Biological Diversity

Question 1

how can diversity occur (4)

Answer 1

between different species and members of the same species

e.g. nudibranch, females have two colour morphs

Question 2

explain sex phenotype

Answer 2

there can be sex phenotype, this is an example of diversity, e.g. bluehead wrasse, complex social hierachy, fish change sex from female to male, sex is determined by social hierarchy and population size, if leader male dies, strongest female becomes male, to become leader male.

Question 3

what are the three levels of biological organisation (4) (4)

Answer 3

cellular level -> organismal level -> population level

Question 4

explain the three levels of biological organisation in order. (4)

Answer 4

cellular level atom: -> molecule -> macromolecule -> organelle -> cell ->

organismal level: tissue -> organ -> organ system -> organism ->

Population level: population -> species -> community -> ecosystem -> biosphere

Question 5

define biological species concept (4)

Answer 5

populations whose members mate with each other and can produce fertile offspring

Question 6

what is a liger and a tiglon

Answer 6

liger = mother tiger + father lion
tiglon = mother lion + father tiger

Question 7

what facilitates members of species to mate (4) (4) (4)

Answer 7

habitat preferences and behaviour (e.g. are they social/solitary animals?)

Question 8

why is the species concept so important in biology?

Answer 8

1. biodiversity management
2. biodiversity conservation (the species is a unit)
3. scientists need to know what species they’re working on

Question 9

biodiversity management example

Answer 9

biodiversity management, mytilus edulis mussel is in indicator of water quality.

Question 10

biodiversity conservation explain it

Answer 10

biodiversity conservation: decline of species may be overlooked due to morphological similarity between species when in actual fact they’re different species and one of them is endangered. these are called cryptic species

Question 11

how many species are there

Answer 11

~8.7 million (2011)

Question 12

is there a bias within classification

Answer 12

there is a bias , 80% of vertebrates have been assessed for endangerment, 100% of birds have been, 0.4% of brown algae and fungi have been assessed

86% of the worlds species are yet to be described

Question 13

problems with the biological species concept

Answer 13

useful, but not always realistic (cryptic species)

major problem: species are not static, undergoing constant evolutionary change.

Question 14

how to taxonomists describe species

Answer 14

taxonomic traits - used for species descriptions

often morphological

biologists often study the variation in the traits of organisms.

but behavioural and habitual things are important

Question 15

traits what are they

Answer 15

phenotypic traits used to infer evolution

but - we cannot assume that individuals that are similar in appearance are closely related.

Question 16

species hierarchy of classification linnaeus

Answer 16

kingdom
phylum
class
order
family
genus
species

remember kangaroos prefer crunchy oranges for great snacks

Question 17

how to write species

Answer 17

genus first then species

Question 18

what do food webs describe

Answer 18

1. trophic interactions (who eats who)
2. direct and indirection interactions
3. patterns of energy transfer through ecosystems

Question 19

describe simple food web

Answer 19

tropic level 1: primary producers
tropic level 2: herbivores
tropic level 3: primary carnivores
tropic level 4: secondary carnivores
detritivores

Question 20

define autotroph

Answer 20

use inorganic materials (e.g. CO2, water) to synthesise organic compounds, e.g., plants, algae, microbes

Question 21

define heterotroph

Answer 21

acquire energy by breaking down organic compounds made by other organisms, e.g., animals, fungi, microbes

Question 22

direct interaction

Answer 22

one animal eats another (predator eats prey 1 reducing its abundance)

Question 23

example of indirect interaction

Answer 23

competition

Question 24

energy transfer in food webs

Answer 24

first law of thermodynamics: energy cannot be created or destroyed

energy is transferred through tropic interactions

Question 25

how much energy is lost every time you move through each tropic level

Answer 25

10%

Question 26

why is energy lost every time you move through each tropic level?

Answer 26

organisms on each level are using this energy for their daily activities, they are producing waste, they are metabolising, they’re respiring, they are producing heat through movement.

Question 27

ecological implications

Answer 27

1. tropic interactions: who eats who -> why big fierce animals are more likely to go extinct
2. direct and indirection interactions -> why big fierce animals are important ‘key stone’ species
3. patterns of energy transfer through ecosystems -> big fierce animals are rare

Question 28

explain the first ecological implications

Answer 28

1. there is so little energy left at the top of the ecosystem that you cant support that much biomass

Question 29

patterns of energy transfer: biomass pyramids

Answer 29

successive loss of energy up the food chain

number of organisms at each level is reduced

this is why apex predators are rare

Question 30

ecological pyramids

Answer 30

• productivity (organic matter synthesis)
• biomass
• numbers (diversity/abundance)