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50 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Abiotic
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non-living factors in an ecosystem
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Acid deposition
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any kind of acid precipitation
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Acid Precipitation
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condensed or frozen water vapor that includes acid rain, acid fog, and acid snow
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Activated Sludge
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a mass of living bacterial organisms on waste material that has settled
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Adaptation
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An ecological or evolutionary adjustment to environmental changes
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Adiabatic cooling
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cooling that occurs when warm air, such as in the tropics, rises and bumps into lower atmospheric pressure
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Aeration
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in soil: the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. In water: it is the bubbling of air or oxygen through water
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Aerobic respiration
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organisms that require oxygen during the break down of organic molecules
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Aerosols
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microscopic liquid or solid particle coming from land or water surfaces that are carried into the atmosphere
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Aesthetics
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natural beauty of something
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Agenda 21
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a program designed to promote sustainable development
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Age Structure
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the proportions of people of different age groups
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Age Structure diagrams
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graphic representative of the age distribution
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Alga, or algae
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small plants that live and reproduce entirely in aquatic environments
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Algal bloom
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rapid development of platonic algae
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Alkaline, alkalinity
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a chemical that has a pH above 7.0
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Alternative energy
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energy sources that do not require fossil fuels or nuclear power
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Ambient standards
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air quality standards stating that the outside average air should always maintain a certain level of purity
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Ammonification
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a process in the nitrogen cycle where soil bacteria convert organic waste to ammonia
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Anaerobic
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without oxygen
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Anthropogenic
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human activities
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Appropriate technology
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technology that increases the efficiency and productivity of hand labor with displacing workers
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Aquaculture
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aquatic farming
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Aquifer
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underground layer of porous rock
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Asbestos fibers
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crystals of asbestos that form minute strands
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Assimilation
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nutrients are converted into organic molecules
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Autotroph
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organism that can produce its own food
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Background radiation
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radioactive radiation that comes from natural sources
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Balanced herbivory
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diversified plant community held in balance
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Bedload
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load of cource sediment
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Benefit-cost analysis
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analysis of the value of benefits
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Bentic plant
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plants that grow under water attached to the bottom
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Bioaccumulation
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accumulation of increasing higher and higher concentrations of potentially toxic chemicals in organisms through a food chain
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Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
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the amount of oxygen that is used or demanded as waste material is digested in organisms
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Bioconversion
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substance that can be broken down to natural substances
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Biodiversity
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varity of life
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Biogas
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fuel that contains about 2/3 methane, 1/3 carbon dioxide, and a small amount form anaerobic digestion
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Biological control
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control unwanted pest population by using living organisms
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Biological nutrient removal
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sewage treatment that removes nitrogen and phosphorus from the final process
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Biomagnification
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Bioaccumulation of a pollutant occuring through several levels of a food chain
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Biomass
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mass of biological material
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Biome
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group of ecosystems with similar vegetation and climate conditions
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Bioremediation
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uses microorganisms to decontaminate soil or groud water
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Biosolids
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organic material removed from sewage effluents (Sludge)
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Biosphere
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entire ecosystem of earth
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Biota
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living or once-living things in an ecosystem
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Biotic
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living or once-living things
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Biotechnology
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genetic engineering or organganisms
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Biotic potential
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reproductive potential of a species
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Birth rates
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number of live births per 1000 individuals
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