chapter 7 Flashcards
adverse conditions
Factors in the environment detrimental to the survival or growth of an organism
agriculture
The science and management of growing crops and livestock, including cultivation of the soil or other medium
Bioengineering
The combination of biology and engineering tools to create a usable product, such as a transgenic organism
biogeography
The study of the distributions of living things over a geographical area and how those distributions have changed over geologic time
Captive breeding program (conservation breeding program)
A breeding program that aims to maintain or increase genetic variation in a population of an endangered species in order to avoid extinction
Conservation biology
The integrated study of ecology, physiology, evolution, molecular biology and genetics with a view to sustaining biodiversity at all levels; a broad approach to preserving what biodiversity remains, and determining the due care and attention needed for protecting it for the future
emigration
Leaving a country or region
gene flow
The transfer of genes from one population to another; in relation to agriculture, this could mean from GMO crops to other species
gene pool
A collection of all the alleles for allthe genes in the reproducing members of a population at a given time; it is the genetic reservoir from which a population can obtain its traits
herbicide
ubstance used to control or kill weeds, ideally leaving a crop unharmed
immigration
Moving to a new country or region
Inbreeding depression
Occurs in small, isolated populations of animals and plants that are closely related, and thus genetically similar; the offspring have an increased risk of deleterious recessive alleles becoming homozygous, causing genetic diseases
insuracne population
A population brought in from the wild as a safeguard against a species’ extinction
marker assisted breeding
Selection of seeds for a breeding program by plant scientists that involves checking the seeds for DNA markers that are associated with beneficial traits
outcrossing
The migration of genes from GM plants to conventional crops or wild species
population dynamics
The study of the number, gender, age and relatedness of individuals in a population; population growth, density, urbanisation and migration (immigration and emigration) are factors considered in population dynamics
quarantine
A period of isolation serving to prevent the spread of a contagious disease; suspected cases are isolated from local, susceptible populations until at least the incubation period is finished, clinical signs and symptoms have passed and a scientist confirms the suspected pathogen or exotic species is no longer present
recombinant technology
Tools and techniques used to transfer a gene from a cell of a member of one species to the genome of a different species
reproductive behaviour
Patterns of animal behaviour related to the production and care of offspring, including the establishment of mating systems, courtship, sexual behaviour, fertilisation, and raising of young
superweed
A species of plant, transformed by a gene from a GMO to increase its growth rate, disease resistance or tolerance of environmental limits, that has become difficult to control; it is able to outcompete native or crop species and has become a significant weed
transformation
The process by which DNA is taken from one organism and inserted into another organism, usually of another species, to obtain a desired characteristic
transgenic organism
An organism that has been modified by incorporating into its genome a piece of foreign DNA
viable gene pool
A minimum collection of alleles and genes that have enough diversity for survival in a changing environment, even when limited to inbreeding within the population
