chapter 7 definitions

• Adverse conditions


  Factors in the environment detrimental to the survival or growth of an organism
• Agriculture


  The science and management of growing crops and livestock, including cultivation of the soil or other medium
• Beta-carotene (β-carotene)


  A plant pigment that can be converted to vitamin A after consumption
• Biodegradation


  The breakdown of an organic substance by micro-organisms (such as bacteria or fungi) through decomposition
• Bioengineering


  The combination of biology and engineering tools to create a usable product, such as a transgenic organism
• Biogeography


  The study of the distributions of living things over a geographical area and how those distributions have changed over geologic time
• Bioremediation


  Consumption and breakdown of environmental pollutants by deliberately introduced or naturally occurring micro-organisms; the process is used to treat contaminated water and soil
• Captive breeding program (conservation breeding program)

  A breeding program that aims to maintain or increase genetic variation in a population of an endangered species in order to avoid extinction
• Conservation biology


  The integrated study of ecology, physiology, evolution, molecular biology and genetics with a view to sustaining biodiversity at all levels; a broad approach to preserving what biodiversity remains, and determining the due care and attention needed for protecting it for the future
• Emigration


  Leaving a country or region
• Endangered species


  A species threatened with extinction
• Gene flow


  The transfer of genes from one population to another; in relation to agriculture, this could mean from GMO crops to other species
• Gene pool


  A collection of all the alleles for all the genes in the reproducing members of a population at a given time; it is the genetic reservoir from which a population can obtain its traits
• Genetically modified organism (GMO)


  See transgenic organism
• Herbicide


  Substance used to control or kill weeds, ideally leaving a crop unharmed
• Immigration


  Moving to a new country or region
• Inbreeding depression


  Occurs in small, isolated populations of animals and plants that are closely related, and thus genetically similar; the offspring have an increased risk of deleterious recessive alleles becoming homozygous, causing genetic diseases
• Insurance population


  A population brought in from the wild as a safeguard against a species' extinction
• Monoculture


  The practice of growing a single strain or variety of crop in a particular area
• Outcrossing


  The migration of genes from GM plants to conventional crops or wild species
• Population dynamics


  The study of the number, gender, age and relatedness of individuals in a population; population growth, density, urbanisation and migration (immigration and emigration) are factors considered in population dynamics
• Quarantine


  A period of isolation serving to prevent the spread of a contagious disease; suspected cases are isolated from local, susceptible populations until at least the incubation period is finished, clinical signs and symptoms have passed and a scientist confirms the suspected pathogen is no longer present
• Recombinant DNA technology


  Tools and techniques used to transfer a gene from a cell of a member of one species to the genome of a different species
• Reproductive behaviour


  Patterns of animal behaviour related to the production and care of offspring, including the establishment of mating systems, courtship, sexual behaviour, fertilisation, and raising of young
• Roundup Ready® crop


  Crop tolerant to the herbicide called Roundup Ready, which contains the active ingredient glyphosate
• Superweed


  A species of plant, transformed by a gene from a GMO to increase its growth rate, disease resistance or tolerance of environmental limits, that has become difficult to control; it is able to outcompete native or crop species and has become a significant weed
• Transformation


  The process by which DNA is taken from one organism and inserted into another organism, usually of another species, to obtain a desired characteristic
• Transgenic organism


  An organism that has been modified by incorporating into its genome a piece of foreign DNA
• Viable gene pool


  A minimum collection of alleles and genes that have enough diversity for survival in a changing environment, even when limited to inbreeding within the population
• Vitamin A


  A fat-soluble vitamin that helps maintain normal reproduction, vision and immune function
• Yield


  A measure of production of a crop per unit area of land cultivation, and the seed generation of the plant itself; farmers calculate the yield by counting the number of grains in at least 10 heads or pods and calculating the average number of grains per head or pod