4.2 Flashcards
What is biodiversity
A measure of all different plants, animal, fungi and other microorganisms species worldwide, the gene they contain and ecosystems there a part of
What is biodiversity about
Structural and functional variety in living world
What is a habitat
A place where individuals in a species live
What is habitat biodiversity
Range of different habitats which different species like in
What habitats may we find in the UK
Sand dunes, woodlands, meadows and streams -> all occupied by a different range of species
What is a species
Consists of individual organisms that are similar in appearance, anatomy, physiology and genetics resulting in individuals in species being able to freely interbreed to produce fertile offspring
What contributes to species biodiversity
Range of organisms in a habitat
Give an example of why counting number of different species doesn’t always be accurate
2habitats may have equal number of species but not equally diverse. There may be 25 species in a meadow and 25 species in a garden, but in the garden over half those species are just grass. So the meadow is more diverse
What is species richness and evenness
Number of species-richness Degree to which they’re represented-evenness
What is genetic biodiversity
Variation between individuals of same species ensuring we’re not all identical
What can genetic variation create in species
Breeds- like different dog breeds
What do you need to do to measure biodiversity of an area and what is the problem with this
Need to observe all species present, identify them and count how many individuals of each species there are for all plants, animals, fungi, bacteria and other microorganisms in that habitat (but this is impractical as can’t count all single celled organisms)
How can some microorganisms be cultured
On nutrient medium in lab to gain estimate of numbers, but it won’t grow like this, instead you can sample a habitat
What does sampling a habitat mean
You select a small proportion and study that area, then you multiply up number of each species found to estimate number in whole habitat
What are the 2 broad categories of sampling techniques
Random and non-random
How are random samples carried out
Sample sites inside habitat randomly selected by deciding where to place samples before studying an area in detail and can be done by using random number generator to generate numbers as coordinates for your sample or selecting coordinates from a map
What are advantages of random sampling
Ensures data isn’t bias by selective sampling
Disadvantages of random sampling
May not cover areas of habitat equally, species with low presence may be missed lead to underestimate of biodiversity
What 3 types of non-random sampling are there
Opportunistic, stratified, systematic
What is opportunistic sampling
When researcher makes sampling decisions based on prior knowledge or during process of collecting data, researcher may deliberately sample an area they know has a specific species
Advantages of opportunistic sampling
Easier and quicker than random sampling
Disadvantage of opportunistic sampling
Data may be bias as presence of large or colourful species may cause researcher to sample it and leads to overestimate of biodiversity
What is stratified sampling
Diving habitat into areas which appear different and sampling each area separately, eg. Patches of braken in heathlands sampled separately from heather in heathland
What is advantages of stratified sampling
Ensures all different areas of habitat are sampled and species not under represented due to random sampling missing areas
What is disadvantage of stratified sampling
May over represent some areas in sample, as disproportionate number of samples taken in small areas that look different
What is systematic sampling
When samples taken at fixed intervals across habitat, line transect and belt transects are systematic techniques
What is advantages of systematic sampling
Useful when habitat shows clear gradient in some environmental factors liek getting dryer away from pond
What is disadvantage of systematic sampling
Only species on line or on belt recorded and other species may be missed causing underestimate of biodiversity
It’s important to be properly prepared for fieldwork, what should planning include
Suitable clothes depending on habitat and weather conditions, suitable footwear, apparatus needed (clipboard and paper), appropriate keys to identify plants, camera to record specimens and grid location
What should you know before beginning fieldwork for sampling
Number of samples you will collect and pre prepared results table
What range of techniques may you use when visiting a site to measure biodiversity
Random sampling maybe useful but might need to modify if habitat isn’t homogenous (even), moving sampling sites would become opportunistic sampling as making decisions during sampling process and stratified as treating parts of habitat differently
What is important to consider when at a sampling site of a habitat
Effect your presence had on habitat, any sampling should cause little disturbance
How should you sample plants
Large plants like trees can be counted individually but small and numerous plants is best to calculate percentage ground cover of each species
What is a quadrat
A square frame used to define size of each sample area
What size is quadrat
Can be any size but usually 50x50cm or 1mx1m
What must you identify within quadrat
Must identify plants found and then calculate percentage cover S measure of their abundance
It’s hard to accurately measure percentage cover but what do some quadrants have to help them
Have strings in a grid that divide quadrat to smaller squares making estimates more accurate
What is a point frame
Device to help measure percentage cover in quadrat, lower frame into quadrat and record any plant touching needles
