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Week 7 Biology Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Desertification | Lower land productivity caused by over-farming, overgrazing, seasonal drought, and climate change |
| Deforestation | Destruction of forests |
| Pollutant | Harmful material that can enter the biosphere through the land, air, or water |
| Biological Magnification | Increasing concentration of a harmful substance in organisms at higher trophic levels in a food chain or food web |
| Smog | Gray-brown haze formed by a mixture of chemicals |
| Acid Rain | Rain containing nitric and sulfuric acids |
| Biodiversity | Total of the variety of organisms in the biosphere; also called biological diversity |
| Ecosystem Diversity | Variety of habitats, communities, and ecological processes in the biosphere |
| Species Diversity | Number of different species that make up a particular area |
| Genetic Diversity | Sum total of all the different forms of genetic information carried by a particular species, or by all organisms on Earth |
| Habitat Fragmentation | Splitting of ecosystem into pieces |
| Ecological Hot Spot | Small geographic area where significant numbers of habitats and species are in immediate danger of extinction |