Details Title: Chapter 16: Biodiversity Description: chapter 16 cards on biodiversity Total Flash Cards: 23 Created: 12/21/2008 15:48:16		New Users: To study from this flashcard set, or to create your own your own study flash cards, REGISTER HERE. Existing Users: CLICK HERE. Additional Environmental Studies Flashcards
Cards in this set: Term       BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY Definition Also known as biodiversity, is the variation among organisms. Term     SPECIES DIVERSITY Definition Biological diversity that encompasses the number of different species in in an area (or community). Term     GENETIC DIVERSITY     Definition Biological diversity that encompasses the genetic variety among individuals within a single species. Term     ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY Definition Biological diversity that encompasses the variety among ecosystems, such as forests, grasslands, deserts, lakes, estuaries, and oceans. Term     ECOSYSTEM SERVICES       Definition Important environmental services, such as clean air to breather, clean water to drink, and fertile soil in which to grow crops, that ecosystems provide. Term       BACKGROUND EXTINCTION Definition The continuous, low-level extinction of species that has occured throughout much of the history of life. Term MASS EXTINCTION       Definition The extinction of numerous species during a relatively short period of geological time. Term     ENDANGERED SPECIES Definition A species whose numbers are so severly reduced that it is in imminent danger of becoming extinct in all or a significant part of its range. Term       RANGE Definition The area of the Earth in which a particular species occurs. Term THREATENED     Definition A species in which the population is low enough for it to be at risk of becoming endangered in the foreseable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range. Term       HABITAT FRAGMENTATION Definition The division of habitats that formerly occupied large, unbroken areas into smaller pieces by roads, fields, cities and other human activities. Term     ADAPTIVE RADIATION Definition The evolution of a large number of related species from an unspecialized ancestral organism. Term       BIOTIC POLLUTION Definition The accidental or intentional introduction of a foreign, or exotic, species into an area where it is not native. Term       COMMERCIAL HARVEST Definition The collection of commercially imported organisms from the wild.  Examples include the commercial harvest of parrots (for the pet trade) and cacti (for house plants). Term       BELLWETHER SPECIES (SENTINEL SPECIES) Definition An organism that provides an early warning of environmental damage.  Examples include lichens, which are very sensitive to air pollution, and amphibians, which are sensitive to pesticides and other environmental contaminants. Term     CONSERVATION BIOLOGY Definition A multidisciplinary science that focuses on the study of how humans impact organisms and on the development of ways to protect biological diversity; includes in situ and ex situ conservation. Term       EX SITU CONSERVATION       Definition Conservation efforts that involve conserving biological diversity in human-controlled settings. Term       IN SITU CONSERVATION Definition Conservation efforts that concentrate on preserving biological diversity in the wild. Term       RESTORATION ECOLOGY Definition A new field of science in which the principles of ecology are used to help return a degraded environment as close as possible to its former, undisturbed state. Term       ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT (ESA) Definition It was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and development untendered by adequate concern and conservation. Term       COMMERCIAL EXTINCTION Definition Depletion of the population of a commercially important species to the point that is is unprofitable to harvest. Term BIOACCUMULATE       Definition The buildup of a persistent toxic substance, such as certain pesticides, in an organism's body. Term Definition