Biodiversity (Unit 3, Topic 1) Flashcards
the variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat, a high level of which is usually considered to be important and desirable.
Biodiversity
a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.
Ecosystem
a measurement of the number of different species in an ecosystem
Species richness (S)
measurement of how common or uncommon a species is relative to its surroundings
relative species abundance
a measure of diversity which takes into account the number of species present, as well as the relative abundance of each species.
Simpson’s diversity index (SDI)
how many individuals there are per unit of area or volume
Population density
predation, competition, symbiosis, disease, climate, substrate, size/depth of area
Characteristics of comparing ecosystems
organise and classify organisms into groups
Taxonomy
members of a particular group of organisms that can interbreed, under natural conditions, and produce fertile, viable offspring.
Species
kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species
Linnaean classification system
the complete group of organisms (living or extinct) thought to have descended from a common ancestor
Clade
- any group of organisms are related by descent from a common ancestor
- there is a bifurcating pattern of cladogenesis
- changes in traits occur in lineages over time
Cladistics
states that DNA and protein sequences evolve at a rate that is relatively constant over time and among different organisms
Molecular clock
involves the fusion of gametes from two sources to produce offspring
Sexual reproduction
involves the production of offspring that are identical to each other, from one parent organism
Asexual reproduction
have the ability to produce large numbers of offspring (often asexually) with little parental investment. Usually small organisms
r-strategist
species whose populations fluctuate at or near the carrying capacity (K) of the environment in which they reside. Tend to live in more stable environments and their population densities are as high as the ecosystem will allow
K-strategist
the distribution of living organisms into specific zones (e.g. continents, longitude/latitudes, climate, altitudes, etc.)
Zonation
the vertical layering of habitats according to where plants and other organisms grow
Stratification
the use of measured squares to horizontally dissect an ecosystem and analyse the biodiversity within each quadrat
Quadrants
the use of a straight line that traverses across a habitat so that we can observe and record the frequency and diversity of species along the line
Transects
