7. components of biodiversity Flashcards
what are the 3 components of biodiversity
-genetic diversity
-species diversity
-ecosystem diversity
describe genetic diversity
The number and frequency of all the alleles within a population.
If one population of a species dies out then the species may have lost some of its genetic diversity, and this may limit its ability to adapt to changing conditions
describe species diveristy
Comprises the number of different species in an ecosystem (the species richness) and the proportion of each species in the ecosystem (the relative abundance).
A community with a dominant species has a lower species diversity than one with the same species richness but no particularly dominant species
describe ecosystem diveristy
Refers to the number of distinct ecosystems within a defined area
Explain why the death of one population in an area may limit the population’s ability to adapt to changing conditions
if one population dies out then the species may lose some of it’s genetic diversity which will make it harder to adapt to changing conditions
describe species richness
Species richness means the number of different species in one area.
describe species relative abudance
refers to the proportion of each species in an ecosystem