Environmental Biology Glossary

A nonliving physical or chemical component of an ecosystem, such as temperature, light, water, minerals, and pH.

An organism that produces its own food from inorganic substances using light (photosynthesis) or chemical energy (chemosynthesis).

A biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human activity, containing at least 1,500 endemic vascular plant species.

The progressive accumulation and concentration of toxic substances in organisms at successively higher trophic levels.

A large-scale ecological community defined by its characteristic climate, vegetation, and animal life.

The use of organisms, especially microbes, to break down or remove environmental pollutants.

The total amount of greenhouse gases produced by human activities, typically expressed in equivalent tons of CO2.

The maximum population size an environment can sustain indefinitely given available food, water, habitat, and other resources.

Long-term shifts in global temperatures and weather patterns, primarily driven by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions since the Industrial Revolution.

A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed.

An organism, typically bacteria or fungi, that breaks down dead organic matter and returns nutrients to the ecosystem.

The large-scale removal of forest cover, leading to habitat loss, soil erosion, altered water cycles, and increased carbon emissions.

A measure of the biologically productive area required to sustain a given population's consumption and waste generation.

The benefits that humans derive from functioning ecosystems, including provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural services.

Excessive nutrient enrichment of water bodies leading to algal blooms, oxygen depletion, and aquatic organism death.

An atmospheric gas, such as CO2, methane, or nitrous oxide, that absorbs and re-emits infrared radiation, contributing to the greenhouse effect.

The process by which large, continuous habitats are divided into smaller, isolated patches by human activities.

A species whose ecological role is disproportionately large relative to its abundance, such that its removal significantly alters ecosystem structure.

A symbiotic interaction in which both participating species benefit.

The rate at which energy is stored as biomass by producers after subtracting their own respiratory energy use.

The total set of environmental conditions and resources a species requires to survive, grow, and reproduce.

The biological or chemical conversion of atmospheric N2 into ammonia or other nitrogen compounds usable by organisms.

A symbiotic relationship in which one organism (the parasite) benefits at the expense of the other (the host).

The gradual process of ecological change in species composition of a community over time after a disturbance.

A position in the food chain determined by the number of energy-transfer steps from the sun or from primary producers.