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Science 9 > Biodiversity > Flashcards

Biodiversity Flashcards

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Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

What is Biodiversity?

A

The number and variety of organisms

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2
Q

Why is Biodiversity important?

A

Humans cannot fully comprehend what an organism contributes to the ecosystem and even getting rid of one organism can have major side effects. Additionally, without biodiversity we would have species that wouldn’t respond to changes in the environment and cause life on earth to die out

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3
Q

What are the 3 levels of biodiversity?

A

Genetic (Variation of genes within a species) Species (Variation of species within an ecosystem) and ecological (variation of ecosystems within our planet)

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4
Q

Explain the taxonomy pyramid

A

Species:
A group of organisms with similar characteristics that are capable of inbreeding
The offspring of two organisms that belong to the same species are mostly fertile
Genus:
A group of organisms with similar characteristics and encompasses a few, maybe hundreds of species
Family:
A group of organisms with similar characteristics and encompasses a few genuses
Order:
A group of organisms with similar characteristics and encompasses a few families
Class:
A group of organisms with similar characteristics and encompasses a few orders, e.g. mammals, insects
Phylum:
A group of organisms with similar characteristics and encompasses a few classes, usually based on body structure characteristics
Kingdom:
A group of organisms with similar characteristics that are dramatically different from the other kingdoms, consisting of Plants, Animals, Protists and Fungi
Domain:
One of the 3 fundamentally different branches of life, which include Eukarya (has a nucleus) Bacteria and Archaea

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5
Q

What are species?

A

A group of organisms that share many characteristics that are capable of interbreeding and creating fertile offspring

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6
Q

What is speciation?

A

The development of a species into several new species

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7
Q

How are unique traits essential to an organism’s survival?

A

Adaptations (structural or behavioral) can help a species thrive in an ecosystem

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8
Q

What is a local example of the importance of biodiversity?

A

The lodgepole pine was nearly wiped out by the mountain pine beetle whereas places with greater biodiversity do not suffer the same huge losses

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9
Q

How would a scientist measure biodiversity?

A

Through a diversity index that is calculated by total species/total organisms

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10
Q

What is an organism’s niche comprised of?

A

Its location and what it does

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11
Q

What is competition and how does it show the importance of biodiversity?

A

Competition is fighting for a resource by different animals (of the same species or no) and variations between them give one an advantage

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12
Q

What are broad niches and generalists?

A

A broad niche is a niche fulfilled by a generalist, an organism with adaptations and variations to allow it to survive in various different environments

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13
Q

What are narrow niches and specialists?

A

A narrow niche is a niche fulfilled by a specialist, an organism with adaptations and variations to allow it to survive in a specific environment

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14
Q

What is a symbiotic relationship?

A

A long-term dependency of one organism with another

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15
Q

What is mutualism?

A

A symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit

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16
Q

What is commensalism?

A

A symbiotic relationship in which one organism is not affected while the other organism benefits

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17
Q

What is parasitism?

A

A symbiotic relationship in which one organsim is harmed while the other benefits

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18
Q

What does interspecies and intraspecies mean?

A

Interspecies means between species and Intraspecies means within the same species

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19
Q

What is the term for a trait that is able to be passed on from parent to offspring?

A

Heritable

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20
Q

What is asexual reproduction?

A

A form of reproduction in which the organism creates an offspring by itself

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21
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of asexual reproduction?

A

Not needing to find a mate, and occurring quite quickly. However, there is less genetic diversity

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22
Q

What is binary fission?

A

A form of asexual reproduction where the original cell splits

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23
Q

What are asexual spores?

A

A form of asexual reproduction in which a bunch of spores get scattered around

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24
Q

What are zoospores?

A

A form of spores that have flagella

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25
Q

What is the meristem function?

A

A trait in some plants that allows them to grow back any part of the body, allowing them to duplicate

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26
Q

What is budding?

A

A form of asexual reproduction that happens when a bud grows near the base of an organism that detaches when fully grown

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27
Q

What is sexual reproduction?

A

When both parents supply genetic material

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28
Q

What are zygospores?

A

Spores with genetic material from two parents

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29
Q

What is bacterial conjugation?

A

Directly transferring genetic material that can be a form of sexual reproduction when binary fission occurs

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30
Q

What are angiosperms?

A

Flowering plants

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31
Q

What are gymnosperms?

A

A plant that reproduces through an exposed seed ex. pine cones

32
Q

What is a zygote?

A

The first cell of an organism

33
Q

Describe a flower:

A

See image 9

34
Q

Describe a plant seed/embryo

A

See image 10

35
Q

How does pollination occur in flowers?

A

Pollen from the anther lands on a stigma, through the newly formed pollen tube into the egg

36
Q

How does a flower seed mature?

