Reading Quiz 4

Genetic Diversity

a measure of differences in nucleic acid composition among individuals within a population or species

Species Diversity

a measure of the number of species, and the relative abundance of these species within a particular area

Ecosystem Diversity

the number of different ecosystems within a larger area either a landscape or a region

Population viability analysis

mathematical models used to project the future of a population growth and predict if a species is likely to go extinct in the future

inbreeding depression

a reduction in survival or viability of offspring produced when two relatives mate with each other

genetically effective population size

Ne, the average number of individuals in a population that effectively contribute genes to succeeding generations

population viability analysis (PVA)

a quantitative analysis of extinction risk that allows ecologist to recommend management options to improve the prognosis for continued survival of a population

net reproductive rate

Ro, the mean number of female offspring produced by a female over the course of her lifetime

allee effect

population growth or individual components of fitness increase as population density increases

connectivity

a measure of the distance between a focal habitat patch and nearby populations, weighted by the sizes of the nearby populations and their distances to the focal patch

habitat degradation or destruction

the quality of an areas is reduced for a particular species so that its population is no longer viable in that habitat

(habitat) fragmentation

a large, continuous habitat is broken down into small isolated patches

(Human) overexploitation

using a species as a resource beyond its ability to replenish itself numerically - may also lead to species extinction

edge effect

changes in the structure of communities or populations that occur at the boundary of two or more habitats

resource hypothesis

argues that most invasive plants succeed because they are already extraordinarily well adapted to the new environment