Biodiversity Flashcards
1
Q
biodiversity
A
the variety and complexity of different species and alleles which coexist in a variety of habitats within an ecosystem at one time (indicator in the study of habitats)
2
Q
levels of biodiversity
A
- habitat
- species
- genetic
3
Q
types of species biodiversity
A
- species richness
- species evenness
4
Q
habitat biodiversity
A
the number of different habitats present in an area
5
Q
compare a high biodiverse landscape with a low one (use examples)
A
- UK is very habitat biodiverse
- woodlands, meadows, streams etc
- greater number of habitats can house a greater number of species
- greater number of niches to be exploited
- Antarctica is not very habitat biodiverse
- covered entirely by ice sheets
- only suited species can survive there
- less inches to be exploited
6
Q
species richness
A
the number of different species living within an area
7
Q
species evenness
A
a comparison of the number of individuals of each species living within an area
8
Q
what causes genetic biodiversity?
A
alleles
organisms’ DNA is made up of genes, some will be the same in every individual of the species and others will have different alleles which code for different phenotypes
9
Q
two reasons why samples may not be reliable
A
- bias
- chance
10
Q
how can reliability be improved?
A
increasing sample size will decrease the effect of bias and chance on the overall sample
11
Q
general differences between areas with high vs low habitat biodiversity
A
high:
- greater number of habitats
- relatively less extreme environments
- more ecological niches
- higher species richness (usually few adaptations)
- complex food webs
- more stable in response to change
low:
- lower number of habitats
- extremer environments
- fewer ecological niches
- lower species richness (only adapted species survive there)
- simple food webs
- less stable in response to change
12
Q
locus
A
position that a gene occupies on a chromosome
13
Q
gene pool
A
variety of alleles within a species
14
Q
why is genetic diversity lower in smaller populations?
A
inbreeding leads to many homozygous individuals
15
Q
distribution vs abundance
A
distribution - where a species is found
abundance - how many of each species are present
16
Q
five methods of sampling animals
A
- pooter (insects)
- sweep net (insects in long grass)
- pitfall (crawling invertebrates)
- tree beating (dislodge insects in bushes/trees onto a white cloth laid underneath)
- kick sampling (water)
- catch and recapture (large/fast moving animals)
17
Q
how would you set up a pitfall
A
- dig a hole deep enough for insects to fall into without crawling back out
- cover with a shelter to prevent flooding
- leave overnight to collect nocturnal insects too
18
Q
two types of quadrat
A
- point quadrat (bar with pins at set intervals)
- frame quadrat (frame split into equal sections)
19
Q
main ways of using a frame quadrat
A
- density - counting number of species (absolute measurement rather than estimate)
- frequency - number of squares which the species is present in (estimate)
- percentage cover - percentage of quadrat where species is present (estimate)
20
Q
method of sampling large/fast moving animals (and what is important to do with this method)
A
capture-mark-release-recapture
it is important to allow enough time for the animals to redistribute themselves before recapturing
21
Q
what should also be measured when sampling organisms (with examples)?
A
abiotic factors:
- soil pH (edaphic)
- soil water availability (edaphic)
- light intensity
- temperature
- humidity
- dissolved gas concentrations in water
22
Q
what can be used to measure abiotic factors and how does this improve the results?
A
sensors:
- rapid changes can be detected
- human error is reduced
- higher degree of precision
- data can be stored and analysed easier
23
Q
two reasons why frame quadrat sample results may be invalid
A
- percentage cover doesn’t add up to 100% (not all species identified)
- subjectiveness when identifying species or estimating percentage cover
- no/not enough repeats (not representative)
24
Q
what does n and N stand for in Simpson’s index?
A
n - number of organisms of a species
N - total number of organisms of all species
25
what assumptions are made using the capture-mark-release-recapture method?
