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Act- a written ordinance of Congress, or another legislative body; a statute (dictionary.com)

 

Adapt- make (something) suitable for a new use or purpose (dictionary.com)

 

Agriculture-  the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products (dictionary.com)

 

Biodiversity- the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem (dictionary.com)

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Background Extinction- The standard rate of extinction in earth's geological and biological history before humans became a primary contributor to extinctions. This is primarily the pre-human extinction rates during periods in between major extinction events (dictionary.com)

 

Climate Change- a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels (dictionary.com)

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Carbon Cycle- the series of processes by which carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment, chiefly involving the incorporation of carbon dioxide into living tissue by photosynthesis and its return to the atmosphere through respiration, the decay of dead organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels. (dictionary.com)

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Carbon Dioxide- A colorless, odorless gas produced by burning carbon and organic compounds and by respiration. It is naturally present in air and is absorbed by plants in photosynthesis (dictionary.com)

 

Ecosystem- One or more communities of different species interacting with one another and with the chemical and physical factors making up their nonliving environment (textbook)

 

El niño- an irregularly occurring and complex series of climatic changes affecting the equatorial Pacific region and beyond every few years, characterized by the appearance of unusually warm, nutrient-poor water off northern Peru and Ecuador, typically in late December (dictionary.com)

 

Endangered- (of a species) seriously at risk of extinction (dictionary.com)

 

Extinction- the state or process of a species, family, or larger group being or becoming extinct (dictionary.com)

 

Food Chain- Series of organisms in which eats or decomposes the preceding one (textbook)

 

Fragmentation- the process or state of breaking or being broken into small or separate parts (dictionary.com)

 

Fossil Fuels- a natural fuel such as coal or gas, formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms (dictionary.com)

 

Grassland- Biome found in regions where there is enough annual average precipitation to support the growth of grass and small plants but not enough to support large stands of trees (textbook)

 

Global Warming- a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants (dictionary.com)

 

Habitat- Place or type of place where an organism or population of organisms live (textbook)

 

Instrumental value- the value that something has because it helps us to get or achieve some other thing (dictionary.com)

 

Keystone species- Species that play roles affecting many other organisms in an ecosystem (textbook)

 

Migrate- Movement of people (or animals) into and out of specific geographic areas (textbook)

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Native Species- Indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural process, with no human intervention (dictionary.com)

 

Non native species- Species that migrate into an ecosystem or are deliberately or accidentally introduced into an ecosystem by humans (textbook)

 

Niche- the position or function of an organism in a community of plants and animals (dictionary.com)

 

Omnivores- Animal that can use both plants and other animals as food sources (textbook)

 

Population- a particular section, group, or type of people or animals living in an area or country (dictionary.com)

 

Rangeland- land that naturally produces forage plants suitable for grazing but where rainfall is too low or erratic for growing crops (dictionary.com)

 

Species- a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding. The species is the principal natural taxonomic unit, ranking below a genus and denoted by a Latin binomial, e.g., Homo sapiens. (dictionary.com)

 

Threatened-  cause (someone or something) to be vulnerable or at risk (dictionary.com)

 

Urbanize- The process by which cities grow or by which societies become more urban (dictionary.com)