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Trinity Term 1 > Climate and Life on Earth V: Global change - biodiversity in the Anthropocene 1 > Flashcards

Climate and Life on Earth V: Global change - biodiversity in the Anthropocene 1 Flashcards

1
Q

Define the anthropocene

A
  • the current geological age in which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment
  • recognises humans as a major geological and environmental force
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2
Q

Describe the Anthropocene

A
  • modified >50% terrestrial land cover
  • consume c.40% NPP each year
  • increased CO2 concentration to 410ppm
  • 1 degree of warming
  • 0.5-1M species to extinction brink
  • removed or rendered critically endangered all trop predators on land and sea
  • 60% decline in vertebrate populations since ’70s
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3
Q

when did the Anthropocene begin?

A

1610

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4
Q

Define biodiversity

A
  • variability amount living organisms from all sources including inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes the diversity within species , between species and of ecosystems
  • variation in genes, traits, species, communities, habitats and ecosystems
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5
Q

List some scales of biodiversity

A
  • gene
  • individual
  • population
  • community
  • ecosystem
  • biome
  • biosphere
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6
Q

biodiversity can be assessed in terms of

A

1) richness (number of elements)
2) evenness (equitability of elements)
3) heterogeneity (disparity in element form and function)

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7
Q

What are the biodiversity elements usually measured?

A
  • taxonomic species or subspecies
  • phylogenetic species
  • ecological functions
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8
Q

What are the 3 main ways of measuring variability in space?

A

1) alpha diversity
2) beta diversity
3) gamma diversity

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9
Q

Describe alpha diversity

A

pool of local species or other element

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10
Q

Describe beta diversity

A

turnover of species among sites

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11
Q

Describe gamma diversity

A

pool of region species

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12
Q

Describe the elevational diversity gradient

A
  • changes in species richness with increasing altitude in mountains (e.g. Mt Kilimanjaro)
  • many taxa peak at mid-altitudes
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13
Q

Describe clades of great biodiversity

A
  • Lake Malawi cichlids
  • Heliconid butterflies in Central and South America
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14
Q

Describe clades of little biodiversity

A
  • Lake Malawi tiger fish
  • Cethosia butterflies in SE Asia
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15
Q

Tropics

A

cradle a museum of young and old species

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16
Q

LDG

A

geographical variation in species richness

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17
Q

List 3 hypotheses for the LDG

A

1) area-based (spatial) hypothesis
2) evolutionary hypothesis
3) biotic hypothesis

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18
Q

What are the factors that affect biodiversity geographically?

A
  • area
  • climate stability
  • solar radiation
  • ambient temperature
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19
Q

How does area affect biodiversity?

A
  • large continents in the Southern Hemisphere have more space with more niches, and more opportunities for diversification
  • they also exhibit larger populations with lower rates of extinction
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20
Q

How does climate stability affect biodiversity?

A

stable, predictable resources allow for specialisation and hence speciation

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21
Q

How does solar radiation affect biodiversity

A

provides more energy for higher NPP, resulting in more resources, niches and opportunities for speciation

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22
Q

How does ambient temperature affect biodiversity?

A

higher ambient temperatures entail faster rates of evolution via higher mutant rates, faster physiological processes, faster rates of evolution and hence speciation

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23
Q

How does biodiversity beget biodiversity

A
  • more species
  • more complex species-interactions (host-pathogen, predator-prey)
  • more co-evolution
  • more speciation
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24
Q

phylogenetic trees have revealed

A

no correlation between age of lineage and number of species

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25
Q

List some hypothesis for phylogenetic variation in species richness

A
  • life-history trait variation
  • biogeographical factors
26
Q

Describe how life-history trait variation affects phylogenetic variation in biodiversity

A

certain life history traits (such as dispersal) predispose lineages to radiate

27
Q

Describe how biogeographical factors affects variation in phylogeny in biodiversity

A
  • isolate populations from one another
  • slows geneflow
  • allows divergence and speciation to begin
28
Q

Phylogenetic variation in species richness arises from

A

combinations of stochastic and deterministic factors

29
Q

Describe biodiversity in South America

A
  • most biodiverse content
  • landscape change primary driver of diversification
  • poor dispersal capacity of many species amplifies biogeographical effects
30
Q

