NRS Exam 1

The complete range of species, biological communities, and their ecosystem interactions and genetic variation within species.

The postulated predisposition in humans to feel an affinity for the diversity of the living world.

Scientific discipline that draws on diverse fields to carry out research on biodiversity, identify threats to biodiversity, and play an active role in the preservation of biodiversity.

Large-scale management that often involves multiple stakeholders, the primary goal of which is the preservation of ecosystem components and processes.

A widespread movement, characterized by political activism, with the goal of protecting the natural environment.

Aldo Leopold's philosophy advocating human use of natural resources that is compatible with or even enhances ecosystem health.

A discipline that embraces ethical commitment rather than ethical neutrality.

A belief in the need to preserve wilderness areas for their intrinsic value.

Natural resources should be used for the greatest good of the largest number of people for the longest time.

Economic development that meets present and future human needs without damaging the environment and biodiversity.

Not derived from living things.

Different forms of the same gene (e.g., different alleles of the genes for certain blood proteins produce the different blood types found among humans).

The number of different species in a community or specific location; species richness.

Rate of change of species composition along a gradient or transect.

The unique two-part Latin name taxonomists bestow on a species, such as Canis lupus (gray wolf) or Homo sapiens (humans).

A one-day event in which scientists and citizen scientists perform an intensive biological survey of a designated area in a short time with the goal of documenting all living species in that area.

A group of species that occupies a particular locality.

Among biologists, the most generally used of several definitions of "species." A group of individuals that can potentially breed among themselves in the wild and that do not breed with individuals of other groups. Compare with morphological definition of species.

A region's plants and animals.

Related to living things.

An animal species that consumes other animals to survive. Also called a secondary consumer or predator. Compare with primary consumers.

The number of individuals or biomass of a species that an ecosystem can support.

A contest between individuals or groups of animals for resources. Occurs when individuals or a species use a limiting resource in a way that prevents others from using it.

Two or more species that have similar appearance but that are genetically distinct.

A species that feeds or grows on dead plant and animal material. Also called a detritivore.

A species that feeds or grows on dead plant and animal material. Also called a detritivore.

A biological community together with its associated physical and chemical environment.

The variety of ecosystems present in a place or geographic area.

Species that modify the physical structure of an ecosystem.

Species found in one place and nowhere else (e.g., the many lemur species found only on the island of Madagascar).

DNA shed into the environment by organisms and that is detected with genetic techniques.

Genetic changes over time in a population that sometimes can result in a new species.

A group of individuals that share unique similarities of their DNA and hence their evolutionary past.

A series of linked extinctions whereby the extinction of one species leads to the extinction of one or more other species.

Specific feeding relationships between species at different trophic levels.

A network of feeding relationships among species.

The diversity of organisms categorized by their ecological roles or traits rather than their taxonomy.

The number of species in a large geographic area.

The total array of genes and alleles in a population.

Units (DNA sequences) on a chromosome that code for specific proteins. Also called loci.

The range of genetic variation found within a species.

Patterns of genotypes within and among populations.

Particular combination of alleles that an individual possesses.

A group of species at the same trophic level that use approximately the same environmental resources.

The location or type of environment in which a specific animal or plant species lives.

Ecosystem in which processes are functioning normally, whether or not there are human influences.

A species that eats plants or other photosynthetic organisms. Also called a primary consumer.

Predation on plants.

Condition of an individual having two different allele forms of the same gene.

Condition of an individual having two identical allele forms of the same gene.

Interbreeding between different species.

Intermediate offspring resulting from mating between individuals of two different species.

Any resource in an ecosystem that is crucial to the survival of many species; for example, a watering hole.

Any requirement for existence whose presence or absence limits a population's size. In the desert, for example, water is a limiting resource.

(singular, locus)Units (DNA sequences) on a chromosome that code for specific proteins. Also called loci.

A group of individuals, recognized as a species, that is morphologically, physiologically, or biochemically distinct from other groups. Compare with biological definition of species.

Individuals that are probably a distinct species based on their appearance but that do not currently have a scientific name.

Changes that occur in genes and chromosomes, sometimes resulting in new allele forms and genetic variation.

When two species benefit each other by their relationship.

Species that eat both plants and animals.

Organisms that live on or in another organism (host), receiving nutritive benefit while decreasing the fitness of the host, which remains alive.

Disease-causing organisms.

The morphological, physiological, anatomical, and biochemical characteristics of an individual that result from the expression of its genotype in a particular environment.

Within a population, genes that have more than one form or allele.

A geographically defined group of individuals of the same species that mate and otherwise interact with one another. Compare with metapopulation.

Act of killing and consuming another organism for food.

An animal species that consumes other animals to survive. Also called a secondary consumer or predator. Compare with primary consumers.

An animal that is eaten as food by another species.

A species that eats plants or other photosynthetic organisms. Also called a primary consumer.

Mixing of the genes on the two copies of a chromosome that occurs during meiosis (i.e., in the formation of egg and sperm, which contain only one copy of each chromosome). Recombination is an important source of genetic variation.

The ability of an ecosystem to return to its original state following disturbance.

The ability of an ecosystem to remain in the same state even with ongoing disturbance.

An animal species that consumes other animals to survive. Also called a secondary consumer or predator. Compare with primary consumers.

A species diversity index that takes into account the numbers of different species and their relative abundance.

The entire range of species found in a particular place.

