Lecture 8 - Palaeodiversity

Question 1

Define biodiversity

Answer 1

the variety of life in all its manifestations. It encompasses all forms, levels and combinations of natural variation

Question 2

2 methods to measure biodiversity of extant species

Answer 2

1. examine rates of diversity curves
2. extrapolate from intensive local sampling
   * taxonomic approach = number of taxa

Question 3

what are the 3 main problems with the fossil record?

Answer 3

1. it is incomplete and biased
2. there is only anatomy and morphology available in the fossil record
3. it is not clear if linnean hierarchies are the same for different groups or organisms

Question 4

what are the 2 things we can do with the fossil record?

Answer 4

1. identify species, genera, families and count them / number of taxa
2. look at morphological disparity - measure of the ecospace filled

Question 5

How many times more is the biodiversity on land than the ocean?

Answer 5

5/6 - due to land being more variable (conditions) than the ocean = more biodiversity as animals adapt and evolve to certain environments
*however 95% fossils = marine

Question 6

what is “pull of the recent”?

Answer 6

fa phenomenon in the fossil record, that causes past biodiversity estimates to be skewed towards the modern taxa, modern biodiversity being the best sampled

Question 7

what are the exploration methods for patterns of biodiversity?

Answer 7

1. equilibrium models - biodiversity ceiling due to damping factors e.g. competition
2. expansion models - no biodiversity ceiling - species grow and develop exponentially leading to more complex ecosystems