Download BIODIVERSITY

BIODIVERSITY
VOCABULARY
ADAPTATION
• A behavior or physical characteristic that
allows an organism to live successfully in
its environment.
BIODIVERSITY
• The number of different species in an
area.
CAPTIVE BREEDING
• The mating of animals in zoos or
wildlife preserves.
ENDANGERED SPECIES
• A species in danger of becoming
extinct in the near future.
EXOTIC SPECIES
• Species that are carried to a new location
by people. (invasive, introduced)
EXTINCTION
• The disappearance of all members of
a species from Earth.
GENE
• A structure in an organism’s cells that
carries its hereditary information.
GENE POOL
• Organisms, within one species, share
many common genes but also have some
unique genes that make them individuals.
HABITAT DESTRUCTION
• The loss of a natural habitat.
HABITAT FRAGMENTATION
• The breaking of a habitat into
smaller, isolated pieces.
KEYSTONE SPECIES
• A species that influences the survival
of many others in the ecosystem.
NICHE
• The role of an organism in its habitat,
or how it makes its living.
POACHING
• Illegal killing or removal of wildlife
from their habitats.
PRESERVATION
• Protection from harm or damage.
SPECIES
• A group of organisms that are physically similar
and can mate with each other and produce
offspring that can also mate and reproduce.
THREATENED SPECIES
• A species that could become
endangered in the near future.