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Biology > Module 4.2 - Biodiversity > Flashcards

Module 4.2 - Biodiversity Flashcards

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1
Q

(MA) Why will we never know for sure how accurate estimates of numbers of species are?

A
  • we will not be certain we have found all the species on Earth
  • we are discovering new species all the time
  • evolution + speciation (formation of new species) are continuing
  • many species are endangered/becoming extinct
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2
Q

(MA) Why are estimates of species likely to be lower than the actual number?

A
  • not all species discovered yet
  • many microscopic species are hard to see
  • sampling might miss rare species
  • organisms can be mistakenly identified as one when they are actually two different species
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3
Q

(MA) How do you sample plant species (using belt transact)?

A
  • set area to be sampled
  • use belt transept to sample
  • use 50cmx50cm quadrats
  • at regular 5m intervals
  • identify plant species using keys
  • record the presence/absence of species in each quadrat
  • measure % cover of each species
  • repeat this using several different transects for reliability
  • to calculate biodiversity use Simpson’s diversity index
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4
Q

(MA) How do you sample plants (using random sampling)?

A
  • set area to be sampled
  • use a computer to randomly generate coordinates
  • use 50cmx50cm quadrats
  • place at randomly generated coordinates
  • identify plant species using keys
  • record the presence/absence of species in each quadrat
  • measure the % cover of each species
  • repeat with several quadrats
  • to calculate biodiversity use Simpson’s diversity index
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5
Q

(MA) How do you sample animals?

A
  • set grid to be sampled
  • use random numbers to make grid coordinates to locate areas you will randomly sample
  • pick one appropriate capture method (sweep net, pooter, pitfall etc)
  • identify each species using a key
  • count the numbers of each species
  • repeat this several times in each habitat, using the same technique each time
  • to calculate biodiversity use Simpson’s diversity index
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6
Q

(MA) What have humans done done to reduce biodiversity and therefore why we need to conserve species?

A

Caused loss of biodiversity + extinction of some species by

  • hunting/over fishing
  • killing pests which threaten out food supplies
  • pollution
  • deforestation/habitat destruction for land for buildings/farming land for just one crop species
  • inadvertent introduction of new predators + competitors to native species
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7
Q

(MA) What are the ecological reasons for conservation of plant and animal species?

A
  • habitat for other organisms (plants)
  • part of food chain in ecosystem
  • native species
  • population may be nationally significant in maintaining existence in country
  • maintain biodiversity
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8
Q

(MA) What are the economic reasons for conservation of plant and animal species?

A
  • wood used for e.g. making furniture (trees)
  • could be a tourist attraction (animal or plant species)
  • could be a source of medicine or scientific research (plants)
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9
Q

(MA) What are the aesthetic reasons for conservation of plant and animal species?

A

-people enjoy looking at them (particularly plants)

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10
Q

(MA) What are the ethical reasons for conservation of plant and animal species?

A

-we have a moral responsibility to protect species as they have a right to existence

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11
Q

(MA) What are the benefits of maintaining biodiversity of animal and plant species for agriculture?

A
  • source of food
  • source of genetic variation for selectively breeding domestic populations with populations which have beneficial qualities e.g. to breed in disease resistance, quicker growth
  • source of natural predators to pests (reduce need for chemical pesticides)
  • source of natural pollinators for crops e.g. bees
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12
Q

(MA) What are the consequences of global climate change on biodiversity?

A
  • species with narrow gene pools e.g. selectively bred domesticated plant and animal species lack the genetic variation necessary to cope with changes in the environment e.g. increasing temperatures + rainfalls cause by climate change
  • is species can’t evolve they’ll need to migrate or they’ll become extinct
  • change in patterns of agriculture*
  • change in patterns of disease*
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13
Q

(MA) How does the changes in the patterns of agriculture due to climate change affect biodiversity?

A
  • farmers will need to grow different crops as old crops will no longer thrive in new climatic conditions. Could mean reduction in yield or inability to meet consumer demands
  • land may be lost due to rising sea levels meaning loss in farming land
  • warmer temps may mean longer growing seasons = higher yield
  • warmer temps means more evap so more precipitation could be good in areas which normally experience drought as may boost crop yield but could cause flooding and loss of yield in other areas
  • rising CO2 level + higher temps could increase rate of photosynthesis so increase crop yield
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14
Q

(MA) How does the change in patters of disease due to climate change affect biodiversity?

