Unit 2: Biodiversity

richness (r)

the total number of different species found in an ecosystem

Evenness

relative abundance of each species

Simpson's Diversity Index

a measure of diversity between similar ecosystems

genetic diversity

The range of genetic material present in a gene pool or population of a species.

ecosystem diversity

variety of habitats, living communities, and ecological processes in the living world

species diversity

The number and relative abundance of species in a biological community.

resilience

the rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance

inbreeding depression

when individuals with similar genotypes - typically relatives - breed with each other and produce offspring that have an impaired ability to survive and reproduce

overfishing & ocean depletion

capturing fish faster than they can reproduce

provisioning services

Benefits of biodiversity that humans use, including lumber, fur, meat, crops, water, and fiber

regulating services

the service provided by natural systems that helps regulate environmental conditions (air quality)

supporting services

the basic ecosystem processes, such as nutrient cycles and soil formation, that are needed to maintain other services

cultural services

ecosystems provide cultural or aesthetic benefits to many people

Overharvesting

harvesting a renewable resource quicker than the source can renew itself; often leads to the destruction of the resource

climate

Overall weather in an area over a long period of time

deforestation

The removal of trees faster than forests can replace themselves.

filter pollutants

one of the main functions of wetlands that helps to clean surrounded ponds, lakes and streams

Pollination

The transfer of pollen from male reproductive structures to female reproductive structures in plants

Specialists species

Species with a narrow ecological niche. They may be able to live in only one type of habitat, tolerate only a narrow range of climatic and other environmental conditions, or use only one type or a few types of food.

Generalists (omnivores)

consume a variety of foods

Biogeography

study of the distribution of organisms around the world

Niche

An organism's particular role in an ecosystem, or how it makes its living.

Immigration

Movement of individuals into a population

Community

All the different populations that live together in an area

positive correlation

A correlation where as one variable increases, the other also increases, or as one decreases so does the other. Both variables move in the same direction.

negative correlation

as one variable increases, the other decreases

pH scale

measurement system used to indicate the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in solution; ranges from 0 to 14

Extinction

A term that typically describes a species that no longer has any known living individuals.

inverse relationship

a relationship in which one variable decreases when another variable increases

physiological

having to do with an organism's physical/chemical processes

zone of intolerance

zone where organisms cannot survive

calcium carbonate

CaCO3

carbonic acid

a very weak acid formed in solution when carbon dioxide dissolves in water.

ocean acidification

decreasing pH of ocean waters due to absorption of excess atmospheric CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels

indicator species

Species that serve as early warnings that a community or ecosystem is being degraded.

Sentinel Species

A species whose presence, absence, or condition

in an area indicates certain environmental conditions. They

are often among the most sensitive species living in an area and can thus provide advanced warning

of environmental degradation to monitoring biologists.

endocrine disruptors

chemicals that interfere with the normal functioning of hormones in an animal's body

periodic disturbances

occurs with regular frequency (ex: dry-wet seasons)

episodic disturbances

occasional events with irregular frequency (ex: hurricanes, droughts, fires)

random disturbances

no regular frequency (volcanoes, earthquakes, and asteroids)

range of tolerance

Range of chemical and physical conditions that must be maintained for populations of a particular species to stay alive and grow, develop, and function normally

ecological footprint

the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources.

Anthropogenic

derived from human activities

Endangered Species Act

(1973) identifies threatened and endangered species in the U.S., and puts their protection ahead of economic considerations

benthic zone

bottom of an aquatic ecosystem; consists of sand and sediment and supports its own community of organisms

profundal zone

a region of water where sunlight does not reach, below the limnetic zone in very deep lakes

r-selected species

a species that has a high intrinsic growth rate, which often leads to population overshoots and die-offs

K species

Species that produce a few, often fairly large offspring but invest a great deal of time and energy to ensure that most of those offspring reach reproductive age.

carry capacity

This is the population level that can be supported, given the quantity of food, habitat, water and other life infrastructure present. This is important because it tells how many people an area will be able to support.

logistic growth

Growth pattern in which a population's growth rate slows or stops following a period of exponential growth

medicinal

having the properties of medicine

nonrenewable resource

A natural resource that is not replaced in a useful time frame.

