Objective 8 Fundamental concepts of ecology and environmental science.

A short list of these concepts would include knowledge by the student of at least the following:

1)                  general ecological principles, including population dynamics, speciation, the importance of hybridization and coevolution, and mechanisms of speciation

2)                  community structure, energy flow in ecosystems, biogeochemical cycles, and ecological succession

3)                  biomes and the factors that differentiate one biome from another (e.g., overall productivity, climate, etc.)

4)                  the global ecological and environmental problems associated with man’s impact on the biosphere (past, present, and future) relative to man’s role as steward of God’s creation