APES Unit 2 The Living World: Biodiversity

Biodiversity

Habitat

the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.

Specialist species

Species with a narrow ecological niche. They may be able to live in only one type of habitat, tolerate only a narrow range of climatic and other environmental conditions, or use only one type or a few types of food.

Ecosystem

A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

Species richness

the number of different species in a community

Species evenness

the relative proportion of different species in a given area

Biodiversity hotspot

is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans

Ecosystem services

The process by which natural environments provide life-supporting resources

Provisioning

products obtained from ecosystems

Regulating

benefits obtained from the regulating of ecosystems (flood prevention, water filtration, erosion control)

Cultural

Non-material benefits obtained from ecosystems, intrinsic value

Supporting

ecosystem services necessary for all other ecosystem services

Anthropogenic

Human-induced changes on the natural environment

Theory of Island Biogeography

demonstrates the dual importance of habitat size and distance in determining species richness

Generalist species

Species with a broad ecological niche. They can live in many different places, eat a variety of foods, and tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions. Examples are flies, cockroaches, mice, rats, and human beings. Compare specialist species.

Invasive species

A species, often introduced by humans, that takes hold outside its native range.

Native species

Species that normally live and thrive in a particular ecosystem

Zebra mussels

are an invasive exotic species that clogs water intake pipes at factories, power plants, and wastewater treatment facilities

Ecological tolerance

the range of conditions in which a species can survive

Salinity

The total amount of dissolved salts in a water sample.

Flow rate

The volume of fluid that moves through a system in a given period of time.

Range of tolerance

Range of chemical and physical conditions that must be maintained for populations of a particular species to stay alive and grow, develop, and function normally

Climate

The average weather conditions in an area over a long period of time

Migration

Movement from one habitat to another

adaptation

inherited characteristic that increases an organism's chance of survival

Genetic diversity

the variety of genes within a given species

Evolution

Change in a kind of organism over time; process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms.

Natural selection

A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits.

Speciation

Formation of new species

Bottleneck effect

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

Succession

A series of predictable and orderly changes within an ecosystem over time.

Keystone species

A species that influences the survival of many other species in an ecosystem

Primary succession

An ecological succession that begins in an area where no biotic community previously existed (bare rock)

Secondary succession

Succession following a disturbance that destroys a community without destroying the soil

Opportunistic species

Species that specialize in invading newly vacated habitats

Pioneer species

First species to populate an area during primary succession

Climax Community

stable, mature ecological community with little change in the composition of species

Threatened species

A species that could become endangered in the near future

Endangered species

A species in danger of becoming extinct in the near future

Extinct/extinction

when a species has no members that are still alive; the population of that species no longer exists

Selective pressures

environmental resistance factors affect which individuals survive and reproduce

Fitness

Ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment

Poaching

Illegal hunting of protected animals

Background extinction

normal extinction of various species as a result of changes in local environmental conditions

Mass extinction

event in which many types of living things become extinct at the same time

Endangered Species Act

(1973) identifies threatened and endangered species in the U.S., and puts their protection ahead of economic considerations

CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)

A 1973 treaty formed to control the international trade of threatened plants and animals

Fauna

all the animal life in a particular region

Flora

plants of a region

Overexploitation

Practice of harvesting or hunting to such a degree that remaining individuals may not be able to replenish the population

Selective breeding

the process of selecting organisms with desired traits to be parents of the next generation

HIPPCO

Habitat destruction, Invasive Species, Population growth, Pollution, Climate Change, Overexploitations

Habitat fragmentation

Splitting of ecosystems into small fragments

Edge effects

different environmental conditions that occur along the boundaries of an ecosystem

Mitigate

to make less severe

Habitat corridors

protected strips of land that allow the migration of organisms from one wilderness area to another

Wildlife refuge

an area of land set aside to protect animals and other living things