What is issues with point frames
1 needle may touch several plants so possible to have 300-400% cover in some habitats, also its easy to bias your readings as may place it non randomly in point frame,l
What is a transect
A line taken across the habitat
How do you work a transect
Stretch a long string or tape measure across habitat and take samples along this line, in large habitats line transect used where only record samples touching this line at set intervals
What is an interrupted belt transect and what data is produced
Placing quadrat on line transect at set intervals and will provide quantitate data at intervals within habitat
What is continuous belt transect
Place quadrat beside transect line and move it along line so you can study band in detail
What data does studying quadrants provide
Quantitive
Why are animals hard to sample
Hard to spot and difficult to count, larger animals detect are presence and hide and small ones are too quick to count so quantative data hard to collect
How can you note presence of larger animals
Careful observation of footprints, droppings, burrows and deer damage bark in specific ways
How do ecologists estimate population size
Rely on signs left behind by animals like droppings and footprints and recent advances allow DNA sequencing to distinguish droppings to provide more accurate population size estimate
What techniques used to catch invertebrates
Sweep bet, pooter, tree beating, pitfall trap, tullgren funnel, light trap
What is sweep net
Technique for sweep netting involves walking through habitat with net and sweeping it through vegetation and small animals caught in this net, then empty content onto white sheet and identify them before they fly away
What is a pooter
Use pooter to collect animals before they fly away
What is kick sampling
Like sweep netting but done in water, always disturb ground upstream from net
What is tree beating
Put white sheeting under branch and knock brand with wooden stick, vibrations dislodge animal which drop into sheet and must quickly identify them before they crawl or fly away
What is a pitfall trap
Trap set in soil to catch small animals consisting of small o stained buried in soul so rim is just below surface, any animals moving through plants will fall into container, trap should have little water or scrunched paper to stop animals escaping and in rain trap should be shelters so doesn’t fill with water
What is a tullgren funnel
Collects smaller animals form leaf litter, place litter in funnel and light above drives animals downwards as litter drys out and warms up, they fall through mesh screen to be collected in jar underneath funnel
What is a light trap
Used to collect flying insects at night, it has UV that attracts insects and under light is vessel to collect animals, moths and other insects attracted to light eventually fall into trap
What does techniques to collect animals depend on
On habitat and what animal your catching
Can anyone catch animals
Need a licence as care must be taken with animal
What trap often used to catch smaller animals
Longworth trap- it enables population size to be estimated using mark and recapture but they must be regularly monitored to release trapped animals
How does longworth trap work
First need to capture sample of animals, mark each individual in same way without causing harm, number captured will be c1, release trapped animals and leave trap for another time period, second capture is c2 and number already captured on second occasion is C3, then to calculate total population- (c1xc2)/C3
How can longworth trap be effected
By animals that learn trap is harmless and contains food or by animals that doesn’t like trap so stays away from it after 1st capture
How can birds be sampled
Ringing techniques
How can larger animals be sampled
Tagged
What do we consider when measuring biodiversity
Species richness and evenness
What is species richness
Number of species present, more present grater the richness
What is species evenness
Measure of relative numbers of abundance of individuals in each species
Where do you find the most diverse areas
Places with even species evenness
How can species richness be measured
Counting species present in a habitat by doing a quantitative survey to calculate biodiversity
How would you survey frequency of plants
First sample plants and record percentage cover for each species or with large plants count number of them per unit area, technique can be used in aquatic and terrestrial sampling
What does measuring density of animals in habitat mean
Calculating how many animals of each species there are per unit area of habitat
How do you measure density of animals in habitat
Larger animals counted by observation and smaller ones using sampling techniques, population size estimate done using mark and recapture but doesn’t work for numerous small animals in soil- to do that must take sample of soil and find all individuals and count them
What is Simpson’s index of biodiversity
Measure if habitat diversity by taking into account species richness and evenness
What does n, N stand for in Simpson’s index
n=number of individuals in species N=total number of all individuals Ik all species
What does high Simpson’s index (over 0.5) indicate
Diverse habitat so habitat is more stable and can withstand changes in environment better than less diverse habitat
What does low Simpson’s index indicate
Habitats dominated by only a few species and small changes in environment could destroy habitat
What is the issue with isolated populations, captive animals, pedigrees and rare breeds
Have limited genetic biodiversity but assessing it regularly may help with conservation
How do you measure genetic biodiversity
Looking at observable features, genetic diversity found when there’s more than 1 allele for particular loci and this leads to variations within individuals and means more genetic differences between gametes produced by members of population
