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BIO234_Animal Conservation and Welfare > Biodiversity > Flashcards

Biodiversity Flashcards

1
Q

What is biodiversity?

A

variety of life
a continuum

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2
Q

What can biodiversity be subdivided into?

A
  1. Genetic diversity - underlies behavioural and morphological diversity
  2. Species diversity - variety of species that comprise a biological community
  3. Community and ecosystem diversity - different biological communities and their associated ecosystems
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3
Q

What is genetic diversity?

A

total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species

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4
Q

What is the processes of DNA mutation to Phenotype?

A

DNA mutations -> Alleles -> Proteins -> Phenotype (including behaviour)

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5
Q

What are the definitions of species diversity? (3)

A
  1. Biological species concept
  2. Morphological species concept
  3. Evolutionary species concept
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6
Q

What is biological species concept as a definition of species diversity?

A

different species do not breed with each other

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7
Q

What is morphological species concept as a definition of species diversity?

A

a group of individuals that is morphologically, physiologically, or biochemically distinct

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8
Q

What is evolutionary species concept as a definition of species diversity?

A

a group of individuals that share unique similarities of their DNA

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9
Q

What are examples of the difficulties with each definition of species diversity?

A

E.g. The western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) and the eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna) = distinct species because they have different songs and do not interbreed - look very similar
E.g. natural hybridisation sometimes occurs e.g. tiger salamanders

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10
Q

How many eukaryotic species have been described so far?

A

1.24 million

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11
Q

How many eukaryotic species, on land?

A

1.05 million

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12
Q

How many eukaryotic species, in oceans?

A

0.19 million

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13
Q

How many eukaryotic species that are invertebrates (and beetles)?

A

0.75 million (including 0.35 million beetles)

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14
Q

What biases exist with the amount of species?

A
  • towards large, abundant, widespread, temperate, terrestrial species
  • many ‘new to science’ species have been long-known by locals
  • small, cryptic species are underrepresented, especially prokaryotes
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15
Q

How is species diversity measured?

A
  • comprised of species richness and species evenness
  • populations can have the same number of species but different evenness
  • Simpson’s diversity index - higher number = lower diversity, in contrast to the other measures
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16
Q

What do conservationists try to preserve?

A
  1. Trophic structure
  2. Food web complexity
  3. Species composition
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17
Q
  1. Trophic structure
    what does a trophic pyramid describe?
A
  • amount of energy and biomass at each level
  • energy decreases at higher tropic levels - heat loss during respiration, and biomass decreases at higher tropic levels
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18
Q
  1. Trophic structure
    What is a primary producer?
A
  • obtain energy from sun (photosynthesis)
  • terrestrial environments = flowering plants, gymnosperms, ferns
  • aquatic environments = seaweeds, single-celled algae, cyanobacteria (blue-green algae)
  • use solar energy to build organic molecules they need to live and grow
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19
Q
  1. Trophic structure
    What are primary consumers?
A
  • herbivores - eat photosynthetic species
  • terrestrial environments = gazelles and grasshoppers eat grass
  • aquatic environments = crustaceans and some fish eat algae
  • intensity of grazing by herbivores often determines relative abundance of plant species and even mass of plant material present
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20
Q
  1. Trophic structure
    What are higher consumers - secondary and tertiary consumers?
A
  • secondary carnivores (e.g. foxes) eat herbivores (e.g. rabbit)
  • tertiary consumers (e.g. bass) eat other carnivores (e.g. frogs)
  • carnivores = usually predators, some specie combine direct predation w/ scavenging behaviour, and other species, known as omnivores, include a portion of plant foods in their diets
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21
Q
  1. Trophic structure
    What are detrivores?
A
  • decomposers - feed on dead plant and animal tissues and wastes (detritus), breaking down complex tissues and organic molecules
  • in process - decomposers release biologically essential minerals (e.g. nitrates and phosphates) back into soil and water, where they can be taken up again by plants and algae
  • decomposers = fungi and bacteria
  • other animals that break down organic materials = vultures and other scavengers; dung beetles feed on and bury animal dung; worms break down fallen leaves and other organic matter
  • if not present - organic material would accumulate and plant growth would slowly stop
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22
Q
  1. Trophic structure
    What are parasites?
A
  • live on or within host organism for all/part of their lives - may cause harm to host or weaken - PATHOGENS do cause harm
  • pathogens and parasites - variety of protists, bacteria, fungi, viruses and animals (e.g. flatworms and flukes), infect plants and animals at all tropic levels
  • effect of disease-causing organisms = especially important when host species is at high density and under stress - may occur at zoo or in habitat that has been fragmented or degraded by human activities
  • spread of disease from captive or domestic species, such as domestic dogs, to wild species, (e.g. lions), can be a threat to rare species
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23
Q

