2nd, 3rd, and 4th Chapter Vocab

a population or group of populations of organisms were member share certain characteristics and can breed freely with one another and produce fertile offspring. different biologists may have different approaches to diagnosing a species boundaries

a group of organisms of the same species that live in the same area. species are often composed of many species

the process by which traits that enhance survival and reproduction are passed on more frequently to future generations of organisms than traits that do not, thus altering the genetic population through time

an accidental change in DNA that may range in magnitude from the deletion, substitution, or addition of a single nucleotide, to a change effecting entire sets of chromosomes. mutations provide the new material for evolutionary change

the process by which traits that lead to increased reproduction success in a given environment evolve in a population through natural selection

the pursuit of strategies to protect ourselves from the impacts of climate change

a trait that confers greater likelihood that an individual will reproduce. also called an adaptation

the evolutionary process by which unrelated species acquire similar characteristics/traits as they adapt to selective pressure from their similar enviroments

a process by which new species are generated

the variety of life across all levels of biological organization, including the diversity of species, their genes, their populations, and their communities

natural selection conducted under human direction

a tree like diagram that represents the history of divergence of species or other taxonomic groups of organisms

the disappearance of an entire species from earth

the cumulated body of fossils worldwide, which paleontologists study to infer the history if past life on earth

native or restricted to a certain region. an endemic species occur only in one place in the world

the extinction of a large percentage of the worlds species in a very short period of time, earth has been in 5 mass extinction events in the past half-billion years

a graph that shows the likely-hood of death for members of a population varies with age

a social scientist who studies population size, density, distribution, age structure, sex ratio, and birth, death, immigration, and emigration rates within the human population

the arrial of individuals from outside the population

the departure of individuals from a population

the rate of change in a population size resulting from birth and death rates alone

the rate of change in a population size per unit time. counts death, birth, immigration, and emigration rates (is usually measured in time per year)

a physical, chemical, or biological characteristic of the environment that restricts the population growth

the maximum population size that a given environment can substain