Biodiversity Flashcards
What is biodiversity?
The variety of living organisms. It can be measured in terms of species diversity (number of species in a community), genetic diversity and ecosystem diversity (range of different habitats).
Define community
All of the different living organisms present in an ecosystem at a given time
How to calculate index of diversity
d = N(N-1) / sum of n(n-1)
N = total number of organisms of all species
n = total number of organisms of each species
Define species richness
The number of different species in a community
Definition of species
A group of organisms that can reproduce to produce fertile offspring
Define species diversity
Number of different species and the number of each species within a community
Define genetic diversity
Variety of alleles that make up one species
Define ecosystem diversity
Range of different habitats in a particular area
Why is diversity index so useful?
Easy to compare locations
Measures the number of species and the number of individuals
What is meant by interspecific and intraspecific variation?
Inter = differences between individuals of different species
Intra = differences between individuals of the same species
How can a random sample be achieved?
Use randomly generated coordinates
Use a large sample size
Ways in which genetic diversity can be measured/compared
mRNA sequence
DNA sequence
Amino acid sequence
