Quiz: Biodiversity

Question 1

Define biodiversity

Answer 1

The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.

Question 2

Define biome

Answer 2

A large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat, e.g. forest or tundra.

Question 3

Define extant

Answer 3

Still in existence; surviving

Question 4

Define extinct

Answer 4

(Of a species, family, or other larger group) Having no living members; no longer in existence

Question 5

Define genetic drift

Answer 5

Variation in the relative frequency of different genotypes in a small population, owing to the chance disappearance of particular genes as individuals die or do not reproduce

Question 6

Define species evenness

Answer 6

It refers to how close in numbers each species in an environment is. It is a measure of the relative abundance of the different species making up the richness of an area.

Question 7

Define species richness

Answer 7

The number of species per sample.

Question 8

Approximately how many species have biologists identified so far?

Answer 8

1.5 million

Question 9

List and explain the three levels of biodiversity.

Answer 9

Genetic diversity is all the different genes contained in all individual plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms. It occurs within a species as well as between species.

Species diversity is all the differences within and between populations of species, as well as between different species.

Ecosystem diversity is all the different habitats, biological communities, and ecological processes, as well as variation within individual ecosystems.

Question 10

What does kinship measure mean?

Answer 10

A mean kinship value is calculated for each animal in the population using a formula. Mean kinship gives a numerical value to how closely related each animal is to the population.

Question 11

What are the two components of species diversity?

Answer 11

Species richness and relative abundance

Question 12

How are the two components of species diversity different?

Answer 12

Species richness is the number of species per sample.

Relative abundance is the number of individuals per species.

Question 13

What 2 climatic factors influence the distribution of biomes around the Earth?

Answer 13

Water and temperature

Question 14

How are ecology and evolution tightly linked?

Answer 14

Because evolution results in organisms that are best suited to survive and reproduce in a given environment.

Question 15

Why do we focus on the Species level?

Answer 15

Because the species level is easier to work with. Species are relatively easy to identify.

Question 16

In biology, what is a key?

Answer 16

Keys are used to identify different species. A key will usually ask questions based on easily identifiable features of an organism.

Question 17

What would make one community more diverse than another?

Answer 17

Species richness, which is the number of species in a community.

Question 18

How is the Diversity Index value used to measure species?

Answer 18

It is a quantitative measure that reflects how many different types (such as species) there are in a data set. The value of a diversity index increases both when the number of types increases and when evenness increases.