A sub-discipline of the biological sciences concerned with the origin of life and the diversification and adaptation of life forms over time.

The interdisciplinary study of the evolution of human physiology and human behaviour and the relation between hominids and non-hominid primates. Evolutionary anthropology is based in natural science and social science.

The process whereby a species or population becomes better able to live in a changing environment, through the selection of heritable traits. Biologists usually distinguish evolutionary adaptation from acclimatisation, with the latter occurring within an organism’s lifetime.

The sum of water loss from both plants and soil measured over a specific area.

see benchmarking and validation”.

Nutrient enrichment of an ecosystem, generally resulting in increased primary production and reduced biodiversity. In lakes, eutrophication leads to seasonal algal blooms, reduced water clarity, and, often, periodic fish mortality as a consequence of oxygen depletion. The term is most closely associated with aquatic ecosystems but is sometimes applied more broadly.

See Eutrophic.

A condition of an aquatic system in which increased nutrient loading leads to progressively increasing amounts of algal growth and biomass accumulation. When the algae die off and decompose, the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water becomes reduced.

A condition of an aquatic system in which increased nutrient loading leads to progressively increasing amounts of algal growth and biomass accumulation. When the algae die off and decompose, the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water becomes reduced. In lakes, eutrophication leads to seasonal algal blooms, reduced water clarity, and, often, periodic fish mortality as a consequence of oxygen depletion.

The euphotic zone is the layer closer to the surface of the ocean or lake that receives enough light for photosynthesis to occur.