P OPULATION DYNAMICS IS THE BRANCH OF LIFE SCIENCES THAT STUDIES SHORT - TERM AND LONG - TERM CHANGES IN THE SIZE AND AGE COMPOSITION OF POPULATIONS,

• POPULATION DYNAMICS IS THE BRANCH OF LIFE SCIENCES THAT STUDIES SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM CHANGES IN THE SIZE AND AGE COMPOSITION OF POPULATIONS, AND THE BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESSES INFLUENCING THOSE CHANGES. POPULATION DYNAMICS DEALS WITH THE WAY POPULATIONS ARE AFFECTED BY BIRTH AND DEATH RATES, AND BY IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION, AND STUDIES TOPICS SUCH AS AGEING POPULATIONS OR POPULATION DECLINE.

• CHANGES IN SEASONAL PATTERNS OF PRECIPITATION AND RUNOFF WILL ALTER HYDROLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS OF AQUATIC

• SYSTEMS, AFFECTING SPECIES COMPOSITION AND ECOSYSTEM PRODUCTIVITY. POPULATIONS OF AQUATIC ORGANISMS ARE

• SENSITIVE TO CHANGES IN THE FREQUENCY, DURATION, AND TIMING OF EXTREME PRECIPITATION EVENTS, SUCH AS FLOODS OR

Changes to an ecosystem

• DROUGHTS. CHANGES IN THE SEASONAL TIMING OF SNOWMELT WILL ALTER STREAM FLOWS, POTENTIALLY INTERFERING WITH THE

• REPRODUCTION OF MANY AQUATIC SPECIES. CLIMATE CHANGE IS LIKELY TO FURTHER STRESS SENSITIVE FRESHWATER AND COASTAL WETLANDS, WHICH ARE ALREADY

Changes to an ecosystem

• ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY A VARIETY OF OTHER HUMAN IMPACTS, SUCH AS ALTERED FLOW REGIMES AND DETERIORATION OF WATER

• QUALITY. WETLANDS ARE A CRITICAL HABITAT FOR MANY SPECIES THAT ARE POORLY ADAPTED FOR OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS AND SERVE AS IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF COASTAL AND MARINE FISHERIES.

Changes to an ecosystem

POSITIVE/NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES THAT RESULT FROM A REDUCTION IN BIODIVERSITY.

LOSSES IN BIODIVERSITY IN RAINFORESTS CAUSE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING. ABOUT ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING IN TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS WE KNOW VERY LITTLE, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT ECOSYSTEMS ARE AFFECTED BY CHANGES IN THE NUMBER AND KINDS OF SPECIES WHICH THEY CONTAIN, AN IDEA ORIGINALLY CONCEIVED BY CHARLES DARWIN AND ALFRED RUSSELL WALLACE. INTACT ECOSYSTEMS FUNCTION BEST, SINCE THE ORGANISMS COMPOSING THEM ARE SPECIALIZED TO FUNCTION IN THAT ECOSYSTEM TO CAPTURE, TRANSFER, UTILIZE AND, ULTIMATELY, LOSE BOTH ENERGY AND NUTRIENTS. THE PARTICULAR SPECIES MAKING UP AN ECOSYSTEM DETERMINE ITS PRODUCTIVITY, THEY AFFECT NUTRIENT CYCLES AND SOIL CONTENTS, AND THEY INFLUENCE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS SUCH AS WATER CYCLES, WEATHER PATTERNS, CLIMATE AND OTHER NO-BIOTIC ASPECTS

DEFINITIONS

• PH-IS A MEASURE OF THE HYDROGEN ION CONCENTRATION OF A SOLUTION. SOLUTIONS WITH A HIGH CONCENTRATION OF HYDROGEN IONS HAVE A LOW PH AND SOLUTIONS WITH A LOW CONCENTRATIONS OF H+ IONS HAVE A HIGH PH.

DEFINITIONSDEFINITIONS

• OXYGEN- COLORLESS, ODORLESS, TASTELESS GASEOUS CHEMICAL ELEMENT WHICH APPEARS IN GREAT ABUNDANCE ON EARTH, TRAPPED BY THE ATMOSPHERE

DEFINITIONSDEFINITIONS

• CARBON DIOXIDE-  COLORLESS, ODORLESS GAS, CO2, PRODUCED BY BURNING CARBON AND ORGANIC COMPOUNDS AND BY RESPIRATION AND ABSORBED BY PLANTS

DEFINITIONSDEFINITIONS

• NITROGEN-THE CHEMICAL ELEMENT OF ATOMIC NUMBER 7, A COLORLESS, ODORLESS UNREACTIVE GAS THAT FORMS ABOUT 78 PERCENT OF THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.

DEFINITIONSDEFINITIONS

• PHOSPHOROUS- THE CHEMICAL ELEMENT OF ATOMIC NUMBER 15, A POISONOUS, COMBUSTIBLE NONMETAL THAT EXISTS IN TWO COMMON ALLOTROPIC FORMS.

DEFINITIONDEFINITION

• SALINITY- THE TASTE EXPERIENCE WHEN SALT IS TAKEN INTO THE MOUTH. THE RELATIVE PROPORTION OF SALT IN A SOLUTION. THE DEGREE OF SALTINESS OF A GIVEN SUBSTANCE SUCH AS THE OCEAN.

DEFINITIONDEFINITION• DEPTH- THE DISTANCE FROM THE TOP OR SURFACE OF SOMETHING TO

ITS BOTTOM.

• LATITUDE- THE ANGULAR DISTANCE OF A PLACE NORTH OR SOUTH OF THE EARTH'S EQUATOR, USUALLY EXPRESSED IN DEGREES AND MINUTES.

DEFINITIONDEFINITION

• TEMPERATURE- THE DEGREE OR INTENSITY OF HEAT PRESENT IN A SUBSTANCE OR OBJECT, ESP. AS EXPRESSED ACCORDING TO A COMPARATIVE SCALE

UNDERWATER TOPOGRAPHY- TYPICALLY REFERRED TO AS BATHYMETRY

REDUCTION IN BIODIVERSITY

• HUMAN ACTIVITIES- FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, HUMANS HAVE REDUCED BIODIVERSITY BY HUNTING ANIMALS TO EXTINCTION. THEY'VE ALSO DESTROYED A LOT OF HABITAT BY CUTTING DOWN TREES AND DRAINING/POLLUTING WETLANDS ETC, AND THIS HAS FURTHER REDUCED BIODIVERSITY.

REDUCTION IN BIODIVERSITY

• INVASIVE SPECIES ARE A MAJOR THREAT TO U.S. BIODIVERSITY, SECOND ONLY TO HABITAT LOSS AND DEGRADATION. NON-NATIVE INVADERS CAN ALSO BE A THREAT TO HUMAN HEALTH, AND COST THE U.S. ECONOMY BILLIONS OF DOLLARS BY RENDERING RANGE LANDS UNPALATABLE, CLOGGING WATER INTACT PIPES, AND DECIMATING COMMERCIAL FISHERIES BY SERVING AS DISEASE VECTORS. UNFORTUNATELY, GLOBAL WARMING IS EXPECTED TO GREATLY EXACERBATE THE IMPACT OF INVASIVE SPECIES ON OUR NATIVE WILDLIFE AND ECOSYSTEMS.