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Terms
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- biodiversity hotspots
- A relatively small area with an exceptional concentration of endemic species
- fragmentation
- the emergence of discontinuities in an organism's preferred environment, including reduction in total habitat area, increased edge habitat, isolation of habitat patches, and reduction of the average size of patches
- richness
- The simple count of number of species in an area.
- endemic
- Species that are confined to a specific, relatively small geographic area
- ozone layer
- The layer of O3 in the upper atmosphere that protects life on Earth from the harmful ultraviolet rays in sunlight
- biological magnification
- A trophic process in which retained substances become more concentrated with each link in the food chain
- invasive species
- a subset of introduced species or non-indigenous species that are rapidly expanding outside of their native range. These species can alter ecological relationships among native species and can affect ecosystem function and human health.
- hydrology
- the movement, distribution, and quality of water throughout the Earth
- chemical prospecting
- the search for new pharmaceuticals, insecticides, or other useful chemicals based on the natural chemicals used by organisms in their environment to deter predators, pathogens, etc.
- Habitat complexity
- a rough measure of the number of unique habitats in an environment, and the range of physical structure among them
- Ecotourism
- a form of tourism typically involving travel to destinations where the flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions
- eutrophication
- excessive plant growth and decay in aquatic or marine ecosystems, favoring weedy species and then decomposers, that can choke out the natural biological community of an area. It is typically caused by increased flow of nutrients, such as nitrogen or phosphorous, above normal levels.