Topic 8.6 - Biodiversity 𖦹⋆｡°✩ Flashcards
what makes an ecosystem less resilient to changes in the environment
natural and artificial ecosystems with fewer component parts and with little diversity among the parts are less resilient
what may the diversity of species within an organism influence
the organization of the ecosystem; the long-term structure of an ecosystem can be stabilized with more diversity; less vulnerable to drastic structural changes when environmental changes or when organisms are added/removed
what can changes in diversity cause
short-term and long-term structural changes in a community
what affect do abiotic factors have on an ecosystem and provide examples
abiotic factors help maintain ecosystem diversity
༻ ex. climate, water/nutrient/light availability
what affect do biotic factors have on the environment
biotic factors help maintain ecosystem diversity
what is an example of a biotic factor contributing to maintaining diversity
༻ producers - many populations need producers for food and habitat, reduce erosion
༻ dominant predators - keep prey populations under control, have diversified diets, don’t put too much pressure on any one population
what are keystone species
species the community structure depends on
what is the relative size of keystone species compared to other populations
smaller compared to other populations in the community
what happens with keystone species are removed from the ecosystem
the ecosystem often collapses
what is the main role of keystone species
༻ often control the size of multiple populations
༻ overpopulation depletes resources
what is an example of a keystone species. explain
the African Elephant is a keystone species because:
༻ tusks dig up riverbeds, creating watering holes for animals
༻ dung provides habitat for insects and helps distribute seeds
༻ feeding behaviours influence landscape (removal of trees/shrubs provides pathways for other animals)
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