AP Environmental Science Unit 1-5

• Anthropocentric


  regarding humans as most significant species; human-centered
• Tragedy of the Commons


  the depletion of shared resources by people acting in individual interest
• Triple Bottom Line


  approach to sustainability that meets environmental, economic, and social goals (business)
• Inorganic Compounds


  compounds that lack carbon and hydrogen atoms
• Organic Compounds


  compounds that contain carbon-based molecules
• Positive Feedback Loop


  when the response to a stimulus increases the original stimulus
• Negative Feedback Loop


  when the response to a stimulus decreases the effect of the original stimulus
• Overshoot


  when a population exceeds the long term carrying capacity for an environment
• Open System


  a system in which matter can enter from or escape to the surroundings
• Closed System


  a system that allows the exchange of energy (not matter)between the system and its surroundings
• Holistic


  emphasizing the functional relationship between parts and the whole
• Hectare


  a unit of surface area equal to 100 ares
• Ecological Footprint


  a way of measuring how much of an impact a person or community has on the earth
• Sustainable Development


  development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations
• Environmental Justice


  recognition that access to a clean, healthy environment is a fundamental right
• Biodiversity


  the variety of species living within an ecosystem
• In situ


  in the original or natural place or site
• Ex situ


  off-site conservation; outside location
• Inbreeding Depression


  the negative consequences in a population when genetically similar parents reproduce weak offspring
• Intrinsic Value

  worth independent of any human benefit; inherent worth
• Invasive Species


  species that enter new ecosystems and harm native species and their habitats
• Endangered Species Act


  identifies/protects threatened and endangered species
• Lacey Act


  prohibits interstate transport of wild animals without federal permit
• Species Diversity


  the number and relative amount of species in a biological community
• Island Biogeography


  the study of rates of colonization and extinction of species on islands (size, shape, and distance)
• Genetic Diversity


  the amount of variation in the genetic material within all members of a population
• Biological Wealth


  combination of commercial, scientific, and aesthetic values by a regions biota
• Ecotourism


  a form of tourism that supports the conservation and sustainable development of ecological areas
• Instrumental Value


  value based on its usefulness to humans
• Remediation

  containment, treatment or removal of contaminated groundwater
• Nitrification


  the process by which nitrites and nitrates are produced by bacteria in the soil
• Denitrification


  conversion of nitrates into nitrogen gas
• Ammonification


  decomposers convert organic waste into ammonia
• Niche


  the status of an organism within its environment and community
• Ecotone


  the transition from one type of habitat or ecosystem to another
• Autotroph


  organism that makes its own food
• Heterotroph


  an organism that depends on complex organic substances for nutrition; cannot make food
• Interspecific Competition


  competition between members of different species
• Intraspecific Competition


  competition between members of the same species
• Net Primary Productivity


  the rate at which biomass accumulates in an ecosystem