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Biodiversity Flashcards

1
Q

What is the anthropocene?

A

current geological period in which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environement

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2
Q

What are the 3 measures of biodiversity?

A

richness, eveness and heterogeneity

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3
Q

What is heterogeneity?

A

diverse in character or content.

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4
Q

What are the 3 main ways of measuring variability in space?

A

Alpha beta and gamma diversity

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5
Q

What is beta diversity?

A

turnover of species among sites

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6
Q

What is is true of the elevational diversity gradient?

A

many taxa biodiversity peak mid-altitude

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7
Q

Do older clades have more species?

A

NO

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8
Q

Why is biodiversity important?

A

increases efficiency and stability of an ecosystem and improves flow of very valuable ecosystem services

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9
Q

Why does area increase speciation?

A

more niches for diversificaiton

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10
Q

Why do higher temps increase biodiversity>

A

higher mutation rate = faster evolution

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11
Q

Why does climate stability increase biodiversity?

A

stable and predictable resources = specialisation

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12
Q

What is the biodiversity intactness index?

A

avg. abundance of originally present species across a broad range of species, relative to abundance in undisturbed habitat

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13
Q

How much of deforestation is beef responsible for?

A

> 67%

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14
Q

How many times slower is rate of evolution than needs to be to keep up with climate change?

A

2000 times faster

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15
Q

How does climate change lead to species extinction?

A

nowhere to go, Novel pathogen and Predators

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16
Q

What is the Power Function?

A

as you survey increasing ares, number of species recorded increases

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17
Q

What 3 main mechanisms can be used to explain the power function?

A

1) habitat diversity hypothesis
2) passive sampling hypothesis
3) equilibirum model of island biogeography

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18
Q

What is the habitat-diversity hypothesis?

A

wider range of habitats= wider range of species can live in area

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19
Q

What does the passive sampling hypothesis not explain?

A

why there is diversity on small islands

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20
Q

What are the 2 predictions of the equilibrium hypothesis?

A

closer islands have more species AND larger islands have more species

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21
Q

What type of diversity does species richness and latitude rely on?

A

Beta diversity - degree to which species overlap between areas (lots of small islands can collectively have more species than an equivalent large one)

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22
Q

Why do the tropics have such high diversity?

A

1) productivity species hypothesis
2) each species is more specialised
3) more overlap in resource use
4) resources more fully exploited

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23
Q

What are the 2 types of group formation?

A

1) Subsocial (cells bud and stick together as groups of daughter cells)
2) semisocial (not completely clonal)

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24
Q

Is B/C<1 at all times in eusocial ?

A

No

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25
Is B/C<1 at all times in coop verts ?
Yes
26
What does the fact that population growth is density dependent mean for harvest?
a sustainable harvest can be taken
27
What is the most common modelling equation used for modelling populaton?
Logistic equation
28
What is safer, taking a constant number of harvest or a constant proportion?
Constant proportion
29
Is maximal sustainable yield (MSY) economically profitable?
No- too high effort AND not biologically safe
30
What market structure is better; monopoly or open access?
Monopoly as MAXIMISE profits over time ; open access harvesters maximise SHORT TERM GAINS
31
What type of supply cures do renewable resources use?
Backwards bending (can cause instability
32
What are the 2 main types of population harvesting equilibria?
open access and sole owner static
33
What is reciprocal altruism?
altruism that occurs between unrelated individuals when there will be repayment
34
What happened with the Rhino poaching in Luanga valley 1985?
rhino pop. hunted till small but continued joint with IVORY (elephants) because whilst non profitable to just hunt for more valuable rhinos- profitable to hunt for both
35
What is the consequence of tragedy of the common?
open access resources
36
What are the 3 motivations for compliance with rules?
instrumental, normative, legitimacy-based
37
How does Malaria avoid being detected by the spleen?
antigens hold onto epithelium to avoid it reaching the spleen
38
How does herpes avoid detection by the immune system?
Moves along peripheral sensory nerves via axons till reaches central nervous system sensory ganglia
39
What is the R0 value in terms of pathogenicity?
number of secondary cases generated by a primary case in a totally susceptible population
40
what equation is intrinsic growth rate (infection) analogous to?
Logistic growth equation
41
What does biennial mean?
lasting for two years or occurring every two years
42
What needs to happen for eradication of an infectious disease?
proportion of immunised must exceed fraction immune at equilibrium (without vaccine) P > 1-1/R0
43
What are the 2 models of infectious diseases?
SIR and SI | susceptible, infected and recovered
44
Why is there a vaccine for measles but not influenza
influenza has more variable and mutated antigenic sites
45
What is commensalism?
an association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm.
46
What are the diff. types of pathogen?
accidental, obligate and oppourtunistic
47
What is the commensal lifestyle of meningococcus?
invade young adult mucosa and prolirefartae ad no capsule molecuels
48
Example of an oppourtunistic pathogen
cholera
49
What is blubber made out of?
Fat and collagen
50
How does torpor work?
controlled hypothermia- metabolic rate increases just to slop tissues freeezing
51
What animals undergo torpor?
small mammals
52
Why is brown adipose tissue good for thermoregulation?
high mitochondria and lipid content
53
How did endothermy evolve?
nocturnalisation and addition of insulation on ectotherms?
54
What is the parental provison hypothesis?
endotherms can control embryo incubation temperature so can minimise the impact on temp. induced characters such as sex also quicker development e.g. lactation helps
55
What are the 2 types of mastication / cranial muscles favoured by herbivores and carnovores?
herbivores- masseter | carnivores= temporalis
56
which herbivore digestion system is better at divesting high cellulose content with little nutrition?
``` hindgut fermenters foregut fermenters (ruminants) chew food twice- less efficient strategy ```
57
What doe heteroceral mean?
2 - lobed tail | equal upper and lower lobes, usually with the vertebral column passing into the upper.
58
Why might turtles lower shells have evolved before their upper?
protection from predation from below
59
what does plantigrade limp mean?
flat footed
60
What does digitigrade forelimb mean?
walks on 2 fingers
61
What is the function of the mandibular fenestre?
attachment of larger bulging muscles for powerful flight
62
what does pleiosaur body plan resemble?
loch ness monster
63
Are all dinosaurs oviparous?
yes
64
What bookended the mesozic era?
2 of 5 great mass extinctions
65
What integument is present on pterosaurs that may have potentially evolved into feathers?
pyncofibres
66
What is the cause of gigantism in dinosaurs?
high growth rate
67
Whats important about dinosaur ventilation?
unidirectional using air sacs
68
what 2 clades are dinosauria split into?
saurischia and orthonthischia

Biology Evolution (5 decks)

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