Part 1: biodiversity (other way around) Flashcards
Autecology
Study of organisms or a species
Population
A group of individuals that all belong to the same species. Geographically based living in a particular area & scale.
Community
A group or association of populations of two or more different species occupying the same geographical area in a particular time and interact with one another. All the biotic factors of an area.
synecology
Community ecology
The study of interactions between species.
Ecosystem
The living organisms (all the populations) in an area and the non living aspects of the environment. Biotic + Abiotic factors in an area.
biodiversity
The variability among living organisms from all sources including inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part: this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.
3 levels: genetic & species & ecosystem diversity.
Multi dimensional different facets can’t be captured by a single number
Species
A group of individuals that actually or potentially interbreed in nature (= Reproductive isolation).
The type of organism.
Human invented concept with different problems:
- formation of hybrids
- asexually reproduction bacteria
- reproductive isolation even if they are the same species.
richness
the number of species in a sample or area
evenness
equality in abundance between species
genetic diversity
The amount of naturally occurring genetic variation among individuals of the same species. Diversity within species. Biodiversity within species.
niche
Range of environmental conditions in which a species can survive.
The area that a species will occupy, dependant on the environmental conditions.
specialist species
Species that has a very narrow niche/range.
Generalist species
species that has a wide niche/range
Adaptability
The likeness of a species to survive a change in environmental conditions. How a species response is to new circumstances.
Domestication
Selective breeding of species. Artificial selection to pass on desirable traits of the species while omitting the undesirable ones. A few individuals with desirable traits are selected and propagated.
Crop wild relatives
Wild plant species that are genetically related to cultivated crops. Could be interesting for breeding. They are continuously evolving: Subjected to natural selection. Not agronomically desirable but can have other desirable characteristics like resistances.
Natural selection
New offsprings are different and the best adapted will survive. Sexual reproduction.
grafting
New offsprings have exactly the same genetic information. Asexual reproduction.
Crop improvement
Crossing crop wild relatives with domesticated crops to produce new varieties with desirable traits.
Biotic homogenization
Homogenization of local communities. (often less specialist species and more generalist species)
The process by which ecosystems become increasingly similar over time caused by:
- anthropogenic disturbances: loss of specialist in favor of generalist
- biological invasions: loss of rare indigenous species in favor of the spread of a few invasive species
Mass extinction
Extinction where more than 75% of the present species goes extinct. 5 in the past 540 million years.
Mostly caused by warming and cooling events.
The rate and magnitude can be measured.
Geographical range
Region where a species occurs & is part of the regional species pool.
Abundance
How many individuals that are left. The population size
living plant index (LPI)
The average decline of populations that are monitored.
limitations
- tropics are under represented even though they have the largest species diversity (LDG)
- many groups aren’t covered ex. insects
red list
Inventory of the global conservation status of species by the IUCN (threads & other information).
- extinction rate is evaluated based on objective criteria
- critical indicator of the health of the world’s biodiversity Classified in categories from extinct to threatened to not evaluated.
IUCN
international union for conservation of nature
Organization behind the red list, also greenlist of protected and conserved areas (green status of species)
IPBES
Intergovernmental Science-policy platform for Biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Makes a global assessment reports on biodiversity and ecosystem services.