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.