Unit 2

The diversity of life forms in an environment.

A measure of the genetic variation among individuals in a population.

When a large population declines in number, the amount of genetic diversity carried by the surviving individuals is greatly reduced.

The number of species in a region or in a particular ecosystem.

The variety of habitats that exist in a given ecosystem.

Species that only live under a narrow range of biotic or abiotic conditions

Species that can live under a wide range of biotic or abiotic conditions.

The variety of ecosystems that exist in a given region.

The number of different species in a given area.

The relative proportion of individuals within the different species in a given area.

The processes by which life-supporting resources such as clean water, timber, fisheries, and agricultural crops are produced.

A good produced by an ecosystem that humans can use directly.

The farming of fish, shellfish, and seaweed.

The study of how species are distributed and interacting on islands.

A description of how the number of species on an island increases with the area of the island.

The suite of abiotic conditions under which a species can survive, grow, and reproduce.

The range of abiotic and biotic conditions under which a species actually lives.

Areas of the world in which a species lives.

A large number of species that went extinct over a relatively short period of time.

Occurring regularly, such as the cycles of day and night or the daily and nightly cycle of the moon’s effects on ocean tides.

Occurring somewhat regularly, such as cycles of high rain and low rain that occur every 5 to 10 years.

Occurring with no regular pattern such as volcanic eruptions or hurricanes.

In an ecosystem, a measure of how much a disruption can affect flows of energy and matter.

The rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disruption.