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Ecology Unit 1 Chapter 3 Glossary Terms

  1. Biodiversity
    The number and variety of organisms
  2. Protect
    • To legally prevent human intervention in an area or ecosystem
    • e.g. most national parks are protected
  3. Biodiversity hotspot
    • An area or ecosystem where biodiversity is especially high
    • e.g. Lake Malawi is a biodiversity hotspot
  4. Community
    All of the populations in a given area or ecosystem
  5. Dominant species
    • The species in an area or ecosystem with the highest biomass
    • e.g. kelp
  6. Keystone species
    • A species with low biomass that has a large impact on the ecosystem's health
    • e.g. otters
  7. Captive breeding
    • Breeding a species in captivity so the population can be released into the wild to boost the wild population
    • e.g. black-footed ferrets were captive bred when they were close to extinction
  8. Ecosystem engineer
    • An organisms which drastically affects the ecosystem and habitat it lives in
    • e.g. beavers
  9. Succession
    • A series of slow changes over time
    • e.g. reintroducing a species will eventually cause other species to thrive
  10. Habitat loss
    • When a species' habitat is destroyed or no longer suitable for the needs of the species
    • e.g. deforestation is a form of habitat loss
  11. Deforestation
    • When trees are clear-cut and never replanted
    • e.g. many areas of the amazon rainforest are being clear-cut for farmland
  12. Alien species
    • Species which are not native to an area and are introduced to that area
    • e.g. zebra mussels
  13. Invasive species
    • Alien species which have a negative effect on their new ecosystem
    • e.g. cane toads
  14. Overexploitation
    • When a resource is used until it is depleted
    • e.g. Atlantic cod were overexploited
  15. Extinction
    • When a species no longer exists
    • e.g. dinosaurs are extinct
  16. Biodiversity crisis
    Many species are now extinct or facing extinction, causing a biodiversity crisis
  17. Restoration ecology
    • The restoration of degraded or destroyed ecosystems through active intervention
    • e.g. restoration ecology was used near the Don Valley Brickworks
  18. Reforestation
    • Replanting deforested areas.
    • e.g. in eastern Canada, red pines were planted, and eventually animal life returned to the deforested are
  19. Biocontrol
    • Importing one species to limit the population of another. fails more often than not
    • e.g importing parasite flies to control gypsy moths
  20. Bioremediation
    use of plants or other species to remove toxins and heavy metals from soil
  21. Bioaugmentation
    • use of plants to increase nutrient levels in soil
    • e.g. use of clover to add nitrogen
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Ecology Unit 1 Chapter 3 Glossary Terms
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