APES Chapter 5 Vocab Quiz

Vocabulary terms and definitions covering biodiversity, evolutionary processes, speciation, genetics, and ecological niches from Chapter 5 of AP Environmental Science (APES).

Species richness

The number of species in a given area

Ex: used to give an approximate sense of biodiversity of a particular place

Species evenness

The relative proportion of individuals within the different species in a given area

Ex: tells us weather a particular ecosystem is numerically dominated by one species or weather all of its species have similar abundances

Phylogeny

The branching pattern of evolutionary relationships

Ex: can be described using a phylogenetic tree, based on the similar traits among species

Evolution

A change in the genetic composition of a population over time

Ex: the source of biodiversity, apes→humans

Microevolution

Evolution below the species level

Ex: evolution of different varieties of apples or potatoes

Macroevolution

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

Ex: …

Gene

A physical location on the chromosomes within each cell of an organism

Ex: determine the range of possible traits a organism can pass to its offspring

Genotype

The complete set of genes in an individual

Ex: the genes that code for the color of you eye are part of your genotype

Phenotype

A set of traits expressed by an individual

Ex: eye color

Mutation

A random change in the genetic code produced by a mistake in the copying process

Ex: some mosquitoes have a mutation that makes them less vulnerable to insecticides

Recombination

The genetic process by which one chromosome breaks off and attaches to another chromosome during reproductive cell division

Ex: allows new allele combinations to come together, providing new immune defenses

Evolution by artificial selection

The process in which humans determine which individuals breed, typically with a preconceived set of traits in mind

Ex: all breeds of domesticated dogs belong to the same species of grey wolf, but they look very different because they were bred by humans to look certain ways

Evolution by natural selection

The process in which the environment determines which individuals survive and reproduce

Ex: a more well a adapted organism surviving longer and therefore being able to pass on those traits

Fitness

An individual's ability to survive and reproduce

Ex: the smallest amphipods surviving predation by fish

Adaptation

A trait that improves an individual's fitness

Ex: plants in a dessert developing different more effective ways to store water

Gene flow

The process by which individuals move from one population to another and thereby alter the genetic composition of both populations

Ex: The Florida Panther being bred with Texas panthers to create less inbreeding and less defects

Genetic drift

A change in the genetic composition of a population over time as a result of random mating

Ex: a small population of animals where only one has black fur and doesn’t happen to get mated with, therefore completely eliminating black fur from the next generation

Bottleneck effect

A reduction in the genetic diversity of a population caused by a reduction in its size

Ex: the cheetah has very little genetic variation because of a bottleneck effect over 10,000 years ago

Extinction

The death of the last member of a species

Ex: in some cases once a species is forced through a bottleneck it can decline to extinction

Founder effect

A change in the genetic composition of a population as a result of descending from a small number of colonizing individuals

Ex: Amish communities of Pennsylvania, a small group of Germans settled there who had the mutation for extra fingers colonized there, and still have high rates of it because of isolation

Geographic isolation

Physical separation of a group of individuals from others of the same species

Ex: a river changing course and dividing a prairie of field mice

Allopatric speciation

The process of speciation that occurs with geographic isolation

Ex: a prairie being divided by a river, over time creating 2 different species of the field mice that lived there because of different adaptions

Reproductive isolation

The result of two populations within a species evolving separately to the point that they can no longer interbreed and produce viable offspring

Ex: field mice being separated by geographic bariers and adapting so much to different conditions that they can no longer reproduce with eachother

Sympatric speciation

The evolution of one species into two, without geographic isolation

Ex: usually through polyploidy, done by plant breeders to make plants give larger fruits

Genetically modified organism (GMO)

An organism produced by copying genes from a species with a desirable trait and inserting them into another species

Ex: taking a bacteria that naturally produces insecticide and inserting it into crops

Range of tolerance

The limits to the abiotic conditions that a species can tolerate

Ex: extremes of temperature, humidity, salinity, and PH

Fundamental niche

The suite of abiotic conditions under which a species can survive, grow, and reproduce

Ex:…

Realized niche

The range of abiotic and biotic conditions under which a species actually lives

Ex: the presence of competitors, predators, and diseases restricting where an organism can live

Distribution

Areas of the world in which a species lives

Ex: changes in environmental conditions, such as temperature, can effect the distribution of a species

Niche generalist

A species that can live under a wide range of abiotic or biotic conditions

Ex: gray kangaroos, because they can feed on a wide variety of plants

Niche specialist

A species that is specialized to live in a specific habitat or to feed on a small group of species

Ex: koala, because it can only feed on the leaves of eucalyptus trees

Mass extinction

A large extinction of species in a relatively short period of time

Ex: at the end on the Cretaceous period, half of earths species went extinct, including dinosaurs