ap env. population ecology
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42 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 age-structure pyramids | graphical representations of populations' ages (p90) |
| albedo | fraction of solar energy reflected back into space |
| biotic potential | amount the population would grow if unlimited resources in environment |
| birth rate | live births per 1,000 members of the population each year |
| carrying capacity | max population size that can be supported by available resources region |
| demographic transition model | model used to predict population trends based on births, deaths, and economy |
| ecological footprint | amount of Earth's surface that's necessary to supply and dispose waste from a population. I=PxAxT (pop.)(affluence)(technology) |
| emigration | movement of individuals out of a population |
| genetic drift | random fluctuations in frequency of seeing a gene in a small, isolated population. Due to chance, not natural selection |
| immigration | movement of individuals to a population |
| k-selected | organisms that reproduce later in life, fewer offspring, and heavily nurture offspring |
| logistic population growth | populations are well below size dictated by carrying capacity, and then they grow exponentially |
| population density | number of individuals of a population that inhabit a certain unit of land or water |
| replacement birth rate | # of children couple must have to replace themselves in population |
| r-selected | organisms reproduce early in life and have high capacity for reproductive growth |
| total fertility rate | # of children an average woman will bear during lifetime; based on analyzing data from past |
| Law of the Minimum | living organisms will continue to live, and consume available materials until the supply of materials is exhausted. |
| Law of Tolerance | How far an organism can tolerate changes in environment |
| decomposers | absorbs nutrients from nonliving organic matter (including waste!) and converts it into inorganic forms. ex: bacteria and fungi |
| phosphorous cycle | the cyclic movement of phosphorus in different chemical forms from the environment to organisms and then back to the environment |
| silviculture | managing forests for harvesting timber |
| slash and burn | vegetation is slashed and area is burned before being planted with crops |
| surface fires | fires that only burn forest's underbrush and don't damage mature trees; they help because they prevent bigger fires by removing underbrush that would otherwise burn quicker at high temps. |
| tailings | gangue (waste from mining) |
| traditional subsistence agriculture | each family in a community plats crops for themselves and harvest with labor by themselves or with animals |
| terracing | flat platforms on the hillside that creates level ground and reduces soil runoff from the slopes |
| tree farms | plantations that manage trees of the same age and harvested |
| uneven-aged management | ex: selective cutting, shelter-wood cutting, selective deforestation |
| rule-of-70 | can predict long-term population growth (70/current growth=population will double in x years) |
| significant factors of human population growth | availability of clean water, improved sanitation systems, and medical care |
| Second Harvest | charitable agency that distributes food that would otherwise go to waste |
| urban sprawl | leave city and into suburbs |
| biodiversity hot spot | DIVERSE region that faces severe threats and has lost 70%+ of original vegetation |
| Marine Mammal Protection Act | protected marine mammals from falling below optimum sustainable population levels |
| Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) | bans capture, exportation, or sale of endangered and threatened species |
| Endangered Species Act Program (1973) | prohibit trading and commerce of species endangered or threatened |
| background extinction rate | natural rate of extinction |
| boom-and-bust population | regular population changes |
| irruptive population | very large, then very small |
| irregular population | chaotic |
| logistic population | pop. doubles in short time |
| stable population | varies slightly above and below its carrying capacity over time |
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