classification and biodiversity Flashcards
what is classification
organising organisms into groups
how are organisms classified
morphological features
and DNA analysis
what are morphological features
the physical features of an organism
there are 5 kingdoms
animals plants bacteria fungi and single celled organisms
what are the major groups of animals
vertebrates humans and reptiles
invertebrates worms and insects
what are the major groups of palnts
flowering roses and daffodils and nonflowering ferns and mosses
name everything in the binomial system
kingdom
phylum
class
order
family
genus
species
The scientific name is important because:
it aids identification and classification
it is the same across the world in any language
it avoids confusion or duplication when talking about the organism in different languages (local or common names).
what is an adaptation
An adaptation is a feature that allows a living thing to survive in its habitat. These features could be morphological or behavioural.
what are 2 types of behavioural adaptations
hibernation and migration
how are small ears and adaptation
they reduce the surface area
heat loss
when does competition occur
it will occur between organisms
when resources are in demand
do animals compete for
food water territory mates
what do plant compete for
light minerals water and space
what affects the size of a population
The size of a population may be affected by competition for these resources along with predation, disease and pollution.
what are 2 types of competition
intraspecific and interspecific
intra is between organisms of the same species inter is between different species
what is biodiversity
it is the variety of living organisms in a specific place]#
why is biodiversity important
Biodiversity is important as it provides us with foods, potential foods, industrial materials and new medicines. These are important for the well-being of humans.
what is CITES
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). This is an international agreement between governments to protect endangered plants and animals – making sure that trade doesn’t threaten a species’ survival.
what is SSSI
Sites of Special Scientific Interest. This describes an area of conservation that contains rare species of animals or plants.
what is a captive breeding programme
Captive breeding programmes. These include zoos, aquariums, and safari parks. They breed endangered or threatened animals to create a stable, and healthy population in order to avoid extinction.
national parks
National parks. This is an area set aside by a country’s government. National parks are created to preserve the natural environment, and the species within it.
seed banks
Seed/sperm banks. Scientists ‘bank’ and ‘save’ seeds to use for replanting in case certain plants die out or are destroyed. Sperm and eggs can also be ‘banked’ in case animal species are threatened with extinction.
action plans
Local biodiversity action plans. Targets set in an area which are translated into actions for conserving animal/plant species and their habitats.
what is biological control
Biological control involves deliberately introducing a living organism to control the population of another pest species.
The biological control agent is usually:
a predator that eats the pest
or bacteria that can destroy the pest.
what is an alien species
Alien species are organisms that are accidentally or deliberately introduced into habitats where they do not naturally occur.
what is meant by invasive
a species that is not natural to the area and can cause harm to the environment
when does a n alien species become invasive
Alien species become invasive when:
they have no predators in the area and the population grows out of control
they compete with native species and cause that species to die out in the area
they prey on native species, reducing their population
they carry a disease that existing native species are not immune to.
Advantages of Biological Control
The biological control agent is usually specific to a particular pest.#
It is an alternative to pesticides: it does not kill useful insects such as bees, or cause bioaccumulation
Once the predator is established, there is no need to re-introduce it at a later date.
disadvantages of bio cotrol
There is a delay between introducing the predator and a reduction in the pest.
The biological control agent can compete with native species (who are not pests) or become predators to these.
the biological control agent can introduce new diseases.
what is a native species
one that naturally occurs in the environment
what does a transect show
the frequency of a species in a habitat
the distribution of species in a habitat.
capture recapture
Capture-recapture technique is a way of estimating the population size of an animal species.
Animals are captured, marked and released.
A few days later, the animals are recaptured.
The numbers of marked and unmarked animals caught in the traps are recorded.
The population size is estimated using the following equation:
m1 xm2/m1 found in m2
what happens when human destroy a habitat
they reduce biodiversity
morphological features
are structural adaptations of the organism for eg
colour of fur petal size
how do we ensure that the transect test was fair
we carried it out at the same time of each year
they used the sampled the same area
suggest why the student have sampled several areas over the whole moorland
to have a more valid representation of the whole moreland
how do you sample an area using a transect and quadrat
Use quadrats (1)
* setting up a grid/ use a transect (1)
* Correct reference to generation of random co-ordinates/
placing quadrat at regular intervals (1)
* Count number of plants of each species (1)
ow are plants adapted to the environment
thick waxy cuticle on the leaves to prevent to avoid water loss in in dry environments
long roots to reach the water
what is the calculation for having an estimate of how many species are present in an area
number of species counted x the whole area/area sampled
