biodiversity Flashcards
issues of biodiversity decreasing
air and water of earth purified by organisms
-waste decomposed by fungi and bacteria
-microorganisms in soil and water convert ammonia into nitrate ions taken up and used by plants
whats biodiversity
the variety of life on earth from microbes to mammals
genetic diversity between species and different species and variety of ecosystems
how do plants influence rain fall
absorb water which evaporates into atmosphere producing clouds for rain
2 factors for measuring biodiversity at species level
species richness
relative abundance of different species that make species richness
areas of highest biodiversity
wet tropics and coral reefs
biodiversity hotspots
of unusual biodiversity and endemism
theory as to why some areas are really biodiverse
very stable ecosystems allow many complex relationships to develop between species
genetic biodiversity
important to measure biological health
without variety population vulnerable
ethical reasons for keeping biodiversity
-deny future generations of natural resources
-pleasure for people so dont destroy
-unethical human actions
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biodiversity and genetic variation
develop production of crops livestock and fisheries
problems with biodiversity hotspots
where resources are like wood
gas
oil and minerals and people destroy places for resources
why is it hard to prioritise areas for conservation
areas of greatest biodiversity are not always same as places with biggest number of endemic species
example of stable ecosystems allowing relations between species
area where organisms can grow and reproduce quickly more mutations lead to adaptations so organisms can exploit more niches
relative species abundance
the relative number of different types of organisms
enviormental changes and biodiversity
when an enviornment has extreme changes the biodiversity is low
enviornment with unflled niches and hostile
floods
storms
pathogens
with unfilled niches a new species can come and overpower existing species
how is biodiversity not constant
temps vary biodiversity
enviornment
migration
mating season
measuring biodiversity within a species
DNA analysis of gene pools of species
effect of mutations of gene pools
increase the gene pool by increasing the number of different alleles available
allele frequency
the relative frequency of a particular allele in a polulation
what happens if a mutation in species is advantageous
the frequency of the allele will increase as that allele is selected