ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE REVIEWER

I: Understanding the Environment

1.1 What Is Environmental Science?
▪ Two Worlds
o Natural world (plants, animals, soil, air, water)
o World of social institutions and artifacts
▪ Environment from the French environner: to encircle or surround) can be defined as
o the circumstances or conditions that surround an organism or group of organisms, or
o the complex of social or cultural conditions that affect an individual or community
▪ Environmental science is the systematic study of our environment and our proper place in it
o focuses on understanding and resolving problems in our natural environment
▪ Economist Barbara Ward said that for an increasing number of environmental issues, the difficulty is not to
identify remedies
▪ Strategies involve input from many disciplines
o Chemistry
o Ecology
o Sociology
o Political Science
o Economics
o Urban Planning
o Engineering
▪ A study environmental science, you should aim to do the following:
o understand how natural systems function
o understand ecological concepts that explain biological diversity
o understand current environmental challenges, such as pollution and climate change
o use critical thinking to envision solutions to these challenges.
▪ Environmental science is about understanding where we live
o Ed Abbey said, “It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it
Problems that are getting worse and conditions that are improving, as in the major themes listed below:
Population and resource consumption
o 7.5 million humans (today), adding 80 million (every year)
o All high–birth rate countries are low-income, often war affected areas.
▪ Climate change
o is the most severe and disruptive problem we face, but the need to slow climate change is leading to
unprecedented efforts to find global solutions
o Canadian environment minister David Anderson has said that global climate change is a greater threat
than terrorism, because it threatens the homes and livelihoods of billions of people and could trigger
worldwide social and economic catastrophe
▪ Hunger
o chronically undernourished, often because of drought, floods, displacement from land, or war
▪ Biodiversity loss and conservation efforts
o habitat destruction, overexploitation, pollution, and the introduction of exotic organism are eliminating
species at a rate comparable to the great extinction that marked the end of the age of dinosaurs
▪ Energy
o Fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas) presently provide around 80 percent of the energy used in
industrialized countries.
o Cleaner renewable energy resources (solar power, wind, geothermal, and biomass)
o China leads the world in solar energy, wind turbines, and biogas generation (from agricultural waste
▪ Pollution and environmental health
o China and India, air quality has worsened dramatically in recent years
• Water resources
o Water may well be the most critical resource in the twenty-first century
▪ Information and education
o Education for girls is now recognized to be the most powerful strategy for slowing population growth
and reducing child mortality.

▪ Ecological footprint a measure used to quantify the demands placed on nature by individuals or by nations.
o Online footprint calculators, such as the WWF Footprint Calculator, or the Redefining Progress
calculator, let you assess your own footprint by answering a simple questionnaire about consumption
patterns, such as electricity use, shopping, and driving habits.
o An ecological footprint gives a usefully simplified description of a system. Also like any model, it is built
on a number of simplifying assumptions:

