Biodiversity (PPT 1-3) [U3/ T1] Flashcards
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What is ecology?
The study of the relationship between organisms (biotic) and their physical environment (abiotic).
What is the hierarchy of life ecologically?
Bioshpere —> Biome —> Ecosytem —> Community —> Population —> Organism
Define biosphere
The region within which all living things are found on earth.
Define biome
A large geographically based group of ecosystems that share the same climate and have similar types of communities.
Define terrestrial biome
Recognised for all the major climate regions of the world and are classified on the basis of their predominant vegetation type.
Define ecosystem
Made up of physical enviroment (abiotic) and the group of organisms living in a particular area (biotic).
Define community
A group of organisms of different species living together in a particular area.
Define population
A group of organisms of the same species living together in a particular area that interbreed, produce fertile offspring, and compete for resources.
Define organism
Any unicellular or multicellular form exhibiting all of the characteristics of life.
An individual which is the lowest level of organisation.
What are the three components of biodiversity?
- Ecosystem
- Species
- Genetic
Define ecosystem diversity
Ecosystems vary depending on their abiotic conditions, which influence the biotic components of the ecosystem.
Define microhabitats
Habitats within a habitat that posses unique properties where new variations of life can exist and thrive due to the unique conditions.
Define species diversity
The greater the range of species present within an ecosystem, the greater the number of different interrelationships that exist between organisms.
Define genetic diversity
The greater the variation of genes avalible for a population the stronger that species will be to survive change.
How is biodiversity measured?
By:
- species richness
- relative species abundance
- percentage cover
- percentage frequency
- simpsons diversity index
Define species richness
The number of species present in an ecosystem.
What is the limitation of species richness?
It doesn’t count how many of each species exist, nor their role within the community.
Define species abundance
The number of individuals of each species present.
What is the advantage of species abudance?
The advantage of this measurement is you can show if a dominant species exists within an ecosystem and make comparisons with others.
Define relative species abundance
Is a species abundance relative to the total number of individuals of all the species present.
Define percentage cover
- A measurement of the proportion of an area covered by an organism.
- Commonly used with small plants and sedentary organisms.
- An estimate of the percentage of each quadrant covered by a particular species.
How is the percentage cover calculated?
By determining the % of the total area surveyed is covered.
Define percentage frequency
A proportion of the random sampled quadrants that contain a particular species.
What is percentage frequency
The number of quadnrants containing the species of interest divided by the number of random quadrant sampled.
What does n (lower case) stand for in Sipmsons diversity index
n = Total number of individuals of each species
What does N (upper case) stand for in Simpsons diversity index
N = Total number of indivduals of all species
What does the Simpsons diversity index take into consideration?
- Richness
- Evenness
Describe the 5 measures of biodiversity
- Species abundance/ evenness
- Species richness
- Percentage cover
- Percentage frequency
- Simpsons Diversity index
What are the different species interactions?
- Competition
- Predation & parasitism
- Mutualism
- Commensalism
Describe what the type of relationship competition has within species.
Each species negatively affects the other.
Describe what the type of relationship predation and parasitism have within species.
Species A feeds on species B.
Describe what the type of relationship mutualism has within species.
Both species benefit
Describe what the type of relationship commensalism has within species.
Species A benefits from species B, but species B is unaffected.
Define abiotic factors
The physical aspects of the ecosystem including climate, substrate and size/ depth of the area.
What is the difference between climate and weather?
- Weather is what you get
- Climate is what you expect
- Weather is day to day
- Climate is long term expectations
What is the substrate?
The medium in which organisms live
State three of the different mediums (substrates)
- Air
- Water
- Soil
How does the size/ depth of an area impact biodiversity?
- Larger areas deliver greater biodiversity
- Populations in larger areas have less competition
- Bigger areas support larger populations
- Populations have greater genetic diversity.
Define spatial
How much area a studied ecosystem covers
Define temporal
The time period over which an area is studied
Define spatial scale
Macro-level
- Country or Continent
Meso-level
- Broad area of location
Micro-level
- specific area
What is spatial differentiation?
The size of the ecosystem sampled generally will NOT impact species interaction or species diversity comparisons provided they are sampled adequately.
What is temporal differentiation?
Ecosystems can be compared across time scales.
Temporal scales can be short (24hrs), mid-term like seasonal change or long term over years.
What is the physical gradient
Environmental gradients relate to variations in site characteristics and may be described by changes in elevation, changes in site index, or variation in other abiotic factors.
What are the two special types of patterns?
- Zonation
- Stratification
What do zonation and stratification both show?
Both show variation, both vertical and horizontal.
Define range of tolerances regarding populations?
Populations have a range of tolerances to variations in their physical and chemical environments.
What is the law of limiting factors?
A factor in the environment that limits an organisms ability to survive, grow and reproduce.
Give 3 examples of abiotic limiting factors
- Temperature
- Moisture
- Salinity
- Turbidity
- Light
- Elevation
- pH
- Nutrient content
Give 2 examples of biotic limiting factors
- Competition
- Availability of mates
- Availability of food
- Disease
- Parasitism
CN4 (paper 9)
IDK
Examples of abiotic changes over spatial differentiation would include…
- Temperature/ hummidity
- Rain fall
- Soil depth & type
- Wind speed
- Light intensity
- Chemical composition
- Dissolved oxygen
Spatial =?
Space, area, location
Temporal =?
Time period
