biodiversity Flashcards
what 3 levels is biodiversity considered at?
- habitat
- species
- genetic
what is biodiversity?
the variety of living organisms present in an area
what is species richness?
the number of different species in one area
what is species evenness?
comparison of the size of each population in an area
what is a sampling method for plants?
quadrats
what is a sampling method for small insects?
pitfall traps
what is a sampling method for larger animals?
remote cameras
what are factors affecting biodiversity?
- human population growth
- climate change
- agriculture
how does agriculture affect biodiversity?
- farmers use monoculture which reduces genetic diversity
- plants are more likely to be wiped out by disease
- they cannot adapt to environmental changes
- pesticides are toxic to pollinators which are essential to plant reproduce
what are the benefits to agriculture of maintaining biodiversity?
- habitat for pollinators
- useful in changing climates
- maintaining gene pool
how does human population growth affect biodiversity?
- deforestation to make room for more houses destroys habitats
- more pollution produced and damages ecosystems eg. marine organisms
how does climate change affect biodiversity?
- species cannot adapt to warmer/drier climates
- migration isnt always possible
- rising sea levels reduces land area
what are the economic reasons for maintaining biodiversity?
- ecotourism
- people come from across the world to pay to view the wildlife, and spend money around the area, boosting the economy
- this provides more jobs, so people move to the area
- medicines
- most medicines derive from plants
what are the ecological reasons for maintaining biodiversity?
- genetic diversity
- maintaining a gene pool so species can survive disease and environmental changes
- keystone species
- define an ecosystem and are functionally redundant
- without them an ecosystem will destabilise and collapse
- interdependence
