Peec Vocabulary Words 2009 Final Draft 3

PEEC VOCABULARY WORDS 1. Non-renewable resource - a natural resource that is not replaced as it is used. 2. Renewable resource - a resource that is naturally replaced in a relatively short period of time. ( A human life span of 75 years)

3. Succession - the series of predictable changes like floods, volcanoes, and hurricanes that occur in a community over time. 4. Groundwater - water stored in underground layers of soil and rock. 5. Abiotic - a non-living part of an ecosystem such as water, light, heat, rock and energy. 6. Biotic - a living part of an ecosystem. 7. Decomposer - an organism that breaks down wastes and dead organisms. Scavenger an organism that consumes dead things

8. Erosion - the process by which water, wind, or ice moves particles of rock and soil. 9. Ecosystem - all the living and non-living things that interact in an area.

10.Sustainable yield - a regular amount of a renewable resource that can be harvested without reducing the future supply.

11. Biodiversity - the number of different species in an area 12. Macro-invertebrates - invertebrate animals large enough to be

observed without the aid of a microscope.

13. Bedrock - a continuous mass of solid rock that is usually covered by dirt and stone which makes up the Earth's crust. 14. Igneous rock – means “formed from fire”, magma from deep inside the earth, breaks through the surface and is called lava; when lava cools it forms igneous rock. (extrusive above surface, cools quickly, intrusive is below surface) Examples: granite, obsidian, silica

15. Sedimentary rock - are formed by accumulating sediments, such as silt, sand or pieces of rocks or shells under great amount of pressure from overlaying deposition. Examples: shale, sandstone, limestone, coal

16. Metamorphic rock – starts from igneous or sedimentary rocks buried deep below the surface. A great amount of heat and pressure decrystallize or reform them into this rock. Examples are marble and slate

17. Coniferous trees - trees that produce their seeds in cones and have needle shaped leaves. PA state tree is the Hemlock!

18. Deciduous trees - trees that shed their leaves and grow new ones each year.

19. Biodegradable - capable of being broken down by bacteria and other natural decomposers.

20. Biome - a group of ecosystems with similar climates and organisms.

21. Carnivore - a consumer that eats only animals. 22. Herbivore - a consumer that eats only plants Whitetailed deer is state animal. (Omnivore

eats both animals and plants Ex:

humans)

23. Communalism - a relationship between two species in which one species benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed.

24. Estuary - a habitat in which the fresh water of a river meets the salt water of the ocean. A river "mouth" empties into the bay or lake. An estuary is tidal which means the water level changes twice a day.

25. Omnivore - a consumer that eats both plants and animals.

26. Tributary - a stream that contributes its water to another of body water. (Lehigh & Schuylkill Rivers are tributaries to the Delaware River.)

27. Hydrology - the scientific study of the behavior of water in the atmosphere, on the surface of the earth and underground.

28. Aquifer - underground layer of rock of sand that contains water

29. Water cycle - the continuous process by which water moves from the Earth's surface to the atmosphere and back.

30. Evaporation - the process by which molecules of a liquid absorb energy and change to the gas state.

31. Run-off - water that travels downward over the surface of the earth eventually returning to the ocean.

32. Lentic - relating to or living in still water.

(Observe Lobby

Aquarium)

33. Lotic - related to or living in actively moving water

(Lobby

Aquarium)

34. Mitigation - the policy of constructing or creating manmade habitats, such as wetlands, to replace those lost to development.

35. Niche (ecological) - the role played by an organism in an ecosystem; requirements for shelter, special behaviors, the timing of its activities, interaction with other organisms and its habitat

36. Non-point source pollution - contamination that originates

from many locations that discharge into a location (i.e. a lake, stream, land area)

37. Point Source Pollution - pollutants discharged from a single identifiable location (i.e. a lake, stream, land area).

38. pH - potential of hydrogen, the alkalinity or acidity of a substance

39. Watershed - an area of land that is drained by a stream or a river and its branches. Its boundary is set by gravity because water flows downhill. ( Tookany Creek Watershed, Delaware River Basin) 40. Natural boundary – the Delaware River forms a natural boundary between the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware

41. Pollutant - a harmful substance released into an environment.

42. Pollution - the condition that results when pollutants interact with the environment.

43. Acid rain - rain that is contaminated by pollutants. 44. Headwater - the location of where a river begins or forms.

45. Delaware River Mouth – opens into the Delaware Bay 46. Susquehanna River Mouth – opens into the Chesapeake

47. Potomac River - is a tributary to the Susquehanna River Lehigh River, Schuylkill River, Tookany Creek – tributaries to Delaware

48. Producers – water plants and algae provide food for many

animals. Because green plants and algae

produce their own food by

photosynthesis they are called

producers.

49. Consumers – since animals cannot produce their own food they must eat or consume other organisms to get energy. This is why animals are called consumers.

50. Nocturnal – an organism that is active at night rather than by day. Diurnal (antonym) an organism that is active during daytime

51. Top Soil – the thin layer of soil where all crops and plants grow. It is usually dark in color and made of rich in organic material, humus, and micro organisms. Easily erodes by wind and water.

Modified 2009