Biodiversity
A species whose presence tells us about the overall health or environmental conditions of an area.
Indicator species
What are the 3 zones on a range of tolerance graph?
optimal range
zone of physiological stress
zone of intolerance
The primary difference between primary and secondary succession is that primary succession begins on bare rock, while secondary succession begins with this.
existing soil
This category of ecosystem services includes tangible goods that humans use directly, such as lumber, food, and drinking water.
Provisioning
What is an adaptation?
A trait that gives an individual an advantage to survive in a specific environment.
According to the theory of Isalnd Biogeography, what type of island would have the fewest number of different species? (2 characteristics)
Far from the mainland and small in size
List 3 abiotic factors that a species might experience a range of tolerance for.
Sunlight, pH, temperature, salinity
The first hardy species—like lichens and mosses—that colonize bare rock and break it down to form soil are called this.
pioneer species
Bees pollinating crops and wetlands filtering pollutants are examples of these types of services.
Regulating
What is habitat fragmentation? How do humans cause this.
Habitat is broken in pieces- deforestation/construction of roads.
Identify the 2 factors that are used to measure species biodiversity.
Species richness
Species evenness (relative abundance)
Unlike generalist species, specialist species have a very narrow range of tolerance and are far more prone to this when environments change.
Extinction, die off
This term describes a natural disturbance that has no predictable frequency or pattern, such as a massive meteor impact.
random disturbance
Forest ecosystems provide this regulating service by absorbing a major greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.
Climate regulation-carbon sequestration
This term measures the total number of different species in a specific area.
Species richness
This type of diversity helps a population resist disease and adapt to environmental change because individuals have varying traits.
Genetic diversity
Genetic mutations and this process—where favorable traits are selected for in a changing environment—dictate how quickly a population can adapt.
Natural selection
As ecological succession progresses toward a climax community, these three variables all consistently increase.
primary productivity (amount of photosynthesis)
biomass
biodiversity
List 2 examples of a cultural service that a lake ecosystem provides.
recreation, tourism, mental or spiritual health
What is an endemic species?
A species that only lives in a specific area of the world.
Why is genetic diversity so important within a population?
With higher genetic diversity, there is a greater chance that a favorable mutation will arise and increases the chance that the population can adapt and evolve if a disturbance occurs.
Explain how populations fluctuate in the 3 zones and what that means for organisms in that range.
optimal- grow and flourish, reproduce
Stress- survive, infertility
Intolerance- death
Identify 2 examples of primary succession and 2 examples of secondary succession.
Primary- glacial retreat, volcanic eruption
Secondary- forest fire, abandoned farmland etc.
Due to climate change, some ecosystems (biomes) are shrinking. Provide an example of and explain how it negatively affects humans.
Tundra- shrinking- increased albedo, melting the permafrost
Desert- growing, decreased productivity and water supplies
What is the difference between a generalist and a specialist species?
Generalist- can adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions
Specialist- has a narrow range of conditions