AP Environmental Science Unit 2: The Living World – Biodiversity

Vocabulary flashcards covering key biodiversity concepts from the lecture notes.

Biodiversity

The variety and variability of life in an area, including genetic, species, and habitat diversity.

Genetic diversity

The variation of genes among individuals in a population; more genetic diversity enhances the population’s ability to respond to environmental stress.

Habitat diversity

The range of different habitats within a geographic area; reflects available living spaces and can include functional descriptors like nesting or hibernation habitats.

Species diversity

The variety of species within an ecosystem, including their relative abundances.

Species richness

The number of different species present in an ecosystem.

Species evenness

The relative abundance of individuals among species; high evenness means similar numbers across species, while low evenness means one species dominates.

Population bottleneck

A sharp reduction in population size that decreases genetic variation; surviving populations may differ genetically from the original population, reducing adaptability.

Specialist species

Species that require a narrow range of conditions or feed on a limited set of resources and are highly vulnerable to habitat loss.

Generalist species

Species that tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions and use a variety of resources (e.g., raccoon).

Habitat loss

The process by which habitats are reduced or degraded, leading to declines of specialist species and those with large territorial needs.