A
  • new crops being grown in new areas (due to climate change) will encounter diseases they’ve never been expose to before + will have no resistance to them
  • longer growing seasons = more time for pests to breed = lower yields
  • diseases will migrate e.g. diseases confined to warmer climates may spread to Europe e.g. Anopheles mosquito carrying malaria parasite
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15
Q

(MA) What are the advantages of in situ conservation?

A

-conserving species in their natural habitat
-conditions + food etc they require for survival already present so cheaper than ex situ
-species are already well adapted to living in habitat
-no special provisions need to be made
-can create protected reserves
>can ensure sustainable use of environment incl. land + resources
>allows for scientific research of ecosystem etc
>permanently protects biodiversity in area + whole ecosystems
>creates areas of interest for ecotourists

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16
Q

(MA) What are the disadvantages of in situ conservation?

A
  • there may be threats to the survival of the species in this area
  • e.g. predation, hunting
  • human activity could threaten species in wild e.g. hunting/deforestation
  • disease could threaten survival of species
  • species could be outcompeted by other species
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17
Q

(MA) What measures are in place to help preserve species in the wild (in situ?)?

A
  • ban hunting
  • create protected reserves
  • provide breeding sites
  • prevent habitat destruction
  • monitoring of species e.g. with tagging
  • feeding programmes
  • educate tourists on not feeding wild animals + not dropping litter etc.
  • promotion of ecotourism to generate money to help with preservation
  • in case the population falls again, create sperm + egg banks
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18
Q

(MA) What are the advantages of ex situ conservation of animals?

A
  • health of individuals can be monitored + treated for disease to ensure survival
  • young can be hand reared which reduces mortality of young
  • provision of mates for breeding can be manipulated
  • protection from hunting + predation
  • competition reduces between animals
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19
Q

(MA) What are the disadvantages of ex situ conservation of animals?

A

-expensive
-often animals don’t breed successfully due to
>captive stress
>experience altered breeding cycles
>don’t have a compatible mate
-space is limited
>limiting no. of individuals kept which limits genetic diversity
>lack of genetic variation which could lead to inbreeding
-can be difficult to reintroduce species into wild as
>animals may become too tame + not be afraid of humans
>may be unable to reintegrate into wild population
>may have difficulties finding food for themselves
>may face predation
>habitats may have been destroyed

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20
Q

(MA) How are captive breeding programmes set up?

A

-collect animals from several sites (+ keep in several different locations
>different geographical locations shows geographical variation, maintains this geographical variation
>increases genetic variation
>reduce risk of inbreeding
>less risk of losing all individuals due to disease
-try to minimize stress during capture
-zoos have a database of related individuals]
-exchange of animals between zoos/exchange of sperm from sperm banks as a source of genetic material
-artificially inseminate individuals
-this increases no. of animals available to avoid inbreeding

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21
Q

(MA) What is the importance of seed banks at Botanical Gardens?

A
  • to maintain genetic diversity
  • to maintain plants for future or currently unknown uses
  • to counteract extinction or prevent inbreeding
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22
Q

(MA) What are the problems with seed banks?

A
  • collection of wild seeds may disturb environment
  • collected samples may not be representative of genetic diversity of species
  • seeds from one area may not survive in different areas
  • seeds stored for a long time may not stay viable
  • asexually bred plants will have no genetic variation, reducing biodiversity
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23
Q

(MA) What are the advantages of using seed banks rather than adult plants to conserve endangered plant species?

A
  • most plants produce an excess
  • so can be collected from wild without damaging wild population
  • take up little space
  • able to store large numbers
  • easy + cheap to transport
  • remain viable for long periods
  • less susceptible to disease/pests
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24
Q

(MA) How are seeds kept viable in seed banks?

A
  • ensure that seeds are germinated from time to time
  • ensure new seeds are produced
  • freeze seeds
  • dehydrate them
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25
Q

(MA) How is genetic variation ensured in seed banks?

