2.1 Introduction to Biodiversity

Question 1

Biodiversity

Answer 1

variety of life, including diversity of species, genes, populations, and communities

Question 2

Species Diversity

Answer 2

number or variety of species in a particular region

Question 3

Species richness

Answer 3

total number of species inhabiting an area; higher richness means more quality resources (soil, H20)

Question 4

Species evenness (Relative abundance)

Answer 4

measures how individual organisms in an ecosystem are balanced between different species

Question 5

Genetic Diversity

Answer 5

measure of the differences in DNA composition of individuals which provide the ability to adapt to local conditions

Question 6

Ecosystem Diversity

Answer 6

number and variety of habitats/ecosystems available in a given area

Question 7

Generalist

Answer 7

“winning species”, tolerates disturbance, fills many niches, opens habitats/edges
(ex. house mouse)

Question 8

Specialist

Answer 8

“losing species”, specializes on certain resources, trouble coping with change, rely on mature and well-vegetated habitats

Question 9

Biodiversity hotspot

Answer 9

a region that supports endemic species (found nowhere else in the world)

Question 10

Higher genetic diversity

Answer 10

evolution, low variation in env. stressors, minor disturbances in surface fires, wind storms and floods, high habitat diversity

Question 11

Lower genetic diversity

Answer 11

continuous env. stress, extinction, extreme disturbances (crown fires, clear-cutting, hurricanes), geographic isolation, invasive species)

Question 12

Inbreeding

Answer 12

when organisms mate closely with related “family” members, increases harmful genetic mutations because genomes of parents are more similar, smaller pop. are more likely to experience inbreeding

Question 13

Ecosystem resilience

Answer 13

ability of an ecosystem to return to its original conditions after a major disturbance (wind storm, fire, flood)
Higher species diversity = higher ecosystem endurance

Question 14

Bottleneck event

Answer 14

an env. disturbance (natural disaster/human hab. destruction) that drastically reduces pop. size and kills organisms regardless of their genome

Question 15

What is the result of a bottleneck event?

Answer 15

surviving population is smaller and because individuals died randomly, it doesn’t represent the genetic diversity of the original population; reduces genetic diversity and population size

Question 16

What is the major cause of biodiversity loss/organism extinction?

Answer 16

Habitat loss; since organisms have adapted to their habitats for over thousands or millions of years of evolution, major changes in organisms’ habitat will render it unsuitable for them

Question 17

Diversity index

Answer 17

measures how many different species types there are in a data set (community) that also takes into account species richness, divergence, and evenness