Section 4 - Biodiversity Flashcards
What is ecology?
The study of organisms in their environment
Define - abiotic factors
Non-Living parts of an environment
Define - Biotic factors
Living parts of an environment
Define - Community
A group of different species that live in the same place at the same time.
Define - ecosystem
The community of organisms and abiotic factors of a given area.
Define - environment
Conditions that surround an organism including biotic and abiotic factors.
Define - habitat
Where an organism vibes!!
The location where an organism lives.
Define - niche
The role a species has in its environment, governed by adaption to both abiotic and biotic conditions.
How it meets the need for food and shelter, how it survives, and how it reproduces, including all of its interactions with the biotic and abiotic factors of its environment.
Define - population
All of the members of a species living together in the same place at the same time.
Define - Species
Organisms that look similar and can breed to reproduce fertile offspring.
What is the classification?
The organisation of living organisms into groups
Based on a number of accepted principles.
What can members of a single species do?
Capable of breeding to produce living, fertile offspring.
Who came up with the binomial system?
Swedish botanist Linnaeus over 200 years ago
What are the features of the binomial system?
- Universal system based upon Latin or Greek names
- The first name - generic name - the genus to which the organism belongs.
- The second name - specific name - species to which h the organism belongs.
What system is used to name organisms?
binomial system
What is the generic name?
The first name of the binomial system that denotes the genus to which the organism belongs.
What is the specific name?
Second name of binomial system denoting the species to which the organism belongs.
What rules can be applied to the binomial system in scientific writing?
- Names in italics or underlined
- First letter of generic name is an upper case but specific name is lower case
- If specific name is not known the it can be written as ‘sp’
How does courtship behaviour help members of the same species?
- Recognice members of their own species
- identify a mate that is capable of breeding
- form a pair bond
- become able to breed.
Why is courtship behaviour used?
For males to determine whether the female is at s receptive stage for reproduction.
what is taxonomy?
The theory and practice of biological classification
What are the two main forms of biological classification?
Artificial
Phylogentic
What is an artificial classification?
Divides organisms according to the difference that are used at the time.
Including colour, size, the number of legs, leaf shape.
Analogous characteristics.
What is a phylogenetic classification?
- Based upon the evolutionary relationship between organisms ad their ancestors
- classifies species into groups using shared features derived from their ancestors
- arranges the groups into a hierarchy in which the groups are contained within larger composite groups no overlap.
What is the base of relationships in a phylogenetic classification?
Homologous characteristics.
These have similar evolutionary origins regardless of their functions in the adult of a species.
What is a taxon?
Each group within a phylogenetic biological classification
What is a taxonomic rank?
Taxonomy is the study of taxons and their positions in a hierarchical order called taxonomic ranks.
Based upon the evolutionary line of descent of the group members.
What is the domain?
The highest taxonomic rank
Three types -
- bacteria
- archaea
- eukarya
What are the three classifications in a domain?
- bacteria
- archaea
- eukarya
What features do bacteria have?
- Absence of membrane-bounded organelles such as a nuclei or mitochondria
- unicellular, although cells may occur in chains or clusters
- ribosomes are smaller 70s than in eukaryotic cells
- cell walls are present and made of murein - never chitin or cellulose
- a single loop of naked DNA made up of nucleic acids but no histones
How do archaea differ from bacteria?
- genes and proteins synthesis are more similar to eukaryotes
- their membranes contain fatty acid chains attached to glycerol by ether linkages
- there is no murein in their cell walls
- they have a more complex form of RNA polymerase
What features do Eukarya have?
- cells possess membrane-bounded organelles such as mitochondria and chloroplasts.
- they have membranes containing fatty acid chains attached to glycerol by ester linkages
- not all possess cells with a cell wall, but where they do it contains no murein
- Ribosomes are larger 80s than in bacteria and archaea
Which section of the domain uses larger ribosomes?
80s - Eukarya
Which section of the domain uses smaller ribosomes?
70s - Bacteria and Archaea
What are the four kingdoms inside the Eukarya domain?
- Protoctista
- Fungi
- Plantae
- Animalia
What is inside each kingdom of the Eukarya domain?
- Within each kingdom the largest groups are known as phyla
- Organisms in each phylum have a body plan radically different from organisms in any other phylum
- diversity within each phylum allows it to be divided into classes
- each class is divided into orders of organisms that have additional features in common
- each order divided into families and at this level, the differences are less obvious
- each family is divided into genera and each genus into species
What are the kingdom subsections of the eukarya domain?
Kingdom
phylum
class
order
family
genus
species
what is the taxonomic ranks based on?
The supposed evolutionary line of descent of the group members.
What is phylogeny?
The history of the evolution of a species or group, especially in reference to lines of descent and relationships among broad groups of organisms.
What does the phylogeny of an organism reflect?
The evolutionary branch that led up to it.
The phylogenetic relationships of different species are usually represented by a tree-like diagram called a phylogenetic tree.
What diagram is used to represent the phylogenetic relationship?
Phylogenetic tree.
The oldest species at the base of the tree while the most recent ones are represented by the ends of the branches.
What is a court?
The number of an organism in a quadrat
What are the two types of quadrats?
Frame and Point
Point - pins go into the group and whatever the pin is touching would be counted in the sample.
What is the interspecific variation?
If one species differ from another.
What is the intraspecific variation?
members of the same species that differ from each other.
When can random sampling be used?
To estimate the population size of organisms must be relatively evenly distributed.
Sampling involves taking measurements of individals selected from the population of organisms which is being investigated.
Give the process of random sampling
- Divide the area up into a grid and assign each square coordinates.
- Use a random number generator to randomly pick numbers.
- Use the numbers as coordinates to place the quadrats
- Estimate % cover, count organisms or indicate if the organism is present or not.
When do you use transect sampling?
When organism distribution has spatial variation.
How do you perform transect sampling?
- Place a line that is marked at regular intervals across the area.
- Place the quadrat at each interval
- count or calculate the % cover of organisms in each quadrat.
- Repeat with more transects and calculate the average number of organisms at each distance.
Why is it a problem that all scientists measure things?
Because they are usually measuring some aspect of living organisms and all living organisms are different.
EQUATION
Standard deviation
What is one way to measure species diversity?
Index of diversity
What does each of the values mean?
What does each of the values mean?
What is one way to measure species diversity?
Index of diversity
Give at least three techniques to help conservation
Give at least three techniques to help conservation
