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Biodiversity
- the number and variety of organisms found in a specific region
- ex. almost 5000 species of plants heve been identified in canada
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Protect
to legally guard from harm a species that is listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern
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Biodiversity hotspot
a place where there is an exceptionally large number of species in a relitively small area
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community
all the populations of the different species that interactin a specific area or ecosystem
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dominant species
a species that is so abundant that it has the biggest biomass of any community member
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keystone species
a species that can greatly affect population numbers abd the health of an ecosystem
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captive breeding
the breeding of rare or endangered wildlife in controlled settings to increase the population size
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ecosystem engineer
a species that causes such dramatic changes to landscapes that it creates a new ecosystem
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succession
the series of changes in ecosystems that occurs over time following a disturbance
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habitat loss
occurs when events, due to natural disasters or human activities alter a terrestrial or aquatic ecosystem so much that many species can no longer survive there
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deforestation
occurs when forests are logged or cleared for human use, or for mosquito control
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alien species
- a species that is accidentally or deliberately introduced to a new location, usually as a result of human activity
- ex. zebra mussels
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invasive speies
- a species that can take over the habitat of native species or invade their bodies
- ex. zebra mussels
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overexploitation
- use or extraction of a resource until it is depleted.
- ex. overfishing of atlantic cod, overhunting of passenger pigeons
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extinction
- the death of all the individuals of a species
- may happen naturally through background extinction, caused by slow changes in ecosystems that affect species, or through mass extinction, which occurs more quickly
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biodiversity crisis
the current accelerated rate of extinctions on earth
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restoration ecology
- the renewal of degraded or destroyed ecosystems through active human intervention
- restoration methods:1. reforestation
- 2.wetlands restoration
- 3. controlling alien species
- 4.bioremediation
- 5. bioaugmentation
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reforestation
re-growth of a forest either through natural processes or through the planting of seeds or trees in an area where a forest was cut down
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biocontrol
the use of a species to control the populationor spread of an undesirable species
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bioremediation
- the use of living organisms to clean up contaminated areas naturally
- ex. use of plants to absorb heavy metals from toxic soil
- ex. use of bacteria to clean up oil spills on the coast
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bioaugmentation
- the use of living organisms to add essential nutrients to depleted soils
- ex. use of clover to add nitrogen to depleted soils
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