Ch. 4 Flashcards
Niche
A species way of life in a community and includes everything that affects its survival and reproduction.
Habitat
The place or type of ecosystem in which it lives.
Generalist species
They can live in many different places eat a variety of foods and often tolerate a wide range of environment conditions.
Specialist species
They live in only one type of habitat and use only one or a few types of food and tolerate a narrow range of environmental conditions.
Native species
Are those species that normally live and thrive in a particular ecosystem.
Nonnative species
That migrate into or are deliberately or accidentally introduced into an ecosystem.
Indicator species
Species that provide early warnings of environmental change in a community or an ecosystem.
Keystone species
Species whose roles have a large effect on the types and abundance of other species in an ecosystem.
Fossils
Mineralized or prettified replicas of skeletons bones, teeth, shells, leaves, and seeds or impressions of such items found in rocks.
Biological evolution
The process where by the earths life changes over time through changes in the genes of population of organisms in succeeding generations.
Natural selection
Individuals certain genetic traits are more likely to survive and reproduce.
Mutations
Changes in the DNA molecules of a gene in any cell that can be inherited by off spring.
Adaption
Any heritable trait that improves the ability of an individual organism to survive and to reproduce at a higher rate than other individuals in a population are able to do under prevailing environmental conditions.
Speciation
One species splits into two or more different species.
Geographic isolation
Occurs when different groups of the same population of a species become physically isolated from one another for a long period of time.
Reproductive isolation
Mutation and change by natural selection operate indecently in the gene pools of geographically isolated populations.
Mass extinction
A significant rise in extinction rates above the background rate.
Background extinction rate
Rate that existed before the human population began growing before the human population began growing exponentially.
Endemic species
Especially vulnerable to extinction.
Extinction
Process in which an entire species ceases to exist.
Synthetic biology
Technology that enables scientists to make new sequences of DNA and to use such genetic info to design and create new cells tissues organisms and devices and to redesign existing natural biological systems.
Genetic engineering
Speed up our ability to manipulate genes.
Artificial selection
To change the genetic characteristics of populations with similar genes.
Biological diversity
The variety of the earths species the genes they contain and the ecosystem in which they live and the ecosystem process such as energy flow and nutrient cycling that sustain all life.
Biomes
Large regions such as forests, deserts, and grasslands with distinct climates and certain species.
