Chapter 4

Question 1

Species

Answer 1

A set of species that can mate and reproduce

Question 2

Biodiversity

Answer 2

Variety of earth’s species or varying life forms

Question 3

Biomes

Answer 3

—large regions such
as forests, deserts, and grasslands with distinct climates
and certain species (especially vegetation) adapted to
them.

Question 4

Fossils

Answer 4

mineralized or petrified replicas of skeletons,bones, teeth, shells, leaves, and seeds, or impressions
of such items found in rocks

Question 5

Biological evolution

Answer 5

the process whereby
earth’s life changes over time through changes in the
genetic characteristics of populations

Question 6

Adaptive traits

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Differential reproduction

Answer 7

which enables individuals with the trait
to produce more surviving offspring than other mem-
bers of the population produce

Question 8

Speciation

Answer 8

One species splits into two or more different species

Question 9

Geographic isolation

Answer 9

occurs when different groups
of the same population of a species become physically
isolated from one another for a long period of time.

Question 10

Reproductive isolation

Answer 10

mutation and change
by natural selection operate independently in the gene
pools of geographically isolated populations.

Question 11

Endemic species

Answer 11

Species that are found in only one area; prone to extinction

Question 12

Background extinction

Answer 12

Throughout most of the earth’s long history, spe-

cies have disappeared at a low rate,

Question 13

Mass extinction

Answer 13

Rise in extinction rate above background extinction

Question 14

Species diversity

Answer 14

Type and number of species an ecosystem has

Question 15

Ecological niche

Answer 15

It is a species’ way of
life in a community and includes everything that affects
its survival and reproduction, such as how much water
and sunlight it needs, how much space it requires, what
it feeds on, what feeds on it, and the temperatures it can
tolerate.

Question 16

Generalist species

Answer 16

They can
live in many different places, eat a variety of foods, and
often tolerate a wide range of environmental condi-
tions.

Question 17

Specialist species

Answer 17

They may be able to
live in only one type of habitat, use just one or only
a few types of food, or tolerate a narrow range of cli-
matic and other environmental conditions.

Question 18

Native species

Answer 18

Species that usually live and die in a particular ecosystem

Question 19

Nonnative species

Answer 19

Also known as invasive, alien, or exotic species. Migrate.

Question 20

Indicator species

Answer 20

Species that provide early warnings of damage to a com-

munity or an ecosystem

Question 21

Keystone species

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Foundation species

Answer 22

species that play a major role
in shaping their communities by creating and enhanc-
ing their habitats in ways that benefit other species.