How does trophic cascades occur?

A
  • loss of single species can result in extinctions of multiple people
  • a linked concept is functional diversity - the variety of ecological functions that species perform in ecosystems
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24
Q
  1. Food web complexity
    What is linkage density (D)?
A

Average number of interactions between species

25
Q
  1. Food web complexity
    What is connectance (C)?
A

the proportion of all possible links between species that are realised

26
Q
  1. Food web complexity
    How to conserve species, relating to the food web?
A

conserve species they rely on

26
Q
  1. Food web complexity
    What makes species more or less vulnerable, relating to the food web?
A

fewer links = more vulnerable (less resilient)

27
Q
  1. Species composition
A
  • some species can be particularly important to their community/ecosystem
  • e.g. ecosystem engineers: form habitats e.g. beavers, kelp, coral, net-spinning caddis fly larvae
  • e.g. Keystone species: have high impact on other species through their interactions with other species (not via high abundance/biomass or through habitat creation)
  • argument that conservation efforts should focus on species with high impact on the community
27
Q

What are biogeographic realms?

A

large regions across globe where organisms share common geologic and evolutionary histories

28
Q

How many biogeographic realms are identified?

A

8

29
Q

What are biogeographic realms composed of?

A

biomes

30
Q

What is a biome?

A

area that can be identified by their dominant vegetation type (on land) or dominant physical processes (in aquatic habitats)

31
Q

What can biomes be further divided into?

A

Ecoregions

32
Q

What is an ecoregion?

A

units of land containing distinct assemblage of natural communities and species
E.g. WWF divided terrestrial biomes into 867 ecoregions - used to recognise areas for conservation

33
Q

Biomes
Tropical Forests

A

7% land area, contain > 50% world’s species

34
Q

Biome
Coral Reefs

A

<0.1% of ocean surface area, but >25% of all marine species

35
Q

Biome
Large tropical lakes and river systems

A

<0.01% of world’s water and ~ 0.8% of Earth’s surface
Support ~125,000 species

36
Q

Biome
Mediterranean Communities

A

moist winters, hot dry summers = high plant diversity
occur in Mediterranean basin, Southwestern Australia, California, Central Chile, and the South African cape (which has 9000 endemic plants species)

37
Q

How many biodiversity hotspots have been identified, how much biodiversity do they contain, and how much of the Earth’s land surface do they comprise?

A

25 hotspots of terrestrial biodiversity contain:
- 44% of all species of vascular plants
- 35% of all vertebrate species
Comprise 1.4% of Earth’s land surface

38
Q

What region is biodiversity highest?

A

Tropical regions
Exhibited in marine, terrestrial and freshwater habitats
All major taxonomic groups
Been persistent over time

39
Q

Why do tropical regions have higher biodiversity?

A
  • biodiversity evolves through mutation, migration, natural selection and genetic drift - resulting in patterns of speciation and extinction
  • processes don’t occur evenly
    Tropics have:
  • greater area: species diversity increases predictably with area
  • greater productivity: more sun and rain lead to greater plant productivity & more herbivores and carnivores
  • more time: equatorial regions have had a stabler climate (e.g. no glaciation)
40
Q

How have humans impacted biodiversity?

