2.1 Vocab

• species richness: the number of a species in a given area
• species evenness: the relative proportion of individuals within different species in a given area
• phylogeny: branching pattern that depicts evolutionary relationships between species; based on similarity of traits among species
• evolution: change in the genetic composition of a population over time
• genotype: the complete set of genes in an individual
• phenotype: a set of traits expressed by a person
• mutation: change in the genetic code produced by a mistake during the copying process
• recombination: a genetic process by which a chromosome breaks off and attaches to another chromosome during reproductive cell division
• gene flow: process by which individuals move from one population to another and alter the genetic composition of both populations
• genetic drift: change in a population's genetic composition due to random mating
• bottleneck effect: a drastic reduction in the site of a population that reduces genetic variation (habitat loss, hunting, changes in environment)

  • reduces genetic diversity
  • more vulnerable to disturbances
• founder effect: change in the genetic composition of a population due descending from a small number of colonizing individuals
• range of tolerance: limits to the abiotic factors a species can tolerate
• fundamental niche: the suite of abiotic conditions under which a species can thrive
• species diversity: the number of different species in an ecosystem and the balance/evenness of the populations of all species in an ecosystem
• ecosystem diversity: the number of habitats in a given area
• resilience: the ability of an ecosystem to return to its original conditions after a major disruption

  • higher generic diversity = higher resilience