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Biodiversity: The variety of living things; includes genetic diversity,…
Biodiversity: The variety of living things; includes genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecosystem diversity. pg 340
Genetic Biodiversity: A measure of biodiversity based on the collection of different genes within a population. Reduced genetic biodiversity can leave a population susceptible to catastrophic loss when the environment changes suddenly and drastically. pg 340
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Benefits of Biodiversity: On a somewhat larger scale, it may refer to the variety of different species that can be found in a given area. pg 340
Causes of Loss: Ecologists have identified a variety of factors that threaten biodiversity. In modern times, the root cause is usually the growing size of the human population and the activities required to sustain it. pg 341
Habitat Destruction: The single greatest threat to biodiversity—and the cause of the vast majority of extinctions—is the destruction of habitat due to development, agriculture, forestry, mining, and dam construction. pg 341
Overharvesting: If people harvest from an ecosystem faster than the wildlife can naturally replenish, the result may be a loss of biodiversity. On land, overhunting has drastically reduced wild populations of American bison, and overcutting has endangered many hardwood tree species. In the ocean, overfishing has decimated the wild populations of many fish and mammal species. pg 341
Pollution: Pollution of the air and water contributes to biodiversity loss at the local, regional, and global levels. pg 341
Climate Change: A changing global climate is having a significant impact on biodiversity. Changes in patterns of temperature and rainfall are altering ecosystems faster than life within them can adapt. pg 341
Greenhouse Gases: Any of the gases in the atmosphere that absorb heat radiation, including CO2, methane, water vapor, and synthetic chlorofluorocarbons. pg 356
Protecting Biodiversity: The simplest way to protect biodiversity is to prevent habitat loss by placing limits on development within certain areas on land and sea. Countries as diverse as Thailand, Belize, and Croatia have made a commitment to preserving the natural heritage of the land. pg 354
Conservation Biology: A goal-oriented science that seeks to understand and counter the loss of biodiversity. pg 354
Restoration Ecology: A field of ecology that develops methods of returning degraded ecosystems to their natural state. pg 354
Sustainable Development" A more realistic goal is to achieve sustainable development, the responsible management and conservation of Earth’s resources. pg 355
Bioremediation: Restoration ecologists often turn to bioremediation, the use of living organisms to detoxify polluted ecosystems. pg 355
Reducing Isolation: Beyond saving individual species, conservation biologists aim to preserve the biodiversity of entire ecosystems. One of the most harmful types of habitat destruction is fragmentation, the splitting of habitats that causes small populations to become isolated from each other. pg355
Species Recovery: Although human activities are the most common causes of species extinction today, humans can also act to preserve endangered or threatened species. pg 354
Species Diversity: The variety of species that make up a biological community; the number and relative abundance of species in a biological community. pg 341
Ecological Succession: The process of biological community change resulting from disturbance; transition in the species composition of a biological community. See also primary succession; secondary succession. pg 337
Primary: occurs when an area has been rendered virtually lifeless, with no soil. pg 337
Secondary : The process of biological community change resulting from disturbance; transition in the species composition of a biological community. See also primary succession; secondary succession. pg 337
Keystone Species: A species whose impact on its community is much larger than its biomass or abundance indicates. pg 336
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Invasive Species: A non-native species that has spread far beyond the original point of introduction and causes environmental or economic damage by colonizing and dominating suitable habitats. pg 338
Integrated Pest Management: The maintenance of a low population of a pest through a variety of methods meant to promote a healthy environment. pg 339
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