Diversity Exam Prep Flashcards
(38 cards)
Ecology
the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.
Anthropause
the dramatic slowdown in human activity caused by the pandemic.
What is biodiversity
the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem. Earth is unique in its capacity for life.
Why is biodiversity important
Biodiversity is essential for the processes that support all life on Earth, including humans. Without a wide range of animals, plants and microorganisms, we cannot have the healthy ecosystems that we rely on to provide us with the air we breathe and the food we eat.
Biodiversity is the key to the future of humanity. There will be no jobs on a dead planet. Biodiversity equals stability. Civilization won’t work without biodiversity. Animal lives are intimately connected to the lives of others around them. The evolution of life changed the planet from a desolate wasteland to comfortable conditions for life. Productivity of the living world increases with more animal diversity
Taxonomy
The science of identifying, naming, and classifying organisms
Binomial nomenclature
Developed by Carl von Linne (Carolus Linnaeus) in 1735
Scientific name has two parts:
Genus
Species
Phylogeny
Evolutionary tree showing relationships between groups
Cladogram
a branching diagram showing the cladistic (common characteristics) relationship between a number of species.
biological species concept
Groups of actually or potentially interbreeding populations which are reproductively isolated from other such groups
reproductive isolation and isolating mechanisms
no exchange of genetic material.
Physical
Physiological
Chromosomal
Behavioral
parthenogenesis
a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization by sperm. Occurs when an animal does not encounter conspecifics over a period of time.
conspecifics
a member of the same species
evolutionary species concept
A single lineage of ancestor-descendent populations that maintains its identity from other such lineages and that has its own evolutionary tendencies and historical fate
phylogenetic species concept
The concept of a species as an irreducible group whose members are descended from a common ancestor and who all possess a combination of certain defining, or derived, traits
biological species concept
A species is a group of members who can interbreed and produce viable, fertile offspring. Must be reproductively compatible. Members of different species cannot mate and produce viable offspring. They remain their own distinct species.
morphological species concept
A species is a group of members of the same body shape or features.
ecological species concept
Members of the same species occupy the same ecological niches. Interaction with biotic and abiotic parts of the environment. (soil type, cold toleration, climates, elevation
evolution
The process by which species of organisms arise from earlier life forms and undergo change over time through natural selection.
natural selection
the process through which populations of living organisms adapt and change. Individuals in a population are naturally variable, meaning that they are all different in some ways. This variation means that some individuals have traits better suited to the environment than others.
divergent evolution
The evolutionary pattern in which species sharing a common ancestry become more distinct due to differential selection pressure which gradually leads to speciation over an evolutionary time period.
(Lions, cheetahs, and leopards (all family felidae). These three cats evolved from the same ancestor. Their habitats overlap)
convergent evolution
the process whereby distantly related organisms independently evolve similar traits to adapt to similar necessities.
(Dolphins and sharks have several morphological similarities(streamlined bodies, dorsal fins, pectoral fins, etc.) because of the environment they are from but they are not closely related. Sharks are fish and thus are ectotherms (do not have lungs, lay eggs, etc). Dolphins are mammals and therefore are endotherms (have lungs, and give live birth, etc). Sharks and their ancestors are believed to have been always aquatic whereas it is believed that dolphins evolved from a once terrestrial mammalian ancestor.)
continuous distribution
Eurytopic or wide-ranging animals are adapted to a wide variety of environmental conditions and are not specific to any particular type of food or may have special power to cross barriers either by flight, rafting or swimming and adapt to new environmental conditions.
discontinuous distribution
When continuity of distribution of a type of animal is broken by uninhabited areas which are sometimes very large stretches of oceans.
habitats
Places where animals live, defined by climate, latitudes, altitudes, types of soil, etc
Examples: coastal cliffs, talus slopes, sand dunes, alpine meadows
