Unit 1.3 Ecosystem Dynamics & Instability

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What is adaptation?

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The acquisition of traits that allow a species to survive in its environment. It is a process of change within a population over generations.

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What are alleles?

Back

Different forms of a gene that determine specific traits. A population's variety of alleles contributes to its genetic diversity.

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What is the bottleneck effect?

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A phenomenon where a population's size is sharply reduced due to a sudden event like a natural disaster, habitat loss, or overhunting. The few survivors carry only a fraction of the original genetic diversity.

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What is the founder effect?

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A reduction in genetic variability that occurs when a small group of individuals becomes separated from a larger population to start a new one.

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What is gene flow?

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Any movement of individuals, and the genetic material they carry, from one population to another. Also known as immigration, it can bring new alleles into a population.

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What is a gene pool?

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All the different alleles present in a population. A wider gene pool gives a population more options for surviving change.

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What is genetic drift?

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The change in the frequency of a gene variant in a population due to random chance rather than natural selection.

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What is a mutation?

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A change in the DNA of an individual that can be inherited by its offspring. While most have little effect, some can be useful in helping a population adapt.

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What is natural selection?

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The process by which individuals with traits better suited to their environment are more likely to survive and pass those traits to the next generation.

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What are invasive species?

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Organisms that thrive in a new territory where they are free of natural predators, diseases, or resource limitations. Their introduction often causes economic or environmental harm.