A

After being fertilized, the petals die off, leaving the embryo and one or two cotyledons which will germinate when conditions are right

37
Q

How does external fertilization work?

A

Both parents sit in water and release gametes at the same time and some end up being fertilized

38
Q

Why is it useful for plants reproduce sexually and asexually?

A

They reproduce sexually if possible but asexually if conditions are not good

39
Q

Why is internal fertilization better than external?

A

Higher fertility rate

40
Q

What is heredity and genetics?

A

The passing on of traits is heredity and that branch of science is genetics

41
Q

What is continuous variation?

A

Something that has a range of possibilities for traits ex height

42
Q

What is discrete variation?

A

Some trait that has a limited number of possibilities ex rolled tongue or no

43
Q

What is a dominant trait?

A

A trait that shows up in offspring

44
Q

What is a recessive trait?

A

A trait that does not show up in offspring unless both parents have it

45
Q

What are mutations?

A

Changes to DNA

46
Q

What are mutagens?

A

Something that can cause mutations

47
Q

What happens if too many mutations happen?

A

Cancer or new species

48
Q

What is deoxyribonucleic acid?

A

DNA is a molecule discovered by Johann Miescher in 1868 that can reproduce, move from parent to offspring, and control cells

49
Q

What are chromosomes?

A

Many strands of DNA clumped together

50
Q

What is the structure of DNA?

A

Much like a coiled ladder (double helix)

51
Q

What are neucleotides?

A

Smaller building blocks of DNA that are made of phosphates, sugar and a nitrogen base: A(adenine) T(thymine) G(guanine) and C(cytosine). A and T fit together and C and G fit together (see image 11)

52
Q

What is the genetic code?

A

A set of code in DNA that tells it how to control the production of proteins in a cell. A section of DNA that has code for a specific protein is a gene

53
Q

How many chromosomes do each human cell contain?

A

46, or 23 pairs

54
Q

What are the 2 types of cell division?

A

Binary fission and the creation of sperm and egg cells

55
Q

What are somatic cells?

A

Cells that are not sperm or egg cells

56
Q

How many cells are in the human body?

A

60-100 trillion

57
Q

What are gametes?

A

Sex cells or sperm and egg cells

58
Q

How does a cell divide?

A

It copies every chromosome and divides them in a process called mitosis. Thus, the two cells are exactly the same

59
Q

How is gender determined?

A

The chromosome is xy in males and xx in females, and is determined by what chromosome the successful sperm carries

60
Q

How does meiosis work?

A

A germ cell divides itself into 4 gametes, each having 23 so the zygote can have 46 chromosomes. This technique creates 2 to the 23rd power different combinations of chromosomes and combined with another gamete from another parent, significantly increases biodiversity

61
Q

What is genetic engineering?

A

Artificially creating DNA

62
Q

What are biotechnologies?

A

Moving genes from one organism to another

63
Q

How do biotechnologies help in medicine?

A

Many different ways, including making a bacteria produce insulin

64
Q

What are transgenic animals?

A

Animals that have been genetically tampered with

65
Q

What are GMOs?

A

Genetically engineering organisms to create better and more food

66
Q

What are domestic animals?

A

An animal tamed or bred by humans to perform a certain task

67
Q

What is artificial selection/selective breeding?

A

Breeding animals to get the traits people want

68
Q

What is the theory of natural selection?

A
  1. All organisms produce more offspring than can possibly survive
  2. There is incredible variation within each species of organism
  3. Variations that increase an organism’s chance of survival are passed on
  4. Over time, variations are passed on to lead to changes in the genetic characteristics of a species
69
Q

What is natural selection? (Not the theory)

A

The process in which favorable traits become more common and unfavorable traits become less common in a certain species.

70
Q

What is the sixth extinction?

A

The theory that humans may be causing the 6th great extinction of life on our planet, with estimates on 70 species disappearing per day

71
Q

What areas of the world generally support more biodiversity?

A

Humid, warm climates

72
Q

What is a bioindicator species?

A

A species to look at to determine the health of an ecosystem ex grizzly bears and wolverines

73
Q

Why is habitat loss such a large problem in tropical developing countries?

A

Trees are used for firewood, and land that is turned into farms quickly run out of nutrients as a result of the land’s dependence on the above ecosystem. As a result, the land soon becomes infertile and more forest has to be cleared

74
Q

What are some examples of extinctions caused by humans?

A

dodos, passenger pigeons, etc.

75
Q

How do zoos help with biodiversity?

A

They are a near-perfect sanctuary and can contain the last few species of some animals

76
Q

What are seed banks?

A

Places to store seeds to improve genetic diversity in plants

77
Q

How do global treaties help biodiversity?

A

They prohibit the hunting of some endangered species

Science 9 (5 decks)

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