Biodiversity 2 Flashcards
Define species diversity
number of different species and the number of individuals of each species within any one community
Define genetic diversity
variety of genes possessed by the individuals that make up the population of the species
Define ecosystem diversity
range of different habitats
Define habitat
place where community of organism is usually found
Define ecosystem
all populations of different organisms interacting in a particular place at a particular time
Define community
all the abiotic and biotic components of a particular area
What is the advantage of diversity index?
takes into account population size as well as total number of each species
Why is diversity important?/ what happens when x occurs? ( common exam Qs)
reduce variety of plants
fewer habitats
decrease food source
How to we directly remove and reduce species diversity?
removal of hedgerows and grubbing out woodland
creating monocultures
filling in ponds and draining marsh/wetlands
overgrazing of land which prevents regeneration of woodland
How do we have an indirect effect on species diversity?
use of pesticide and inorganic fertilizers
escape of effluent from silage stores and slurry tanks into H20 courses
absence of crop rotation
What are conservation techniques?
maintain existing hedgerows and beneficial height and shape ( A)
plant hedges rather than erect fields
maintain and create ponds
leave wet corners of fields don’t drain them
maintain and create ponds
plants native trees on land with low species diversity
reduce use of pesticides
use organic fertilizers
use crop rotation that involves a N fixing crop rather than fertiliser to improve soil fertility
use intercropping rather than herbicides to control pest
create natural meadows and use hay to grass for silage (feed livestock)
leave cutting of verges and field until after flowering
introduce conservation headlands
How do pesticides affect other animals?
food source killed by pesticide
lack of alternative source
pesticide passed through food chain
Define polygenetic?
Characteristics coded for by more than one gene
Why is cytochrome C used for identifying organism relations?
it is found in all animals/eukaryotes
Why is x better than y for identifying relationships between organisms?
longer base sequence than amino acid sequence
code is degenerative.