- marking must not disadvantage the organism
- organisms redistribute randomly
- no immigration/emmigration
- no births/deaths
26
genetic diversity
a measure of the number of different alleles present within a population
27
two factors increasing genetic biodiversity
- mutations
- gene flow
28
eight factors decreasing genetic biodiversity
- genetic drift
- founder effect
- genetic bottleneck
- selective breeding
- captivity
- artificial cloning
- natural selection
- rare breeds/genetic erosion (historically artificially selected organisms become less fashionable or useful so their population decreases which decreases the number of alleles to breed them from)
29
gene flow
transfer of alleles from one population to another as a result of interbreeding
30
genetic drift
inheritance of alleles is completely random and can lead to a change in allele frequency by chance
31
how is genetic biodiversity measured?
polymorphism
32
polymorphism
genes with more than one allele
33
proportion of polymorphic genes formula
no. of polymorphic gene loci/total no. of gene loci
34
opposite of polymorphism
monomorphism
35
what does the value of the proportion of polymorphic genes mean?
higher value means higher no. of alleles so a greater genetic biodiversity
36
three human influences on biodiversity
- deforestation
- agriculture
- climate change
37
causes of deforestation
- agriculture
- infrastructure
- raw materials
- climate change (storms, droughts, acid rain etc)
38
four ways deforestation affects biodiversity
- directly removing plant species
- removing a specific desired species (decreasing species richness)
- destroying habitats for other species
- as a result, species may migrate and increase the biodiversity elsewhere (may also increase competition and potentially decrease biodiversity)
39
why is replanting trees not so effective?
only one or so commercially viable species of tree will be planted which won't have much impact on species richness
40
seven influences of agriculture on biodiversity
- deforestation
- monoculture
- removal of hedgerows (for machinery and crops)
- pesticides
- herbicides (indirectly affect animal species)
- nitrate pollution
- eutrophication
41
five effects of climate change
- air and water temperature increase
- humidity increase (warmer air holds more water vapour)
- sea levels rising
- glaciers and snow coving melting
- increased precipitation
42
four influences of climate change on biodiversity (and how)
- melting ice caps --> habitat shrinking
--> animals migrating north until there is nowhere left to migrate to
--> migration increases competition in other areas
- rising sea levels and increases precipitation
--> floods drown organisms
--> salt water flows higher up the river (reduces freshwater habitat)
- increasing temperature and droughts leads to a decrease in plant species
- insect life cycles and populations change in response to changing climate
--> insects may not pollinate plants at the right time
--> plants won't reproduce
43
how would mitigating climate change help biodiversity?
slowing down climate change will give species time to adapt
44
genetic erosion
artificial selection causing breeds to become rare and die out, reducing genetic diversity
45
eutrophication
- fertilisers wash into water sources and increase algae growth in ponds
- plants die due to blocked sunlight
- bacteria decompose dead material
- more respiration than photosynthesis
- low [oxygen] causes fish to die
46
three types of reasons for maintaining biodiversity
- aesthetic
- economic
- ecological
47
three aesthetic reasons for maintaining biodiversity
- hobbies
- artist inspiration
- mental health and patient recovery
48
eight economic reasons for maintaining biodiversity
- soil erosion
- unsustainable removal of resources
- extinction of future discovered species
- continuous monoculture
- protection again abiotic conditions
- tourism
- variety in manufacture
- cross breeding
49
why is preventing soil erosion important?
- prevents desertification
- desertification means limited crops will be able to grow, won't meet increasing food demand
- country becomes more economically dependent on other countries
50
why is it important to use resources sustainably?
- ensure resources don't run out
- industries won't collapse
51
why is it important to prevent extinction?
- species may have great undiscovered economic value
- drugs, enzymes etc
52
why is it important to avoid continuous monoculture?
- soil deletion (reduced nutrients)
- crops supported by the soil will be weaker
- more acceptable to opportunistic microorganisms, insects, plant competitors
- increased use of insecticides/herbicides/fertilisers lead to further problems
53
how does high biodiversity protect against abiotic factors?
- ecosystems or species more stable (bigger gene pool)
- adapt quicker to climate change
- less succeptible to disease
(e.g. Irish potato famine)
54
why is biodiversity important for tourism?
- provides green spaces and attractions
- more people visit, spend money in the area
55
why is cross breeding important?
