Biodiversity

Question 1

biodiversity in an ecosystem includes:

Answer 1

genetic diversity
species diversity
habitat diversity

Question 2

what can lead to a loss of genetic diversity?

Answer 2

a population bottleneck

Question 3

the more genetically diverse a population is the better it can:

Answer 3

respond to environmental stressors

Question 4

ecosystems that have a larger number of species are more likely to:

Answer 4

recover from disruptions

Question 5

a loss of habitat leads to a loss of:
followed by a loss of:
it also leads to reduced numbers of:

Answer 5

specialist species
generalist species
species that have large territorial requirements

Question 6

what is species richness?

Answer 6

the number of different species found in an ecosystem

Question 7

what is habitat/ecosystem diversity?

Answer 7

the biggest level of diversity
the number of different habitats available in a given area

Question 8

what is an example of an area with high ecosystem diversity?

Answer 8

Hawaii has mountain ecosystems, ocean ecos, forest ecos, and river ecos, and grasslands

Question 9

what is species diversity?

Answer 9

the number of different species in an ecosystem AND the balance or evenness of the population sizes of all species in the ecosystem

Question 10

what is genetic diversity?

Answer 10

how different the genomes are of individuals within a population

Question 11

the higher the biodiversity, the higher the:

Answer 11

ecosystem/population health

Question 12

what is a genome?

Answer 12

the complete set of genes or genetic material present in a cell or organism

Question 13

what is an example of genetic diversity within a population?

Answer 13

a population of squirrels might have different fur colors, tail lengths, etc.

Question 14

what is species richness?

Answer 14

the total number of different species found in an ecosystem

Question 15

what is species evenness?

Answer 15

a measure of how all of the individual organisms in an ecosystem are balanced between the different species

Question 16

high species richness is a good sign of:
why?

Answer 16

ecosystem health
more species means more quality resources like water and soil

Question 17

what does species evenness indicate?

Answer 17

if there are one or two dominant species or if population sizes are well balanced

Question 18

why is there genetic diversity in all populations?

Answer 18

because random mutations in copying of DNA and recombination of chromosomes in sex cells of parents leads to new gene combinations and new traits in offspring

Question 19

what are some examples of some environmental stressors?

Answer 19

drought, famine, disease

Question 20

why does higher biodiversity lead to a higher chance of survival of an environmental stressor?

Answer 20

more genetic diversity means there is a higher chance that some of the individuals in a population have traits that allow them to survive the environmental stressor

Question 21

what is a bottleneck event?

Answer 21

an environmental disturbance (natural disaster or human habitat destruction) that drastically reduces a population size and kills organisms regardless of their genome

Question 22

what is the result of a bottleneck event?

Answer 22

the surviving population is smaller and because individuals died randomly, it doesn’t represent the genetic diversity of the original population

Question 23

what do bottleneck events reduce?

Answer 23

genetic diversity

Question 24

how does a bottleneck event affect a population?

Answer 24

because the population is smaller and less genetically diverse, it’s even more vulnerable to future environmental disturbances

Question 25

what is inbreeding?

Answer 25

when organisms mate with closely related family members

Question 26

what is the consequence of inbreeding?

Answer 26

leads to higher chance of offspring having harmful genetic mutations because they’re getting similar genotypes from both parents

Question 27

which populations are more susceptible to inbreeding?

Answer 27

smaller populations are more likely to experience inbreeding because it’s more difficult to find a non-related mate

Question 28

what is an example of inbreeding in a population?

Answer 28

in the 1990s the Florida panther population decreased down to 30 individuals due to hunting and habitat loss
this led to inbreeding depression (kinked tails, heat defects, low sperm count, undescended testicles)
saved in 1995 by pumas from Texas

Question 29

what is ecosystem resilience?

Answer 29

the ability of an ecosystem to return to its original conditions after a major disturbance (wind storm, fire, flood, clear-cutting, etc.)

Question 30

higher species diversity leads to higher:

Answer 30

ecosystem resilience

Question 31

why does high species diversity mean high ecosystem resilience?

Answer 31

there are more plant species to repopulate disturbed ground, anchor soil, and provide food and habitat for animal species