renewable resource

A natural resource that can be replaced at the same rate at which the resource is consumed

primary succession

An ecological succession that begins in an area where no biotic community previously existed

secondary succession

Succession following a disturbance that destroys a community without destroying the soil

pioneer species

First species to populate an area during primary succession

climax community

A stable, mature community that undergoes little or no change in species over time

lichen

symbiotic association between a fungus and a photosynthetic organism

Biomass

total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level

independent variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

dependent variable

The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

IUCN

International Union for the Conservation of Nature; a coalition of the world's leading conservation groups

Annuals

A flowering plant that completes its entire life cycle in a single year or growing season.

perennial

(adj.) lasting for a long time, persistent; (n.) a plant that lives for many years

vascular plants

have tissues made of cells that transport water and nutrients throughout the plant

nonvascular plants

Plants that lack a well-developed system of tubes for transporting water and other materials

intermediate disturbance hypothesis

the hypothesis that ecosystems experiencing intermediate levels of disturbance are more diverse than those with high or low disturbance levels

ecosystem engineers

a keystone species that creates or maintains habitat for other species

keystone species

A species that influences the survival of many other species in an ecosystem

control group

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

adaptation

trait that helps an organism be more suited to the enviornment

natural

type of selection that happens in nature

population

all the members of a single species in a particular area

phenotype

the physical manifestation of genes

gene pool

the alleles in a population

mutation

primary source of genetic diversity in organisms that produce sexually

genetic drift

changes in allele frequence due to CHANCE

Bottleneck Effect

prevents the majority of genotypes from participating in the production of the next generation

founder effect

rare alleles occur at higher frequency in a population ISOLATED from the general population

Territory

area that is defended

Homologous structures

anatomical similarities inhertited by a common ancestor

analogous structures

anatomical features that serve the same purpose, but don’t suggest a common ancestor

life cycle

all the events in the growth and development of an organism until the organism reaches sexual maturity

gene flow

movement of alleles from one population to another

species

a group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring

Study figure 14.2 and then describe or give an example to distinguish between species richness and species evenness

(for this theres now two species of deer in pittsburgh)There are a staggering number of white tail deer within a certain location(species richness), but within the same ecosystem there's only a handful of another species and the white tail deer dominate the area(species evenness) 

Define phylogeny

1. the branching pattern of evolutionary relationships

What is causing the sixth mass extinction

humans activities

Give at least 2 examples of how the US tries to conserve habitat and biodiversity

 protecting areas as national, parks, national monuments, national forests, and wilderness areas. Also designated lots of marine waters to be protected as marine national monuments; creating marine reserves

What is the benefit of high genetic diversity

High biodiversity allows ecosystems to fight off or bounce back from natural or man made changes and higher genotype diversity allowing more differences between animals in ecosystems

Who is the IUCN and what do they do

International Union for Conservation of Nature and they bring together many forms of government to find pragmatic solutions to pressing environmental and developmental challenges(scientific research, managing field projects, producing data/tools like the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species)

What does it mean that some people think ecosystems have intrinsic value

believe that the land is independent of humans and want people to protect the lands instead of use them for human means

provisions(instrumental value)

Goods produced that can be used directly(ex. Lumber, food crops, medicinal plants, natural rubber, and furs)

Regulating services(instrumental value)

Natural ecosystems help to regulate environmental conditions(ex. nutrient cycles)

Support(instrumental value)

Natural ecosystems providing support services that would be extremely costly for humans to generate(ex. Crop pollination of bees, other insects, hummingbird, and bats is worth abt 3 B in added food production)

Resilience(instrumental value)

Ability to continue to exist in current state(ex. Several diff species can perform similar functions, but differ in susceptibility to disturbance)

Cultural(instrumental value)

Providing cultural/aesthetic benefits to ppl(A beautiful landscape leaves people in awe)

What is the purpose of the Marine Mammal Protection act

prohibits the killing of all marine mammals in the US and prohibits the import or export of any marine mammal body parts

Which is more dire: endangered or threatened species?

endangered species because they are closer to extinction meaning the species will never come back again

What is the Endangered Species Act and why can it be controversial

the act authorizes the government to purchase habitat that is critical to the conservation of these species and to develop recovery plans to increase the pop of threatened and endangered species and could be controversial because it has restrictions on human activities(how land owners use their land) and economic developments(lumbar industry and the workers that rely on those jobs)