3.4.6 Biodiversity within a community

Question 1

What is Biodiversity?

Answer 1

Variety of living organisms and can be measured in terms of species diversity , ecosystem diversity and genetic diversity

Question 2

Define Community

Answer 2

All the different species that live in 1 area and interact with each other

Question 3

How do you calculate Index of Diversity (D)?

Answer 3

N(N-1)
———
En(n-1)

Question 4

What does N stand for?

Answer 4

Total number of organisms of all species

Question 5

What does n stand for?

Answer 5

Total number of organisms of each species

Question 6

What does E stand for?

Answer 6

Sum of

Question 7

What impact does farming have on Species Diversity?

Answer 7

Decreases species richness
- Farmland is typically used for only 1 species (monoculture)
- Use of pesticides/herbicides

Question 8

What impact does farming have on Genetic Diversity?

Answer 8

Decreases
- Farmers select for certain characteristics which reduces the number of different alleles in the population

Question 9

How can Biodiversity be increased in areas of agriculture?

Answer 9

• Use hedgerows instead of fences
• Grow different crops in the same area or rotate crops around after a season
• Limit use of pesticides and herbicides