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biology 102 > Chapter 21 > Flashcards

Chapter 21 Flashcards

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AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Biodiversity

A 
Sum total of all organism in an area
Split into three specific levels:
-Species diversity
-Genetic diversity
-Ecosystem diversity
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2
Q

Species diversity

A

The number or variety of species in the world or in a particular region

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3
Q

Species richness

A

The number of species

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4
Q

Evenness or relative abundance

A

Extent to which numbers of individuals of different species are equal or skewed

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5
Q

Taxonomist

A

Scientist who classifies species

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6
Q

Genera

A

Related species are grouped together

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7
Q

Families

A

Groups of genera

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8
Q

Every species has a 2-part name:

A

Genus and species

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9
Q

Subspecies

A

Populations of species that occur in different areas and differ slightly from each other

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10
Q

Inbreeding depression

A

Genetically similar parents mate and produce defective offspring

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11
Q

Ecosystem diversity

A

The number and variety of ecosystems

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12
Q

Uneven distribution

A

Latitudinal gradient: species richness increases toward the equator

  • Equatorial regions have higher plant productivity, stable climates, and no glaciation.
  • Diverse habitats increase niches, which increase species diversity.
  • Ecotones (areas where habitats intermix) often have higher diversity.
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13
Q

Biodiversity Benefits: Maintain Ecosystem Function

A
  • Biodiversity increases the stability and resilience of communities and ecosystems.
    • Decreased biodiversity reduces a natural system’s ability to function and provide services to our society.
  • The loss of a species affects ecosystems differently.
    • Extinction of a keystone species may cause other species to decline or disappear.
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14
Q

Biodiversity Benefits: Free Ecosystem Services

A
  • Provides food, shelter, fuel
  • Purifies air and water and detoxifies wastes
  • Stabilizes climate, moderates floods, droughts, wind, temperature
  • Generates and renews soil fertility and cycles nutrients
  • Pollinates plants and controls pests and disease
  • Maintains genetic resources
  • Provides cultural and aesthetic benefits
  • Allows us to adapt to change
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15
Q

Organisms Provide Drugs and Medicines

A

Each year pharmaceutical products owing their origin to wild species generate up to $150 billion in sales

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16
Q

Biodiversity Benefits: Economic Benefits

A
  • Biodiversity provides a source of income through tourism.
    • Ecotourism: people visit natural areas, creating economic opportunity for residents living near those areas
    • Costa Rica: rainforests
    • Australia: Great Barrier Reef
    • Belize: reefs, caves, and rainforests
  • Biophilia: connections that humans subconsciously seek with life
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17
Q

Do We Have Ethical Obligations To Other Species?

A
  • Many feel that living organisms have an innate right to exist.
    • Biodiversity conservation is justified on ethical grounds.
  • Despite our ethical convictions, and biodiversity’s many benefits, the future of biodiversity remains far from secure.
18
Q

Threats to Biodiversity

A
  • Habitat Loss
  • Overharvesting
  • Invasive species
  • Climate change
19
Q

Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss

A
  • Change in earth’s climate system is having global impacts on biodiversity.
  • Emissions of greenhouse gases warm temperatures.
    • Modifies global weather patterns and increases the frequency of extreme weather events
    • Increases stress on populations and forces organisms to shift their geographic ranges
  • Most animals and plants will not be able to cope.
20
Q

Mass Extinction

A
  • Extinction is the rapid extinction of a large number of lineages scattered throughout the tree of life
  • Caused by catastrophic events
21
Q

Background Extinction

A

The lower, average rate of extinction, representing the relatively constant, normal loss of some species.

22
Q

How Do Background and Mass Extinctions Differ?

A
  • Background extinctions typically occur when normal environmental change, emerging diseases, or competition reduces certain populations to zero.
  • Mass extinctions result from extraordinary, sudden, and temporary changes in the environment; they cause extinction randomly with respect to individuals’ fitness under normal conditions.
  • In a general sense, background extinctions are thought to result primarily from natural selection. Mass extinctions, in contrast, function like genetic drift.
23
Q

The Red List

A

An updated list of species facing high risks of extinctions

24
Q

Conservation biology

A

Studies the factors that influence the loss, protection, and restoration of biodiversity

25
Q

Conservation geneticists

A

Study genetic attributes of organisms to infer the status of their population

26
Q

Minimum viable population

A

How small a population can become before it runs into problems

27
Q

Equilibrium theory of island biogeography

A
  • Explains how species come to be distributed among oceanic islands
  • Explains how the number of species on an island results from an equilibrium between immigration and extirpation
  • Predicts an island’s species richness based on the island’s size and distance from the mainland
28
Q

Area Effect

A

Large islands contain more species than small islands

29
Q

Endangered Species Act (1973) (ESA)

A

Forbids the government and private citizens from taking actions that destroy endangered species or their habitats

30
Q

Species at Risk Act (2002)

A

Canada’s endangered species law

  • Stresses cooperation between landowners and provincial governments
  • Criticized as being too weak
31
Q

Umbrella species

A

Less-charismatic species that would not have generated public interest.

32
Q

UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) (1973)

A

-Protects endangered species by banning international transport of their body parts

33
Q

Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)

A
  • Ensure the fair distribution of biodiversity’s benefits
  • By 2008, 188 nations had signed on.
  • Iraq, Somalia, the Vatican, and the U.S. did not join.
34
Q

Biodiversity hotspots

A

An area that supports a high number of species

35
Q

Endemic species

A

Species found nowhere else in the world

36
Q

Habitat Restoration

A
  • Restoration can improve degraded habitat

- Reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park led to dramatic changes in the ecosystem

37
Q

Captive breeding

A

Individuals are bred and raised with the intent of reintroducing them into the wild

38
Q

Cloning

A

A technique to create more individuals and save species from extinction

39
Q

Primary causes of biodiversity loss are

A

Habitat alteration,

  • invasive species,
  • pollution,
  • overharvesting of biotic resources,
  • climate change
40
Q

Conclusion

A
  • Loss of biodiversity threatens to result in a mass extinction event equivalent to mass extinctions of the past
  • Human society cannot function without biodiversity’s benefits.
  • Science can help save species, preserve habitats, restore populations, and keep natural ecosystems intact.

biology 102 (12 decks)

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