The number of species found in a community.

Ecosystems that are able to remain in roughly the same compositional state despite human intervention or stochastic events such as unseasonable weather.

A mutualistic relationship in which neither of the two species involved can survive without the other.

Scientists involved in the identification and classification of species.

The fourth trophic level, in which predators eat other predators.

Segment of DNA capable of changing its location on a chromosome, sometimes resulting in a different trait appearing.

Major changes in vegetation and biodiversity resulting from the loss of a keystone species.

Levels of biological communities representing ways in which energy is captured and moved through the ecosystem by the various types of species.Organisms such as green plants, algae, and seaweeds that obtain their energy directly from the sun via photosynthesis. Also known as autotrophs.A species that eats plants or other photosynthetic organisms. Also called a primary consumer.An animal species that consumes other animals to survive. Also called a secondary consumer or predator. Compare with primary consumers.A species that feeds or grows on dead plant and animal material. Also called a detritivore.

Recreational value of biodiversity, including ecotourism.

The benefit people receive by preserving a resource or species for their children and descendants or future generations and quantified as the amount people are willing to pay for this goal. Also known as beneficiary value.

The benefit people receive by preserving a resource or species for their children and descendants or future generations and quantified as the amount people are willing to pay for this goal. Also known as beneficiary value.

Collecting and using biological materials for commercial, scientific, or personal use without obtaining the necessary permits.

Collecting biological materials as part of a search for new products.

Meat from any wild animal.

Value assigned to products, such as timber and animals, that are harvested and directly used by the people who harvest them. Also known as commodity value or private goods.

Natural resources that are not controlled by individuals but collectively owned by society. Also known as open-access resources or common-pool resources.

Value assigned to goods that are collected and consumed locally.

Comprehensive analysis that compares values gained against the costs of a project or resource use.

An alternative to cost-benefit analysis that compares the impact (financial and otherwise) and costs of alternative means of accomplishing an objective, such as the protection of a species.

Philosophy emphasizing biodiversity protection, personal lifestyle changes, and working toward political change.

Value assigned to products, such as timber and animals, that are harvested and directly used by the people who harvest them. Also known as commodity value or private goods.

Discipline that includes valuations of biodiversity in economic analyses.

The study of factors affecting the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

Range of benefits provided to people from ecosystems, including flood control, clean water, and reduction of pollution.

Tourism, especially in developing countries, focused on viewing unusual and/or especially charismatic biological communities and species that are unique to a country or region.

Discipline that examines the economic impacts of environmental policies and decisions.

Discipline of philosophy that articulates the intrinsic value of the natural world and people's responsibility to protect the environment.

Evaluation of a project that considers its possible present and future impacts on the environment.

Movement that seeks to empower and assist poor and politically weak people in protecting their own environments; their well-being and the protection of biological diversity are enhanced in the process.

The benefit people receive from knowing that a habitat or species exists and quantified as the amount that people are willing to pay to prevent species from being harmed or going extinct, habitats from being destroyed, and genetic variation from being lost.

Hidden costs or benefits that result from an economic activity to individuals or a society not directly involved in that activity.

Values provided by biodiversity that do not involve harvesting or destroying the resource (such as water quality, soil protection, recreation, and education). Also known as public goods.

Value of a species and other aspects of biodiversity for their own sake, unrelated to human needs.

Misallocation of resources in which certain individuals or businesses benefit from using a common resource, such as water, the atmosphere, or a forest, but other individuals, businesses, or the society at large bears the cost.

Values of something that is not presently used; for example, existence value.

Value assigned to benefits provided by some aspect of biodiversity that does not involve harvesting or destroying the resource (such as water quality, soil protection, recreation, and education).

Natural resources that are not controlled by individuals but are collectively owned by society.

Value of biodiversity in providing possible future benefits for human society (such as new medicines).

Government payments or other financial incentives to industries that result in environmentally destructive activities.

Principle stating that it may be better to avoid taking a particular action due to the possibility of causing unexpected harm.

Value assigned to products, such as timber and animals, that are harvested and directly used by the people who harvest them. Also known as commodity value or private goods.

Value assigned to products that are sold in markets.

Nonconsumptive benefits that belong to society in general, without private ownership. Also known as indirect use values.

How much people would have to pay for an equivalent product if what they normally use is unavailable.

The unregulated use of a public resource that results in its degradation.

The direct and indirect values provided by some aspect of biodiversity.

Rainwater that has become acidic due to air pollution.

Process whereby toxins become more concentrated in animals at higher levels in the food chain.

The influence a group of people has on both the surrounding environment and locations across the globe as measured by global hectares per person.

Altered environmental and biological conditions at the edges of a fragmented habitat.

A statistical term that refers to the magnitude of an impact of interest.

Process of degradation in aquatic environments caused by nitrogen and phosphorus pollution and characterized by algal blooms and oxygen depletion.

Intact blocks of undisturbed forest large enough to support all aspects of biodiversity.

The increasing interconnectedness of the world's economy.

The process whereby a large, continuous area of habitat is both reduced in area and divided into two or more fragments.

A statistical tool that combines data from multiple sources.

Particles of plastic debris in oceans, the atmosphere, or on land that are less than 5mm long that originate from consumer products and industrial waste.

Farming method in which farmers cut down trees, burn them, plant crops for a few years, and then abandon the site when soil fertility declines. Also called "slash-and-burn" agriculture.