List some concepts that biodiversity is confused with

A
  • nature
  • wildlife
  • natural resources
  • ecosystem services
  • green infrastructure
  • the biosphere
31
Q

Define nature

A

the world’s natural living and non-living features not created by humans

32
Q

biodiversity short definition

A
  • the variety of the living components of nature (all living organisms)
  • the diversity of life within the biosphere
33
Q

Define wildlife

A

well-known wild mammals and birds

34
Q

Define natural resources

A

materials or substances occurring in nature that can be exploited for economic gain
- may be renewable, and derived from living resources (e.g. timber, bushmeat, firewood)
- may be finite, and derived from inanimate sources (e.g. oil and gas, minerals)

35
Q

Biodiversity secures

A

the long term production of natural resources

36
Q

Define ecosystem services

A

flows of benefits that people gain from natural ecosystems

37
Q

Describe the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services

A
  • strengthening and sustaining with resilience
  • increased productivity and efficiency
  • allows continuation in the long term
38
Q

Define green infrastructure

A

network of natural and semi-natural features that provide benefits to people such as reduced air pollution, managed rainwater run-off and recreational facilities

39
Q

List some green infrastructure

A
  • hedgerows
  • rivers
  • green roofs
  • parklands
40
Q

Describe the relationship between biodiversity and green infrastructure

A
  • more resilient
  • greater continuation potential
41
Q

Fine the biosphere

A

the part of the Earth’s system comprising all ecosystems and living organisms: the living layer of the planet

42
Q

Why is it important to define biodiversity correctly?

A
  • avoid false narratives
  • avoid reductionism
  • measurement
  • monitoring
  • conservation prioritisation
43
Q

Describe species recognition in animals

A
  • 1,371,500 described species
  • 11million predicted top
44
Q

Describe species recognition in fungi

A
  • 100,000 described species
  • 10 million predicted top
45
Q

Describe species recognition in plants

A
  • 307,700 described
  • 450,000 predicted top
46
Q

List some ecosystem services

A
  • clean water
  • fish
  • wood
  • pollination
  • cool temperatures
  • control flooding
  • purify water
  • store carbon
  • clean air
  • education
  • recreation
  • aesthetic
  • stewardship
  • habitat
  • biodiversity
  • photosynthesis
  • soil formation
  • food
47
Q

What are 4 contributions of ecosystem services

A
  • provisioning
  • regulating
  • cultural
  • supporting
48
Q

Describe the effects of biodiversity

A
  • increases the efficiency and stability of ecosystem functions
  • improves the flow of very valuable ecosystem services
49
Q

How does biodiversity increase the efficiency and stability of ecosystem functions?

A
  • increased plants, detritivores, herbivores and predators
  • non-linear saturating effects
  • impacts across trophic levels
50
Q

List some ecosystem functions

A
  • resource capture
  • biomass production
  • decomposition
  • nutrient recycling
51
Q

Describe resilience

A

the capacity of a system to resist and recover from perturbation

52
Q

Biodiversity buffers against

A

change, and enables ecosystems to resist and recover

53
Q

Describe connectivity

A

allows for migration and range shifts to track moving ecological niches as an adaptive response to climate change

54
Q

Describe diversity

A

species richness safeguards evolutionary potential
- diversity, functional redundancy and abundance increase resilience

55
Q

Biodiverse connected ecosystems accommodate

A
  • climate extremes
  • pathogens
  • migration from forests and grasslands
56
Q

Describe Panama resilience expts

A
  • one-species plot growth is strongly regulated by climate events
  • higher mortality during 4 year drought
57
Q

Describe resilience expts in the USA and Europe

A
  • productivity of low-diversity communities (1-2spp) changed by 50% during climate events
  • high-diversity communities (16-32spp.) changed 25%
58
Q

Describe resilience expts in Western Ghats, India

A
  • greater stability of carbon capture in species-rich natural forests compared to species-poor plantations
  • rate C capture in plantations 29% lower in dry season compared to natural forest plots
59
Q

Valuate ecosystem services

A

<125 trillion US$ per annum

60
Q

Valuate Amazonian rainfall

A
  • 20Bn tonnes per day
  • fuel agricultural economy of c.240Bn US$ in Latin America
61
Q

Valuate pollination services

A
  • £1.25Bn globally
  • £690M in UK

Trinity Term 1 (38 decks)

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