Glossary of terms
261
Invasive species: A species that expands its population from the site of original arrival into intact or
semi - intact vegetation (regardless of demonstrated
impacts).
Island rule: The general tendency for an ordered
size changes of island vertebrate species in relation
to mainland congeners, such that large - bodied
species tend to get smaller and vice versa.
Keystone species: A species that has a disproportionate effect on its environment relative to its
biomass. Such organisms typically have a strong
infl uence on many other organisms within an ecosystem and may play an important role in determining the structure of the ecological community.
Linnean extinction: Extinctions of undiscovered
species inferred from the species – area relationship
and estimates of species diversity for a given ecosystem or region. The assumed losses of these inferred
species have been termed Centinelan extinctions by
Wilson (1992) .
Linnean shortfall: The discrepancy between the
number of species that have been formally described
by taxonomists and the number of species that are
thought to exist. Named after the father of modern
nomenclature, Caroleus Linnaeus (a Latinized form
of Carl von Linn é ).
Local extinction: The complete loss of a population of a species within a clearly defi ned geographical area, but where extant free - living populations
still exist outside that area.
Macroecology: A top - down and multi - scale
approach to analyses of the structure of biotas,
focused on the emergent outcomes of statistical
analysis of key properties (e.g. species abundance,
distribution and diversity) in order to understand the
processes involved in structuring ecological systems.
It is often, but not necessarily, concerned with analyses of coarse - scale data sets of large spatial extent.
Mass extinction event: A major episode of
extinction involving many different taxa and occurring fairly suddenly in the fossil record.
Matrix (or habitat matrix): Anthropogenically
transformed habitats that are generally unsuitable
for the species of conservation concern within
which habitat islands (which sometimes are also
conservation areas) are embedded.
Mesopredator release: The increasing number
of smaller omnivores and predators due to the
absence of larger predators – a phenomenon that
can result from habitat fragmentation.
Metapopulation: A population of geographically
separated subpopulations interconnected by patterns of gene fl ow, extinction and recolonization.
Minimum viable population (MVP): The
minimum size of a population that will ensure its
long - term survival – for instance, providing a 95%
probability of persistence for the next 100 or 1,000
years.
Monophyletic: A group (taxon or gene) that
includes an ancestral group and all of its descendant
groups, also referred to as a clade.
Naturalistic fallacy: The assumption that, prior to
invasion by non - indigenous species, ecosystems
must have been natural and pristine, and that this is
the ecosystem state that should be preserved.
Naturalized species: Species that have self -
sustaining populations at the original point of establishment or only in highly modifi ed habitats.
Naturdenkmal: Roughly translated as nature
monument, a concept that was articulated by the
Berlin - based forester Hugo Conwentz in the fi rst
decade of the 20th century to mean a place for the
study and contemplation of nature, motivated by
the belief that monuments of nature have value to
human civilization, culture and identity.
Nature
conservation: A social movement
working to develop or reassert certain values in
society concerning the human/nature relationship.
Non - analogue community: Used in palaeoecology to refer to past communities having a species
composition for which there is no contemporary
equivalent, such systems providing evidence of the
essentially individualistic nature of community
assemblage processes. Projected into the future, the
term is sometimes used to describe hypothesized
future communities assembled under the infl uence
of anthropogenic change processes.
Non - native species: Populations that have
become established outside the bounds of their
native ranges through the action of human -
mediated transport.
Paraphyletic group: An incomplete evolutionary
unit in which one or more descendants of a particular ancestor have been excluded from the group.
Phylogeography: The study of the genetic
and geographical structure of populations and
species.
Phylogenetic diversity (PD): A measure of biodiversity that incorporates taxonomic difference
between species, e.g. based on estimating the length
261
Invasive species: A species that expands its population from the site of original arrival into intact or
semi - intact vegetation (regardless of demonstrated
impacts).
Island rule: The general tendency for an ordered
size changes of island vertebrate species in relation
to mainland congeners, such that large - bodied
species tend to get smaller and vice versa.
Keystone species: A species that has a disproportionate effect on its environment relative to its
biomass. Such organisms typically have a strong
infl uence on many other organisms within an ecosystem and may play an important role in determining the structure of the ecological community.
Linnean extinction: Extinctions of undiscovered
species inferred from the species – area relationship
and estimates of species diversity for a given ecosystem or region. The assumed losses of these inferred
species have been termed Centinelan extinctions by
Wilson (1992) .
Linnean shortfall: The discrepancy between the
number of species that have been formally described
by taxonomists and the number of species that are
thought to exist. Named after the father of modern
nomenclature, Caroleus Linnaeus (a Latinized form
of Carl von Linn é ).
Local extinction: The complete loss of a population of a species within a clearly defi ned geographical area, but where extant free - living populations
still exist outside that area.
Macroecology: A top - down and multi - scale
approach to analyses of the structure of biotas,
focused on the emergent outcomes of statistical
analysis of key properties (e.g. species abundance,
distribution and diversity) in order to understand the
processes involved in structuring ecological systems.
It is often, but not necessarily, concerned with analyses of coarse - scale data sets of large spatial extent.
Mass extinction event: A major episode of
extinction involving many different taxa and occurring fairly suddenly in the fossil record.
Matrix (or habitat matrix): Anthropogenically
transformed habitats that are generally unsuitable
for the species of conservation concern within
which habitat islands (which sometimes are also
conservation areas) are embedded.
Mesopredator release: The increasing number
of smaller omnivores and predators due to the
absence of larger predators – a phenomenon that
can result from habitat fragmentation.
Metapopulation: A population of geographically
separated subpopulations interconnected by patterns of gene fl ow, extinction and recolonization.
Minimum viable population (MVP): The
minimum size of a population that will ensure its
long - term survival – for instance, providing a 95%
probability of persistence for the next 100 or 1,000
years.
Monophyletic: A group (taxon or gene) that
includes an ancestral group and all of its descendant
groups, also referred to as a clade.
Naturalistic fallacy: The assumption that, prior to
invasion by non - indigenous species, ecosystems
must have been natural and pristine, and that this is
the ecosystem state that should be preserved.
Naturalized species: Species that have self -
sustaining populations at the original point of establishment or only in highly modifi ed habitats.
Naturdenkmal: Roughly translated as nature
monument, a concept that was articulated by the
Berlin - based forester Hugo Conwentz in the fi rst
decade of the 20th century to mean a place for the
study and contemplation of nature, motivated by
the belief that monuments of nature have value to
human civilization, culture and identity.
Nature
conservation: A social movement
working to develop or reassert certain values in
society concerning the human/nature relationship.
Non - analogue community: Used in palaeoecology to refer to past communities having a species
composition for which there is no contemporary
equivalent, such systems providing evidence of the
essentially individualistic nature of community
assemblage processes. Projected into the future, the
term is sometimes used to describe hypothesized
future communities assembled under the infl uence
of anthropogenic change processes.
Non - native species: Populations that have
become established outside the bounds of their
native ranges through the action of human -
mediated transport.
Paraphyletic group: An incomplete evolutionary
unit in which one or more descendants of a particular ancestor have been excluded from the group.
Phylogeography: The study of the genetic
and geographical structure of populations and
species.
Phylogenetic diversity (PD): A measure of biodiversity that incorporates taxonomic difference
between species, e.g. based on estimating the length