Island Biogeography
A dispersal method by which organisms colonize islands
What is wind? water? animal transport?
The biggest threat to biodiversity
What is habitat loss?
The type of succession that begins after a volcanic island forms
What is primary succession?
A heritable trait that increases an organism's fitness in a specific environment
What is an adaptation?
A non-native species that causes ecological and/or economic damage
What is an invasive species?
The theory of island biogeography states that these islands have lower rates of immigration
What are FAR islands?
Populations that lack this are more vulnerable to disease and environmental stressors
What is genetic diversity?
The type of succession that begins with soil
What is secondary succession?
The process by which variation in traits makes some individuals more likely to survive and reproduce in their environment than others
What is natural selection?
These species use a wide range of resources, occupy a broad niche and are more likely to survive environmental stressors
What is a generalist species?
The theory of island biogeography states that these islands have lower rates of extinction
What are LARGE islands?
The number of different species within an ecosystem
What is species richness?
The first species to colonize a barren environment, break down rock, and make soil
What is a pioneer species?
This factor is necessary for natural selection to occur
What is genetic variation?
A species that has a disproportionately large impact on its ecosystem relative to its abundance
What is a keystone species?
The two factors that influence biodiversity on islands
What is size and distance from the mainland?
geographic regions with an exceptionally high level of biodiversity
What are hotspots?
The process by which rocks are broken down through microbial activity or the roots of plants
What is biological weathering?
The ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment
What is fitness?
The ability of an ecosystem to recover from disturbances?
What is ecosystem resilience?
Species that utilize a limited set of resouces, occupy a narrow ecological niche and are more vulnerable to environmental changes
What is a specialist species?
The region with the highest marine biodiversity on the planet
What is the coral triangle?
A factor that tends to increase as ecological succession progresses
What is biodiversity?
The physical separation of populations for long periods of time that leads to speciation
What is geographic isolation?
The ability of an ecosystem to withstand disturbance
What is ecosystem resistance?