BIODIVERSITY

Question 1

biodiversity

Answer 1

variety of organisms living in an area

Question 2

species

Answer 2

group of similar organisms able to reproduce and give fertile offspring

Question 3

habitat

Answer 3

an area inhabited by a species
includes abiotic factors- soil and temperature
biotic factors- food availability and presence of predators

Question 4

habitat diversity

Answer 4

number of different habitats in an area

Question 5

species diversity

Answer 5

number of different species in an area

Question 6

genetic diversity

Answer 6

variation of alleles within a species

Question 7

sampling techniques

Answer 7

plants- quadrant
flying insects- sweep net
ground insects- pitfall trap
aquatic- net

Question 8

non random sampling

Answer 8

systematic- samples taken at fixed intervals along a transect
opportunistic- samples chosen by investigator
stratified- different areas are identified and sampled separately in proportion to their part of the habitat as a whole

Question 9

species richness

Answer 9

number of different species in an area

Question 10

species evenness

Answer 10

measure of relative abundance of each species in an area

Question 11

allele

Answer 11

different versions of a gene

Question 12

genetic polymorphism

Answer 12

polymorphism- a locus that has 2 or more alleles
alleles of the same gene are found at the same locus on a chromosome
working out the proportion of polymorphic gene loci in an organism gives a measure for genetic diversity

Question 13

proportion of polymorphic gene loci

Answer 13

number of polymorphic gene loci
———————————————
total number of loci

Question 14

human population growth

Answer 14

habitat loss
over exploitation- greater demand for resources resulting in resources being replenished
urbanisation- sprawling cities and major city developments can isolate species meaning they can’t interbreed which lowers genetic diversity
pollution- kills species and destroys habitats

Question 15

increased use of monoculture in agriculture

Answer 15

habitats lost and land is cleared
local and naturally occurring plants killed with pesticides and herbicides
heritage varieties of crops are lost because they don’t make enough money and so aren’t planted

Question 16

climate change

Answer 16

areas become inhabitable/habitable
increase/decrease in range of some species
some migrate- changes species distribution
can’t migrate fast enough leads to extinction

Question 17

protect keystone species

Answer 17

if one species is lost it causes a disruption in the food chains and disruption of nutrient cycles
keystone species- species that other species depends upon

Question 18

maintain genetic resources

Answer 18

food, clothing, drugs, fuels
important to the global economy
allows us to adapt to changes in the environment

Question 19

economic reasons for maintaining biodiversity

Answer 19

reduce soil depletion
monoculture- growing a single variety of a single crop will result in soil depletion
increased spending on fertilisers and decreased yields

Question 20

aesthetic reasons for maintaining biodiversity

Answer 20

attractive landscapes are protected

more aesthetic- more visitors- more economical advantages

Question 21

in situ conservation

Answer 21

on site conservation
involves protecting species in their natural habitat
ensures survival of endangered species

Question 22

methods of in-situ conservation

Answer 22

establishing areas as national parks and wildlife reserves which restrict urban development, industrial development and farming
controlling or preventing the introduction of a species that threatens local biodiversity
protecting habitats
promoting particular species
giving legal protection to endangered species

Question 23

advantages of in-situ conservation

Answer 23

both species and their habitats are conserved
larger populations can be protected and it’s less disruptive than removing organisms from their habitat
chances of population recovering are greater than with ex situ methods

Question 24

disadvantage of in-situ conservation

Answer 24

difficult to control some factors that are threatening a species e.g poaching, predators, disease and climate change

Question 25

ex-situ conservation

Answer 25

offsite conservation- involves protecting a species by removing part of the population from a threatened habitat and placing it in a new location

Question 26

methods of ex-situ conservation

Answer 26

relocating organisms to a safer area
breeding organisms in captivity then reintroducing them to the wild when they are strong enough
botanic gardens- controlled environments used to grow a variety of rare plants for the purposes of conservation, research, display and education
seed banks- seeds can be frozen and stored in seed banks for over a century without losing their fertility, they provide a useful source of seeds if natural reserves are destroyed

Question 27

advantages of ex-situ conservation

Answer 27

used to protect animals in controlled environments
predation and hunting can be controlled easily
useful in introducing new species that has left an area

Question 28

disadvantages of ex-situ conservation

Answer 28

small number can be cared for
difficult and expensive to sustain the right environment
less successful as many species can’t breed successfully in captivity or adapt to their new environment when moved to a new location

Question 29

name the 2 international cooperations (species conservation)

Answer 29

Rio conservation of Biological Diversity (CBD)

CITES Agreement

Question 30

Rio Conservation in Biological Diversity (CBD)

Answer 30

helps to develop international strategies on conservation of biodiversity and how to use animal and plant resources in a sustainable way
conservation made it part of the international law that conserving biodiversity is everyone’s responsibility
provides guidance to governments on how to conserve biodiversity

Question 31

CITES Agreement

Answer 31

designed to increase international cooperation in regulating trade in wild animals and plant specimens
the member countries all agreed to make it illegal to kill endangered species
this agreement helps to conserve species by limiting trade through licensing and by making it illegal to trade in products made from endangered species
raises awareness of threats to biodiversity through education

Question 32

name the local conservation agreement which protects special UK areas

Answer 32

Country Stewardship Scheme (CSS)
conserves wildlife and biodiversity to improve and extend wildlife habitats by promoting specific management techniques to landowners
offered 10 year agreements to pay landowners who followed the management techniques they were suggesting
since the introduction of the scheme, various species have begun to rebuild in numbers, including birds such as stone curlew, black grouse and bittern