Cape Environmental Science Module 1 Fundamental Ecological Princip... file:///C:/Users/HP/Desktop/New%20folder%20(2)/Cape%20Environm
Cape Environmental Science Module 1
Fundamental Ecological Principles
1. Environmental Science: The study of the natural processes that occur in the
environment and how humans can affect them.
2. Ecology: The study of how living things interact with each other and their envi-
ronment
3. Species: A group of organisms that look alike and can interbreed to produce
living, viable, fertile offspring.
4. Population: A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the
same area
5. Community: A group of organisms of different species inhabiting the same
area/habitat and interacting with each other at a given time.
6. Ecosystem: A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical
environment.
7. Biosphere: the part of Earth in which life exists including land, water, and air or
atmosphere
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8. Atmosphere: the envelope of gases surrounding the earth or another planet.
9. hydrosphere: All the water on and near the surface of the earth. it includes
clouds, oceans, ice caps, glaciers, lakes, rivers, underground water supply and
atmospheric water vapour.
10. lithosphere: the outer layer of the earth that consists of the oceanic and conti-
nental crust and the upper part of the mantle
11. habitat: the place where an organism lives characterised by a set of specific
environmental conditions.
12. habitat fragmentation: when the size of an organism's natural habitat is re-
duced, or when development occurs that isolates a habitat.
13. ecological niche: A specific role of a species within an ecosystem, including its use
of resources, and relationships with other species.
14. niche: an organism's role in an ecosystem
15. niche in relation to habitat: While the habitat is defined as the physical location of
the organism, the niche refers to the functional role of the organism including the
eating habitat, predator - prey relations and physical location. Therefore, the niche
incorporates the habitat of the organism, but the habitat is only one aspect of the
niche.
16. Biome: A group of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms
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17. characteristics of an ecotone: -a region of transition between two biological
communities.
- supports many species not found in bordering ecosystems
- contains a greater number of species than surrounding areas
- Contains a mix of species and many unique species.
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- Contains plants and animals from adjacent regions.
- Supports species that are adapted to the conditions in the ecotone.
18. ecotone: A transitional boundary between two ecological communities which
contains characteristic species of each community and species peculiar to the
ecotone.
OR
An ecotone is a zone of transition between adjacent ecological systems, having a set of
characteristics uniquely defined by space and time-scales and by the strength of the
interactions between them.
19. abiotic factors: nonliving components of environment. it includes temperature,
pH, humidity, wind speed, air composition, amount of daylight, amount of light
reaching certain areas, erosion rates, visibility, average rainfall and amount of space.
20. the impact of humans on abiotic factors of the ecosystem: • Humans may
severely disrupt abiotic conditions by adding substances to the ecosystem (pollu-
tion).
• This action can change physical conditions or can alter the chemical balance of the
ecosystem.
• Humans may affect the rate of cycling of materials in biogeochemical cycles
through extraction of materials or input of materials.
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