unit 2 Flashcards
biodiversity
number, variety, and variability of earth’s organisms; genetic, species, and ecosystem
genetic diversity
richness of gene pool within a single species, high variability necessary for long-term species survival
why is high variability necessary for survival?
improves resistance to disease/pests, increases likelihood a species can adapt to changes in an environment
diversity of a species
number of difference species + abundance of individuals within each species
species richness
number of different species in an ecosystem; 1st
species eveness
comparison of abundance of individuals in each species
ecosystem/habitat diversity
variety of ecosystems on earth, variety of species and species interactions
factors affecting species diversity in communities
latitude, net primary productivity, habitat diversity, habitat disturbance, time, pollution, biogeography
latitude
species diversity highest in ecosystems closest to equator
net primary productiviy
higher NPP (like tropical rainforests and estuaries) = high biodiversity
habitat diversity
habitat are sources of food, shelter, mating grounds, and protection; more niches = more support for species diversity
habitat disturbance
loss of available resources = decline in diversity
time
habitats become more mature overtime = can support more organisms and greater species variety
pollution
degrades air, water, soil, resources, some species may not be supported
biogeography
more widespread species = higher genetic diversity
ecosystems with greater species diversity
more likely to recover from disruptions to ecosystems
how do humans impact biodiversity
agriculture, exploitation of species, habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, introduction of invasive species
provisioning ecosystem services
products directly obtained from ecosystems
regulating ecosystem services
benefits obtained from regulation of ecosystem processes
cultural ecosystem services
nonmaterial benefits obtained from ecosystem
supporting ecosystem services
services necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services
how do humans disrupt ecosystem services
overexploitation of resources, combustion of fuel sources, habitat destruction, pollution, agriculture, urbanization
island biogeography
species diversity is a balance of how many immigrate ONTO an island and how many emigrate AWAY or go EXTINCT
island features affecting immigration and emmigration/extinction rates
island size and island distance from a mainland
island settlers with high rate of survival from mainland
plants, insects, birds, bats - able to travel long distances and survive trip from mainland to island
island settlers with low rate of survival from mainland
mammals, reptiles, amphibians
size of island
larger island = more space for species to spread, less competition, more potential niches
distance from island
closer islands = more likely to be colonized more frequently