The Living Environment

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Physiological Function
any substance that is involved in chemical reactions in a living organism has a physiological function
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Specific Heat Capacity
the measure of the amount of heat energy needed to heat up a particular mass of a material through a particular temperature rise. Water has a high specific heat capacity so it heats up and cools down slowly
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Thermophilic
heat-loving, such as the bacteria that live around hot volcanic vents and springs
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Ambient gases
the surrounding environmental gases that are available to all organisms
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Atmosphere
the gases surrounding the Earth
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Photolysis
the splitting of molecules by light, including the splitting of water molecules in the early atmosphere, producing oxygen.
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Greenhouse gas
a gas that absorbs infrared radiation and causes atmospheric heating
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Transpiration
the loss of water by evaporation from the stomata of leaves
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Biosphere
all the living organisms on Earth
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Hydrosphere
all the water on the Earth, found in solid, liquid or gaseous form
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Lithosphere
the relatively hard outer layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust and upper layer of the mantle
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Biomimetics
the study of living organisms so the knowledge gained can be applied to engineering or technological developments
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Teratology
the study of the causes of birth defects
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Indigenous species
species that are native to the area
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Gene pool
the total variety of different genes in all the members of a population
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Vavilov centre
an area of the world where crop plants were first domesticated and where wild varieties are still found
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CITES
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
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Niche
the niche of a species is the role it plays in its habitat, which includes how it makes use of resources and responds to the other species in its habitat
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Endemic
an endemic species is indigenous to a particular area and is not naturally found elsewhere
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Wildlife and Countryside Act
a UK Act of Parliament that provides protection for many wildlife species and designated protected areas
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SSSIs
Sites of Special Scientific Interest
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NNRs
National Nature Reserves
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SPAs
Special Protection Areas
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SACs
Special Areas of Conservation
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MNRs
Marine Nature Reserves
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Ramsar Sites
A wetland site designated to protect its biodiversity
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International Whaling Commission
the IWC is an international organisation that aims to ensure the sustainable exploitation of whales
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EU common fisheries policy
the EU agreement to manage fishing and aquaculture. It attempts to balance the needs of the Member States and their fishing industries with sustainable exploitation of the environment
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Inbreeding
describes breeding between closely related individuals. Inbreeding increases the risk of recessive genes producing offspring with disadvantageous characteristics
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Cryopreservation
the preservation of material by freezing, such as the freezing of semen for artificial insemination
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Artificial Insemination
a form of selective breeding where semen is collected from a chosen male and is inserted artificially into the chosen female to cause her to become pregnant
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Embryo Transfer
the transfer of fertilised eggs or embryos from a female of a rare species, into females of closely related more common species. This enables more young to be produced.
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Micro-propagation
a tissue culture method where large numbers of plants can be produced from a tissue sample from an original plant, without the need for seeds
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

the measure of the amount of heat energy needed to heat up a particular mass of a material through a particular temperature rise. Water has a high specific heat capacity so it heats up and cools down slowly

Back

Specific Heat Capacity

Card 3

Front

heat-loving, such as the bacteria that live around hot volcanic vents and springs

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

the surrounding environmental gases that are available to all organisms

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

the gases surrounding the Earth

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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