Student Unit 2 APES

Biodiversity

The variety of life in an ecosystem, measured on three different levels:genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity.

Genetic Diversity

The variety of different genes within a population, which enhances the population's ability to respond to environmental stressors.

Species Richness

The number of different species found in an ecosystem, indicating the health and quality of that ecosystem.

Species Evenness

A measure of the relative abundance of each species within an ecosystem, indicating whether species populations are balanced.

Bottleneck event

An event that drastically reduces population size and genetic diversity, making the population more vulnerable to future environmental disturbances.

Inbreeding Depression

The reduced biological fitness in a population due to inbreeding, leading to harmful genetic mutations.

Ecosystem Resilience

The ability of an ecosystem to return to its original conditions after a major disturbance, often enhanced by higher species diversity.

Island Biogeography

The study of ecological relationships and distribution of organisms on islands, including the effects of island size and distance from the mainland on species richness.

Adaptive Radiation

The rapid evolution of a single species into multiple new species to exploit different resources and reduce competition.

Ecosystem Services

The benefits provided by ecosystems to humans, categorized into provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services.

Anthropogenic Disruption

Human activities that disrupt ecosystem services, leading to economic and ecological consequences.

Primary Succession

The process of ecological succession that begins in lifeless areas, such as bare rock, where soil has not yet formed.

Secondary Succession

The process of ecological succession that occurs in areas where a disturbance has cleared out most plant life but where soil remains.

Pioneer Species

The first species to colonize previously uninhabited land, initiating the process of ecological succession.

Regulating ecosystem services

Natural ecosystems regulate and stabilize climate, air quality, water quality, soil, biodiversity

provisioning ecosystem services

Goods taken directly from ecosystems or made from natural resources (wood, paper, food)

supporting ecosystem services

Natural ecosystem processes that sustain ecosystems & allow them to support life. Necessary for other services to exist

cultural ecosystem services

The non-material benefits people obtain from ecosystem