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Ch. 5 Biodiversity
Vocabulary for Chapter 5
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Extinction | The disappearance of a species when the last of its members dies. |
| Biodiversity | Number of different species living in a specific area. |
| Genetic Diversity | Variety of inheritable characteristics or genes in an interbreeding population. |
| Species Diversity | In a biological community, the number and abundance of different species. |
| Ecosystem Diversity | Variety of ecosystems in the biosphere. |
| Food Web | A model representing interconnecting food chains, and the pathways that energy and matter flow through a group off organisms. |
| Background Extinction | Gradual process o species becoming extinct. |
| Mass Extinction | A large-scale dying out of a large percentage of all living organisms in an area within a short time. |
| Natural Resource | Materials and organisms in the biosphere. |
| Overexploitation | Overuse of species with all economic value-a factor in species extinction. |
| Habitat Fragmentation | Habitat loss from separation of an ecosystem into small pieces of land. |
| Edge Effect | Any different environmental condition occurring along an ecosystem's boundaries. |
| Biological Magnification | Increasing concentration of toxic substances, such as DDT, in organisms as trophic feels increase in food chains of food webs |
| Eutrophication | Water pollution from nitrogen-rich phosphorus-rich substances flowing into waterways, causing algal overgrowth. |
| Introduced Species | Nonnative species deliberately or accidentally introduced into a new habitat. |
| Renewable Resource | Any resource replaced by natural processes more quickly than it is consumed. |
| Non-renewable Resource | Any natural resource available in limited amounts or replaced extremely slowly by natural processes. |
| Sustainable Use | Use of resources at a rate that they can be replaced or recycled. |
| Endemic | Found only in one species geographic area |
| Bioremediation | Technique using living organisms to detoxify a polluted area. |
| Biological Augmentation | Technique of adding essential materials to a degraded ecosystem. |