Components of Biodiversity Flashcards
What is an ecosystem?
All the organisms (community) living in a particular habitat and the non-living components with which the organisms interact.
What are the three components of biodiversity?
- genetic diversity
- species diversity
- ecosystem diversity
What is genetic diversity?
The number and frequency of all alleles within a population.
What happens in one population of a species dies out?
Species will lose alleles and some of their genetic diversity.
What may a loss in genetic diversity result in?
It may limit its ability to adapt and survive changing conditions.
What is species diversity?
The number of different species in an ecosystem and the proportion of each species in the ecosystem.
What kind of food web would a high species diversity result in?
A stable ecosystem containing complex food webs.
What kind of food web would a low species diversity result in?
An unstable ecosystem with simple food webs.
What could happen if one species was removed from a simple food web?
Could cause many species to die out as members are all closely interlinked.
What is ecosystem diversity?
The number of distinct ecosystems within a defined area.
Describe the link between ecosystem and species diversity.
Higher ecosystem diversity = higher species diversity
