Biodiversity and Evolution Flashcards
What is a species?
A group of individual organisms very similar in appearance, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and genetics
What is a habitat?
The place where an organism lives
What is biodiversity?
The variety of life covering both species richness and species evenness
What is random sampling?
Studying a small part of the habitat and assuming it contains a representative set of species tat can be applied to the whole habitat
The three ways to avoid experimenter bias
Take samples at regular intervals across the habitat
Use random numbers generated by a computer to use as coordinates
Select coordinates from a map of the area and use a portable global positioning satellite system to find the exact location inside the habitat
What are the eight taxa used in the current system of classification?
Domain Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species
Why do we classify?
For our convenience
To make our study of living things more managable
To make it easier to identify organisms
To help us see relationships between species
What is the trend in diversity in a taxonomic classification system?
As you rise up the ranks of classification, the individuals grouped together show more diversity
What is the binomial system?
A classification system that uses two names to identify each species; the genus and the species name
Why cannot we use common names to identify organisms?
The same organism may have a completely different common name in different parts of one country
Names differ in each country
Translation of languages or dialects may give different names
The same common name may be used for a different organism somewhere in the world
What is a dichotomous key?
A classification system that uses a series of questions with two possible answers to help you identify a specimen
What must you carry out before any large development plan is passed?
A environmental impact assessment has to be carried out to see if there are any endagered species in the area
Why has there been a need to change previous classification systems in recent years?
Due to the advancements made in microscopy and DNA reading, we have realised that there are many differences and similarities between organisms that we did not know before
What are the kingdoms in a five kingdom classification system?
Prokaryotes Animals Plants Fungi Protoctists
What are the groups in a three domain classification system?
True bacteria
Archae bacteria
Eukaryotes
How can cytocrome c be used to find out how closely related different organisms are?
Cytochrome c is found in all cells that respire
We can identify the amino acid sequence in cytochrome c and compare them
The more similar the sequences are, the more closely related they are
How can DNA be used to measure how related species are?
The amino acid sequence can be studied and compared
Like cytochrome c, the more similarities it shows the more closely related it is
What is the difference between true bacteria and archae bacteria
Different cell membrane structure
Flagella with a different internal structure
Different enzymes for building RNA
No proteins bound to genetic material
Different mechanim for DNA replication and for building RNA
What are the similarities between archae bacteria and eukaryotes
Similar enzymes for building RNA
Similar mechanisms for DNA replication and building RNA
Production of some proteins that bind to their DNA
What is variation?
The presence of variety of differences between individuals
What is genetic variation?
Variation caused by differences in the genes
What is continuous variation
Variation where there is a full range of intermidiate phenotypes between two extremes
What is discontinuous variation?
Variation where there are discrete groups of phenotypes with none or very few intermidiates between them
Give some exmples of continuous variation
Height
Length of leaves
What is polygenic inheritance
When multiple genes code for a physical appearance
What type of nutrition do the eukaryotic kingdoms use?
Plants - Autotrophic
Animals - Heterotrophic
Fungi - Saprotrophic
Protoctista - Autotrophic + Heterotrophic
What does sessile and motile mean?
Sessile describes organisms that are immobile while motile describes the opposite
Are the cells in a prokaryote differentiated?
No
What are the cell walls of the members of the five kingdoms made of?
Plants - Cellulose
Fungi - Chitin
Protoctists - Cellulose, Pellicle, Silica
Prokaryotes - peptidoglycan
How are carbohydrates stored in eukaryotes?
As starch or glucose
How are carbohydrates stored in prokaryotes
In lipid globules or glycogen granules
What is classification?
The organisation of living organisms into groups according to their shared similarities or evolutionary paths from a common ancestor
What is the difference between a classification system based on domains and one based on kingdoms?
Domain classification includes true bacteria, archae bacteria and eukaryotes
Kingdom classification includes plants, animals, fungi, protoctists and prokaryotes
Domain system groups protoctists, fungi, plants and animals into one group
Based on differences in RNA
More accurately reflects origins
What is taxonomy?
Classification by observable features
What is phylogeny?
Classification by looking at evolutionary pathways
What is the starting point of a phylogenic tree referred to as?
A common ancestor
How does phylogenic classification group species?
At certain points in evolution, divergence occurred and different groups evolved differently that gave rise to different species
Rules that must be obeyed when carry out random sampling
Select appropriate method for terrain Sample randomly Take repeats Calculate a sample mean Use same technique when making comparisons Measure species evenness and diversity
What is species richness?
The number of species in a habitat
What is the importance of a simpson’s index of diversity for building planning?
If the index shows variety, the habitat can withstand change so planning can continue
What is biodiversity?
The number and variety of living things to be found in the world in an ecosystem or in a habitat
What is a community?
All of the groups of animals or plants living together in the same area or environment and usually interacting to some degree.
What is an ecosystem?
All the living organisms and all the non living components in a specific area and their interactions
What is a habitat?
The place where an organism or population lives including climatic, topographic and edaphic factors as well as the plants and the animals that live there
What is species evenness?
How abundant individuals are of a species in a habitat
What is species richness?
The number of species present in a habitat
The main methods of collecting invertabrates
Pitfall trap
Pooter
Sweep net
How does a point quadrat work?
A point quadrat consists of many holes of which can have long pins inserted
Any species that touch the pin is recorded and used as a representative result
How does the mark - release - recapture method work?
A large sample of a species are marked
These individuals are put back into their habitat
After a certain time period, a larger sample of species are caught and have the number of marked species recorded
This can be used to predict the size of the population of this particular species
What are the assumptions made for the mark - release - recapture method?
Individuals spread themselves evenly
No individuals die or are born
What precaution must be taken when marking species?
Mark them so as to not make them more bait to predation
What are the three aspects of biodiversity?
Species, genetics and ecosystem diversity
What is in situ conservation?
Conserving a species in their normal environment
How can In situ conservation be achieved?
Legislation
Conservation parks
What are the advantages of a conservation park?
Organisms are in their natural habitat
They permanently protect biodiversity
It allows area management to maintain ecological integrity
Provides opportunities for ecologically sustainable land use
Facilitates scientific research
May be possible to restore ecological integrity of an area
What are the conditions needed for a conservation park?
Range of environmental conditions
Large enough area for long term survival
Range of diversity within each species and environmental conditions
What is ex situ conservation?
Conserving an endangered species by activities that take place outside its normal environment
Disadvantages of captive breeding?
Expensive
Animals fail to breed well in captivity
Restricted genetic variation
Transition to the wild is often hard
What are the disadvantages of seed banks?
Collecting seeds cause some disturbances
Seed collecting may not represent full genetic variety
Plants from one area may not necessarily
grow well in another area
Asexual reproduction reduces variety
Seeds stored for a long time may become unviable
What does the CITES convention state?
An agreement to prevent trading in specimens of wildlife from affecting their survival
What are the aims of the CITES convention?
Conserve biological diversity Sustainable use of its components Shared access to genetic resources Sharing of scientific knowledge Sharing benefits of genetic resources Encourages use of ex situ conservation along with in situ
What does the EIA do?
Avoids or minimises impact of biodiversity
Allows environmental consequences to be taken into account
Promotes information exchange where other partner countries may be affected
Promotes emergency response if there is grave or iminent danger to biodiversity
