biodiversity within a community and investigating diversity

Question 1

what is biodiversity

Answer 1

variety of living organisms
can be measured in terms of species diversity (number of species in a community), ecosystem diversity (range of different habitats) and genetic diversity

Question 1

define community

Answer 1

all the different species that live in one area and interact with each other

Question 2

how do you calculate index of diversity

Answer 2

d = (N(N-1)) / sum n(n-1)
where N = total number of organisms of all species
where n = total number of organisms of each species

Question 3

what impact does farming have on species diversity

Answer 3

decreases species richness
- farmland is typically used for only 1 species (monoculture)
- use of pesticides/herbicides

Question 4

what impact does farming have on genetic diversity

Answer 4

decreases
- farmers select certain characteristics, which reduce number of different alleles in the population

Question 5

how can biodiversity be increased in areas of agriculture

Answer 5

1. use hedgerows instead of fences
2. grow different crops in the same area, or rotate crops
3. limit use of pesticides and herbicides

Question 6

name four ways we can compare genetic diversity

Answer 6

1. frequency of observable characteristics
2. base sequence of DNA
3. base sequence of mRNA
4. amino acid sequence

Question 7

what is meant by gene technology

Answer 7

sampling DNA or mRNA in order to read and compare the base sequence of organisms
alternatively the amino acid sequence can be studied as this will also provide information on the organism’s mRNA and DNA sequences

Question 8

why do scientists prefer to use gene technology instead of observation

Answer 8

simply inferring DNA difference by observing an organism’s characteristics is not reliable; the characteristics could be coded for by more than one gene, or could be influenced by the environment

Question 9

define interspecific

Answer 9

differences between individuals of different species

Question 10

define intraspecific

Answer 10

differences between individuals of the same species

Question 11

what is sampling

Answer 11

selecting a group of individuals to measure that will represent the whole target population

Question 12

how can a random sample be achieved

Answer 12

create a grid for your sample area, and then randomly generate coordinates where a quadrat or transect can be placed. repeat until required sample size is reached