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Delve into the fascinating process of evolution and the dynamics of populations in their natural habitats. Learn about adaptation, natural selection, extinction events, and more. Explore the impact of abiotic and biotic factors on ecosystems and the role of genetic mutations. Gain insights into species diversity, habitat succession, and the carrying capacity of ecosystems. Uncover the mysteries of speciation, fossil evidence, and the effects of pollution on living organisms.
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Evolution • process through which species change over time.
Abiotic • Nonliving factors in an organism’s environment • ex. Temperature, rainfall, sunlight
Biotic • living factors in an ecosystem. • Ex. Trees, insects, grass
Adaptation • A characteristic or any inherited trait that makes a species better suited to survive and reproduce in its environment
Habitat Natural environment in which a living thing gets all that it needs to live Ex. Deserts, rainforest, coral reef, lake
Natural Selection • The process through which members of a species that are best suited to their environment survive and reproduce at a higher rate than other members of their species.
Mass Extinction • One of several periods in Earth’s history when large numbers of species became extinct at basically the same time.
Population • A group of organisms of the same species.
Succession • A natural process that involves a gradual change in the plant and animal communities that live there.
Vestigial Organ • a physical structure that was fully developed and functional in an earlier group of organisms but is reduced and unused in later species.
Speciation • The evolution of a new species from an existing one
Mutation • A change in an organism’s DNA
Ancestor • A distant or early form of an organisms from which later forms descend
Fossil • The imprint or hardened remains of a plant or animal that lived long ago
Limiting Factor • Factor or condition that prevents the continuing growth of a population in an ecosystem
Isolation • Separation of a population of organisms from related forms in such a manner to prevent crossbreeding
Extinction • The permanent disappearance of a species
Population Dynamics • The study of the changes in the number of individuals in a population and the factors that affect those changes
Carrying Capacity • Maximum number of a species that an ecosystem can support
Population density • Measure of the number of organisms that live in a given area • Ex. 15 rabbits per sq km
Population Size • Number of individuals of the same species that live in a given area
Immigration • Movement of an organism into a range inhabited by individuals of the same species
Emigration • Movement of individuals out of an ecosystem
Opportunists • Species characterized by a relatively short life span, with relatively large numbers of offspring
Competitor • A species characterized by a relatively longer life span, with relatively few offspring, when compared with an opportunist species.
Pollution • The release of harmful substances into the air, water, or land.