Biodiversity Week 1 Flashcards
biodiversity
biological diversity
genetic diversity
total genetic information contained within all individuals of a population, species, or group of species
what is genetic diversity measured as
number and relative frequencies of all genes present in sample
genome sequencing
sequences entire genome of multiple members of same species
environmental sequencing
sequences all/most of environmental DNA present in a sample taken from soil or water present in habitat
what are the types of diversity
genetic
species
ecosystem
what are the two processes to understand genetic diversity
genome sequencing
environmental sequencing
what are the measures of diversity
- richness
- evenness
- number
how is species diversity quantified
- species richness
- species diversity
species richness
count how many species are present in a defined area
species diversity
weighted measure that incorporates both species richness and evenness
evenness
relative abundance of each species present
for a given species richness, when is species diversity high
if evenness is high
- all species have comparable abundance
what is the new technique for identifying species
DNA barcoding
- use of well characterized gene sequences to distinguish species
phylogenetic diversity
measure evolutionary distinctiveness among species in a community (phylogenetic tree)
functional diversity
measure of diversity in ecosystems based on variety of functional traits present
example= keystone predators
ecosystem diversity
structural and functional variety of biotic components in a region with abiotic components
- measure of these complex factors with abiotic environment
what is the most difficult level of biodiversity to measure and why?
ecosystem diversity because the complexity is so vast
ecosystem function
sum of biological and chemical processes that are characteristic of a given ecosystem
- intertwined with concept ecosystem
how do ecosystem functions emerge
sum of feeding, growing, moving, respiring, excreting, and decomposing processes of interacting member organisms
are the three level of biodiversity independent of one another
no
what is the estimated amount of species today
1.5 million
taxon specific surveys
conduct intensive search for a specific taxon in a well-defined area
all taxa surveys
attempt to find and catalog all the species present in an area
what is one of the most common strategies to map global biodiversity data q
divide world’s land area into a grid of parcels and plot number of species that occurs in each parcel
what are some of the trends found in different taxonomic groups
- most prominent pattern corresponds to latitude
- biodiversity is higher on land than sea
- areas with greater geographical variation have higher biodiversity
what variables are being studied to see metrics of diversity map out
- number of endemic species
- phylogenetic diversity
- functional diversity
endemic species
species that are found in a particular area and nowhere else
biodiversity hotspot
region that is especially rich in species and also highly threatened by human activities
what are the two main criteria for the 35 hotspots identified
- contain at least 1500 endemic vascular plant species
- have lost at least 70% of primary vegetation
what does biodiversity increase
productivity
- source of chemical energy
resistance
measure of the extent to which a community remains unchanged during a disturbance
resilience
measure of how quickly a community recovers following a disturbance
what happens to resilience of species-rich areas following a disturbance
usually more resistance
what are the benefits of biodiversity
- increased productivity
- increased resistance
- increased resilience
ecosystem services
all the benefits that humans derive, directly or indirectly, from ecosystem functions
what are some of the services nature provides
- provisioning
- regulating
- cultural
- supporting
provisioning services
wild species that have provided the raw material to fuel development of human societies
what is an example of provisioning services
- food
- fuel
- medicines
bioprospecting
effort to find commercially useful compounds by studying organisms
regulating services
services provided by functioning ecosystems
example of regulating services
- soil formation
- flood control
cultural services
- ways people integrate nature into their lives and cultural ways
examples of cultural services
- artistic celebrations
- spiritual contemplation
- recreation
supporting services
support all other categories of services
- primary productivity
examples of supporting services
- primary productivity
- pollination
- pest control
increase species diversity does what to resistance
increases
normative
conservation biology
what are the mathematical ways to quantify diversity
- Shannon index
- simpson index
