ESS unit 1.1-1.5 and 2.1-2.3

ecocentrism

independent individuals who believe that nature should be left alone completely and focus on ecological sustainability. they aim to raise awareness about nature and push pressure onto others.

anthropocentrism

rather than being self-conscious, they aim o change the behaviour of the masses. they want to protest to make a change (politicians, financial departments, NGO’s)

techocentrism

believe in the fact that technology is able to control and protect the environment.

environmental value system

A particular worldview set of paradigms that shapes the way an individual, or a group of people, perceive and evaluate environmental issues.

what does an open system exchange

exchanges matter and energy with its surroundings.

what does a closed system exchange

exchanges energy but not matter.

isolated system

does not exchange matter nor energy.

steady state equilibrium characteristics

more or less constant, no long term changes, system will return to previous state. for example, body temperature/body weight.

static equilibrium characteristics

no change over time, stable, not in a living state.

tipping point

an event that moves a system from one equilibrium value to another. systems can be resilient, meaning they have a tendency to avoid tipping points.

characteristics of a tipping point

involves positive feedback. threshold point: hardly predicted. changes are hard to reverse. there is a time difference between the pressures during the change of appearance of impacts.

negative feedback characteristics

same state of equilibrium. system returns to the original ‘balanced’ situation through a self-regulating method to control it.

positive feedback characteristics

new state of equilibrium. system takes the new ‘balanced’ situation through permanent changes (tipping point) in the state of he system.

transfers

occur when the flow of energy or matter in an ecosystem does not involve a change in matter. (water moving from a river to the sea)

transformations

happens when a flow of energy involves a change of form or state. (light converted to heat)

Gaia hypothesis

compares the earth to a living organism in which feedback-mechanisms maintain equilibrium.

sustainability

using global resources at a rate that allows natural regeneration and minimises damage to the environment.

sustainable development

meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. (development of new technologies, replace fossil fuels, and increase use of renewable resources)

natural capital

resources such as trees, soil, water, living organisms that have value to us. not manufactured. (timber or grain to protect against erosion and flooding)

natural income

humans can exploit resources which then produce a yield. generates income.

3 groups of natural capital

1. renewable resources

2. non-renewable resources

3. replenishable resources

renewable resources

living resources that can replace themselves (trees)

non-renewable resources

resources that exist in finite amounts (diamonds)

replenishable resources

continuously restored by natural processes (rivers, ozone layer, soil)

ecological footprint

area of land, expressed in global hectares (gHa) required to sustain the needs of an individual or society.

PM10

small, solid and liquid droplets, able to inhale.

PM2.5

smaller particles related to PM10

HDI

human development index: economy, education, healthcare, equity

point-source pollution

easy to identify as it comes from a single place. (chemicals from factory pipe)

non-point source pollution

harder to identify and hard to address. comes from many places all at once (roads —> cars)

Clean air act

established smoke-free areas around the cities in England and restricted burning coal in domestic fires as well as in industrial furnaces

pollution (water, land, light, noise, thermal visual pollution)

the addition and accumulation of harmful substances that are being broken/harvested at a faster rate than man can grow.

where do pollutants come from?

soil, air, water. for example, heavy metals, CO2, CFC’s, excess nitrates and volatile organic compounds.

biomagnification

when the chemical concentration in an organism exceeds the concentration of its food, causing major exposure.

bioaccumulation

once a chemical is absorbed by a living thing, it cannot be excreted/lost.

sustainable yield

the amount of biomass that can be extracted without reducing natural capital of the ecosystem.

Gross secondary productivity (GSP) formula

(assimilation) = food eaten – fecal loss

Gross secondary productivity definition

the total amount of energy or biomass assimilated by consumers. know how much food is eaten and how much faces are passed.

net secondary productivity (NSP) definition

what is left at the end of all the processes for animal growth e.g. to make new muscle.

Net secondary productivity

= GSP – Respiratory losses

producers (biotic)

the plants that convert energy into matter.

consumers (biotic)

animals that eat plants or other animals.

decomposers (biotic)

organisms that breakdown waste into component parts for reuse.

species

a group of organisms with common characteristics that can interbreed to produce fertile offspring.

population

a group of individuals of the same species living in the same area at the same time.

biotic components

factors from living surroundings (plants, animals, bacteria, etc)

abiotic components

factors from non-living nature (light, temperature, wind, air humidity, soil conditions)

habitat

the physical environment in which a species usually lives

niche

the role an organism plays and the poistition it holds n the environment.includes all the interactions the organism has with the abiotic and biotic environment

community

a group of organisms sharing an environment.

intraspecific competition

occurs between members of the same species. improves the species’ adaptations.

interspecific competition

occurs between members of different species. it may lead to one of the species going extinct or both becoming more specialised.

carnivore

eats animals

herbivory

eats plants

parasitism

where the parasite benefits and the host is harmed by the results of the interaction.

mutualism

the interaction between two organisms where each organism doesn’t get harmed/benefits.

carrying capacity

the maximum population that can be sustainably supported in an environment

limiting factors of population change

• exponential growth only occurs when a species lives under optimal conditions, with enough water, food, and space.

• density-dependent limiting factors (internal and external)

density-dependent limiting factors: internal

• competition for resources between organisms

• space and size of breeding population and size of territory.

density-dependent limiting factors: external

• diseases

• parasitism (parasite derives the food from the organism)

• predation (one animal hunts and eats another)

J-curves

• show a ‘boom-bust’ pattern.

• the population grows exponentially at first, then suddenly collapses

S-curves

start with exponential growth, above a certain population size it slows down, resulting in a population of a constant size.

• stabilises at the carrying capacity of the environment

environmental resistance

K-strategists, r-strategists, C-strategists

K-strategists (follows S-curve)

low death rate, individuals live to old ages. eg. humans, elephants, gorillas

C-strategists example

in between two extremes, has moderate death rates and individuals can die at all ages. eg. coral

r-strategists (follows J-curve)

high death rate, many individuals die young, dew live to old ge. eg. opportunistic species like plants

how much energy transfers between plants/animals

10% of an organisms energy gets transferred to the other animal, the other 90% is lost to the environment.

photosynthesis

• water+CO2 = reacts to form glucose +oxygen.

• glucose strung together in straight lines to create starch/networks/meshes to make structural carbohydrates (celluloses) —> energy storage.

trophic level

• means nutrition

• position/role that an organism or group of organisms in a community occupies in a food chain.

primary producers

• autotrophs (eg. plants)

• receive all energy from sunlight.

• without autotrophs, the suns energy would not be converted into usable energy.

primary consumers

• heterotrophs (eg. rabbits)

• first level of consumers.

• feed exclusively on producers.

secondary consumers

also known as carnivores (eg. foxes)

• feed off of primer consumers