A
  • ensure you have many seeds
  • collect seeds from many areas
  • ensure the seeds have a mixture of genotypes
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26
Q

Generally, how are species sampled?

A
  • ideally identify each species present + count them, which is impossible
  • study a small area + multiply numbers of individuals of each species to estimate numbers in entire habitat
  • should be representative of the habitat + so needs to sample all species present
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27
Q

When using random sampling how many samples should you take?

A

Dependent on size of habitat, as long as no. of samples is representative of number + relative abundance of species in an area

28
Q

What are the 3 types of non random sampling?

A
  • opportunistic
  • stratified
  • systematic
29
Q

What is opportunistic sampling?

A
  • prior knowledge of a site determines sample size

- may deliberately sample an area where you know an organism is present

30
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of opportunistic sampling?

A

+quicker than random

  • introduces bias
  • overestimation of abundance/diversity of species if you go where it’s present
31
Q

What is stratified sampling?

A

-sampling areas in a habitat which seems very different, separately

32
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of stratified sampling?

A

+ensures all different areas in a habitat are samples
+ensures no under representation
-if too many samples taken in proportionally smaller areas it could lead to overrepresentation in some areas

33
Q

What is systematic sampling?

A

-samples taken at regular, predetermined intervals across a habitat e.g. belt or line transects

34
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of systematic sampling?

A

+if clear gradual change in environmental factors across an environment a transect can show how species abundance changes with it therefore effect of the factor on different plant species
-species not in the line/belt may be missed therefore sample wouldn’t be representative + there’s be an underestimation of biodiversity

35
Q

How can you measure the abundance of a species in a quadrat and what are the disadvantages of this?

A
  • abundance scale factor e.g. ACFOR
  • estimate % cover - subjective and not quantitative
  • measure % cover using point frame
36
Q

What does ACFOR stand for?

A 
Abundant
Common
Frequent
Obvious
Rare
37
Q

What is a point frame and how do you use it?

A
  • frame with 10 needles

- put down 10 times in quadrat, each plant touching pin has 1% cover

38
Q

What ways are there to trap animals to be sampled?

A
  • pond/sweep nets
  • pooter
  • from trees
  • pitfall trap
  • Tullgren funnel
  • light trap
  • Longworth trap
39
Q

What type of animal does a pond/sweep net catch, from where, and how does it work?

A
  • water/low vegetation - catch small animals/insects
  • sweep nets in arc to catch animals
  • identify + count on white background
40
Q

What type of animal does a pooter catch, from where, and how does it work?

A
  • small animals/insects once caught with sweep nets/from trees
  • suck up animals into a clear container to stop them flying off
41
Q

What type of animal is caught from trees, and how does it work?

A
  • small animals/insects in trees

- hit tree branches with a stick to knock off animals into white tray/paper to identify + count

42
Q

What type of animal does a pitfall trap catch, from where, and how does it work?

A
  • small animals/insects on the ground
  • container buried in soil, insects fall into it
  • may be water/a chemical to stun them to stop them crawling out
  • should be sheltered in rain
43
Q

What type of animal does a Tullgren funnel catch, from where, and how does it work?

A
  • small insects/animals from leaf litter

- leaf litter placed on mesh, light dries out leaf litter, animals go down, fall through mesh into a collecting jar

44
Q

What type of animal does a light trap catch, from where, and how does it work?

A
  • insects attracted to light at night

- UV light attracts insects which fall into alcohol trap

45
Q

What type of animal does a Longworth trap catch, from where, and how does it work?

A
  • small animals e.g. mice
  • bait put in trap, it snaps shut behind animals, leaving them unharmed. Can be marked, released + recaptured to estimate population size
46
Q

How could you investigate the different in plant biodiversity between two habitats?

A
  • set grid/area to be sampled in both habitats
  • use same technique to sample in each habitat
  • systematic sampling/line/belt transect
  • repetition of line/belt transects
  • use quadrats
  • appropriate size
  • regular quadrat placing
  • identify species/use keys
  • presence/absence in a quadrat
  • measure % cover
  • biodiversity index
47
Q

When given % cover of two areas, which is more biodiverse and why?

