Topic 1
This term describes a worldview that sees humans as the central species and managers of the environment.
What is anthropocentrism?
Organisms that make their own food through photosynthesis.
What are producers (autotrophs)?
The variety of species, genes, and ecosystems in an area.
What is biodiversity?
The process by which water changes from liquid to vapor.
What is evaporation?
This type of system has both inputs and outputs of energy and matter.
What is an open system?
The ecological process that describes the gradual change in species composition from pioneer species to a stable climax community.
What is Succession?
The main mechanism that drives evolution.
What is Natural selection?
The lack of sufficient, safe, and accessible freshwater
What is Water scarcity?
This principle states that energy cannot be created or destroyed.
What is the first law of thermodynamics?
This biome is characterized by low precipitation, cold temperatures, and permafrost.
What is the tundra?
This metric combines species richness and species evenness to provide a numerical estimate of biodiversity within a community.
What is the Simpson’s Diversity Index?
The main cause of ocean acidification.
What is Increased absorption of atmospheric CO₂?
A system reaches a point where a small disturbance causes a dramatic shift to a new state.
What is tipping point?
The maximum number of individuals an environment can sustainably support.
What is carrying capacity?
This conservation approach prioritizes protecting entire ecosystems and natural processes rather than focusing on individual species.
What is an ecosystem-based (or habitat-based) conservation strategy?
This term describes the movement of water down into the soil.
What is percolation?
This term describes the ability of a system to survive a disturbance and return to its original state.
What is resilience?
This process describes how toxic substances increase in concentration at higher trophic levels.
What is biomagnification?
This concept explains how small, isolated populations can experience reduced genetic diversity, making them more vulnerable to extinction due to random changes in allele frequencies.
What is genetic drift (or the genetic bottleneck effect)?
Process that occurs when excess nutrients cause algal blooms, leading to oxygen depletion in water bodies
What is Eutrophication?