Unit 2 - Biodiversity Flashcards
What are the three scales of biodiversity?
Ecosystem Diversity: the variety of biotic and abiotic properties
Species Diversity: how many different species of organisms live in a given ecosystem
Genetic Diversity: the difference in genes within a specific species
How is species diversity measured? (2 ways)
Species Richness: number of species in a given area
Species Evenness: proportion of individuals within a species in a given area
What are the ecosystem services?
- provisioning
- regulating
- cultural
- supporting
What is provisioning?
The products that are provided by and obtained from ecosystems
-food
-fuels
-materials
-medicine
-water
What is regulating?
Ecosystems regulate/moderate natural phenomenon
-climate regulation
-flood and erosion prevention
-pollution
-seed dispersal
What is the cultural ecosystem service?
The non-material benefits
-education
-recreation
-stress relief
-spiritual
What is the supporting ecosystem service?
Services necessary to support the other services
-the biochemical cycles
-productivity
What is resilience in the context of an ecosystem?
The ability of an ecosystem to maintain its normal patterns when exposed to a change
More biodiverse –> More resilient
these “changes” are called “disruptions”
-natural disasters
-disease epidemics
-pollution
-invasive species
What is ecological tolerance?
The ability of living organisms to withstand or tolerate changes
-temperature
-salinity
-pH (acidity)
What is an ecosystem’s recovery after a major disruption called?
Secondary Succession:
An ecosystem is visibly in recovery due to the pioneer species of grasses and perennials
What process forms ecosystems?
Primary Succession:
Starts with bare rock and the pioneer species is lichen
What are the two factors in island biogeography and what contributes to it being more biodiverse?
-Island size
-Distance from land
The bigger and closer –> the more biodiverse
What are specialist species?
An organism that can only live in a specific area and has a specific diet
Organisms on islands are most often specialist species
