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Biology > Biodiversity > Flashcards

Biodiversity Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a species?

A
  • A group of individual organisms that are similar in appearance, anatomy, biochemistry and genetics
  • Members are able to interbreed freely to produce fertile offspring
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2
Q

What is a habitat?

A
  • Place where an organism lives
  • Specific locality with a specific set of conditions
  • Organisms are well adapted to their habitats
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3
Q

What is biodiversity?

A
  • The variety of living organisms
  • Degree of nature’s variety
  • Allows for permanent stability of an ecosystem
  • Involves an equilibrium between species
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4
Q

3 levels which biodiversity can be considered on

A
  • Habitat
  • Species
  • Genetic
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5
Q

What is habitat biodiversity?

A
  • Range of habitats
  • Within a habitat or a community
  • Diverse habitats can lead to diverse species
  • Essential to conserve them
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6
Q

What is species biodiversity?

A
  • Difference between species - within habitat or community
  • Difference can be structural or physical
  • Can collect data about different species
    (Species richness and evenness)
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7
Q

What is genetic biodiversity?

A
  • Exists within a species
  • Degree of allelic variation between members of a species
  • Lack of variation results in lack of ability to adapt
  • Natural selection depends on variation
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8
Q

Calculating genetic diversity

A

Calculate % of loci in a population with more than one allele
Formula :
genetic diversity = number of polymorphic gene loci/ total number of loci x100

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9
Q

Human factors affecting biodiversity

A
  • Hunting for food
  • Over harvesting
  • Killing for protection/removal of competitors for food
  • Pollution
  • Habitat destruction
  • Population growth
  • New predators to flora and fauna
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10
Q

Consequences of climate change

A
  • Migrations
  • Disease
  • Agriculture
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11
Q

What is species richness?

A
  • Number of species present in a habitat
  • More species present, richer the habitat
  • Does not count the number of individuals of each species
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12
Q

What is species evenness?

A
  • The number of individuals of each species
  • Relative to population size
  • Relative abundance of each species
  • Habitat of even number of species is likely to be more diverse than dormant species
  • Quantitative survey is carried out
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13
Q

Survey frequency of plants

A
  • Count number of each species present in sample area
  • Smaller plants is easier to calculate percentage cover
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14
Q

How does migration affect biodiversity?

A
  • Loss of genetic variation
  • Reduction in gene pool
  • Decrease genetic variation, limit ability to evolve
  • Unable to adapt to changing environment
  • Only alternative is them to move
  • Animals in protective areas may be forced out for survival
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15
Q

How does agriculture affect biodiversity?

A
  • High C02, temp and increasing growth rates
  • Longer growing seasons
  • Greater evaporation and precipitation
  • Loss of land due to sea level rising
  • Domesticated plants have little variation therefore at greater risk
  • Farmers find yields decreasing (forced to change crops, climate change
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16
Q

How does disease affect biodiversity?

A
  • Crops grown in new areas will encounter new pests
  • May not be resistant to new pests
  • Pest population may increase due to longer growing periods
  • Human diseases thrive most in moist tropics, migrate to poles
  • Cause spread of disease
17
Q

How does population growth affect biodiversity?

A
  • Destroy habitats to support own agriculture needs
  • Alter ecosystems to provide settlement and food
    (Reduction by reducing suitable habitat)
  • More people = more carbon dioxide
18
Q

Maintaining biodiversity for moral reasons

A
  • Last living members of species will die if not maintained
  • 784 recorded extinctions since 1500
  • Spread of humans mean extinction rate has risen for other species
  • Extinction primarily caused because of human activity
19
Q

Benefits of having large biodiversity

A
  • Extinction reduced biodiversity
  • Human clearing of land for agriculture reduces habitats rise in extinction
  • Monoculture of plants
  • Genetic erosion reduces biodiversity
  • Prevent organisms from adapting to survive in changes in environment
20
Q

Economic and ecological reasons to maintain biodiversity

A
  • Nature provide us with future developments
  • Help with technological problems
  • Regulate the atmosphere
  • Purify fresh water
  • Recycle nutrients
  • Crop pollination
  • Growth in timber, food and fuel
21
Q

Aesthetic reasons to maintain biodiversity

A
  • All organisms have the right to live
  • Loss of habitat may displace organisms
  • Humans feel joy from observing nature
  • Natural systems are very important for physical, social, mental health
22
Q

Other reasons why we should maintain biodiversity?

A
  • Allow genetic diversity to decline, may lose natural solution to problems
  • Nature is a potential source for new medicines
  • Nature may be the solution to problems (transgenic species, survive climate change)
23
Q

Difference between in situ and ex situ methods

A

In situ : supporting natural ecosystems in the wild (within)
Ex situ : Moving endangered species into man-made environments

24
Q

In situ methods - Minimise human impact on environment

A
  • Legislation (prevent human activities, may only be specific to one area)
  • Conservation Parks (permanent protection,conflict arise if animals escape)
  • Repopulation ( rebuilding biodiversity, costly, unknown impact on environment)
25
Q

Ex Situ methods : risk disturbance to natural environment

A
  • Zoos ( lowers likelihood of extinction, not kept in natural environment)
  • Seed Bank (Have infinite options for future use, storage needs to be controlled, seed germination + viability needs to be tested annually)
26
Q

Simpson’s Index of Biodiversity

A
  • Takes richness and evenness into account
  • Gives an idea of number of each species relative to population size
  • Small and large populations treated differently
27
Q

High index of biodiversity means…

A
  • Diverse habitat
  • Many species live there
  • Small change to environment may only affect one species
  • Total effect on habitat is small, tends to be stable habitat
28
Q

Low index of biodiversity means…

A
  • Suggest it is dominated by few species
  • Small change to the environment may affect one of the major species
  • Could damage or destroy the whole species
  • Small change have large impact on environment
  • Much less stable environment
29
Q

Ways to sample animals

A
  • Sampling may disturb the habitat
  • Animals may be frightened away - unrepresentative sample
  • Swamp netting, collecting from trees, pitfall trap. tullgren funnel, light trap
    Estimate after they have been caught
30
Q

How to sample plants?

A
  • Square frame quadrat , define sample area
  • Abundance measured
    (ACFOR abundance scale, estimate % cover, key to identify species)
31
Q

ACFOR abundance scale

A

A : Abundant
C : Common
F : Frequent
O : Occasional
R : Rare

32
Q

What is sampling? What does it allow us to do?

A
  • When a small, random portion of a habitat is selected and studies carefully
  • Allows us to see impacts on environment, estimate effects of a planned development on the environment
33
Q

Random Samples

A
  • Must be chosen randomly
  • Avoid bias/subjectivity
  • Estimate size of the habitat and decide where to take samples

Biology (10 decks)

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