Biodiversity Basics
The total number of different species found in an ecosystem.
What is richness?
A plant species such as lichens and moss that set upon bare rock and begin to lay the foundations of an ecosystem.
What are pioneer species?
This process is the mechanism by which evolution is carried out over iteration.
What is reproduction?
Ecosystem services by definition serve these beings.
What are humans?
A strategy employed by species who find gathering of resources or tolerating their local environment to be challenging.
What is migration?
The distribution of different species within an ecosystem.
What is evenness?
This process occurs when an area goes from bare rock to supporting plant life, and eventually an ecosystem.
What is primary succession?
Organisms on the mainland find it easier to deal with these compared to organisms on isolated islands.
What are ecological disturbances?
Supplies harvested directly from an ecosystem for use by humans.
Ex: Wood
What are provisioning services?
The zone of ecological conditions that enable organisms to perform their preferred niche.
What is the optimum range?
This phenomena occurs when there is a lack of outside genetic material introduced to an insular breeding pool, often resulting in deformities.
What is an inbreeding depression?
This process occurs after an ecological disturbance such as a fire wipes out biodiversity in an area.
What is secondary succession?
A feature of small isolated islands that leads local species to adapt into specialist roles.
What are limited resources?
Natural processes that make human activities easier.
Ex: Plant roots filtering pollutants in groundwater
What are supporting services?
This zone of ecological conditions sees the majority of species in an ecosystem suffer conditions such as thermal shock, suffocation or lack of resources.
What is the zone of intolerance?
An environmental disturbance that drastically reduces population size & kills organisms regardless of their genome.
What is a bottleneck event?
These species require adequate depth of soil, and long periods of time to reach maturity.
Ex: Maple and Oak trees
What are climax community species?
This theory proposes that selective pressures present in the environment will determine what genetic traits are favorable.
What is natural selection?
Revenue generated from tourists visiting a national park.
What are cultural services?
This zone of ecological conditions results in reduced activity and other conditions such as infertility or stunted growth.
What is the zone of physiological stress?
The ability of an ecosystem to return to its original conditions after a major disturbance.
What is ecosystem resilience?
Shrubs, bushes, fast-growing trees like aspen, cherry, and pines are examples of this.
What are mid-successional species?
A species ability to survive and reproduce in a given environment.
What is fitness?
a side effect or consequence of an activity that is not reflected in the cost of that activity, and not primarily borne by those directly involved in said activity.
What is an externality?
This quality of a species population is it's greatest asset in surviving in a zone of physiological stress?
Ex: the ability of the species to cope with increased heat or changes in pH.
What is genetic biodiversity?