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Genetic Diversity
The range of genetic material present in a gene pool or population of a species.
Species Diversity
The number and relative abundance of species in a biological community.
Species
A group of organisms that is distinct from other such groups in terms of size, shape, behavior, or biochemical properties.
Species Richness
The number of species in a given area (pond, tree canopy, etc).
Species Evenness
Indicates whether a particular ecosystem is numerically dominated by one species or whether all of its species have similar abundances.
Phylogenies
The branching patterns of evolutionary relationships.
Evolution
A change in the genetic composition of a population over time.
Microevolution
Evolution below the species level.
Macroevolution
Evolution above the species level.
Instrumental Value
A species that has wroth as an instrument or tool that can be used to accomplish a goal.
Intrinsic Value
A species that has worth independent of any benefit it may provide to humans (such as the moral value of an animal's life).
Ecosystem Services
The benefits that humans obtain from natural ecosystems.
Provisional Services
Goods that humans can use directly.
Regulating Services
Ways natural ecosystems help to regulate environmental conditions.
Supporting Services
Services which ecosystems provide that would be extremely costly for humans to generate. Life absolutely depends on them.
Resilience
The ability of an ecosystem to continue to exist in its current state and provide benefits to humans.
Cultural Services
The cultural or aesthetic benefits an ecosystem provides.
Bottlenecking Event
When a drastic event greatly and randomly reduces a species and its population in size.
Inbreeding Depression
When organisms mate with closely related family members, leading to a higher chance of offspring having harmful genetic mutations.
Ecological Range of Tolerance
Range of conditions such as temperature, salinity, and pH that an organism can endure before injury/death.
Optimal Range
Range where organisms survive, grow, and reproduce.
Zone of Physiological Stress
Range where organisms survive, but experience some stress such as infertility.
Zone of Intolerance
Range where the organism will die.
Natural Distrubances
A natural event that disrupts the structure and/or function of an ecosystem.
Natural Climate Change
Earth's climate has varied over geologic time for various reasons (slight changes in earth's orbit/tilt).
Eccentricity
Change in size of earth's orbit around the sun.
Obliquity
Changes in the tilt of the Earth which affects how much sun radiation hits the poles.
Migration
Wildlife may move to a new habitat as the result of natural disturbances.
Adaptation
A new trait that increases an organism's fitness.
Fitness
An organism's ability to survive and reproduce.
Natural Selection
Organisms that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more offspring.
Selective Pressure/Force
The environmental condition that kills individuals without the adaptation.
Pace of Evolution
The more rapidly an environment changes, the less likely a species in the environment will be able to adapt to those changes.
Ecological Succession
A series of predictable stages of growth that a forest goes through.
Primary Succession
Starts from bare rock in an area with no previous soil formation.
Secondary Succession
Starts from already established soil in an area where disturbance cleared out the majority of plant life.
Predator Mediated Competition
A predator is responsible for keeping the top competitor in check to maintain species diversity.
Indicator Species
A species whose presence/absence from an ecosystem can tell us about its health.
Keystone Species
A species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend.
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