Biodiversity Flashcards
What is biodiversity?
A measure of the variety of organisms and their genetic differences
What do we need to measure biodiversity?
-Number of different species in the area
-Abundance of species
What is species richness?
The number of different species in an area
What is species evenness?
The relative number of different types of organisms
What is the index of diversity?
Where the species richness and abundance are taken into account in a formula
What causes biodiversity to vary across the world?
-Climate change
-Human activities e.g. deforestation
-Natural events e.g. a flood
-Time of day/year
-Some abiotic features are more favourable than others
What is a biodiversity hotspot?
Areas with particularly high biodiversity
What is an endemic population?
A species that evolves in geographical isolation and is only found in one area
What is genetic diversity?
The total number of different alleles in the gene pool of a population
How does genetic diversity lead to species surviving?
-Greater diversity = more likely that the species will be able to adapt to environmental changes
-Wider range of alleles = wider range of characteristics meaning species are more likely to have the adapted characteristics to survive
How do you compare genetic diversity?
-Frequency of observable characteristics
-Base sequence of DNA
-Base sequence of mRNA
-Amino acid sequence of proteins
Why do scientists use DNA sequencing?
More direct and less open to subjective interpretation
What is allele frequency?
The frequency with which a particular allele appears within a population
What is an advantageous feature?
The frequency of an allele will be selected and increase the frequency of it within the population
What is a disadvantageous feature?
Natural selection will remove the allele from the gene pool or be used at a low frequency
What is a gene pool?
The complete set of genetic information within a population of a given species or within a species itself
-Large gene pool = very diverse, varied, more likely to survive an environmental change
-Shallow gene pool = not very diverse, less likely to survive change
What are the ethical arguments for maintaining biodiversity?
-Denying future generations to use these renewable natural resources
-The natural world is a source of pleasure for people
-Can potentially cause mass extinction due to climate change
What are the economic reasons for maintaining biodiversity?
-Provides fibres for clothing
-Ecosystems help maintain air quality
-Healthy ecosystems are important for human health and well-being
What are ecosystem services?
Services provided by the natural environment that are a benefit to people
e.g. shelter, food, water, fuel
What are provisioning services?
Ecosystems provide all sorts of provisions, greater biodiversity = more services available
e.g. food, medicines, fuel
What are regulating services?
Processes which help maintain and regulate our environment
e.g. pest control, climate regulation, sewage treatment
What are supporting services?
Ecosystems providing support for other ecosystem services we need
e.g. soil formation, cycling carbon
What are cultural services?
A bio-diverse and healthy ecosystem is important for human health and well-being and to be used for recreation and education
e.g. tourism, education, research
What is in-situ conservation?
When species are conserved inside/within their natural habitat maintaining biodiversity
e.g wildlife reserves, national parks
What are the advantages to in-situ conservation?
-It doesn’t remove the species from its habitat
-Cheaper than ex-situ conservation
-Protects the biodiversity of the ecosystem
What are the disadvantages of in-situ conservation?
-Too much biodiversity may have been lost to let the species adapt in its natural environment
-Wildlife reserves may be damaged by ecotourism
What is ex-situ conservation?
When species are conserved outside of their natural habitat
e.g. zoos, seed banks
What are the advantages of ex-situ conservation?
-Protects organisms from poaching and from predators
-Helps attract funding and awareness
-Uses artificial insemination which maximises reproduction and genetic diversity
What are the disadvantages of ex-situ conservation?
-Limited genetic diversity
-Hard to provide a sustainable environment
-Hard to release the animals back into the wild because they have not learnt the necessary behaviour
What is conservation?
Maintaining and protecting a living and changing environment
What is a seed bank?
When live seeds are collected they are checked to contain fully developed embryos, they are then dried and put into jars stored between -20 to -40 degrees where they survive and are capable of germination for up to 200 years