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o (1) Various measures of resource consumption and waste flows can be converted into the biologically
productive area required to maintain them
o (2) different kinds of resource use and dissimilar types of productive land can be standardized into
roughly equivalent areas
o (3) because these areas stand for mutually exclusive uses, they can be added up to a total—a total
representing humanity’s demand—that can be compared to the total world area of productive land
o Technological change sometimes can reduce our footprint
o Human’s Ecological Footprint (Built-up land, Fishing Ground, Forest, Grazing Land, Cropland, Carbon
footprint)
1.2 Where Do Our Ideas About Our Environment Come From?
▪ Pioneering British plant physiologist Stephen Hales suggested that conserving green plants preserved rainfall.
o His ideas were put into practice in 1764 on the Caribbean Island of Tobago, where about 20 percent of
the land was marked as “reserved in wood for rains.”
▪ Pierre Poivre, an early French governor of Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean, was appalled at the
environmental and social devastation caused by destruction of wildlife. (Such as the flightless dodo) and the
felling of ebony forests on the island by early European settlers.
o In 1769, Poivre declared that one-quarter of the island was to be preserved in forests, particularly on
steep mountain slopes and along waterways.
o Mauritius remains a model for balancing nature and human needs. Its forest reserves shelter a larger
percentage of its original flora and fauna than most other human-occupied islands
▪ Current ideas have followed industrialization
o We can divide conservation history and environmental activism into at least four distinct stages: Each
era focused on different problems and each suggested a distinctive set of solutions
(1) pragmatic resource conservation
(2) moral and aesthetic nature preservation
(3) a growing concern about health and ecological damage caused by pollution
(4) global environmental citizenship.
• Stage 1. Resource waste inspired pragmatic utilitarian conservation
o Many historians consider the publication of Man and Nature in 1864 by geographer George Perkins
Marsh as the wellspring of environmental protection in North America.
o Among those influenced by Marsh’s warnings were:
President Theodore Roosevelt - who was the leader of the populist, progressive movement, moved the
Forest Service out of the corruption-filled Interior Department into the Department of Agriculture
and his chief conservation advisor, Gifford Pinchot - who was the first native-born professional forester
in North America, became the founding head of this new agency. He put resource management on an
honest, rational, and scientific basis for the first time in our history
o Together with naturalists and activists such as John Muir, William Brewster, and George Bird Grinnell,
Roosevelt and Pinchot established the framework of our national forest, park, and wildlife refuge
systems, passed game protection laws, and tried to stop some of the most flagrant abuses of the public
domain
o Pragmatic utilitarian conservation – the basis of Roosevelt’s and Pinchot’s policies. Forests should be
saved “not because they are beautiful or because they shelter wild creatures of the wilderness, but only
to provide homes and jobs for people.”
o The first principle of conservation is development and use of the natural resources now existing on this
continent for the benefit of the people who live here now
▪ Stage 2. Ethical and aesthetic concerns inspired the preservation movement
o John Muir - a geologist, author, and first president of the Sierra Club. He strenuously opposed Pinchot’s
utilitarian approach.
o Muir argued that nature deserves to exist for its own sake, regardless of its usefulness to us.
o Aesthetic and spiritual values formed the core of his philosophy of nature protection. This outlook has
been called biocentric preservation because it emphasizes the fundamental right of other organisms to
exist and to pursue their own interests.
o Muir’s disciple Stephen Mather and has always been oriented toward preservation of nature in its
purest state.
o In 1935, pioneering wildlife ecologist Aldo Leopold bought a small, worn-out farm in central Wisconsin.
Leopold argued for stewardship of the land.
o He wrote of “the land ethic,” by which we should care for the land because it’s the right thing to do—as
well as the smart thing. “Conservation,” he wrote, “is the positive exercise of skill and insight, not
merely a negative exercise of abstinence or caution.”
▪ Stage 3. Rising pollution levels led to the modern environmental movement
o Silent Spring, written by Rachel Carson and published in 1962, awakened the public to the threats of
pollution and toxic chemicals to humans as well as other species.

