Biodiversity Flashcards
What is biodiversity?
The variety of living organisms. It can be measured in terms of species diversity (number of species in a communtiy) habitat diversity (range of different habitats) and genetic diversity (variety of alleles within a species)
What is species richness?
The number of species in an area
What is species eveness?
Whether the species have similar numbers
What is random sampling?
No particular system, however the aim is still to be representative.
Random number generator
What is opportunistic sampling?
Those that are encountered first are chosen.
What is stratified sampling?
Population divided into smaller groups based on a characteristic, then sampled
What is systematic sampling?
Follows a particular pattern
What is sampling important?
We cannot study the whole population as it is impractical. Using a representative sample instead allows us to investigate the population easily.
What is Simpsons Index of Biodiversity?
A measurement of the total number of organisms compared to the total number of organisms each species.
A high index of diveristy means several different species are equally abundant, whereas a low index means one or two species dominate over others.
What is the equation for genetic diversity?
Proportion of polymorphic gene loci= number of polymorphic gene loci/ total number of loci
What factors affect biodiversity?
Population growth
Deforestation for agriculture
Climate change affecting habitats
Reasons to maintain biodiversity
Ecological- protecting species, maintaining resources
Economic- reducing soil depletion
Aesthetic- protecting landscapes
What is conservation?
The protection and management of species and habitats, in order to maintain biodiversity. Can be in-situ (in an organims habitat) or ex-situ (outside an organism’s habitat)
What are examples of in-situ conservation?
Marine conservation zones
Wildlife reserves
What are examples of ex-situ conservation?
Seed Banks
Botanic gardens
Zoos
