APES Chapter 5 Vocab

Ecosystem diversity

the variety of ecosystems withen a give region

Species diversity

the variety of species withen a give region

Genetic diversity

the variety of genes withen a give region

Species richness

the number of species in a given area

Species evenness

the relative proportion of different species in a given area

Phylogenies

the branching patterns of evolutionary relationships

Evolution

a change in the genetic composition of a population over time

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Microevolution

evolution occurring below the species level

Realized niche

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

Distribution

areas of the world in which a species lives

Niche generalists

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

Niche specialists

a species that is specialized to live in a specific habitat or to feed on a small group of species

Sympatric specification

the evolution of one species into two, without geographic isolation

Genetically modified organisms

an organism produced by copying genes from a species with a desirable trait and inserting them into another species

Range of tolerance

the limits to the abiotic conditions that a species can tolerate

Fundamental niche

the suite of ideal environmental comditions for a species

Fossils

the remains of an organism that has been preserved in rock.

Mass extinction

a large extinction of species in a relatively short period of time.

Reproductive Isolation

the result of two populations within a species evolving separately so they can no longer interbreed and produce viable offspring.

Allopatric Speciation

the process of speciation that occurs with geographic isolation.

Founder Effect

a change in population descended from a small number of colonizing individulals

Geographic Isolation

physical seperation of a groap of individuals from others of the same species

Recombination

The genetic process by which one chromosome breaks off and attaches to another chromosome during reproductive cell division.

Phenotype

A set of traits expressed by an individual.

Evolution by Artificial Selection

A change in the genetic composition of a population as a result of humans selecting which individuals breed, typically with a preconceived set of traits in mine.

Evolution by Natural Selection

A change in the genetic composition of a population over time as a result of the environment determining which individuals are most likely to survive and reproduce.

Fitness

an individual's ability to survive and reproduce

Adaptation

a trait that improves an individual's fitness

Genetic drift

a change in the genetic composition of a population over time as a result of random mating

Bottleneck effect

a reduction in the genetic diversity of a population caused by a reduction in its size

Macroevolution

process when genetic changes bring new species, so larger categories of organisms

Genes

physical locations on chromosomes within each cell of an organism, determine range of traits

Genotype

complete set of genes

Mutation

random change in genetic code, caused by mistake in copying process of genes