Biodiversity Flashcards
What is a species?
Organisms that are capable of breeding to produce fertile, viable offspring.
How are animals named?
The binomial system e.g. Felix (genus) tigris (species). This name will have to be underlined.
What does courtship behavior achieve?
- Recognise members of their own species.
- Identify a mate that is capable of breeding.
- Form a pair bond.
- Synchronise mating (so when animals are most fertile).
What is phylogenetic classification?
Classification that is based on the evolutionary relationships between organisms e.g. common ancestors.
Name the taxa in descending hierarchal order:
Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
Name 3 domains:
- Bacteria
- Archaea (a group of prokaryotes)
- Eukarya
What is species richness?
The number of different species in a particular area at a given time.
Why may species richness not be a good measure of biodiversity?
Two species may have the same number of species but a different proportion of individuals.
What do N and n mean in the index of diversity equation?
N - Total number of organisms of all species.
n - Total number of organisms of each species.
What practices reduce species diversity?
- Removal of hedgerows and grubbing out woodland
- Creating monocultures, for example replacing natural meadows with cereal crops.
- Uses of pesticides and inorganic fertilisers.
Name examples of conservation techniques:
- Maintain existing hedgerows. An A-shape provides better habitats than a rectangular one. Also, plant hedges instead of fences as boundaries.
- Use crop rotation that includes a nitrogen-fixing crop, instead of fertilisers, to improve soil fertility.
- Maintain existing ponds and where possible erect new ones.
Name 3 techniques to compare genetic diversity:
- Comparison of DNA base sequences.
- Comparison of mRNA base sequences.
- Comparison of amino acid sequences.
Name ways to reduce sampling bias:
- Use a large sample size.
- Analyse the data collected using statistical tests like the t-test.