A

huge impact
wild mammals biomass declined 85% since rise of human civilizations
mainly driven by overhunting and habitat loss

41
Q

What are the values of biodiversity?

A
  • Intrinsic
  • Instrumental
  • Relational
42
Q

What is intrinsic as a value of biodiversity?

A

-> Moral - Value based on individual sense of right and wrong
-> Ethical - Value based on social norms and codes of conduct
-> Religious - Value from a belief in a higher power

43
Q

What is instrumental as a value of biodiversity?

A

-> Direct use - value of market goods and products that nature provides
-> Indirect use - value of the services nature provides to people
-> Option value - value of natural assets when used in the future
-> Non-use - value of leaving nature intact for future generations

44
Q

What is relational as a value of biodiversity?

A

-> Personal and cultural identity - value of personal and cultural identity
-> Social responsibility - value of connecting with and caring for others
-> Historical and education - value of understanding one’s place in the world
-> Biophilia - value of connecting with nature
-> Aesthetic - value of beauty, wonder, and inspiration

45
Q

What are the 4 main types of ecosystem services?

A
  • Provisioning
  • Regulating
  • Cultural
  • Supporting
46
Q

What is provisioning as a type of ecosystem service?

A

Products obtained from ecosystems
- food
- water
- raw materials
- medicines
- biotechnology

47
Q

What is regulating as a type of ecosystem services?

A

Benefits from regulation of ecosystem processes
- Air, water purification
- Climate regulation
- Soil fertility
- Erosion control
- Pest and disease control
- Pollination
- Natural disaster mitigation

48
Q

What is cultural as a ecosystem service?

A

Nonmaterial benefits obtained from ecosystems
- Recreation
- Ecotourism
- Health and well-being
- Spiritual and religious
- Aesthetic and inspiration
- Educational
- Cultural heritage

49
Q

What is supporting as a ecosystem service?

A

Ecological processes that control the functioning of ecosystems and production of all other services
- Resource capture
- Biomass production
- Decomposition
- Nutrient recycling

50
Q

What is free market?

A

Prices for goods/services are self-regulated

51
Q

Who is a free market determined by?

A
  • buyers and sellers negotiating in an open market
  • free from governmental regulation
52
Q

What are free markets prone to?

A

externalities
detrimental effects of a business practice that are born by the public

53
Q

Example of The problem of Free Markets

A

E.g. 1952 Great Smog of London killed ~12,000 people with 100,000 people suffering health effects
Today, over 9 million people die from pollution-related diseases each year; 16% of all deaths worldwide - more deaths than caused by wars, obesity, smoking, and malnutrition combined
<5 million Covid deaths in 18 months

54
Q

What other externalities occur?

A
  • Who pays for the costs of climate change?
  • Or plastic pollution?
  • Or the breakdown of ecosystems?
55
Q

What do externalities lead to?

A

market failures that cause resources to misallocated:
- a few individuals or businesses benefit at the expense of larger society

Causes society to be less prosperous

56
Q

Case Study 1: Wetland loss and Hurricane Katrina (2006)

A
  • predicted in 1998
  • loss 4877 km2 of wetlands removed the buffering from hurricanes
  • New Orleans almost 5 m (14 feet) below sea level
  • 2012 (6 years after Hurricane Katrina), state released master plan for the coast w/ cost of $50 billion over 50 years in full. $17.9 billion, is dedicated to wetland restoration
57
Q

Case Study 2: How New York keeps drinking water clean

A
  • clean water piped in from Catskill Mountains since 1830
  • BUT agricultural intensification led to increase pollution
  • cost of building treatment plant were prohibitive ($4 billion for initial construction and $200 million annually to operate)
  • Instead, worked with Catskill Mountain farmers ‘Whole Farm Planning’ creating an individual plan for each farm to incorporate the environment
    Huge success:
  • 95% of farms participated (despite being voluntary)
  • 75-80% reduction in farm pollutants

BIO234_Animal Conservation and Welfare (17 decks)

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