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43 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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condensation |
water vapor -----> liquid |
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evapotranspiration |
loss of water by plants |
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sublimation |
change directly from solid water (ice) to water vapor |
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synthetic |
not natural |
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carrying capacity |
the number of organisms that can be supported in a given area sustainably |
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density dependent factors |
competition, predation, parasitism, disease |
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density independent factors |
weather, climate, natural disasters |
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r-strategists |
growth pattern: small body, rapid maturation, pop grows exponentially then crashes pop size- large, but rapid fluctuation environment- unstable, low diversity |
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k-strategists |
growth pattern: large body, juvinile period, population generally stablizes around K pop size: small, but stable |
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mircoevolution |
evolution below a species level |
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macroevolution |
gives rise to new species |
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niche generalist |
species that live under a wide range of conditions |
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niche specialist |
species that live in only specific habitats |
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overharvesting |
individuals are removed quicker than the population can regenerate them |
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primary reason for loss of biodiversity? |
habitat loss |
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desertification |
conversion of marginal or cropland to a more desert-type land type caused by overgrazing, soil erosion, prolonged drought |
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First law of thermodynamics |
energy can not be created nor destroyed |
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2nd law of thermodynamics |
when energy is converted from one form to another, a less useful form results |
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heath effects of smog |
inflame breathing passages eye and nose irritation |
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acid deposition |
rain or any other form of precipitation that has a pH less than 7 caused by human emissions of primary pollutants containing sulfur and nitrogen compounds |
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has the greatest permeability |
sand |
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major cause of cultural eutrophication |
fertilizer runoff |
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what percentage of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next? |
10 |
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independent variable |
changed or controlled in a experiment |
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dependent variable |
being tested in a scientific experiment |
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decreases the amount of CO2 in the troposphere |
photosynthesis |
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NEPA |
The US law that requires developers to study the environmental impact of projects funded by the fed government |
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the littoral zone |
the nutrient-rich water near the shore is part of |
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ogallala aquifer supplies water to much of |
Western Europe |
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euphotic zone |
most photosynthesis in the open sea occurs in the |
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goals of the resource conservation and recovery act |
to prevent the unsafe disposal of hazardous wastes on land |
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infrared |
type of radiation that is trapped in the troposphere by greenhouse gases |
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Ultraviolet |
type of radiation that formed the ozone layer |
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x-rays |
type of radiation with the most energy |
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turbidity |
sediment pollution will result in an immediate change in this measure |
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DDT is hazardous to animals b/c |
it has a similar chemical structure to sex hormones |
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oligotrophic |
clear, deep lakes that have low nutrient levels |
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cultural eutrophication |
large amounts of nutrients are added to lake systems due to human activities |
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habitat fragmentation |
large adjacent ecosystems are divided into smaller, more isolated areas by the addition of housing development, etc. |
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limnetic zone |
upper layer of the lake, away from the shore, receives a large amount of sunlight that supports abundant growth of phytoplankton. |
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profundal zone |
mid-level lake zone receives little sunlight and is low in nutrients and dissolved oxygen |
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benthic zone |
bottom lake zone contains mostly decomposes who feed on the organic waste from the upper zones |
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stratospheric |
ozone layer that prevents the most damaging ultraviolet radiation (UV-B) from reaching the surface of the earth |
