Ecosystem Services and Extinction Risk

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to ecosystem services, extinction, and environmental challenges as discussed in the lecture.

Provisioning Services

Ecosystem services that provide products such as food and medicine to humanity.

Regulating Services

Ecosystem services that regulate environmental processes like climate and soil fertility.

Supporting Services

Ecological processes necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services.

Cultural Services

Non-material benefits obtained from ecosystems, including recreation and spiritual enrichment.

Niche Partitioning

The division of resources in a space or time, leading to greater efficiencies among species.

Extinction

The permanent loss of a species, characterized by the death of the last individual.

IUCN Red List

A comprehensive inventory that categorizes the conservation status of thousands of species and subspecies.

Habitat Loss

The complete elimination of habitats and their biological communities.

Overexploitation

The unsustainable harvesting of renewable resources leading to population decline.

Invasive Species

Species that are introduced into new habitats and threaten local biodiversity.

CITES

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, a treaty aimed at protecting endangered plants and animals.

Zoonotic Diseases

Diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans, often associated with bushmeat consumption.

Stochastic Extinction

Extinction influenced by random events that affect population survival.