Biodiversity 1&2 Week 1 Flashcards
Definition of biodiversity
The variety/diversity of life in all its forms in the world or particular environment.
Biodiversity refers to every living thing including plants, animals, bacteria, humans.
What is biodiversity referring to
Is not simply species numbers, but refers to their interactions and the habitats they form, as well as their functions.
Why is diversity good?
It forms the web of life which we depend on, providing a number of goods and services that sustain our lives.
What does the Living Planet Index indicate?
The LPI indicates the state of the worlds biodiversity. It measures trends in populations of vertebrate species living in freshwater & marine ecosystems.
List the 5 THREATS to biodiversity :(
Habitat loss and degradation
Species over exploitation
Pollution
Invasive species and disease
Climate change
How does habitat loss & degradation affect biodiversity
Refers to he modification of the environment where a species lives, by either complete removal, fragmentation or reduction in quality
of key habitat characteristics.
(Unsustainable agriculture, logging, mining, energy production)
What is species over exploitation and how does it affect biodiversity?
There’s indirect and direct over exploitation.
Direct is from unsustainable hunting and poaching or harvesting for subsistence or trade.
Indirect is when non-target species are killed ‘unintentionally’, such as by catch.
In what way can pollution affect biodiversity?
It can directly affect a species by making their environment unsuitable for its survival (oil spill).
Can affect species indirectly by affecting food availability/ reproductive performance, reducing their numbers over time.
How do invasive species and disease affect biodiversity?
Invasive species may compete with native species for space, food & other resources. May be a predator for native species or spread new diseases into the environment.
How does climate change impact biodiversity?
This is often indirect. As temperatures change species need to adapt by shifting their range to track suitable climate.
Temperature changes can confound signals that trigger seasonal events such as migration and reproduction, causing these things to happen at the wring time of year.
The richer the diversity of life is….
The greater the opportunity for medical discoveries, economic development, and adaptive responses are to such new challenges like climate change.
40% of the worlds economy and 80% of the needs of poor are derived from biological resources.
What were the 3 goals of the Convention of Biological Diversity 1992
The conservation of biological diversity (and reduce current rate of biodiversity)
The sustainable use of its components.
The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.
What are the 3 components of biodiversity that are usually explored?
Genetic - variation/diversity within species
Species - diversity between species within an ecosystem
Ecosystem - variation/diversity within a region
What is a species?
A group consisting of all the collected populations of morphologically and genetically similar organisms that can interbreed with one another.
What is a population?
Defined as consisting of all the individuals of the same species within a defined geological area, that show reproductive isolation from other populations.