- maintain gene pool with lots of alleles to crossbreed from
- beneficial characteristics such as disease resistance or increased yield
- less space needed to grow the same amount of crops (improve efficiency)
- reservoir of genetics to breed from in case environment changes
56
three ecological reasons for maintaining biodiversity
- organisms are interdependent
- conserve keystone species
- avoid disruption of food chain/habitats
57
why is biodiversity important for variation in manufacture?
- high biodiversity increases the number of species you can use in manufacture
- wider variety of products (woods etc) can be produced
- more economic income
58
interdependence
the removal of one species may have significant effects on others
59
example of interdependence
decomposers break down decaying material to form NH3 which is used by plants to make amino acids (decrease in decomposer population decreases plant population)
60
keystone species
species which are essential for maintaining biodiversity - they have a disproportionately large effect on their environment relative to their abundance (in terms of biomass or productivity)
61
three ways that human activity can increase biodiversity (and how)
- grazing (maintains landscape and habitats for certain species)
- planting of hedges/meadows/forest management (maintain habitats)
- removal of dominant species (reduce interspecific competition)
62
what is ACFOR?
qualitative method of measuring species abundance
63
what does ACFOR(N) stand for?
- abundant
- common
- frequent
- occasional
- rare
- none
64
how are seeds preserved in seed banks?
- frozen
- dehydrated
65
five reasons why species may not breed successfully in captivity
- altered breeding cycles
- incompatible with mate
- captive stress
- foreign environment
- unknown habitat
66
three problems with reintroducing captive individuals into the wild
- too tame/ changed behaviours (lack of natural instinct)
- open to predation
- habitat may have changed since last in wild
67
suggest how a low genetic diversity may be damaging to the population (3 marks)
- inbreeding
- reduce gene pool
- more recessive alleles inherited
- loss of certain advantageous alleles
- vulnerable to disease and climate change etc
68
seven activities done by conservation organisations
- build nature reserves (nesting sites etc)
- captive breeding programs
- rehab injured wildlife and release
- prosecuting people harming populations
- recruiting volunteers
- educating public
- surveys
69
explain the importance of keeping seeds of the wild relatives of commercial crop plants (3 marks)
- maintain gene pool
- prevent genetic erosion
- for future potential use
- in response to environmental change
- counteract inbreeding/ extinction
70
outline the main steps by which disease resistance could be selectively bred into commercial crops (3 marks)
- grow crops in presence of disease
- select male and female crops that survive and breed them
- breed the offspring with the inherited disease resistance gene
- cross breed with commercial crops to combine both advantageous alleles
- repeat over several generations
71
how can seed banks maintain viability?
- store in good conditions (freeze and dehydrate)
- germinate seeds and collect new seeds from germinated plants (to ensure seeds can still grow/don't die)
72
how can seed banks maintain genetic variability?
- collect large samples of seeds from different individuals, area and time periods
- collect a mixture of genotypes
73
conservation
the preservation and careful management of the environment and natural resources (by increasing organisms' chances if survival and reproduction)
74
two types of conservation and what are they
in situ - within an organism's natural habitat
ex situ - outside of an organism's natural habitat
75
how are species classified for conservation (and what does each class mean)
- extinct (no organisms of that species exist anywhere in the world)
- extinct in wild (only exist in captivity)
- endangered (species in danger of extinction)
- vulnerable (likely to become endangered in the future)
- non-threatened/least concern (abundant and unlikely to become vulnerable or endangered in the near future)
76
sustainable development
economic development that meets the need of people today without limiting the ability of future generations to meet their needs
77
benefits of in situ conservation
- maintains genetic diversity
- maintains evolutionary adaptations to changing environment
- preserves interdependent relationships with other species (also preserves interlinked species)
78
three examples of areas that have been specifically designated for the in situ conservative of wildlife
- marine (saltwater)
- aquatic (freshwater)
- terrestrial (land) nature reserves
79
seven active management techniques of wildlife reserves
- controlled grazing
- restricting human access
- controlling poaching
- feeding animals
- reintroduction of species
- culling or removal of invasive species
- halting succession
80
controlled grazing
- only allowing livestock to graze in a particular area for a certain period of time to allow species to recover (plants/insects/birds etc)
- putting species in a particular area to eat seedlings and trees to halter succession
81
how does restricting human access help conservative?
