Ch 4 Key Terms

Question 1

biodiversity

Answer 1

Is the variety of genes, organisms, species, and ecosystems in which organisms, species, and ecosystems exist and interact.

Question 2

biological diversity

Answer 2

The variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.

Question 3

biomes

Answer 3

The world’s major communities classified according to the predominant vegetation and characterized by adaptations of organisms to that particular environment.

Question 4

ecological niche

Answer 4

Total way of life or role of a species in an ecosystem. It includes all physical, chemical, and biological conditions that a species needs to live and reproduce in an ecosystem.

Question 5

ecosystem diversity

Answer 5

The earth’s diversity of biological communities, including deserts, grasslands, forests, mountains, oceans, lakes, rivers, and wetlands.

Question 6

endemic species

Answer 6

A species that is only found in one particular area

Question 7

eukaryotic

Answer 7

Containing a nucleus in their cells

Question 8

functional diversity

Answer 8

The range and value of those species and organismal traits that influence ecosystem functioning

Question 9

functioning

Answer 9

Work/operate in a particular way

Question 10

generalist species

Answer 10

Species with a broad ecological niche. They can live in many different places, eat a variety of foods, and tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions. Examples include flies, cockroaches, mice, rats, and humans.

Question 11

genetic diversity

Answer 11

Variability in the genetic makeup of individuals in a population.

Question 12

habitat

Answer 12

Place/type of place where an organism/population of organisms lives.

Question 13

indicator species

Answer 13

Species that provide early warnings of damage to a community or an ecosystem

Question 14

invertebrate

Answer 14

Animals that have no backbones

Question 15

keystone species

Answer 15

Species whose roles have a disproportionately large effect on the types and abundance of other species in an ecosystem

Question 16

native species

Answer 16

Species that normally live and thrive in a particular ecosystem

Question 17

nonnative species

Answer 17

Species that migrate into, or are deliberately/accidentally introduced into, an ecosystem

Question 18

prokaryotic

Answer 18

Single celled, with no nucleus

Question 19

specialist species

Answer 19

Species with a narrow ecological niche. They may be able to live in only one type of habitat, tolerate only a narrow range of climatic and other environmental conditions, or use only one type or a few types of food

Question 20

speciation

Answer 20

Formation of two species from one species because of divergent natural selection in response to changes in environmental conditions; usually takes thousands of years

Question 21

species

Answer 21

Group of similar organisms, a set of individuals that can mate and produce fertile offspring. Every organism is a member of a certain species.

Question 22

species diversity

Answer 22

Number of different species (species richness) combined with the relative abundance of individuals within each of those species (species evenness) in a given area.

Question 23

vertebrate

Answer 23

Animals with backbones