Biodiversity 1: intro Flashcards
What are the 3 types of diversity?
Ecological
Genetic
Organismal
What is ecological diversity? + examples
variety of places where organisms live
e.g ecosystems, niches, habitats
What is genetic diversity? + examples
variation in genetic codes
e.g populations, chromosomes, genes
What is organismal diversity?
variation in whole organisms, organised in taxonomic hierarchy
e.g kingdoms, phyla, classes
What is usually the unit of organismal biodiversity
species
Give the basic definition of species
organisms that can breed together to produce fertile offspring
Describe the general process of evolution (5)
- Random variation will by chance produce a useful trait
- Its bearer is more likely to survive and reproduce.
- It passes that trait on to its offspring.
- The adaptation spreads through the population
- Over evolutionary time a new species is formed
Which 4 ways are used to infer evolutionary relationships?
Paleontological evidence
Anatomical similarity
Developmental similarity
Molecular similarity
What is Paleontological evidence?
Appearance in the fossil record
What is anatomical similarity?
Shared, derived homologous structures
Convergent → 2 structures resemble each other e.g bats wings vs birds
What is developmental similarity?
Patterns of cell division and embryonic stages
What is molecular similarity?
DNA, RNA and protein sequence similarity
What are some of the problems with the phylogenetic tree?
Most are based on anatomical & developmental similarities
Organisms missing
Biased towards animals
Man is always at the top (suggests progression to ‘higher’ organisms)
What are the 3 values of biodiversity
Direct use
Indirect use
Non-use
Describe direct use values + examples
direct use of biological resources in consumption or production = marketable commodities
e.g food, industrial materials, ecotourism