Topic 3 : Biodiversity and Conservation

Biodiversity

the variety of species and life in the world or in a particular ecosystem

Species

a group of organisms that are closely related to each other and are usually able to breed with each other to produce viable offspring

Population

in biology, a collection of the same species living in a given area

Community

in biology, populations of different species living and interacting in a particular place

Ecosystem

a community of life and the physical environment with which it interacts

Biome

a particular region of Earth that has a distinctive type of climate, organisms, vegetation, and overall ecosystem

Biosphere

the entirety of the regions of Earth occupied by living things

Evolution

the process of genetic change in populations over generations

Habitat

in ecology, the place(s) an organism inhabits

Natural Selection

the process where organisms better adapted to their environment survive and tend to produce more offspring

Mutations

a random change to DNA that can produce an altered trait in an organism

Extinction

a complete and permanent loss of that particular species

Genetic Diversity

the number of different kinds of genetic characteristics present within a population or species

Species Richness

the number of different kinds of species in an area

Species Evenness

a measure of the relative abundance of each species in a certain area

Ecological Niche

a particular role or position of a species in a community

Keystone species

species that exhibit a particularly strong influence over the abundance and diversity of other organisms in their ecosystem

Ecosystem Services

a concept that assigns a value to human benefits derived from naturally functioning ecosystems

Deforestation

the clearing of large areas of forested land

Edge Effects

the distinctive environmental conditions and community of life that occur in a place where two or more types of habitats come together