A
  • biodiversity is a measure of species richness + species evenness
  • compare species richness
  • compare species evenness
  • therefore X is more diverse
48
Q

What is Simpson’s index of biodiversity equation?

A 
D = 1-[∑(n/N)^2]
∑ =  sum of
n = number of individuals in a species
N = total number of individuals of all species
49
Q

What is Simpson’s index of biodiversity’s equation in words?

A
  • a number closer to 1 for D means the area is more biodiverse
  • a number closer to 0 for D means the area is less biodiverse
50
Q

In what situations might you come across small, isolated populations of animals, meaning they have a low genetic biodiversity?

A
  • farms
  • zoos
  • geographic isolation
51
Q

(MA) What are the aims of CITES?

A
  • conservation of biodiversity
  • regulate + prevent trade in endangered species
  • ensure trade does not endanger wild populations
  • prohibit commercial trade in wild plants
  • allow trade in artificially propagated plants
  • allows some trade in less endangered plants + animals
52
Q

(MA) How does CITES help to save endangered species?

A
  • countries in agreement name it illegal to poach species
  • place ban on trade of endangered species
  • increase cooperation between countries
  • increase awareness of impact of illegal trade
53
Q

(MA) What are the aims for Rio Convention on Biological Diversity?

A
  • conservation of biodiversity
  • sustainable use of organisms/habitats/ecosystems
  • share genetic resources
  • share access to scientific knowledge
  • promoting ex situ conservation methods
  • raising profile of biodiversity with governments/general public
  • international cooperation on biodiversity issues
54
Q

What are the negatives of a low genetic biodiversity for a species?

A
  • all susceptible to disease

- inbreeding

55
Q

How would you calculate the genetic biodiversity of a species?

A

Calculate % loci in population that have more than 1 allele

56
Q

What are polymorphic loci?

A

Have more than 2 alleles. Increases genetic biodiversity

57
Q

How do you work out the proportion of polymorphic gene loci?

A

No. of polymorphic gene loci / total number of loci

58
Q

How does the increase in human population affect biodiversity?

A
  • more food + land needed = alter ecosystems + destroys habitats
  • using up natural resources
  • more energy sources/materials needed = pollution
  • over hunting/fishing
59
Q

How does agriculture affect biodiversity?

A
  • encourages monocultures
  • crops/animals of one species cultivated through selective breeding, specific genes chosen while others die out, reducing genetic diversity of species (genetic erosion)
  • natural habitats cleared for land for monocultures, reduces habitat + wild species population
  • reducing population decreases genetic diversity, less able to survive dangers to conditions leading to extinction
60
Q

How does climate change affect biodiversity?

A
  • changes to temperature + rainfall
  • low genetic diversity, unable to adapt
  • species could migrate to more suited areas. Not always possible = extinction
  • monocultures of crops with low genetic diversity unable to adapt, crop yields could reduce, less food
61
Q

What considerations must be taken when choosing a reserve or park?

A
  • how many species will be in the same area
  • what are the environmental conditions
  • is the area large enough to provide conditions for the long term survival of all the species + populations?
  • is there a full range of diversity within each species (e.g. is not closely related)?
62
Q

What are marine conservation zones?

A

areas of sea around the UK which are important to conserve rare or threatened species/habitats in our seas

63
Q

When might ex situ conservation be necessary?

A
  • natural habitat destroyed or under threat from climate change/human activity e.g. deforestation
  • population in natural habitats is very low
  • if reproduction in the wild is difficult e.g. numbers are low
64
Q

How can ex situ conservation help conserving both plants and animals?

A
  • breeding to maintain genetic diversity
  • allows protection from competition/poachers etc
  • allows protection from disease
65
Q

Why are plant species conserved in seed banks rather than as plants?

A

easier to conserve plant species in seed banks as can be stored for long periods of time + in huge numbers

66
Q

What is the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity?

A
  • international agreement by 150 governments
  • overall aim: promoting sustainable development
  • recognises human needs for food, land, medicine, clean environments as well as need to maintain biodiversity

Biology (20 decks)

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