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102 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Abiotic
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Non-living things
Temperature, Sun, Water, Soil, Rocks... |
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Adaptations
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A change that helps an organism survive
The peppered moth changed from white to black to survive the industrial revolution |
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Behavioural adaptation
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What an animal does to survive
The ostrich sticks its head in the sand when scared |
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Biodiversity
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Different types of plants and animals living in an area
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Biome
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The largest division of the biosphere (Permanent ice/Desert)
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Biosphere
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The air, land, and water where everything lives
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Biotic
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Living things (plants and animals)
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Climate
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Precipitation and temperature in an area for a long time
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Climatograph
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Records temperature and precipitation in a chart
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Elevation
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The height of land above sea level
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Latitude
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The distance from the equator (North pole is 90°N)
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Physiological adaptation
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A chemical adaptation that helps an animal survive
The ostrich maintains constant temperature year round |
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Structural adaptation
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A physical adaptation that helps an animal survive
Arctic fox has short ears and legs to save heat |
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Terrestrial
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Land (extra terrestrial – from another land)
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Commensalism
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One animal benefits the other isn’t helped or harmed
(2 Remora attached to the Ray....the remora gets food, but the ray gets nothing) |
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Community
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All living plants and animals in an area
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Competition
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A fight (normally for food, shelter or a mate)
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Ecological hierarchy
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Organism -> population -> community -> ecosystem
Smallest ------ to ------> Biggest |
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Ecosystem
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Biotic and abiotic and abiotic living in an area
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Eutrophication
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Excess nutrients cause an increase in the number of plants
Too much algae growing in the pond because of the large amounts of nutrients |
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Habitat
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Where an organism lives (a lake, a rotten log, an area of the boreal forest)
A picture of a lake |
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Mutualism
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Both animals benefit
The anemone gets food the clownfish gets protection |
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Niche
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The role that an organism plays in an ecosystem
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Parasitism
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One animal benefits the other is harmed
Warbler lost all her eggs and is taking care of the cuckoo baby who threw the eggs out of the nest |
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Photosynthesis
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Plants convert carbondioxide to oxygen and energy
Trees, Grass and other plants |
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Population
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The number of 1 species in an area (The population of Canada is 36 million)
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Predation
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Predator hunts the prey
Tiger eating a Gazelle |
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Species
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One type of plant or animal (humans or dogs)
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Symbiosis
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The interaction between two different species
Mutualism Commensalism Parasitism |
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Biodegradation
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The breaking down of dead organic matter
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Biomass
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The total mass of all of one species in an area
(all the trees in the world) |
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Carnivores
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Meat eater
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Consumer
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An animal that eats other plants or animals
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Decomposers
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Organism that breaks down dead things into nutrients
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Decomposition
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Break down dead things
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Ecological pyramid
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Includes the pyramids of: numbers, energy, and biomass
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Energy flow
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The flow of energy from one organism to another
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Food chain
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Shows one feeding relationship
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Food pyramid
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A pyramid showing the loss of energy from one trophic level to another
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Food web
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Shows many feeding relationships and how they are interconnected
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Herbivores
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Plant eater
Zebra eating grass |
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Nutrients
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Elements like Nitrogen and Phosphorus needed for growth
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Omnivores
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Eat both plants and animals
Bear eats fish and berries |
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Primary consumers
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Eat producers
Zebra eating grass |
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Primary producers
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All plants (grass, algae, and cyanobacteria)
Trees |
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Producers
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All plants (grass, algae, and cyanobacteria)
Trees |
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Pyramid of biomass
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The relative mass of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain
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Pyramid of energy
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Shows the amount of energy available at each trophic level
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Pyramid of numbers
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Shows the number of organisms at each trophic level
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Secondary consumers
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Eat primary consumers (3rd trophich level)
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Tertiary consumers
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Eat primary and secondary consumers (4th trophich level)
