Ap Biology Chapters 55&56

153298914	Biodiversity Hot Spot	A relatively small area with an exceptional concentration of endemic species and a large number of endangered and threatened species
153298915	Biological Augmentation	an approach to restoration ecology that uses organisms to add essential materials to a degraded ecosystem
153298916	Bioremediation	the use of living organisms to detoxify and restore polluted and degraded ecosystems
153298917	Biosphere	The entire portion of Earth inhabited by life; the sum of all the planet's ecosystems.
153298918	Conservation Biology	The integrated study of ecology, evolutionary biology, physiology, molecular biology, genetics, and behavioral biology in an effort to sustain biological diversity at all levels.
153298919	Ecosystem Service	A function performed by an ecosystem that directly or indirectly benefits humans.
153298920	Effective Population Size	An estimate of the size of a population based on the numbers of females and males that successfully breed; generally smaller than the total population.
153298921	Endangered Species	a species that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range
153298922	Extinction Vortex	A downward population spiral in which positive-feedback loops of inbreeding and genetic drift cause a small population to shrink, and unless reversed, become extinct.
153298923	Introduced Species	A species moved by humans, either intentionally or accidentally, from its native location to a new geographic region; also called an exotic species.
153298924	Landscape	An area containing several different ecosystems linked by exchanges of energy, materials, and organisms.
153298925	Minimum Viable Population (MVP)	the minimal population size at which a species is able to sustain its numbers and survive
153298926	Movement Corridor	a series of small clumps or a narrow strip of quality habitat (usable by organisms) that connects otherwise isolated patches of quality habitat
153298927	Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)	A technique for amplifying DNA in vitro by incubating with special primers, DNA polymerase molecules, and nucleotides.
153298928	Restoration Ecology	Applying ecological principles in an effort to return ecosystems that have been disturbed by human activity to a condition as similar as possible to their natural state.
153298929	Sustainable Development	Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
153298930	Threatened Species	a species that could become endangered in the near future
153298931	Zoned Reserve	an extensive region of land that includes one or more areas that are undisturbed by humans; the undisturbed areas are surrounded by lands that have been altered by human activity
153298932	Law of conservation of mass	the law that states that mass cannot be created or destroyed in ordinary chemical and physical changes
153298933	Standing crop	total biomass of photosynthetic autotrophs present at a given time
153298934	Greenhouse effect	natural situation in which heat is retained in Earth's atmosphere by carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and other gases
153298935	Detritivores (decomposer)	consumers that get their energy from nonliving organic material
153298936	Pyramid of net production	the representation of the loss of energy with each transfer in a food chain in which trophic levels are stacked in blocks, with primary producers forming the foundation of the pyramid
153298937	Primary producers	Photosynthesizing organisms.
153298938	Secondary production	The amount of chemical energy in consumers' food that is converted to their own new biomass during a given time period
153298939	Gross primary production (GPP)	the amount of light energy that is converted to chemical energy by photosynthesis per unit time
153298940	Net primary production (NPP)	the gross primary production of an ecosystem minus the energy used by the producers for respiration.
153298941	Actual evapotranspiration	the amount of water annually transpired by plants and evaporated from a landscape, usually measured in millimeters
153298942	Turnover time	The time required to replace the standing crop of a population or group of populations (for example, of phytoplankton), calculated as the ratio of standing crop biomass to production
153298943	Biogeochemical cycles	process in which elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another
153298944	Secondary consumers	The carnivores in an ecosystem; organisms that feed on primary consumers
153298945	Production efficiency	The percentage of energy stored in food that is not used for respiration or eliminated as waste.
153298946	Green world hypothesis	The conjecture that terrestrial herbivores consume relatively little plant biomass because they are held in check by a variety of factors, including predators, parasites, and disease
153298947	Tertiary consumers	Carnivores that eat other Carnivores, The top carnivores in an ecosystem; organisms that feed on secondary consumers
153298948	Biological magnification	increasing concentration of a harmful substance in organisms at higher trophic levels in a food chain or food web
153298949	Primary production	the amount of light energy converted to chemical energy (organic compounds) by autotrophs in an ecosystem during a given time period
153298950	Critical load	the amount of added nutrient, usually nitrogen or phosphorus, that can be absorbed by plants without damaging ecosystem integrity.
153298951	Primary consumers	The herbivores in an ecosystem; organisms that feed on primary producers
153298952	Trophic efficiency	The percentage of production transferred from one trophic level to the next.
153298953	Eutrophication	process by which a body of water becomes too rich in dissolved nutrients, leading to plant growth that depletes oxygen
153298954	Limiting nutrient	single nutrient that either is scarce or cycles very slowly, limiting the growth of organisms in an ecosystem
153298955	Detritus	loose bits and pieces of material resulting from disintegration or wearing away; fragments that result from any destruction