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Biology > 4.2 - Biodiversity > Flashcards

4.2 - Biodiversity Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the three different types of biodiversity?

A
  • Genetic
  • Habitat
  • Species
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2
Q

What is genetic biodiversity?

A
  • Genetic biodiversity is the variation between individuals belonging to the same species
  • (How much variation there is in the alleles within a species)
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3
Q

How is genetic biodiversity of a species measured?

A

-When measuring genetic biodiversity you use the percentage of polymorphic gene loci
-Proportion of polymorphic gene loci =Total number of Polymorphic Gene Loci ÷ Total number of all gene loci x100
(E.g: If an organism has 20000 genes, 1000 out of 20000 are polymorphic then the equation is 1000/20000 x 100 which is 5%, this means that only 1000 of the 20000 genes have 2 or more alleles so only 5% of genes are polymorphic)

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4
Q

What is habitat biodiversity?

A

The range of different habitats within an ecosystem (A larger environment)

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5
Q

What is species biodiversity?

A
  • Species biodiversity is broken down into species richness and species evenness
  • Species richness: The number of species in an ecosystem
  • Species evenness: How evenly represented the species are in the ecosystem
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6
Q

How is biodiversity measured?

A

-Simpson’s index of biodiversity is used to measure species level biodiversity
-Different species are listed and their percentage cover is compared in two different habitats
-The percentage cover should add up to 100%
-D = 1-(n/N) to the power of 2
n= Percentage cover of one species
N= Total percentage cover
-For example D= 0.0396 (This is a very low value for Simpson’s biodiversity index)

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7
Q

What does a low value for Simpson’s index of biodiversity show about the species evenness in a habitat?

A

If the value is low then it means there is low species evenness in the habitat

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8
Q

What is an example of a habitat with a high species evenness?

A

-The amazon rain forest or the coral reef
-These habitats would have a high value for Simpson’s biodiversity index
(Close to 1)

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9
Q

What is an example of a habitat with a low species evenness?

A

-A monoculture crop field (A corn field)
-These habitats would have a low value for Simpson’s biodiversity index
(Close to 0)

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10
Q

What are the different ways of sampling plants?

A

-Using quadrats
(Percentage cover or counting species’)
-Random
-Non-random

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11
Q

What is random sampling?

A
  • Using a random number generator to remove bias and to make it completely random
  • The random number generator can also be used to generate coordinates to go to and sample in the habit
  • The random sampling however, could underestimate the biodiversity if the habitat is not monocultured as the random sampling would not be representative of the habitat as a whole as it is not homogenous and consistent (Monocultured)
  • This is because the sample may miss out parts of the habitat which are different and not monocultured and more diverse
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12
Q

What are the different types of non-random sampling?

A
  • Opportunistic
  • Stratified
  • Systematic
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13
Q

What is opportunistic sampling?

A
  • Sampling based on prior knowledge, dividing the ecosystem into sub-areas and sampling specific habitats
  • This can be done when the researcher has studied or heard about the area, and/or about the potential species that will be encountered where they are sampling
  • Although it is quick and easy, opportunistic sampling can sometimes be susceptible to bias
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14
Q

What is stratified sampling?

A
  • Dividing the area into distinct zones to sample from
  • The sample should be according to the ratio of the areas, so if there is more woodlands in the area than there are fields then more woodlands samples (Quadrats) should be taken
  • This allows the researcher to collect a sample which is representative of the ecosystem and the different species/habitats in it
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15
Q

What is systematic sampling?

A

-Taking samples at fixed intervals along a transect

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16
Q

What are the different types of transects?

A
  • Line transects

- Belt transects

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17
Q

What is the purpose of using transects?

A

-Transects measure changes in distribution along an axis

E.g: Do the species’ change as the transects gets further away from the path and into the woodlands

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18
Q

What is the difference between a belt and a line transect?

A
  • A belt transect uses a rectangular area centred on a line to collect information
  • A line transect uses a straight line to gather data
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19
Q

What are the different ways of sampling animals?

A
  • Using a pitfall trap
  • Using a sweep net
  • Using a tullgren funnel
20
Q

What is a pitfall trap?

A
  • A hole in the ground with a cup in it used to catch insects and animals
  • The trap is sometimes covered with leaves to camouflage it
  • The trap is left for a few days and then come back to identify which insects have been collected from the habitat
21
Q

What is a sweep net?

A
  • A long handled, large net used to catch insects and bugs in long grassy habitats or sometimes in ponds or in the branches of trees
  • The animals that are caught would then be emptied onto a tray to identify which animals are present in which environment
22
Q

What is a tullgren funnel?

A
  • A trap consisting of a funnel and a light with a collecting jar to catch the insects and bugs
  • The flying insects are attracted to the light so they walk into the collecting jar which contains alcohol to trap them
23
Q

What is the purpose of catch and release?

A

Catch and release is used to estimate the size of a population

24
Q

What is the process of catch and release?

A

-Catch a certain number of (Living) animals
-Mark the caught animals
-Release the animals back into their original habitat that they were taken from
-Catch the animals from the habitat a second time to count the marked vs unmarked from the caught population
-Use this data to create an estimate of the size of the population
(C1 x C2 / Cm)
C1 = 1st catch size
C2 = 2nd catch size
Cm = Number of the second catch who are marked

25
Q

What are the benefits of biodiversity?

A
  • Economic
  • Ecological
  • Aesthetic
26
Q

What is the aesthetic benefit of biodiversity?

