3.1

Question 1

What is Biodiveristy?

Answer 1

Biodiversity → The variety of all life forms on earth - the different plants, animals and micro-organisms and the ecosystems of which they are a part of.

Biodiversity is important everywhere; species and habitats in your area as well as those in distant lands all play a role in maintaining healthy ecosystems.​

Question 2

Why is the quantification of Biodiversity Important?

Answer 2

It is important to conservation efforts so that areas of high biodiversity may be identified, explored, and appropriate conservation put in place where possible. ​The ability to assess changes to biodiversity in a given community over time is important in assessing the impact of human activity in the community.

Also helps analyze the health and complexity of an ecosystem.

Question 3

Impaortance of Biodivdrsity

Answer 3

Ecosystem Stability → Makes them more resilient
Economic Benefits → Supports industries such as the agricultural industry
Cultural Value
Climate Regulation → By storing carbon, mitigating the impacts of climate change, and contributing to the overall balance of global ecosystems.

Question 4

Ways in Which we value biodiveristy

Answer 4

Utalitarian or Intrinsic

Question 5

Utalitarian

Answer 5

The many basic needs humans obtain from biodiversity such as: food, fuel, shelter, and medicine. Further, ecosystems provide crucial services such as: pollination, seed dispersal, climate
regulation, water purification, nutrient cycling, and control of agricultural pests.

Question 6

Intrinsic

Answer 6

Refers to the inherent worth of nature and the variety of life forms, independent of any human use or benefit. In essence, it emphasizes the significance of biodiversity for its own sake. Biodiversity has cultural value to humans as well, for spiritual or religious reasons for instance.

Question 7

Ways in which biodiversity can be measured

Answer 7

Specie, Habitat and Genetic

Question 8

Specie diversity

Answer 8

Species diversity → Species diversity is defined as the number of species and abundance of each species that live in a particular location. The number of species that live in a certain location is called species richness. The higher the species diversity of a community or ecosystem, the greater the complexity.

Higher the species diversity = greater ability to support different niches

Question 9

Habitat diversity

Answer 9

It refers to the range of different habitats in an ecosystem or biome. Habitat diversity is often associated with the variety of ecological niches.
Habitat diversity is made up of several components. Perhaps the most easily recognized component of habitat diversity is vegetative diversity.
If there is a large number of different habitats within an area, then that area has high biodiversity
A good example of this is a coral reef. They are very complex with lots of microhabitats and niches to be exploited

Question 10

Genetic diversity

Answer 10

The range of genetic material present in a population of a species. Each individual species possesses genes which are the source of its own unique features.
The term genetic diversity also covers distinct populations of a single species, such as the thousands of breeds of different dogs or the numerous varieties of roses.

Question 11

Biodiversity Hot spots

Answer 11

Areas with high biodiversity. They contain large numbers of endemic species (species not found anywhere else), and so measures of biodiversity are essential in identifying areas that should be protected against damaging human activities

To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, a region must meet two strict criteria:
*It must have at least 1,500 species of plants as endemics — which is to say, it must have a high percentage of plant
life found nowhere else on the planet.
*It must have 30% or less of its original natural vegetation. In other words, it must be threatened.

Question 12

Aims for conservation

Answer 12

protect habitats and ecosystems, and hence species from human-made disturbances, such as deforestation and pollution.
slow the rate of extinction caused by the knock-on effects of unsustainable exploitation of natural resources
maintain biotic interactions between species.

Question 13

Threats to Biodiversity

Answer 13

Deforestation
Hunting for local consumption
Trafficking of animal and plant species
Invasive species
Climate change

Question 14

Richness

Answer 14

Richness is a measure of the number of different species in an area; more species means a richer environment. However, no account is taken of how common or rare each species is.

Question 15

Eveness

Answer 15

In the context of biodiversity, evenness refers to the distribution of species abundance in a specific area or ecosystem. It is a measure of how evenly or unevenly individuals are represented among different species in a community.

A high level of evenness indicates that the abundance of different species is fairly equal, while a low level of evenness suggests that there is a significant difference in abundance between speciesPresence of a dominant specie.

Question 16

What can low biodiversity indicate?

Answer 16

When comparing communities that are similar, low diversity could be indicative of pollution, eutrophication or recent colonization of a site. The number of species present in an area is often indicative of general patterns of biodiversity.