Unit 2 Vocab Flashcards
biodiversity
the variety of life in earth
genetic diversity
genetic variation among individuals in a population
species
organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring
species diversity
the number of species in a region or habitat
speciation
formation of a new species in the course of evolution
species richness
the number of total species
species evenness
the abundance of individuals within each species
bottleneck effect
the size of the population drastically decreases in a short period of time usually from a natural disaster, and shrinks the gene pool
niche generalist
can live under a wide range of conditions, and can adapt easily
niche specialist
lives under a narrow range of conditions, limit competition, do not adapt easily
biodiversity hotspot
focuses where the greatest number of species can be protected with the least amount of effort
convention on biological diversity
to conserve biodiversity, use biodiversity sustainably, and equitably share benefits from commercial use of resources
biosphere reserve
protected areas of zones that vary with amount of human impact
edge habitat
when one habitat meets another
intrinsic value
ecosystems have their own value independent from the needs and desires of humans
instrumental value
direct/indirect short term economical value of nature
provisioning services
has worth in terms of goods/services, natural goods that humans use directly such as lumber, rubber, crops, fur
regulating services
benefits provided by ecosystem processes that moderate natural phenomena such as carbon storage, pest control
supporting services
underlying natural processes that allow earth to sustain basic life such as species habitats, genetic diversity and nutrient cycles
cultural services
non materials benefits of nature that contributes to the development of cultural advancement such as ecotourism, recreation, spiritual
range of tolerance
the best range of abiotic factors where certain populations thrive (pH, temp, light)
fundamental niche
represents the environmental conditions where a species is able to live
realized niche
an environment where a species actually lives
endemic species
a species that is only found in a single geographical location
intermediate disturbance hypothesis
suggests that local species diversity is maximized when ecological disturbance is not too rare or frequent. Competitive organisms will dominate when there are low levels of disturbance
disturbance
a temporary change in environmental conditions that causes a change in the ecosystem
resistance
the ability to remain unchanged when subject to disturbance
resilience
the ability and rate of an ecosystem to recover from a disturbance and return to the predisturbed state
restoration ecology
the study of supporting the practice of ecological restoration, such as renewing and restoring damaged ecosystems by humans
phylogeny
branch of biology that deals with evolutionary history and relationships to study traits and DNA
evolution
when organisms change characteristics over time to adapt to their surroundings
microevolution
evolutionary change in allele frequencies in a species as a result of mutation, gene flow, or genetic drift
macroevolution
major evolutionary change dealing with entire taxonomic groups over a long period of time
gene
unit of heredity transferred from parent to offspring that holds a certain characteristic
genotype
genetic and allele makeup
phenotype
observable characteristics and traits of an organism
mutation
change in gene structure caused by any alteration of chromosomes
evolution by artificial selection
if there is genetic variation for the selected trait it will respond to the selection and the trait will evolve, by human interference
evolution by natural selection
evolution and change takes place in nature without human interference
fitness
the ability of an organism to pass on its genetics to its offspring aka that they can live that long
adaptation
a behavioral or physical characteristic that increases fitness
gene flow
the transfer of genetic material between populations that can take place through migration
genetic drift
the change in frequency in an existing gene in a population due to random chance, changes variation in present genes
extinction
a species or a group of organisms being completely gone from existence
founder effect
when a small group from a larger population separates and results in a loss of genetic diversity
environmental indicator
a value that describes the state of an environment and its impact on humans, ecosystems, and materials (ex. biological diversity, surface temp and co2 levels, human populations resource depletion)
keystone species
a species that plays an important role in its community because it has a larger impact on the community than other species if removed
ecosystem engineer
species that modify their environment such as creating a habitat or modifying existing ones
