Biodiversity and Humans - Introductory

Explore the impact of humans on the world's ecosystems by learning these words. This list covers conservation and sustainability, as well threats to wildlife habitats and the environment, including deforestation, climate change, pollution, and urbanization.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. acid rain
    precipitation with toxic gas emissions combined with water
  2. agriculture
    the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock
  3. air pollution
    pollution of the atmosphere
  4. biodiversity
    the variety of plant and animal life in a habitat
  5. biome
    major ecological community with distinct climate and flora
  6. climate change
    a shift in the world's average weather and temperature
  7. conservation
    careful management of the environment and natural resources
  8. coral reef
    a reef consisting of coral consolidated into limestone
  9. deforestation
    the removal of trees
  10. desertification
    a gradual transformation into arid, uninhabitable land
  11. destruction
    an event that completely ruins something
  12. ecosystem
    organisms interacting with their physical environment
  13. endangered species
    a species whose numbers are so small that the species is at risk of extinction
  14. environment
    the area in which something exists or lives
  15. erosion
    the process of wearing or grinding something down
  16. exploitation
    the act of making use of and profiting from resources
  17. extinct
    no longer in existence
  18. extinction
    the state of being no longer in existence
  19. greenhouse effect
    warming due to solar radiation trapped by the atmosphere
  20. habitat
    the type of environment in which an organism normally lives
  21. herbicide
    a chemical agent that destroys plants or inhibits growth
  22. impact
    a forceful consequence; a strong effect
  23. marine
    native to or inhabiting the sea
  24. migration
    the periodic passage of groups of animals
  25. natural resource
    material in the environment that can be used by people
  26. organism
    a living thing that can act or function independently
  27. overexploitation
    exploitation to the point of diminishing returns
  28. overpopulation
    too many individuals of a given species
  29. pesticide
    a chemical used to kill destructive insects or animals
  30. poach
    hunt illegally
  31. pollution
    contamination of the natural environment
  32. population
    a group of organisms of the same species inhabiting an area
  33. preserve
    keep in safety and protect from harm, loss, or destruction
  34. reforestation
    the restoration (replanting) of a forest that had been reduced by fire or cutting
  35. resource
    a new or reserve supply that can be drawn upon when needed
  36. species
    taxonomic group whose members can interbreed
  37. sustainability
    the capacity of being prolonged
  38. terrestrial
    relating to the land as opposed to the sea or air
  39. tropical rain forest
    a rain forest in a tropical area
  40. urbanization
    the social process whereby cities grow
  41. water pollution
    pollution of the water in rivers and lakes
Created on Fri Jan 27 19:32:31 EST 2017 (updated Mon Apr 10 14:19:21 EDT 2017)

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