unit two apes

Biodiversity

Diversity of life forms in an environment

Genetic diversity

Genetic variation in a population

Species diversity

number of species in an area

Habitat diversity

Variety of habitats in an ecosystem

Ecosystem diversity

Variety of ecosystems in a region

Bottleneck effect

When a large population declines greatly in number, the genetic diversity of survivors decreases

Biodiversity hotspot

Regions that contain a high level of species diversity, many endemic and threatened species

Endemic species

Species not found anywhere else in the world

Richness

Number of different species in an area

Evenness

How evenly individuals are distributed among species

Intrinsic value

Ecosystems are valuable independent of benefits to humans

Instrumental value

The worth of something in nature is determined by its benefits to humans

Ecosystem services

The various benefits that humans get from ecosystems

Provision services

Good produced by ecosystems that humans use directly

Regulating services

Ways ecosystems regulate/manage various environmental factors

Supporting services

Processes that maintain/enable the overall health and functioning of an ecosystems

Cultural services

Ecosystems provide cultural/aesthetic benefits

Theory of island biogeography

Large islands have more biodiversity because they have more resources and islands close to the main land have more biodiversity because they are easier to travel to

Ecological range of tolerance

Set of abiotic conditions in which a species can grow, survive and reproduce

Fundamental niche

Establishes the abiotic limits of survival

Realized niche

Range of biotic and abiotic conditions that a species actually lives in

Optimal range

Range where organisms survive, grow and reproduce

Zones of physiological distress

Range where organisms survive but experience stress

Zones of intolerance

Range where the organism will die

Indicator species

Very narrow range of tolerance

Specialist species

Narrow range of tolerance

Generalist species

Broad range of tolerance

Ecological succession

Predictable replacement of one group of species by another group of species over time

Primary succession

Ecological succession occurring on surface with bare rock and soil

Pioneer species

Species that can survive with little to no soil

Secondary succession

The succession of plant life that occurs in areas that have been disrupted but have not lost their soil

Climax community

Final stage of succession

Aquatic succession

moves from water to land

Keystone species

A species that is not very abundant but has a lasting impact on ecological communities

Succession effect on richness/biomass

Increases until plateaus

Succession impact on productivity

Increases initially then decreases

Natural disruptions

How environments naturally change over time

Anthropogenic

Disruptions caused by humans

Random disruption

A natural disruption with no pattern

Periodic disruptions

A natural disruption that occurs regularly

Episodic disruptions

Natural disruptions that occur somewhat regularly

— duration means — spatial extent

Small small

Resistance

How well an ecosystem can withstand a disturbance without change

Resilience

How well an ecosystem can recover after a disturbance

Intermediate disturbance hypothesis

Ecosystems experiencing intermediate levels of disturbance will favor a higher diversity of species than those with high or low disturbance

Evolution

A change in the genetic composition of a population over time

Microevolution

Evolution occurring on a population level

Macroevolution

Evolution that gives rise to new species, families, genera, classes, or phyla

Genotype

An organisms genetic makeup

Phenotype

An organisms physical, biochemical, and behavioral characteristics

Artificial selection

Humans choosing which species evolves

Natural selection

Environment determines which individuals survive and reproduce

Fitness

Ability to survive and reproduce

Adaptation

Trait that improves an individual’s fitness

Random process

Alters the genetic composition over time but the changes are not related to differences in fitness among individuals

Mutation

A difference in genes

Gene flow

Individuals move from one population to another and alter the genetics of both populations

Genetic drift

Change in genetic composition of a population over time as a result of random mating

Founders effect

Founders of a new population determine genetic variety

Allopatric speciation

Process of speciation that occurs with geographic isolation

Sympatric speciation

Evolution of one species into two species without geographic isolation

GMO

Organisms produced by copying genes from a species with desirable trait and inserting it into other species