[10.2] diversity within a community

Question 1

what is biodiversity?

Answer 1

• a general term used to describe variety in the living world
• it refers to the number and variety of all the different species of organisms on earth, or within an ecosystem

Question 2

what are the 3 components of biodiversity?

Answer 2

• species diversity
• genetic diversity
• ecosystem diversity

Question 3

what is species diversity?

Answer 3

the number of different species and the number of individuals of each species within any one community

Question 4

what is genetic diversity?

Answer 4

the variety of genes possessed by the individuals that make up a population of a species

Question 5

what is ecosystem diversity

Answer 5

the range of different habitats ie. small local habitat to the whole of earth

Question 6

what is the benefit of good biodiversity?

Answer 6

• ensures the stability of an ecosystem by reducing the dependence of one species on another for food, shelter etc.
• the future of the human species also relies on good biodiversity eg. food, shelter, medicine, pharmaceuticals, tourism, agriculture

Question 7

what is species richness?

Answer 7

the number of different types of species in a particular area at a given time

• two communities may have the same number of species but the proportions of the community made up of each species may differ

Question 8

what is species evenness?

Answer 8

a comparison of the size of the population (ie. number of individuals) of different species within a particular area

Question 9

how do you calculate the index of diversity?

Answer 9

d = [N (N-1)] / [∑n (n-1)]

Question 10

in the equation to calculate the index of diversity, what do d, N, n and ∑ stand for?

Answer 10

• d = index of diversity
• N = total number of organisms of all species
• n = total number of organisms of each species
• ∑ = the sum of