ASSESSING BIODIVERSITY

Question 1

Simpson’s index (2)

Answer 1

• describes biodiversity of motile organisms
• S = 1 - (Σn(n-1)/N(n-1)
  (N = total number of organisms present, n = total number in each species)

Question 2

simpson index value meaning (2)

Answer 2

• higher = more diverse

- more habitats = more ecological niches = more organisms supported

Question 3

polymorphism (2)

Answer 3

• showing two or more alleles at a greater frequency than would occur by mutation alone
• more alleles in a gene = more polymorphic

Question 4

how do organisms differ in DNA fingerprinting

Answer 4

• sometimes only a single base, called SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms)
• non-coding regions vary - STR (short tandem repeats) and HVR (hyper variable regions)