| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Population density | Number of individuals in an area |
| Immigration | population movement into an area |
| Emigration | population movement out of an area |
| Growth rate | Rate of increase or decrease of a population |
| Exponential growth | Growth that increases over time. Found under perfect conditions only |
| Carrying capacity | Most number of individuals that an ecosystem can have |
| Limiting factor | Anything that limits population growth |
| Density-dependent limiting factor | limits population growth based on population density;ex. disease, competition, predation |
| Density-Independent limiting factor | limits population growth not based on population density; ex. natural disaster, seasonal changes, etc. |
| Demography | study of human populations |
| Age-structure diagram | Diagram that shows human population info based on age and gender |
| By-catch | Plants and animals that fishing boats remove from the oceans, that are not intended for use/consumption; catching dolphins in your nets while fishing for tuna. |
| Sustainability/sustainable development | Using natural resources without running out of them, and providing for human needs without causing long term environmental harm. |
| Nonrenewable resource | Any resource that cannot be replaced by natural processes; ex. Oil, coal, aluminum |
| Renewable resource | Resources can regenerate or replenish over time;ex. growing more trees after logging/using wind energy/cleaning and reusing drinking water |
| Desertification | When good land is turned into a desert through farming, overgrazing, and/or drought |
| Deforestation | Loss of forests through natural or man made causes; logging forests |
| Overfishing | Removing more fish from the oceans than can be naturally produced; catching more fish than will be born |
| Pollutant | A harmful material that can enter the biosphere through air, land, or water.; murcury |
| Smog | A mixture of chemicals that occurs as a grey-brown haze. Primarily caused by automobiles |
| Biodiversity | Total diversity in the biosphere. The combination of ecosystem, species, and genetic diversity. |
| Endangered species | Species with very low numbers that is at risk of dying out |
| Extinction | When a species no longer exists |
| Habitat fragmentation | a break in an ecosystem by natural or man made barriers. |
| Ecosystem diversity | Lots of different habitats, communities, and ecological processes in the world. |
| Species diversity | Number of different species in the biosphere |
| Genetic diversity | Total genetic variety on the planet |
| Biological magnification | When increasing pollutants are passed up the food chain |
| Invasive species | Species that move into ecosystems that do not contain any of their normal population limiting factors |
| Conservation | A way of manageing natural resources to preserve habitats and wildlife. |
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