Biodiversity Flashcards
What is biodiversity?
The variety of living organisms in an area
What is a habitat?
The place where an organisms live
What is a community?
All the populations of different species in a habitat
What are two types of biodiversity?
- Local
- Global
What is species richness?
A measure of the number of different species in a community. It can be worked out by taking random samples of a community and counting the number of different species
What is an index of diversity?
Another way of measuring biodiversity - calculated using an equation that takes both number of species in a community and abundance of each species
Give 5 things that farmers do that reduces biodiversity
- Woodland clearance
- Hedgerow removal
- Pesticides
- Herbicides
- Monoculture
How does woodland clearance reduce biodiversity?
Reduces number of trees and different tree species. Destroys habitats so some species lose shelter and food source - species will die or be forced to move habitat
How does hedgerow removal reduce biodiversity?
Reduces number of trees and different tree species. Destroys habitats so some species lose shelter and food source - species will die or be forced to move habitat
How do pesticides reduce biodiversity?
Directly killing pests. Also, species that feed on pests lose a food source, their numbers decrease too
How do herbicides reduce biodiversity?
Reduces plant diversity and reduce the number of organisms that feed on the weeds
How does monoculture reduce biodiversity?
A single type of plant directly reduced biodiversity and will support fewer organisms
Give three ways conservationists try to protect biodiversity
- Giving legal protection to endangered species
- Creating protected areas such as SSSIs and AONBs. These restrict further development
- The Environmental Stewardship Scheme - encourages farmers to conserve biodiversity
