Chapter 8: Biogeography

194665989	adaptive radiation	evolution from a common ancestor that results in diverse species adapted to different environments
194665990	biogeography	the large-scale geographic pattern in the distribution of species, and the causes and history of this distribution
194665991	biome	a group of ecosystems with similar climates and organisms
194665992	biotic province	a geographical region inhabited by life forms of common ancestry bounded by barriers of life to other regions and the immigration of foreign species into that region
194665993	chaparral	a dense scrubland found in areas with Mediterranean climate (a long, warm dry season, and a cooler rainy season
194665994	convergent evolution	process by which unrelated organisms independently evolve similarities when adapting to similar environments
194665995	divergent evolution	organisms coming from an original ancestor but then forming a new species over time because of changes in environment, etc
194665996	ecological island	an area that is biologically isolated so that a species occurring within the area cannot mix with any other of the same species
194665997	exotic species	species introduced into a new area, one in which it had not evolved
194665998	realms	major biogeographic regions of Earth in which most animals have some common genetic heritage
194665999	taiga	forest of cold climates, of high latitudes, and high altitudes; also known as a boreal forest
194666000	taxa	categories that identify groups of living organisms based on evolutionary relationships or similarity of characters
194666001	tundra	treeless arctic or alpine biome characterized by cold, harsh winters, a short growing season, and potential for frost any month of the year; vegetation includes low-growing perennial plants, mosses and lichens