How can genetic diversity be estimated but what is a problem with this
By calculating number of loci in heterozygous individuals (2different alleles), but doesn’t give good measure of value of population as genetic resource
What’s another way to measure genetic diversity
Calculating percentage of loci in that population that have more than one allele
What’s a polymorphic gene loci
Some loci have make than 2 alleles which increases genetic biodiversity
Why is number of species and genetic diversity declining
Due to human activity
Why has biodiversity began to decrease
1000 years ago humans lived as hunters and had little effect on natural processes but as population grows we demand more food and consumer goods and we have greater and greater effect on species, we learnt to use environment to our advantage and can alter ecosystems to get ourselves food and as result we harm species both directly and indirectly
How does agriculture have big effect on biodiversity
We clear natural vagi ration and reduce size of habitats and population size species of any wild species living in those habitats which reduces genetic diversity of species as their population reduced and means species had less capacity to adapt to changing conditions through evolution and may lead to fragmented populations to small to survive
What does modern agriculture rely on
Monoculture and selective breeding to increase efficiency
What is monoculture
A species consisting of 1 strain and has limited genetic diversity making product easy to harvest
Give an example of monoculture
Rainforests with huge biodiversity replaced by palm oil plants
How can selective breeding reduce genetic diversity
Farmers select specific traits like rapid growth or high protein content and concentrating on these mean other characteristics ignored so diversity declines
What is genetic erosion
Selecting for specific breeds of domestic plants and animals means other breeds become rare and may die out and loss of these reduces genetic diversity of a species
How does human activity altering climate affect animals
Species with limited genetic diversity are less able to adapt to changes in temp and rainfall in areas they live in, only alternative for them is to move with the climate patterns where there most suited which means slow migration of populations and whole ecosystems towards poles
What may obstruct migration of animals
Major human developments, agricultural land, bodies of water and mountain ranges
Who are most at risk from climate change
Domesticated pants and animals as we selectively breed them to survive in specific conditions so little variation and so they are unlikely to survive changing conditions and more vulnerable to disease
What will happen to agriculture as climate change gets worse
Efficiency will decrease and less food available so farmers need to change crops they grow and keep a variety of animals
What is extinction
Occurs when last living member of species dies and species cease to exist
What happened to extinction rates since humans
Increase d
What are figures on extinction currently
Over 800 recorded extinctions since 1500 and 20% of species alive today could be extinct by 2030 and half species alive today will be extinct by 2100, extinction rates is as fast as all other extinction events
Have there been mass extinction in the past
Yes, but this one caused by human activity not natural climate change or disaster
What are natural ecosystem complexes
They have developed over millions of years as species evolved to live with and depend on each other
How are all organisms in a habitat linked together
In food chain/web
What does the range of relations between organisms in same habitat include
Predator prey, inter and intra-species completion, parasitic and mutualistic relationships
What happens to a habitat when 1 species effected by human activity
It effects the whole habitat (some more than others)
Give an example of human activity effecting a habitat
Bird feeds on variety of insects and 1 insect falls in numbers bird can feed off other insects but in species with lower diversity loss of one prey may cause bird to have less food and numbers decline. Why habitats with more species diversity are more stable and withstand change
What is a keystone species
Species that have disproportionate effect on their environment relative to their abundance
What does decline of a keystone species mean
Catastrophic effect on habitat
Give an example of a keystone species
Mountain lions in Arizona hunted to protect deer population resulting in deer population largely increase and eating all vegetation and then decrease again as they starved
Can plants have keystone species too
Yes
Give an example of plant keystone species
Sugar maple in north USA has deep roots and access to deep water and transfer it to shallow dry areas of the soil so water is available to other plants
How are beavers a keystone species
Low population but they build dams which have big effect on habitats, large areas can be flooded and this creates still water in which many other species can live
What does letting biodiversity decline mean
Genetic diversity declines so we could loose natural solution to some of our problems
What problems do wild animals and plants hold the answer to
Climate change, as these organisms have adapted over time to the ever changing climate and overcome diseases in area
How may be able to make new plants species and why would we do this
Careful selection and breeding from wild strains and species could create new crop varieties which can withstand conditions due to climate change
Why are plants, fungi, bacteria and animals so important for humans
Many medicinal and vaccine uses
Why are plants useful for medicines