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o The movement she engendered might be called environmentalism, because its concerns are extended
to include both environmental resources and pollution (she was mainly concerned with the ways
pollution endangered human health)
o Activist David Brower fought to protect public lands from industrial destruction
o Biologist Barry Commoner introduced many of the techniques of modern environmentalism, including
litigation, intervention in regulatory hearings, book and calendar publishing, and using mass media for
publicity campaigns.
o He emphasized that uneven poverty and wealth are a root cause of environmental health risks, of
pollution, and of population growth
o Like Rachel Carson, Barry Commoner was principally interested in environmental health—an issue that
is especially urgent for low-income, minority, and inner-city residents
▪ Stage 4. Environmental quality is tied to social progress
o roots of the environmental movement are elitist—promoting the interests of a wealthy minority who
can afford to vacation in wilderness
o Aldo Leopold (founder of the Wilderness Society) promoted ideas of land stewardship among farmers,
fishers, and hunters.
o Robert Marshall (also a founder of the Wilderness Society) campaigned all his life for social and
economic justice for low-income groups.
o sustainable development, often defined as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
o Dr. Wangari Maathai of Kenya (1940–2011) was a notable example. In 1977, Dr. Maathai founded the
Green Belt Movement in her native Kenya as a way of both organizing poor rural women and restoring
their environment.
o global environmentalism - fourth wave of ecological concern
1.3 Sustainable Development
▪ Poverty affects many quality-of-life indicators
▪ Affluence is a goal and a liability - richer nations enjoy unprecedented affluence and comfort
▪ Sustainable development: meeting current needs without compromising future needs
▪ The UN has identified Sustainable Development Goals - 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
o NO POVERTY
o ZERO HUNGER
o GOOD HEALTH AND BEING, QUALITY EDUCATION
o GENDER EQUALITY
o ENSURE AVAILABILITY AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF WATER AND SANITATION FOR ALL
o AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY
o DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
o INDUSTRY, INNOVATION, AND INFRASTRACTURE
o REDUCED INEQUALITIES
o SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES
o RESWPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
o CLIMATE ACTION
o LIFE BELOW WATER
o LIFE ON LAND
o PEACE, JUSTICE, AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS
o PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE GOALS
▪ The Millennium Development Goals were largely successful
o Millennium Development Goals - to improve literacy, health, access to safe water, child survival, and
other goals. Targets included
- ending poverty and hunger
- universal education
- gender equity
- child health
- maternal health
- combating HIV/AIDS
- environmental sustainability
- global cooperation in development efforts
▪ Could we eliminate acute poverty through aid?
o Economist Jeffery Sachs, director of the UN Millennium Development Project, says we could end
extreme poverty worldwide by 2025 if the richer countries would donate just 0.7 percent of their
national income for development aid in the poorest nations
1.4 Core Concepts in Sustainable Development

▪ How do we describe resource use?

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o Throughput (describing resource use) the amount of material or resources that flow through a system.
o Ecosystem services refers to services or resources provided by environmental systems (a term for
goods, services, and products we rely on; often these are invisible)
o Shared resources and ecosystem services can be described as “common property” or as a “commons.”
o Regulating services include maintenance of temperatures suitable for life by the earth’s atmosphere, or
carbon capture by green plants, which maintains a stable atmospheric composition.
o Cultural services include a diverse range of recreational, aesthetic, and other nonmaterial benefits
o Tragedy of the Commons, published in 1968 in the journal Science by ecologist Garret Hardin,
population growth leads inevitably to overuse and then destruction of common resource
o two ways to avoid the destruction of the commons:
a system of private property, in which owners protect resources because of self – interest
coercive regulation by the state
o managing the commons collectively safe-guarding commonly used resources
o sustainable management of shared resources strategies:
(1) effective and inexpensive monitoring of resource use
(2) an ability to exclude outsiders, who don’t understand rules of use
(3) frequent face-to-face communications and strong social networks among users
▪ Indigenous peoples often protect biodiversity

1.5 Environmental Ethics, Faith, And Justice

▪ ethics your sense of what is right and wrong

▪ moral value value or worth, based on moral principles
▪ moral extensionism extending moral value to a larger circle of people, organisms, or objects (extending value
beyond ourselves)
▪ inherent value an intrinsic right to exist
▪ instrumental value usefulness to someone
▪ Should Trees Have Standing?
o written for this case by Christopher D. Stone, proposed that organisms as well as ecological systems
and processes should have standing (or rights) in court
▪ Many faiths promote conservation and justice
o In 1967, historian Lynn White Jr. published a widely influential paper, “The Historic Roots of Our
Ecological Crisis.
▪ Stewardship taking care of the resources we are given, inspires many religious leaders to promote conservation
▪ Creation care is a term that has become prominent among evangelical Christians in the United States
▪ Environmental justice integrates civil rights and environmental protection
o Environmental justice combines civil rights with environmental protection to demand a safe, healthy,
life-giving environment for everyone
o (LULUs) locally unwanted land uses
o Racial prejudice is a belief that people are inferior merely because of their race.
o Environmental racism is inequitable distribution of environmental hazards based on race
o Toxic Colonialism the practice of targeting poor communities of color in the developing nations for
waste disposal or experimentation with risky technologies has been described