A
  • Having an attractive surrounding can have a positive effect of the wellbeing of humans
  • The nature can positively impact people’s mental health especially if the place is very biodiverse
27
Q

What is the ecological benefits of biodiversity?

A
  • Biodiversity is important to maintain a stable environment with a food chain etc
  • Maintaining biodiversity is also important to protect keystone species’ that help to maintain ecosystems
  • Maintaining biodiversity is also important for the ecosystem to be more stable and resilient to climate change or disease etc
28
Q

What is a keystone species?

A

A keystone species is a plant or animal that plays a unique and crucial role in the way an ecosystem functions
(E.g Beavers or wolves in Yellowstone that help to maintain the whole ecosystem, including the rivers)

29
Q

What are the economic benefits of biodiversity?

A
  • There services that ecosystems provide for us that would cost a lot of money if they weren’t done by a biodiverse ecosystem instead
  • Chemicals in pharmaceuticals are produced by maintaining biodiversity
  • Forest products such as timber is also produced by maintaining biodiverse ecosystems
30
Q

What are all the ecosystem services that are provided to the earth due to maintaining a biodiverse ecosystem?

A
  • Atmospheric cleaning
  • Water purification
  • Soil formation, for crops to grow
  • Pollination
  • Nutrient recycling (When fungi or bacteria break down dead organic matter to make nitrates, phosphates etc in the soil)
  • Oxygen production
  • Flood prevention (From damns made by beavers)
  • Direct cash benefit from chemical in pharmaceuticals come from ecosystems such as rainforests, timber and forest products also provide a direct cash benefit
31
Q

What are the different variables that affect biodiversity?

A
  • Human population

- Agriculture

32
Q

How does the human population affect biodiversity?

A
  • As the population increases there is a higher demand for buildings, infrastructure, roads, power stations etc
  • This negatively affects biodiversity as this can cause pollution and deforestation while increasing the amount of energy used as well
  • An increase in the human population also causes a need for more agriculture which negatively effects biodiversity
  • As the human population increases it drives the loss of biodiversity
33
Q

How does agriculture affect biodiversity?

A
  • Land used to grow crops and feed for animals is increasing
  • This reduces biodiversity as it destroys biodiverse habitats to create monocultures with low biodiversity
  • Agriculture also uses chemicals that can be harmful to the environment and lower biodiversity
  • Fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides all reduce biodiversity due to eutrophication
34
Q

What is eutrophication?

A

Eutrophication is the excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to run-off from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life

35
Q

How does climate change affect biodiversity?

A
  • The increase in concentration of greenhouse gases caused by increased human desire for energy then causes rising global temperatures
  • This is due to an increased concentration of greenhouse gases: CO2 and methane which is created from carbon emission, pollution, factories etc
  • As temperature rises it can cause drought, drier conditions and forest fires
  • This can lead to extinction of animals due to destroying of habitats and a failure to adapt to hotter conditions
  • This lowers biodiversity as species become extinct and ecosystems are destroyed
36
Q

What are the two different types of conservation?

A
  • In situ

- Ex situ

37
Q

What is ex situ conservation?

A
  • Conserving animals away from their natural habitat

- This can be inside: Zoos, shelters, botanic gardens and seed banks

38
Q

What are the benefits of ex situ conservation?

A
  • Ex situ conservation allows people to protect, monitor and research species
  • Endangered species can be bred safely to prevent them from extinction and maintain genetic biodiversity
  • Ex situ conservation also provides an opportunity for the community to learn about how to conserve species and about which species are endangered
39
Q

What are the weaknesses of ex situ conservation?

A
  • Ex situ tends to end up with a decreased genetic biodiversity due to the small gene pool
  • Animals in ex situ conservation can display abnormal behaviour which is a sign of psychological damage
  • It can be harder for the animals to breed while in ex situ conservation
  • Also ex situ is ultimately temporary as animals can’t be conserved in captivity forever (It is not sustainable)
40
Q

What is in situ conservation?

A

-Conserving animals inside their habitat

E.g: Wildlife reserves

41
Q

What are the requirements for in situ conservation to make it adequate?

A
  • The reserve must contain sufficient habitats to allow authentic interaction between species’ in different habitats
  • Must be large enough
  • Must be representative of the place that is being conserved
  • The reserve must allow for movement and migration of the animals into, out and around the reserve in order to maintain genetic biodiversity and widen the gene pool
42
Q

What are some examples of types of wildlife reserves?

A
  • National parks
  • National nature reserves
  • Sites of special scientific interest (Places where scientists/ecologists have identified a species they need to research or monitor)
  • Marine conservation zones (Sites that limit or prevent fishing)
43
Q

What is the difference between preservation and conservation?

A
  • Preservation is where there is minimal or no human interference
  • Conservation is more actively managed, maintained and influenced by humans so it is less authentically natural
44
Q

What are some examples of the laws for conservation? (Nationally and internationally)

A

-CITES = Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species law
(This regulates/prevents/forbids trade in endangered species)
[For example trading ivory from rhino horns is illegal]
-The Rio Convention on Biodiversity
(This was an international agreement that biodiversity should be maintained and protected)
-The Countryside Stewardship Scheme (In the UK)
(A scheme that farmers can sign up to which promotes more ecological practices in exchange for the opportunity to get grants and funding from the government)

45
Q

When would non-random sampling be used?

A

-When the ecosystem is not homogenous and consistent so the researcher would want to sample specific areas which could be different to others in the ecosystem

Biology (23 decks)

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