Biodiversity

Question 1

What is biodiversity?

Answer 1

The variability within species, between species and between ecosystems, variety of organisms present in an area, exists at many levels from local to global, covers all habitats

Question 2

Why is biodiversity important?

Answer 2

All species are interconnected, depend on others for nutrients, oxygen, shelter
Reduced biodiversity, reduces connections, may harm species in ecosystem
Greater biodiversity = more stable ecosystem

Question 3

What is an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and why is it necessary?

Answer 3

Measuring biodiversity is integral part of conservation
EIA carried out before any project started, gives info about the species present, assesses the positive and negative effects of the project on the biodiversity of the area

Question 4

What is a habitat?

Answer 4

A place where individuals in species live

Question 5

What is the biosphere?

Answer 5

The biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth where life exists—all ecosystems

Question 6

What is a biome?

Answer 6

A region of the world characterised by its resident life, environment, and climate.

Question 7

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 7

The interaction between organisms living
together in a particular environment.

Question 8

What is habitat biodiversity?

Answer 8

Range of habitats in which different species live
Common examples in UK are sand dunes, woodland, meadows, streams, can contain variety of habitats
Each habitat occupied by range of organisms

Question 9

What is species biodiversity?

Answer 9

Species richness: number of different species living in particular area
Species evenness: comparison of the number of individuals of each species living in a community
Area can differ in species biodiversity even if has same number of species

Question 10

What is genetic biodiversity?

Answer 10

Variation between individuals belonging to same species, can create breeds within species
High genetic diversity allows species to adapt to environmental changes and inbreeding

Question 11

How is genetic biodiversity measured?

Answer 11

Species richness: measure of the number of species.
Species abundance: relative measure of the abundance of species.
Species density: an evaluation of the total number of species per unit area