Key terms included:

▪ Biocentric preservation – a philosophy that focuses on the fundamental right of living organisms to exist and to
pursue their own goods
▪ Global environmentalism – combined philosophy and ideology that has led to a social movement with regard to
the consequences and impact of human activities on the environment

II: Principles of Science Systems

2.1 What Is Science?

▪ Science is a process for producing knowledge methodically and logically.

o Derived from scire, “to know” in Latin
o science depends on making precise observations of natural phenomena. We develop or test theories
(proposed explanations of how a process works) using these observations.
o “Science” also refers to the cumulative body of knowledge produced by many scientists.
▪ Basic Principles of Science
o 1. Empiricism: We can learn about the world by careful observation of empirical (real, observable)
phenomena; we can expect to understand fundamental processes and natural laws by observation.
o 2. Uniformitarianism: Basic patterns and processes are uniform across time and space; the forces at
work today are the same as those that shaped the world in the past, and they will continue to do so in
the future.
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o 3. Parsimony: When two plausible explanations are equally reasonable, the simpler (more
parsimonious) one is preferable. This rule is also known as Ockham’s razor, after the English philosopher
who proposed it.

o 4. Uncertainty: Knowledge changes as new evidence appears, and explanations (theories) change with
new evidence. Theories based on current evidence should be tested on additional evidence, with the
understanding that new data may disprove the best theories.
o 5. Repeatability: Tests and experiments should be repeatable; if the same results cannot be reproduced,
then the conclusions are probably incorrect.
o 6. Proof is elusive: We rarely expect science to provide absolute proof that a theory is correct, because
new evidence may always undermine our current understanding.
o 7. Testable questions: To find out whether a theory is correct, it must be tested; we formulate testable
statements (hypotheses) to test theories
▪ Science depends on skepticism and accuracy
o Hypothesis - An explanation that can be tested scientifically.
o Theory - is a well-tested explanation that explains observations and that is accepted by the scientific
community
o Reproducibility – the capacity for a particular result to be obtained or reproduced more than once
o Replication - repeating studies or tests
o Ideally, scientific investigation follows a series of logical, orderly steps to formulate and test hypotheses

o Accuracy correctness of measurements and other data collected

o Precision means repeatability of results and level of detail.
o Significant figure or a level of detail you actually knew (also known as significant digits, a meaningful
degree of precision)
▪ Deductive and inductive reasoning are both useful
o Deductive Reasoning logical reasoning from general to specific (Deriving testable predictions about
specific cases from general principles)
o Inductive Reasoning reasoning from many observations to produce a general rule
▪ Testable hypotheses and theories are essential tools
o Scientific Theory - when an explanation has been supported by a large number of tests, and when a
majority of experts have reached a general consensus that it is a reliable description or explanation
o Scientific Consensus - A general agreement among informed scholars.
▪ Understanding probability helps reduce uncertainty
o Probability is a measure of how likely something is to occur.
▪ Statistics can indicate the probability that your results were random
o Statistics are numbers that let you evaluate and compare things (numbers that describe observations or
groups of observations)
o Sample - A small portion of a population used to calculate characteristics of the population as a whole.
▪ Experimental design can reduce bias
o Natural experiment - A study of events that have already happened.

