Diversity Of Life Flashcards
Define biodiverstiy
The variability among living organisms, including diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems
What are the taxas that are well described?
Plants and chordates
Which taxa is most highly discovered per year?
Insects
Why can’t we be more accurate about number of species?
- Lack of morphological variation in some taxa (bacteria)
- Function of effort in looking (birds vs nematodes)
- Sampling - rich habitats (rainforest)
- big inaccessible habitats (ocean)
What is ecosystem services?
The benefits of having healthy ecosystems with high biodiversity to society and the economy
Why are living organisms important for medicine?
20,000 medicinal plants ($50 billion/year) 80% of people in developing countries dependant
Why is the rosy periwinkle important?
Helps to treat diabetes and leukaemia
Why classify organisms?
To group organisms to reflect similarities and relationships
To organise a universal way of naming organisms (Linnaeus - binomial nomenclature)
How old is the earth?
4600my
