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Population
- - A group of organisms of one species that live in the same place at the same time
- - (ex. Population of humans in a city)
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Exponential Growth
- - Growth of a system that is proportionate to the amount already present
- - Limiting factors restrict exponential growth
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Limiting Factors
-Factors that limit the rate/results of any process.
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Carrying Capacity
- The size of a population that can be supported indefinitely by the resources and conditions of a given ecosystem.
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Ecological Niche
- - The place or function of a given organism within it's ecosystem
- - Different organisms may compete for the same niche
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Predator
- -An organism that exists by consuming other organisms.
- -Usually is a predator to all things below it in the food chain
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Prey
-An animal hunted/killed for food, especially by carnivorous animals.
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Mutualism
-The symbiotic relation-ship between two species in which both species benefit from the relation-ship
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Parasite
-An organism whose niche is dependant on a close association with a larger "host" organism.
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Competition
- -Competition between two organisms for the same resource.
- -Can limit population size.
- -The more energy used for competition, the less is used for growth and reporduction.
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Sustainable Use
-Use of a resource that does not lead to long-term depletion of said resource, or affect the diversity of the ecosystem from which the resource is obtained.
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Doubling Time
- -The period of time that is required for a population to double in size.
- -(ex. The present doubling time for humans is 60 years)
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Ecological Footprint
- -A measure of the impact of an individual or a population on the environment.
- -Ex. (energy consumption, land use, and waste production)
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Unsustainability
-A pattern of activity that leads to a decline in the function of an ecosystem.
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Sustainability
-Use if Earth's resources, including land and water, at levels that can continue forever.
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Ecosystem Services
-The benefits experienced by organisms, including humans, that are provided by sustainable ecosystems.
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Desertification
- -The change of non-desert land into a dessert.
- -May result from climate change and unsustainable farming or water use.
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Ecotourism
-tourism directed toward exotic, often threatened, natural environments, especially to support conservation efforts and observe wildlife.
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