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o Manipulative experiment - An experiment in which some conditions are deliberately altered while
others are held constant to study cause-and-effect relationships.
o Controlled Study - comparing a treatment (exposed) group and a control (unexposed) group populations
that are identical in every way except for the one variable being studied.
o Blind experiments the researcher doesn’t know which group is treated until after the data have been
analyzed.
o Double-blind experiments A study in which those carrying out the experiment and the subjects don't
know, until after the gathering and analyzing of data, which was the experimental group and which was
the control.
o Dependent Variable also known as a response variable, is affected by the independent variables
(affected by the condition being altered in a manipulative experiment)
o Independent variables also known as explanatory variable are affected by the same environmental
conditions as the dependent variable (A factor not affected by the condition being altered in a
manipulative experiment.)
▪ Models are an important experimental strategy
o Model is a simple representation of something (more complex systems)

2.2 Systems Involve Interactions

o System is a network of interdependent components and processes, with materials and energy flowing
from one component of the system to another
o A simple system consists of state variables (also called compartments), which store resources such as
energy, matter, or water; and flows, or the pathways by which those resources move from one state
variable to another.
▪ Systems can be described in terms of their characteristics
o Open systems a system that exchanges energy and matter with its environment. It receives inputs from
outside the system and produces outputs that leave the system. Almost all natural systems are this type
of system.
o Closed system exchanges no energy or matter with its surroundings
o Pseudo-closed systems those that exchange only a little energy but no matter with their surroundings.
o Throughput is a term we can use to describe the energy and matter that flow into, through, and out of a
system
o Positive feedback is a self-perpetuating process (a situation in which a factor or condition causes
changes that further enhance that factor or condition)
o Negative feedback is a process that suppresses change (a situation in which a factor condition causes
changes that reduce that factor or condition)
▪ Systems may exhibit stability
o Homeostasis a tendency to remain more or less stable and unchanging.
o Equilibrium is another term for stability in a system
o Disturbances events that can destabilize or change the system, might also be normal for the system
o Resilience an ability to recover from disturbance.
o State shift conditions do not return to “normal” (a permanent or long-lasting change in a system to a
new set of conditions and relations in response to a disturbance)
o Emergent properties characteristics of the system that are greater than the sum of its parts

2.3 Scientific Consensus and Conflict

o Scientific Consensus - general agreement among informed scholars (Ideas and information are
exchanged, debated, tested, and retested to arrive)
o Paradigm shifts – (termed by Thomas Kuhn) great changes in explanatory frameworks. This occur when
a majority of scientists accept that the old explanation no longer explains new observations very well
▪ Detecting pseudoscience relies on independent, critical thinking
o

Key terms included:

▪ Climate - general description of the weather in a specific region or location.

▪ Climate Change - Change in climate over a long period of time.
▪ Confidence Limits - A statistical measure of the quality of data that tells you how close the sample's average
probably is to the average for the entire population of that species.
▪ Mean - Average; a representation of the middle of a group. Commonly calculated as the sum of values divided
by the number of observations.
▪ Paleobotanists - Scientists who study ancient plant remains to recreate ancient eco systems and climates.

III: Matter, Energy, and Life

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 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE REVIEWER
3.1 Elements of Life