They have adapted to defend off many diseases and fungus in soil which could be useful for humans too
What did economists and environmentalists do in 1997 and what did they find
Estimated economic value of natural ecosystem and found worth $33x10*12
In 1992 it was looked at what ways ecosystems valuable to humans, what did they find
Regulation of atmosphere and climate, purification of water, formation and fertilisation of soil, recycling nutrients, detoxification and waste recycle, crop pollination, timber growth, medicinal molecules
Why does loss of biodiversity effect food production
It causes soil depletion, soil subjected to monoculture becomes less and less fertile so crop yields decline as they take minerals out of soil and when crops removed these minerals removed from ecosystem
Give an example of when soil depletion observed
Dust bowl in America, cropping without changing soil and drought led to soil becoming dust
What are asthmatic reasons to keep biodiversity
Experience joy when observing variation of nature, helps with stress, natural environment important for our physics, intellectual and emotional health
How are landscapes formed
By action of climate factors on land and living biosphere has effects on landscape, like forests protect soil from climate factors like rainfall which washes away soil
What does reducing biodiversity mean in rainforests
Exposed soil washes away and landscape changes, deforestation causes large floods
Is conservation a passive process
No
What is conservation and its aims
Involves active management to maintain habitats and species that live their with aim of enabling endangered species to survive and maintain biodiversity
What is conservation in situ
Conserving species in their natural habitat, involves attempting to minimise human effect on natural environment and protect natural environment
What is one way of in situ conservation
Legislations
How is legislations a way of in situ conservation
Possible to paddle legislations to stop hunting, logging and clearing land for development, they are country specific and food cult to enforce but international law does govern what people can and can’t import
What are wildlife reserves
Designated areas for conservation of habitats and species, very important in conservation effort esp in Africa
What do the principles for choosing a wildlife reserve include
Comprehensive (how many species represented in area and environment conditions), adequacy (is area large enough for long term survival of species), representativeness (is there range of diversity within species or environment condition)
Why can we not exclude all human activity in in situ conservation
Indigenous people may use land for traditional hunting or spiritual reasons
In the past reserves set up without consent of locals causing conflict, what did the conflict arise due to
Project coming out of reserve to raid crops, poaching, illegal timber, tourists feeding animals
What are national parks in the UK
There are 15, cover the most beautiful landscapes and areas of protected countryside that all can visit and where people live, work and shape a landscape
What are national nature reserves in uk
Almost 400 in uk, cover almost all types of vegetation and occupying 94000hectors of land, set up to protect sensitive areas of land and enable research and education
What are sites of special scientific interest in uk
Over 6000 SSSI in UK, these are countries best wildlife and geological sites including some of most beautiful habitats like wetlands, heathlands and moors, often run by county wildlife trusts
What are marine conservation zones
37 sites on UK coast, areas are important to conserve biodiversity of nationally rare, threatened and representative habitats and species in our sees
What are advantages of in situ conservation
Plants and animals conserved in natural environment, permentanly protects biodiversity and ecosystems and natural and cultural heritage, allows management of area to maintain ecological integrity, provide use of ecologically sustainable land, facilitates scientific research
Disadvantages of in situ conservation
Endangered habitats fragmented may be too small to survive as population already lost too much genetic diversity, conditions caused habitat or species to become endangered may still be misused by poachers or ecotourists
What is repopulation
Where biodiversity lost, it may be possible to restore it like otter have been reintroduced in areas in UK, reserve in South Africa cleared away livestock and reintroduced natural fauna, it recreates old ecosystems before human interference
What is ex situ conservation
Conserving endangered species by activities outside of their natural habitat
How do zoos help in ex situ conservation
They focus on captive breeding and conducting research to benefit these species
How are some ways breeding is done in zoos
Modern reproductive technology like freezing sperm, eggs or embryos can preserve lots of genetic material or artificial insemination or in vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer techniques also used with wild animals
What do some zoos research
Domestic species or common wild species similar to target species which means individuals from endangered species separated from experimental research but beneficial long term
What are advantages of ex situ
Organisms projected from poachers and predators and health monitored so assistance given if needed and genetic diversity can be measured and selective breeding can increase it using IVF, animals can breed to decrease number of endangered species and conservation sites used as attraction to fund further conservation efforts
Disadvantages of ex situ
Captive do limited genetic diversity and animals exposed to many diseases not from natural habitat, nutrition difficult to manage and animals may behave abnormally so reproduction harder, environmental conditions hard to achieve and expensive to maintain sustainable environment and hard to reintroduce animals to wild
