10 of the ESS glossary’s terms, each with the part of the syllabus where you first meet it.
A species that reproduces late and produces few large offspring with much parental care and a high chance of survival, adapted to stable environments near carrying capacity.
The Māori concept and practice of guardianship of the natural environment, carried out by kaitiaki (guardians) responsible for the long-term well-being of land, water and living things.
A graph of the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere measured continuously at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, since 1958, showing a steady rise with a yearly seasonal oscillation.
A site identified, using a global standard published by the IUCN in 2016, as contributing significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity, for example by holding much of a threatened species' population.
A species that has a disproportionately large effect on the structure of its community relative to its abundance, so that its removal can cause the community to change greatly or collapse.
A method of sampling stream invertebrates by disturbing the stream bed with the feet for a set time just upstream of a net held against the current.
The 2016 amendment to the Montreal Protocol that commits countries to cut the production and use of hydrofluorocarbons by 80–85% over the following decades because they are powerful greenhouse gases.
A graph that shows how the abundance of each species changes along a transect, with the width of each band proportional to its abundance at each point.
A plan adopted under the Convention on Biological Diversity in December 2022, with four goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030, including conserving 30% of land and sea.
An international agreement adopted in 1997 under the UNFCCC that set legally binding emissions targets for developed countries for 2008–2012.