▪ Atoms, elements, and compounds

o Matter - everything that takes up space and has mass
four distinct states, or phases—solid, liquid, gas, and plasma
o Principle of Conservation of Matter - matter is neither created nor destroyed; rather, it is recycled over
and over again
o Elements - basic substances that cannot be broken down into simpler forms by ordinary chemical
reactions
o Atoms - the smallest particles that exhibit the characteristics of an element.
composed of positively charged protons, negatively charged electrons, and electrically neutral neutrons
o Atomic number - each element has a characteristic number of protons per atom
o Atomic mass -the sum of protons and neutrons
o Isotopes - forms of the same element that differ in atomic mass
▪ Chemical bonds hold molecules together
o Compounds - substances composed of different kinds of atoms
o Molecule - a pair or group of atoms that can exist as a single unit
o When ions with opposite charges form a compound, the electrical attraction holding them together is an
ionic bond
o Sharing Electrons – atoms readily give up an electron to the other, as when two hydrogen atoms meet
o Covalent Bonds - two hydrogen atoms can bond by sharing a pair of electrons—they orbit the two
hydrogen nuclei equally and hold the atoms together
o Oxidized - an atom gives up one or more electrons
o Reduced - an atom gains electrons
▪ Unique properties of water
1. Water molecules are polar: They have a slight positive charge on one side and a slight negative charge on
the other side. Therefore, water readily dissolves polar or ionic substances.
2. Water is the only inorganic substance that normally exists as a liquid at temperatures suitable for life.
Most substances exist as either a solid or a gas, with only a very narrow liquid temperature range
3. Water molecules are cohesive: They hold together tenaciously and create high surface tension
o Water also adheres to surfaces. As a result, water is subject to capillary action: It can be drawn into
small channels
4. Water is unique in that it expands when it crystallizes
5. Water has a high heat of vaporization: It takes a great deal of heat to convert from liquid to vapor
6. Water also has a high specific heat: A great deal of heat is absorbed before it changes temperature
▪ Ions react and bond to form compounds
o Ions - Charged atoms or combinations of atoms
o Anions - Negatively charged ions (with one or more extra electrons)
o Cations - Positively charged ions
o Acids - Substances that readily give up hydrogen ions in water
o Bases - Substances that readily bond with H+ ions
o We describe the strength of an acid and base by its pH, the negative logarithm of its concentration of H+
ions
▪ Organic compounds have a carbon backbone
o Organic compounds the material of which biomolecules, and therefore living organisms, are made
four major categories of organic compounds in living things (“bio-organic compounds”):
Lipids (hydrocarbon) - including fats and oils) store energy for cells, and they provide the core of cell
membranes and other structures.
Lipids do not readily dissolve in water, and their basic structure is a chain of carbon atoms with attached
hydrogen atoms.
Carbohydrates (sugar) - (including sugars, starches, and cellulose) also store energy and provide
structure to cells.
Carbohydrates have a basic structure of carbon atoms, but hydroxyl (OH) groups replace half the
hydrogen atoms in their basic structure, and they usually consist of long chains of sugars
Proteins (amino acid) - Proteins are composed of chains of subunits called amino acids
Folded into complex three-dimensional shapes, proteins provide structure to cells and are used for
countless cell functions.
Most enzymes, such as those that release energy from lipids and carbohydrates, are proteins.
Proteins also help identify disease-causing microbes, make muscles move, transport oxygen to cells, and
regulate cell activity
Nucleic acids (nucleotide) - are complex molecules made of a five-carbon sugar (ribose or deoxyribose),
one or more phosphate groups, and an organic nitrogen-containing base called either a purine or
pyrimidine
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They carry information between cells, tissues, and organs.
They are sources of energy for cells.
They also form long chains called ribonucleic acid (RNA) or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) that are
essential for storing and expressing genetic information.
Four kinds of nucleotides make up all DNA (these are adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine)

▪ Cells are the fundamental units of life

o Cells - minute compartments within which the processes of life are carried out
o Enzymes - a special class of proteins (are molecular catalysts: they regulate chemical reactions without
being used up or inactivated in the process)
o Metabolism - the multitude of enzymatic reactions performed by an organism

3.2 Energy

▪ Energy - is the ability to do work

▪ Energy varies in intensity
o Kinetic Energy - the energy contained in moving objects
o Potential Energy - is stored energy that is latent but available for use
o Chemical Energy - potential energy stored in the chemical bonds of molecules
o Energy is often measured in units of heat (calories) or work (joules)
o Heat is the energy that can be transferred between objects due to their difference in temperature.
o Low-Quality Energy - energy that is diffused, dispersed, and low in temperature (it is difficult to gather
and use for productive purposes)
o High-Quality Energy - energy that is intense, concentrated, and high in temperature energy (its
usefulness in carrying out work)
▪ Thermodynamics regulates energy transfers
o study of thermodynamics deals with how energy is transferred in natural processes
o first law of thermodynamics states that energy is conserved; that is, it is neither created nor destroyed
under normal conditions.
o second law of thermodynamics states that, with each successive energy transfer or transformation in a
system, less energy is available to do work (disorder, or entropy)

