Science - Unit 4 Ecology chapter 3

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  1. Biodiversity
    the number and variety of life forms, including specific region as well as all the number and variety of ecosystems within and beyond that region
  2. Protect
    • To guard legally from harm a species that is listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern
    • eg. Polar bears
  3. Biodiversity hotspot
    • a place where there is an exceptionally large number of species in a relatively small area
    • eg. Georgian bay biosphere reserves
  4. Community
    all the populations of the different species that interact in a specific area or ecosystem
  5. Dominant species
    species that are so abundant the they have the biggest biomass of any community memeber
  6. Keystone species
    a species that can greatly affect population numbers and the health of an ecosystem
  7. Captive breeding
    the breeding of rare or endangered wildlife in controlled settings to increase population size
  8. Ecosystem engineer
    • a species that causes such dramatic changes to landscapes that it creates a new ecosystem
    • eg. beavers
  9. Sucession
    the series of changes in an ecosystem that occurs over time following a disturbance
  10. Habitat loss
    the destruction of habitats which usually results from human activities
  11. Deforestation
    the practice of clearing forests for logging or other human uses, and never replanting them
  12. Alien species
    • a species that is accidentally or deliberately introduced to a new location
    • eg. Zebra mussels in the great lakes
  13. Invasive species
    • a species that can take over the habitat of native species
    • Invasive species are often alien species
    • eg. Round gobies
  14. Overexploitation
    • the use or extraction of a resource until it is depleted
    • eg. overhunting of passenger pigeons
  15. Extinction
    the death of all the individuals of a species
  16. Biodiversity crisis
    • the current accelerated rate of extinctions
    • result of human actions
  17. Stewardship
    the active assumption of responsibility for the welfare of the enviroment
  18. Restoration ecology
    the renewal of degraded or destroyed ecosystems through active human intervention
  19. Reforestation
    the regrowth of a forest, either through natural processes of seeds or trees in an area where a forest was cut down
  20. Biocontrol
    the use of a species to control the population growth or spread of an undesirable species
  21. Bioremediation
    the use of living organism to clean up contaminated areas naturally
  22. Bioaugmentation
    the use of organisms to add essential nutrients to depleted soils

Card Set Information

Author:
 McKaelaC
ID:
 276417
Filename:
 Science - Unit 4 Ecology chapter 3
Updated:
2014-06-09 00:03:11
Tags:
science ecology
Folders:
science,ecology
Description:
science glossary terms
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