Biodiversity Flashcards
Define biodiversity
the variety of organisms in an area
Name 3 types of biodiversity
habitat diversity
species diversity
genetic diversity
Define habitat diversity
the range of habitats present in a region
Define species biodiversity
the number of species and the number of individuals within each species in a specified area. It takes into
account species richness and species evenness.
Define species richness
a measure of the number of different species in a community
Define species evenness
a measure of the relative abundances of different species in an area.
Define genetic diversity
the variety of all the genes (number of different alleles of genes) possessed by the individuals in a population or whole species
What are alleles
different forms of the same gene
Why is genetic diversity good?
greater the genetic diversity, the greater the ability of the
species to adapt to a changing environment
How would you estimate genetic diversity?
Genetic diversity can be estimated by comparing physical characteristics or by analysing genomes
species with more polymorphic genes have …
greater genetic diversity
Formula for genetic diversity
no. of loci with more than one allele / total no. of loci X100
What is Simpson’s diversity index
measure biodiversity taking into account species richness and evenness
Simpson’s diversity index formula
1-sum(number of organisms of each species/total number of organisms of all species)^2
List factors that affect biodiversity
Human population growth
Agriculture
Climate change
