Quantifying And Measuring Biodiversity Flashcards
Why does more layers of vegetation mean higher diversity?
Different microclimates
More niches
What controls diversity
Physical structure
Resources
Competition
What happened to palace leas plot when fertiliser was added
Increased resources, encouraging dominant species, reducing the diversity
Examples of dominant plants
Nettle, bracken
How do you calculate plant dominance index
- Growth rate
- Potential height
- Potential for lateral spread
- Litter production
Given score of 1-5 for each, then summed up and halved to give score out of 10
with regards to dominance scores, where is diversity highest?
Areas with low dominance scores
What is hay rattle used for?
For diversification of upland meadows
What’s is diversity index?
The measure of the number of species/families and number of individuals of each (evenness)
What is richness?
Number of different species/families
What is the species area relationship
The larger the area the more species found in it
How is the number of species that will settle on an island estimated? (Optimum carrying capacity)
An equilibrium model is drawn, with immigration of new species and extinction of existing species is drawn, where they cross is the estimate
What is the relationship between island size and distance from mainland, to species richness
The larger the island the the lower the extinction rates, the further away the island the lower the immigration rates
The example of island biogeography is?
Rakata, all life was extinguished in 1883, environmental changes accompanied new ecosystems
What does Hawaii not have?
No freshwater fish, amphibians or reptiles, only 1 mammal, bat
