Levels of Organization
This is the smallest level of environmental organization and the basic unit of life.
What is a cell?
A mosquito transmitting disease to a human is an example of this interaction where one organism benefits and the other is harmed.
What is parasitism?
This region of an aquatic environment receives enough sunlight to allow photosynthesis.
What is the photic zone?
Environment, economy, and society
What are the three elements of sustainability?
This law states that everything in the environment is connected or interrelated with other factors.
What is the Law of Interrelatedness?
A group of the same species living in one area at the same time.
What is a population?
In this relationship, both species benefit and rely on each other, such as flowers and pollinating insects.
What is mutualism?
These species cause the decline of biodiversity because they are not native and often have no natural predators.
What are invasive species?
This type of “capital” includes natural resources and natural services and is supported by solar capital.
What is natural capital?
According to this ecological law, no population can grow indefinitely because every ecosystem has limited space.
What is the Law of Carrying Capacity?
This level includes all interacting populations in an ecosystem.
What is a community?
This interaction occurs when species attempt to use the same limited resource, often resulting in niche overlap.
What is competition?
These organisms respond quickly to environmental changes and indicate ecosystem health, such as amphibians or trout.
What are indicator species?
This term refers to the 99% source of all the energy used on Earth and is the foundation of natural capital.
What is solar capital?
This principle states that all ecological processes follow the laws of thermodynamics, including the idea that energy cannot be created or destroyed.
What is Physical and Biological Principle 1?
Land, water, and air where life exists make up this largest level of organization.
What is the biosphere?
This principle explains why two species cannot continue using the exact same niche indefinitely without one being excluded.
What is the competitive exclusion principle?
The maximum number of individuals that an environment can sustainably support.
What is carrying capacity?
This component of sustainability focuses on equity, empowerment, human needs, and cultural identity.
What is the social view of sustainability?
This ecological law states that natural systems can tolerate stress, but only to a certain point before breaking down.
What is the Law of Limits?
These regions are defined by their climate and dominant vegetation, including tundra, savanna, and temperate deciduous forest.
What are biomes?
This ecological process occurs when similar species evolve distinct traits, reducing competition
example, beak size differences in finch species.
What is character displacement?
his ecological concept explains how organisms avoid direct competition by dividing resources such as warblers feeding at different parts of the same tree.
What is niche partitioning?
This term describes degrading natural resources faster than they can be renewed or decreasing the effectiveness of a natural service.
What is environmental degradation?
This type of long-term change describes how ecosystems evolve over time, moving through stages such as pioneer communities to mature ones.
What is ecological succession?