What are botanic gardens
Most involved in conservation of endangered species
What is a dormant stage of a plant
Seeds
What does it mean for botanic gardens that seeds produced in large numbers
Can be collected from wild with not much disturbance to ecosystem
Advantages of botanic gardens
Seeds Can be stored and germinated in huge numbers and often breed asexually, botanic gardens can increase plant numbers quickly through tissue culture which provides research for reintroduction to wild
What are disadvantages of botanic gardens
Difficult to find, collecting seeds causes some disturbance and may have limited genetic diversity, seeds may not survive in a new area if collected somewhere else, seeds stored for too long may not be viable, plants breed asexually reduces genetic diversity
What are seed banks
Collection of seed samples and aim to store representative samples of seeds from every known species of plant included rarest and most threatened
How long do seed bank seeds stay viable for and what else happens to seed bank seeds
Some seed viable for decades and some seeds used to prove benefits to humanity like seeds for food crops, building materials and disease resistant crops, seeds also used in habitat reclamation skin repopulation of endangered habitats
How are seeds stored to preserve viability
Seeds stored in dry or freezing conditions
What effects seed storage
Moisture effects storage, for 1% decrease of moisture in seed it doubles lifespan and 5oc doubles lifespan too
How do seed banks know seeds are still viable
They remove and germinate seed samples in Petri dishes of nutrient agar, keeping them in controlled conditions, germination rates monitored and research into physiology of seed dormancy and germination carried out which leads to discovery of most effective storage methods
Is loss of habitat and more endangered species a national issue
No it’s a global problem
What is a solution to loss of habitat
International cooperation for conservation of organisms
What does CITES stand for
Conservation of International trade of endangered species of fauna and flora
What is CITES
International agreement between most governments agreed in 1973 with aim to ensure international trade in specimens of wildlife doesn’t threaten their survival
How many plants and animals recognised as at risk according to CITES
25000
What is CITES aims
Regulate and monitor international trade in certain plants and animals, ensure international trade doesn’t endanger wild populations, ensures wild plant trade prohibited for commercial use, ensure artificially propagated plants have permit, ensure less endangered species traded subject to permit
What is problems with CITES
Hard to enforce as smuggling of plants, animals and their productions is constant problem
What is rio conservation of biological diversity
Signed by 150 countries in 1992, it recognises biological diversity more than plants, animals and ecosystems, also about people and our need for food, shelter, medicine and clean environment for us to live in
What are aims of Rio conservation of biological diversity
Conserve biological diversity, sustainable use of natural components, shared access to genetic resources, sharing of scientific knowledge and technologies, sharing of benefits from genetic resources
What does Rio convention encourage
Cooperation between counties and encourages each member to develop national strategies for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, states members must use both ex and in situ conservations
What does ex situ conservation provide support for
Everyone to share their technologies and genetic material
How is breeding in zoos strengthened
By importing animals from zoos in other countries and importing genetic material like sperm, eggs, embryos and artificial insemination or IVF techniques
When will reintroduction of animals bred in captivity fail
If no international cooperation and if no wildlife reserves to protect these animals
How are plant breeding programmes enhanced
Sharing stored specimens
What has Kew millennial seed bank done
Partnered with 50 different countries and these partners duplicate their collections, so seed information database has 100000 records available for other projects
As of 2014 how many seeds did Kew millennial seed bank have and how many of them are duplicated in other countries
34,088 plant seeds and 1980405036 seeds in storage, many of them duplicated in atleast one of the 14000 seed banks worldwide
What are local conservation schemes
Schemes made between government and land owner to enhance biodiversity and conservation at local level
What is countryside stewardship scheme
Introduced in England in 1991 and applied to land classified as not environmentally sensitive, payments made to farmers to enhance English landscape conservation. Grants available for hedge laying, planting and restoring dry stone walls
What were aims of countryside stewardship scheme
Improve natural diversity of countryside, enhance/restore landscape, improve public access
What was countryside stewardship scheme replaced with in 2005
Environmental stewardship scheme
What is environmental stewardship scheme
Provides findings to farmers to give effective environmental management to their land and aims to provide funding and advice to help land managers conserve, enhance and promote countryside
How does the environmental stewardship scheme promote countryside
By looking after wildlife, species and their habitats, ensuring land well managed and retains traditional characteristics, protect historic features and natural resources , ensuring traditional livestock and crops conserved and providing opportunities for people to visit and learn about countryside
