Ecology

Question 1

Causes of declining biological diversity

Answer 1

• habitat loss
• overharvesting
• global change
• exotic species

Question 2

3 levels of biodiversity

Answer 2

▪️genetic diversity:
individual genetic variation within population and gene variation between populations.

▪️species diversity:
Variety of species in an ecosystem or across a biosphere.

▪️ecosystem diversity:
Variety of the biospheres ecosystem

Question 3

Epidemiology(WWW) vs Disease ecology (HW)

Answer 3

🟣epidemiology:Study of patterns, causes & effects of health and disease conditions in defined populations.

🟣disease ecology: study of underlying principles that influence these patterns of disease.

Question 4

What are zoonotic diseases?

Answer 4

Diseases & infections that are naturally transmitted between vertebrae animals and humans.

Question 5

Agents

Answer 5

Bacteria, viruses or fungi from animals.

🟢bird flu
🟢Zika fever
🟢rabies
🟢COVID-19

Question 6

Transmission

Answer 6

Can be:

🔵direct: agent —>host
🔵indirect: agent—>vector—>host

Question 7

Natural reservoir:

Answer 7

Long term host of pathogen of infectious disease.

**pathogen often doesn’t affect reservoir

Question 8

Emerging infectious diseases

Answer 8

Infectious diseases whose incidence has increased in past 20 years.

Question 9

Why are zoonotic diseases increasing:

Answer 9

🟢land use change

🟢climate change

🟢bushmeat trade

🟢evolution

🟢globalization

🟢population growth

Question 10

Ecological niche

Answer 10

Role and functional position of an organism in an ecosystem

▪️ie
Dung beetles.
If dung beetles didn’t exist then Africa would be full of dung

Question 11

Functional extinction

Answer 11

When a population is too small and it no longer plays a role in the ecosystem