Intro to Wildlife Conservation

Vocabulary flashcards that cover key terms and concepts from the lecture on wildlife conservation, focusing on extinction risks and population viability.

Extinction Risk

The likelihood of a species becoming extinct due to various factors, including genetic diversity, population size, and environmental changes.

Effective Population Size (Ne)

The number of breeding individuals in a population, which is often less than the total population size due to various factors that affect reproduction.

Heterozygosity

The presence of different alleles at one or more loci on homologous chromosomes, which contributes to genetic diversity.

Inbreeding Depression

The reduced biological fitness in a given population due to inbreeding, characterized by lower reproduction and higher mortality of offspring.

Outbreeding Depression

Weakness or reduced adaptability to the environment resulting from individuals of different species mating and reproducing.

Stochasticity

Random variation that affects population dynamics, including birth and death rates and environmental conditions.

Population Bottleneck

A dramatic reduction in population size that can lead to a loss of genetic variation.

Founder Effect

Reduced genetic diversity that occurs when a new population is established by a small number of individuals from a larger population.

Genetic Rescue

The intentional introduction of genetic variation into a population of a rare species to prevent extinction.

Demographic Stochasticity

Random variation in birth, death, and reproductive rates that can cause further declines in population sizes.