Topic 7 Biodiversity

Question 1

What is biodiversity?

Answer 1

The variety of all living organisms on planet earth. It includes the different animals, plants, fungi, protists and microbes, the genetic information that they contain and the ecosystems which they form a part of.

Question 2

What is species biodiversity?

Answer 2

The variety of different kinds of organisms lining in a particular habitat or region.

Question 3

What is genetic biodiversity?

Answer 3

The variety of genes or number of different inherited characteristics present in a species.

Question 4

What is ecosystem biodiversity?

Answer 4

The variety of physical environment in which organisms live and with which they interact.

Question 5

What is the purpose of identification?

Answer 5

For effective communication of biological knowledge among scientists and naturalists.
SAFETY: to distinguish between harmless and harmful organisms
QUARANTINE: to recognise animals and plants and their products that are banned imports
MEDICINE: to identify particular kinds of bacteria/fungi for prescription
CONSERVATION: to preserve habitats of endangered plants and animals
FORENSICS: convict law breakers through plant animal matter used in identification
AGRICULTURE: to identify pests of crops for control measures.

Question 6

What are the principles of classification?

Answer 6

External characteristics (morphology)
Mode of reproduction
Internal anatomy
Physiology
Genetic material

Question 7

What is a taxonomist?

Answer 7

The biologists who specialise in identifying, naming, describing and classifying organisms

Question 8

What is a taxon?

Answer 8

A taxonomical category

Question 9

What is the hierarchy of biological classification?

Answer 9

Domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species

Question 10

What is the biological definition of a species?

Answer 10

Members of a group of similar organisms that are capable of interbreeding, under natural conditions to produce vainly and fertile offspring.

Question 11

What criteria are species now recognised through?

Answer 11

The number of a shape of chromosome present in their cells

Molecular data, in particular, genetic information contained in their genomes

Question 12

What is phylogeny?

Answer 12

The history origin and evolution of a set of organisms, usually of a species

Question 13

What is cladistics?

Answer 13

A relative new system of phylogenetic classification that uses shared derived characteristics to establish evolutionary relationships.

Question 14

What is the difference between primitively and derived characters?

Answer 14

Features that were present in their common ancestor and appear in all members of the group are PRIMITIVE CHARACTERS. DERIVED CHARACTERS are advanced or modified features that evolved later and appear in some members only of the group in question.

Question 15

What are the domains and their five kingdoms?

Answer 15

ARCHAE AND BACTERIA —-> monera

EUKARYA—-> plantae fungi Animalia protista

Question 16

What is DNA barcoding?

Answer 16

A taxonomic method that uses a short genetic marker in an organism’s DNA to identify it as belonging to a particular species.

Question 17

What are the applications of DNA barcoding?

Answer 17

Identifying and separating animal species that are presently regarded as a single species based on similar appearance.
Identifying whether a specimen is a new or existing species.

Question 18

What can DNA barcoding be used for?

Answer 18

• cases of species substitution in fish markets (and in restaurants) where cheaper fish fillets are labelled or served as more expensive species.
• invasive pest species at quarantine checkpoints
• whether meat and leather come from farmed animals or from protected wildlife.

Question 19

What is extinction?

Answer 19

The end of an organism or taxon, normally a species.

Question 20

What actions affects the survival of living organisms?

Answer 20

• excessive clearing of native grasslands and unsustainable loss of old growth forests
• overgrazing
• fire
• degradation of water quality in rivers lakes and estuaries
• introduction of exotic plants, predators and diseases
• unregulated exploration of terrestrial and marine wildlife.