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The Living World: Ecosystems

How energy and matter move through ecosystems: trophic structure and energy flow, primary productivity, the carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and hydrologic cycles, and how organisms interact within food webs and ecological niches. Topics: Species Interactions, Terrestrial and Aquatic Biomes, Biogeochemical Cycles, Energy Flow and Productivity.

The Living World: Biodiversity

What biodiversity is and why it matters: ecosystem services, the value of genetic and species diversity, island biogeography, ecological tolerance, natural disruptions, and how ecosystems respond and adapt to change over time. Topics: Biodiversity Levels and Ecosystem Services, Island Biogeography and Ecological Tolerance, Disturbance, Adaptation, and Succession.

Populations

How populations of organisms, including humans, grow and change: life-history strategies, carrying capacity, population growth models and calculations, age-structure diagrams, the demographic transition, and the factors that drive human population dynamics. Topics: Life-History Strategies and Survivorship, Population Growth, Limits, and Carrying Capacity, Human Population Dynamics.

Earth Systems and Resources

The physical Earth systems that supply environmental resources: plate tectonics and geologic processes, soil formation and properties, the atmosphere's structure and circulation, global wind and water patterns, solar radiation, seasons, and El Nino/La Nina. Topics: The Geosphere and Soil, Atmosphere, Circulation, and Watersheds, Solar Energy and Climate Drivers.

Land and Water Use

How humans use land and water and the environmental tradeoffs involved: agriculture and its impacts, irrigation and pest control, forestry and mining, ecological footprints, urbanization, sustainable practices, and the consequences of resource extraction. Topics: Land and Water Use Impacts, Agricultural Methods, Sustainability and Mitigation.

Energy Resources and Consumption

Where societies get energy and what each source costs the environment: renewable and nonrenewable resources, fossil fuels, nuclear power, and energy from biomass, solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal sources, global energy use patterns, and energy conservation and efficiency. Topics: Energy Resources and Global Consumption, Nonrenewable Energy: Fossil Fuels and Nuclear, Renewable Energy Sources, Energy Calculations and Conservation.

Atmospheric Pollution

The sources, chemistry, and control of air pollution: primary and secondary pollutants, combustion byproducts, photochemical and industrial smog, thermal inversions, acid deposition, indoor air pollutants, and strategies to reduce emissions. Topics: Air Pollutants and Their Sources, Air Quality Conditions and Special Cases, Reducing Air Pollution and Noise.

Aquatic and Terrestrial Pollution

How pollutants move through water and land and harm organisms: point and nonpoint sources, sewage and oxygen-demanding wastes, eutrophication, persistent and bioaccumulating toxins, solid and hazardous waste, and human health impacts including dose-response reasoning and pathogens. Topics: Water Pollution Sources and Contaminants, Nutrients, Oxygen, and Aquatic Habitat, Persistent Toxics and Biomagnification, Solid Waste, Waste Reduction, and Sewage Treatment, Toxicology and Human Health.

Global Change

Large-scale, often global environmental change driven by human activity: stratospheric ozone depletion, the greenhouse effect and global climate change, ocean warming and acidification, invasive species, endangerment and extinction, and sustainability responses. Topics: Stratospheric Ozone, Greenhouse Effect and Global Climate Change, Ocean Warming and Acidification, Threats to Biodiversity.