3.3 Energy for Life

▪ Extremophiles gain energy without sunlight

o Chemosynthesis - the process in which bacteria use chemical bonds between inorganic elements, such
as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) or hydrogen gas (H2), to provide energy for synthesis of organic molecules.
o Solar energy is essential to life for two main reasons.
First, the sun provides warmth.
Second, nearly all organisms on the earth’s surface depend on solar radiation for life-sustaining energy
o Photosynthesis converts radiant energy into high quality chemical energy in the bonds that hold
together organic molecules. Photosynthetic organisms (green plants, algae, and bacteria)
▪ Photosynthesis captures energy; respiration releases that energy
o Photosynthesis occurs in tiny organelles called chloroplasts
o Chlorophyll a green molecule that can absorb light energy and use the energy to create high-energy
chemicals in compounds that serve as the fuel for all subsequent cellular metabolism.
o Separating the hydrogen atom from its electron produces H+ and an electron, both of which are used to
form mobile, high-energy molecules called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and nicotinamide adenine
dinucleotide phosphate
o Cellular respiration - this process of releasing chemical energy
o in photosynthesis, energy is captured, while in respiration, energy is released.

3.4 From Species to Ecosystems

▪ Ecosystems include living and nonliving parts

o In Latin, species literally means “kind.”
o Species generally refers to all organisms of the same kind that are genetically similar enough to breed in
nature and produce live, fertile offspring.
o Population consists of all the members of a species living in a given area at the same time.
o Biological community all the populations living and interacting in a particular area
o Ecological System (ecosystem) is composed of a biological community and its physical environment
o Microbiome the thousands of species of bacteria, fungi, protozoans, and other organisms that live in
and on your body make up a complex, interdependent community
▪ Food webs link species of different trophic levels
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o Producers (autotrophs) - organisms that photosynthesize, mainly green plants and algae
o Productivity - the amount of biomass (biological material) produced in a given area during a given
period of time
o Photosynthesis is described as primary productivity because it is the basis for almost all other growth in
an ecosystem
o Secondary productivity - manufacture of biomass by organisms that eat plants
o Food chain - a linked feeding series
o Food web - individual food chains become interconnected that forms this
o Trophic level (Greek trophe “food”) - An organism’s feeding status in an ecosystem
o Consumers chemical energy harnessed by the producers (living things that have to eat their food)
o Primary Consumer (herbivores) - an organism that eats producers
o Secondary Consumer (carnivores)- an organism that eats primary consumers
o Tertiary Consumer (top carnivores)
o Herbivores - are plant eaters
o Carnivores - are flesh eaters
o Omnivores - eat both plant and animal matter
o Consumers that feed at all levels:
Parasites – such as crows, jackals, and vultures clean up dead carcasses of larger animals.
Scavengers – such as ants and beetles consume litter, debris, and dung
Decomposer - organisms such as fungi and bacteria complete the final breakdown and recycling of
organic materials.

3.5 Material Cycles

▪ water cycle distributes water among atmosphere, biosphere, surface, and groundwater
▪ carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous are among the essential elements that also move through biological,
atmospheric, and earth systems (biogeochemical cycles).
▪ Ecological pyramids describe trophic levels
▪ The hydrologic cycle redistributes water
o Hydrologic cycle - the path of water through our environment
▪ Carbon cycles through earth, air, water, and life
o Carbon serves a dual purpose for organisms:
(1) it is a structural component of organic molecules
(2) the energy-holding chemical bonds it forms represent energy “storage.
o Carbon Cycle
o carbon sinks (storage deposits)
▪ Nitrogen occurs in many forms
o Nitrogen cycle
o Common Forms of Nitrogen (nitrogen gas, ammonia, ammonium)
▪ Phosphorus follows a one-way path
o Phosphorus cycle

ESPARCIA, MIKKA JOY L. BSIE-2A