Ch. 5 Flashcards
biodiversity
Number of different species living in a specific area.
biological augmentation
Technique of adding essential materials to a degraded ecosystem.
biological magnification
Increasing concentration of toxic substances, such as ddt, in organisms as trophic levels increase in food chains or food webs.
bioremediation
Technique using living organisms to detoxify a polluted area.
ecosystem diversity
Variety of ecosystems in the biosphere.
edge effect
Any different environmental condition occurring along an ecosystem’s boundaries.
endemic
Found only in one specific geographic area.
eutrophication
water pollution from nitrogen rich and phosphorus rich substances flowing into waterways, causing algal overgrowth
extinction
the disappearance of a species when the last of its members dies
genetic diversity
variety of inheritable characteristics or genes in an interbreeding population
habitat fragmentation
habitat loss from desperation of an ecosystem into small pieces of land
introduced species
nonnative species deliberately or accidentally introduced into a new habitat
mass extinction
a large scale dying out of a large percentage of all living organisms in an area within a short time
natural resource
any material or organism in the biosphere, including water, soil, fuel, and plants and animals
nonrenewable resource
any natural resource available in limited amounts or replaced extremely slowly by natural processes
overexploitation
overuse of species with economic value a factor in species extinction
renewable resource
any resource replaced by natural processes more quickly than it is consumed
species diversity
in a biological community, the number and abundance of different species
sustainable use
use of resources at a rate that they can be replaced or recycled
background extinction
Gradual process of a species becoming extinct.