- prevents trampling of plant species
- prevents disturbance of habitats
82
general examples of restricting human access
- creating paths
- closing stretches of beaches for bird reproductive seasons
83
how can poaching be controlled?
- creating defences to prevent access
- issuing fines
- safe removal of rhino horns
84
how can reintroducing species help conservation?
- directly increase numbers of species in a particular area
- maintain population of dominant species to reduce interspecific competition and increase survival of vulnerable/endangered species
85
invasive species
species that are not native to an area and have negative impacts on the economy, environment or health (usually due to competition)
86
how does halting succession help conservation?
- all land in the UK will eventually turn to woodland
- heathland and moorlands etc can be preserved by controlled grazing to prevent large trees becoming dominant and forming a woodland
87
what animals can be used for controlled grazing?
- ponies
- deer
- sheep
- cows
88
how do marine conservation zones help conservation?
restrict fisherman's access to certain areas to provide places for species to refuge and repopulate
89
difficulty of marine conservation
large areas are required as target species often move large distances and breed in geographically different areas
90
three general examples of ex situation conservation
- botanic gardens
- seed banks
- captive breeding programs
91
four methods of conservation in botanic gardens
- regular monitoring and provision of soil nutrients
- sufficient watering
- removal/prevention of pests
- response to communicable disease
92
limitation of botanic gardens (and why is this bad?)
- wild species are significantly underrepresented (compared to selectively bred crops)
- wild species contribute a source of genes that could be beneficial in the future
93
seed bank
store of generic material from plants in the form of seeds
94
limitation on seed banks
some seeds don't survive when dried or frozen like most tropical rainforest tree seeds
95
how does captive breeding help conservation?
- suitable breeding partners to increase numbers (in captivity)
- shelter from climate change/natural disasters/environment
- protection from predators
- abundant supply of nutritious food and water
- veterinary care from disease
- research is easier
- can receive money from tourism
- education (public)
96
two limitations of captive breeding and how have they been overcome? (and four more without solutions)
- limited partners to breed from makes it difficult to maintain genetic diversity
- international catalogue containing genealogical data of individuals used to selectively choose individuals for mating
- transporting animals for mating can be difficult (transport and compatability)
- artificial insemination, embryo transfer, cryogenic storage of embryos
- expensive
- difficult to recreate nutrition
- difficult to recreate environment
- limited space so limited population size
97
four reasons why captive animals may not be suitable to be released into the wild (with short explanation)
- new diseases in captivity or loss of resistance to disease in natural environment
- domesticated behaviour/loss of learned survival behaviours (innate behaviours aren't lost)
- genetic races (genetic make-up of captive animals may become so different to wild species that they can no longer intended)
- lack of habitat or habitats are already at carrying capacity (releasing individuals will increase stress and competition)
- lack of acceptance from wild members of species
98
limitations of in situ conservation
- poaching, predation and disease are harder to control
99
benefits of botanic gardens
- plant seeds collected easily
- plants reproduced asexually
- rapid reproduction through tissue culture
- large amount of seeds and plants stored in little space
- little disturbance caused by seed collecting
- plants naturally have a dormant stage (seed collection)
100
limitations of botanic gardens
- expensive
- lack of funding/ public perception of plants isn't the same as animals (less likely to sponsor a plant)
- collecting seeds may still cause some distribance
- collected seed samples may not be representative of full genetic diversity
- seeds from one area may not succeed in a different area (genetically different)
- seeds stored for too long may not be viable
- asexual reproduction will reduce genetic biodiversity
- research based on small sample of may not be representative of a whole species
101
international conservation agreements
- CITES
- The Rio Convention
102
what does CITES stand for?
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
103
who established CITES?
IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)
104
what does the IUCN do?
- publish annual Red List (classifying conservation status of species)
- established CITES (protect species against over-exploitation)
105
five aims of CITES
- regulate and monitor international trade of selected species
- ensure that international trade doesn't endanger wild populations
- prohibit trade of wild plants for commercial purposes
- permit trade of artificially propagated plants
- permit trading of some slightly less endangered wild species (agreed between im/exporting countries)
106
