Chapter 4 Vocabulary List

Vocabulary flashcards covering ecological and evolutionary concepts from Chapter 4, including biodiversity types, niche concepts, speciation, and genetics.

Biodiversity

The variety of life, including differences among genes, species, and ecosystems.

Species diversity

The variety of species in a community and the relative abundance of each species.

Genetic diversity

The variety of inherited genetic traits within a species or population.

Ecosystem diversity

The variety of ecosystems, habitats, and biological communities in an area.

Biome

A large region defined by its climate and characteristic plants and animals.

Functional diversity

The variety of ecological roles and functions performed by organisms in an ecosystem.

Insurance hypothesis

The idea that biodiversity helps ecosystems remain stable because species can respond differently to change, allowing some to maintain ecosystem functions when others decline.

Ecological niche

A species' role in its ecosystem, including the resources and conditions it uses and its interactions with other organisms.

Habitat

The place or environment where an organism lives.

Generalist species

A species that can use many kinds of resources and tolerate a wide range of conditions.

Specialist species

A species that depends on a narrow range of resources or specific environmental conditions.

Native species

A species that occurs naturally in a region and was not brought there by people.

Nonnative species

A species living outside its natural range after being moved there intentionally or accidentally by people; it is not necessarily harmful.

Invasive species

A nonnative species that spreads and causes, or is likely to cause, environmental, economic, or human harm.

Keystone species

A species with an unusually large effect on its ecosystem compared with its abundance.

Indicator species

A species whose presence, absence, or health provides information about environmental conditions.

Biological evolution

Change in the inherited characteristics of a population over generations.

Natural selection

The process by which individuals with inherited traits that improve survival or reproduction leave more offspring, causing those traits to become more common over generations.

Fossil

Preserved remains, impressions, or other evidence of an organism that lived in the past.

Genetic variability

Heritable differences in genetic traits among individuals in a population.

Mutation

A change in DNA that can introduce a new genetic variant.

Adaptation

An inherited trait that improves survival or reproduction in a particular environment; it becomes common in a population through evolution over generations.

Genetic resistance

An inherited ability to survive exposure to a substance or condition that harms other members of a population.

Speciation

The formation of new species as populations diverge and become reproductively isolated.

Geographic isolation

Physical separation of populations by a barrier that limits their interbreeding.

Reproductive isolation

Barriers that prevent populations from mating successfully or producing fertile offspring together.

Biological extinction

The permanent loss of a species when no living individuals remain anywhere on Earth.

Endemic species

A native species that is naturally found only in a particular geographic area.

Background extinction rate

The usual long-term rate at which species become extinct between mass-extinction events.

Mass extinction

A relatively short period in geologic history when an unusually large proportion of species becomes extinct worldwide.

Artificial selection

The process in which people choose organisms to reproduce so that desired traits become more common.

Genetic engineering

The direct use of technology to alter an organism's DNA.

Synthetic biology

A field that designs or redesigns biological parts, systems, or organisms for a purpose.

Genetically modified organism (GMO)

An organism whose genetic material has been changed, typically using genetic engineering.