exclusive source of energy |
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| release of energy from fuel that implodes when compressed to extremely high density |
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| AP BIOLOGY: ECOLOGY VOCABULARY TERMS |
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