Biodiversity Flashcards
Biodiversity is an umbrella term, what does it mean?
Different types of biological diversities from local to global scales, both genetic and biochemical, from local habitats to whole biomes.
What is a secondary compound?
A metabolite which has no direct involvement in growth or reproduction.
The secondary compound of the bark from Cinchona tree poppies is alkaloids, give an example of an alkaloid and their use.
Quinine and morphine are common alkaloids with the use of anti-malarial drugs and potent painkillers.
Decreasing biodiversity has what effect on our supply of secondary compounds?
The supply decreases as we have less organisms to take the compounds from.
The secondary compound of Palm trees is Palm oil, what is the use of this (and other) oils?
Palm oil is a common bio-fuel.
Many fruits and vegetables have a secondary compound of pigments such as carotene, what are the uses of these secondary compounds in society?
Food colourings.
What is the secondary compound found in Rubber trees such as the Hevea spp. and what is the use of this compound in modern society?
Polyisoperenes such as rubber are used to manufacture tyres and other products.
What is species richness?
The number of (different) species present in a habitat.
What is species evenness index?
The relative abundance with which each species is represented in an area.
What is the indicator of global biodiversity?
The living planet index (LPI).
What was the baseline year for the living planet index and what score was it given?
1970, given 1.0 as it was the baseline and therefore the reference year.
What was the living planet index for 2008 and what does this suggest about biodiveristy?
0.72 meaning there was a 28 percent decrease meaning biodiversity has decreased dramatically.
What is the most commonly used measure of biodiversity?
A species diversity index, such as the Simpson species diversity index.
What is the function of the Simpson species diversity index?
It expresses diversity as a single number, calculated using the number of species present (richness) and the abundance of each species.
Which two factors are considered in the Simpson species diversity index?
Calculated using both the number of species present (richness) and the abundance of each species.
Which type of sampling are species diversity index’s dependant on?
Random sampling.
Generally speaking, in which environments are species diversity greater in?
Those with less demanding abiotic conditions or lower pollution levels.
Where is The Ecotron?
Berkshire, England.
What is The Ecotron?
Consists of 16 small communities of microorganisms, plants, and animals housed in separate walk-in environmental chambers.
How are the climactic conditions in each chamber in The Ecotron controlled?
Computer controlled.
In 1993, scientists use The Ecotron to study the effect of species diversity on functioning of a whole ecosystem, what did they find?
Reduced biodiversity leads to reduced community productivity and other changes.
Who can use The Ecotron?
It is open to the whole of the UK’s scientific community.
What is a weakness of the Simpson species diversity index?
It makes no allowance for differences in size of individuals; one elephant is treated the same as one bacterium.
It is also hard with plants to decide what constitutes an individual plant.
What measure is often used as an indicator of ecological stability?
The Simpson species diversity index as the assumption is the greater the diversity, the greater the stability.
Resistance (Definition:)
The ability of an ecosystem to resist change following a disturbance.
Resilience (Definition:)
The ability of the ecosystem to return to its original state after being changed.
Local stability (Definition:)
The tendency of a community to return to its original state after a small disturbance.
Global stability (Definition:)
The tendency of a community to return to its original state after a large disturbance.
What 4 concepts are associated with stability of species diversity?
- Resistance;
- Resilience;
- Local stability;
- Global stability.
