The Living World: Ecosystems

Unit 2: The Living World- Biodiversity
Ramiro Rabago p.2

​An ecosystem service is positive benefits that wildlife or ecosystems provide to people.

​Ecosystem Services

Is the changes in the heritable traits of a population of organisms as successive generations replace one another.

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Evolution

Is the process through which populations of living organisms adapt and change.

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​Natural Selection

He had the revolutionary idea of evolution by natural selection.

​Alfred Russel Wallace

Are changes in the genetic sequence. They can happen at different levels and affect you in different ways.

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​Mutation

​Is the natural world around us, and the variety of all of the different kinds of organisms - the plants, animals, insects and microorganisms that live on our planet.

​Biodiversity

Is the number and relative abundance of species found in a given biological organization.

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​Species Diversity

​Is the biological variation that occurs within species. It makes it possible for species to adapt when the environment changes.

​Genetic Diversity

​Is the variety of different habitats, communities and ecological processes.

​Ecosystem Diversity

​Is an organism that causes ecological or economic harm in a new environment where it is not native.

​Invasive Species

Is when a group within a species separates from other members of its species and develops its own unique characteristics.

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​Speciation

​Are animals that require very unique resources. Often, these species have a very limited diet, or need a specific habitat condition to survive.

Specialist Species

Are species that can live in many different types of environments, and have a varied diet.

​Generalist species

​Is the distribution of a taxon limited to a small geographic area and which can therefore be found naturally in this place.

​Endemic

​Is a physical force, agent, or process, either abiotic or biotic, causing a perturbation or stress, to an ecological component or system, relative to a specified reference state or system.

​Disturbance

​Are things that limit the growth of a population.

Resistance

Is the ability of an ecosystem to maintain its normal patterns, after being subjected to damager caused by an ecological disturbance

​Resilience

Is when a new patch of land is created or exposed for the first time.

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​Primary Succession

Is when a climax community or intermediate community is impacted by a disturbance.

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​Secondary Succession

Are species that are the first to colonize newly created environments or recently disturbed environments during the processes of primary succession and secondary succession, respectively.

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Pioneer species

Is an organism that helps define an entire ecosystem.

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​Keystone Species

Is an organism whose presence, absence or abundance reflects a specific environmental condition.

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​Indicator Species

larger islands closer to the mainland have higher biodiversity than smaller islands further from the mainland.

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​Island Biogeography theory

Is the relationship between the area of a habitat and the number of species found within that area.

​Species-area curve

Means "Single Large or Several Small" and refers to two different approaches to land conservation in order to protect biodiversity in a given region.

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SLOSS Dilemma

Is any type of benefit to people that can be extracted from nature.

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​Provisioning Ecosystem Service

Is the benefit provided by ecosystem processes that moderate natural phenomena.

​Regulating Ecosystem Service

Is the non-material benefits people obtain from ecosystems.

​Cultural Ecosystem Service

Are the most basic natural cycles that nature needs to function.

​Supporting Ecosystem Service