Endemic
Native and restricted to a particular geographic area or ecosystem. In epidemiology, describes a disease constantly present in a population at baseline levels.
Used in the Books
This term appears in 4 chapters:
"... | Island biogeography explains: - Why Madagascar has unique species: Large island, 250 miles from Africa (moderately isolated), 88% of species endemic (found nowhere else). - Why Hawaii has unique species: Very isolated (2,400 miles from nearest continent), allowing extreme evolutionary divergen..."
"...was santonin, an antiparasitic drug flavored with almond-toffee to mask the bitter taste. The product sold well to treat intestinal worms, which were endemic in 19th-century America. For 50 years (1849-1899), Pfizer was a fine chemicals manufacturer: citric acid (for soft drinks), camphor (for pharmaceuti..."
"...mous populations allow selection to act on variants with tiny fitness advantages. In contrast, species with small populations - large mammals, island endemics, endangered species - accumulate slightly deleterious mutations because drift overpowers the weak selection against them."
"...es against snake predation (ground-nesting, no predator-avoidance behaviors). Rats introduced to islands globally have driven hundreds of seabird and endemic species extinct by preying on eggs and chicks. Disease introductions: Chestnut blight (fungal disease) introduced to North America from Asia (early ..."
Biological Context
Lemurs are endemic to Madagascar—they evolved there and exist nowhere else naturally. Endemic species are often vulnerable because their limited range means a single catastrophe could cause extinction. In disease contexts, endemic diseases persist at stable levels (unlike epidemics which spike and fade).