biodiversity basics Flashcards
what is meant by ‘biodiversity’?
the variety of living organisms present in an area
what is the importance of biodiversity?
- maintains a balanced ecosystem as organisms depend on each other for survival
- we rely on ecosystems for food, shelter and oxygen production
what is the importance of measuring biodiversity?
- informs scientists about species present
- allows us to measure the effect of changes to an environment e.g human activity or climate change
what is habitat biodiversity?
the number of different habitats found in an area
what is the link between habitats and biodiversity?
more habitat biodiversity = greater overall biodiversity
what are the two components of species biodiversity?
species evenness
species richness
what is species evenness?
a comparison of the numbers of individuals of each species present in a community
what is species richness?
the number of different species present in an area
what is genetic biodiversity?
the variety of genes in a species
how do genetics link to biodiversity?
more alleles present in the system = more genetic biodiversity
why is genetic biodiversity important?
allows for better adaptation to a changing environment, more likely to result in individuals resistant to disease
why does genetic biodiversity increase the chance of survival (4 marks)
- wider range of alleles
- increased likelihood of some organisms being adapted to habitat change
- some will be resistant to new disease
- some will be adapted to avoid predators/catch prey
- therefore, less chance of catching disease, being eaten or starvation
state the 3 levels of biodiversity
- species
- genetic
- habitat
