Unit 2 Flashcards
- broad niche
- adaptable to many environments
- less likely to become extinct
- variety of resources
- high range of tolerance
- advantage in changing conditions
generalist
keystone species that creates or maintains habitat for other species
ecosystem engineer
diversity of ife forms in an environment
biodiversity
variety of genes on a region
genetic diversity
- no regular pattern
- hurricanes
- volcanic eruptions
random
- occur somewhat regularly
- weather patterns
- high/low pressure
episodic
- day/night
- moon phases
- tides
periodic
about of a system to continue functioning under changing conditions or during disturbances
ecosystem stability
evolutionary force that cause a particular phenotype to be more favorable in certain environmental conditions
selective pressures
ecosystems with high species diversity have high resilience
ecosystem resilience
final stage of succession
climax community
ecosystems provide numerous support services such as pollination of food crops, filtration of pathogens and toxins from water
supporting services
ecosystems regulate environmental conditions
regulating services
the awe-inspiring beauty of nature has instrumental value because it provides an aesthetic benefit for which people are willing to pay for
cultural services
these are the goods used directly by humans
provisioning services
direct and indirect contributions ecosystems provide for human well being and quality of life
ecosystem services
development of a new ecosystem
succession
large set of situations in which adaptations ends up further increasing environmental degradation
maladaptive
species that no longer exists in one place but exists in another
extirpation
- non-native species accidentally or purposefully introduced into a ecosystem that threaten or harm native populations
- generalist and r-selected
invasive species
- development of a new ecosystem on bare rock with NO soil and where there wasn’t one before
- glacier retreats
- volcanic eruptions
- abandoned parking lot
primary succession
toxic contaminants such as pesticides, heavy metals, acids, and oil spills, thermal pollution, excessive nutrients, endocrine disruptors
pollution
habitat that is broken into pieces by devlopment, logging roads, industry, dams
habitat fragmentation
Est. 1973, it authorizes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine which species can be listed as threatened or endangered and prohibits the harming of these species
endangered species act
states that larger habitats/islands typically contain more species and the closer the island is to the mainland the greater the species richness
theory of island biogeography
traits that enable an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment
adaptation
variety of ecosystems in a region
ecosystem diversity
plant or animal demonstrates that come distinctive aspect of the character or quality of an ecosystem is present
indicator species
human activities
anthropogenic
- species that can colonize new areas rapidly and grow well in full sunshine
- ex. lichens and mosses
pioneer species
- the belief that ecosystems serve to satisfy human needs, interests and has economic benefits
- nature has worth as a tool to be used and measured in the services provided to humans
instrumental value
group of similar organisms that can breed and reproduce fertile offspring
species
- occurs when land is cleared of vegetation but soil remains, and a new ecosystem develops
- natural disaster
- deforestation
farm abandoned
secondary succession
number of species in a given area
species richness
- a species that is not very abundant but has large effects on an ecological community
- ex. sea otter
key stone species
relative proportion of individuals within the different species in a given area
species evenness
- this is the perspective that nature has value in its own right, independent of human uses
- ecosystems have value because of their beauty, and spiritual or religious importance
intrinsic value
change in the genetic composition of a population over time
evolution
- any change in DNA, genes or chromosomes
- DNA replication
- occur in gametes/sex cells
- benefit organism
- create variation in a population and allow natural selection to happen
mutation
the process in which the environment determines which individuals survive and reproduce
natural selection
population experiences a drastic reduction in numbers due to habitat loss, natural disaster, harvesting by humans, or any other random event
bottleneck effect
desirable traits
selected for
bad eyesight and hearing
selected against
- introduces desirable genes and other less desirable genes
-takes a long time to obtain organism with desirable traits
artificial selection
- all species are limited by the abiotic conditions they can tolerate
- all species have an optimal environment in which it functions well
- temp extremes, humidity, salinity, and pH
range of tolerance
- unit of evolution
- group of same species
population
interactions among species
community
global mass extinction event responsible for eliminating about 80% of all species of animals during Cretaceous and Paleogene periods about 66 million years ago
K-T mass extinction
species that are found exclusively in a specific geographic region and nowhere else on earth
endemic
- narrow niche
- less adaptable
- more likely to become extinct
- eat specific foods
- affected by changing conditions easily
- advantage in same conditions
specialist
the sum total of an organism’s use of abiotic/biotic resources in the environment
ecological niche
large extinction of species in a relatively short period of time
mass extinction
regions that contain a high level of species diversity
biodiversity hot spots
population of species dies
extinction
populations are geographically seperated, they will diverge from one another, both in the way they look and genetically
geographical speciation
SLOSS
single large or several small