The bear eats the fish which eats the algae |
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Trophic levels
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The level that an organism is in a food chain
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Carbon cycle
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How carbon moves through biotic and abiotic things
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Carbonate
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CO3 2- store for carbon either as Calcium Carbonate (Limestone) or in Shells
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Cellular respiration
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Breathing
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Denitrification
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Nitrogen returns to the atmosphere
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Denitrifying bacteria
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Bacteria that convert nitrate (NO3–)into nitrogen gas (N2)
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Detrivores
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Eat dead things
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Geologic uplift
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Buried rock layers that are pushed up
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Leaching
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Water removes nutrients from rocks and soil
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Nitrification
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Ammonium (NH4+) is converted into nitrate (NO3–)
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Nitrifying bacteria
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Bacteria in the soil that convert ammonium (NH4+) to nitrite (NO2–) to nitrate (NO3–)
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Nitrogen cycle
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How nitrogen moves through biotic and abiotic components of an environment
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Nitrogen fixation
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Nitrogen in the air is converted to nitrate or ammonium in the ground
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Nitrogen-fixing bacteria
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Convert nitrogen gas (N2) into ammonium (NH4+)
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Nutrient cycles
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How nutrients move through biotic and abiotic components of an environment
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Phosphorus cycle
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How phosphorus moves through biotic and abiotic components of an environment
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Photosynthesis
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Plants convert carbondioxide to oxygen and energy
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Sedimentation
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Soil particles build up in layers on the bottom of a lake
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Stores
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A place where something is kept for a long time
A picture of a coal deposit or coal store |
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Weathering
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Rock is broken down into smaller pieces
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Bioaccumulation
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The build-up of toxins from the environment
The shark is getting toxin from the polluted water |
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Biomagnification
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The amount of toxin gets bigger up the food chain
The bird will have more toxin than the shrimp |
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Bioremediation
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Using bacteria to make pesticides non-toxic
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DDT
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A toxin that can bioaccumulate
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Heavy metals
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Lead Mercury and Cadmium
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Keystone species
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A plant/animal that has a big impact on the food chain (usually producer)
The sea otter is a keystone species |
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ppm
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Parts per million
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PCBs
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A toxin that can be bioaccumulated and biomagnified
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Pesticides
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A Chemical used to kill insects on farms
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Adaptive radiation
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One species adapts to fill many niches at once making many species (finches of the Galapagos islands)
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Climax community
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The end community (tall trees)
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Ecological succession
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Change in the types of plants and animals that live in an area over time
The picture shows the climax community...the last stage of succession |
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Natural selection
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The process where the strongest will survive and reproduce.
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Pioneer species
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The first plant to arrive
Lichens (in photo) and Moss in primary succession Grass in secondary succession |
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Primary succession
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Growth of plants on bare rock (no soil – glacier/lava flow)
Picture shows lava flow destroying a house |
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Secondary succession
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Growth of plants on soil (forest fire/agriculture or farming)
Picture is of a forest fire |
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Aeration
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Put holes into ground so oxygen and water can enter ground
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Contamination
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A toxin enters an environment (pollution)
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Deforestation
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Cut down trees in an area
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Habitat fragmentation
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The division of habitats into smaller pieces
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Habitat loss
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The destruction of habitats (human activities/flooding/forest fire)
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Land use
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How we use land (urban development, agriculture, mining)
The picture is of a large open mine |
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Overexploitation
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Using a resource until it is gone
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Resource exploitation
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Using resource
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Soil degradation
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Breakdown of soil
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Sustainability
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The balance between using and renewing a resource so it isn’t overexploited
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Traditional ecological knowledge
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The knowledge of what plants and animals can heal us.
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Foreign species
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Plants or animals from another country
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Introduced species
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Bring plants/animals from one country to another for food work or entertainment
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Invasive species
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Introduced organisms that outcompete native species
The picture is of Kudzu that outcompeted the trees |
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Native species
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Plants and animals that originally lived in an area
Panda is from China |