Below
are some definitions/summaries of relevant and important terms used throughout
the site:
Tolerance-
the ability of organisms to withstand environmental stressors
Ecological
resilience- ability of an ecosystem to cope with and recover from disturbance
[7]
Social
resilience- ability of groups to deal with external stressors or disturbances
Phenotype-
the set of traits, or genes expressed, that are displayed by an organism
Plasticity-
ability to change/adapt
Population-
subset of a single species that live in the general area
Ecosystem-
the combination of all the biotic factors interacting with the abiotic factors
in a region
Abiotic-
arising from/ pertaining to the physical or chemical environment
Biotic-
factors involving living organisms
Stresses-
external conditions that adversely influence fitness
Invasive
species- nonnative organisms that spread rapidly in new ecosystems
Fitness-
reproductive success, or, success in passing on genes to new generations
Bimodal-
distribution with two different modes
Phenology-
study of the timing of seasonal events
Range- the set of conditions occupied by an organism
Realized niche- the
set of conditions for which a species currently occupies
Fundamental niche-
the set of conditions which a species if capable of occupying (is tolerant to)
Monsoon- short but
intense periods of large amounts of precipitation, often accompanied by
thunderstorms
Succulents-
water-storing plants adapted to dry climates or soils, e.g. cacti
