Biodiversity Flashcards
What is Biodiversity?
It describes the variety and variability of all living organisms within a given ecological area.
What is Biodiversity used to refer to?
- Number of species
- Genetic Diversity
- Habitat variety
What contributes to the Species’ Diversity?
- Species Richness –> describes the number of different species in an area.
- Species Evenness –> the relative abundance of the different species in an area.
What is an example of Ecosystem Diversity?
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most ecologically diverse ecosystems on Earth
What is a Genetic Pool in relation to Genetic Diversity?
It is the sum total of alleles in a sexually reproducing population.
What is Anthropogenic Species Extinction?
An extinction caused by human activities.
What is an example of an Anthropogenic Species Extinction?
The extinction of Caribbean Monk Seals. The European colonists killed the seals for oil (in lamps) and food.
What is an example of an ecosystem loss?
The loss of the mixed dipterocarp forest ecosystem in Southeast Asia. Clear-cutting of forests caused a loss of forests each year. And the remaining land was used for agriculture.
What is the Biodiversity Crisis?
The unprecedented loss of ecosystems and species
How do scientists monitor and gather evidence of the crisis?
- Population Size
- Range of a species
- Diversity of a species in an ecosystem
- RIchness and Evenness of a species
What causes the current biodiversity crisis?
- Human Population
- Hunting and other forms of over-exploitation
- Urbanization
- Deforestations and clearance of land for agriculture
- Pollution
- Diseases
What is In situ?
The conservation of species in natural habitats
What is the advantage of In situ?
- Species live in the ecosystem they are adapted to
- Animal behaviour pattern stays the same
What is Ex situ?
The conservation of species outside their natural habitats
What does the Ex situ method do?
It creates a long-term storage for germplasm for propagation in the future
