Unit 2 Biodiversity

Question 1

Biodiversity

Answer 1

Variety and variability of life on earth

Question 2

Species Richness

Answer 2

Total number of species in the area

Question 3

Genetic Diversity

Answer 3

Total variety of genes within a species

Question 4

Endemic species

Answer 4

Species that occur nowhere else in the world

Question 5

Ecosystem Diversity

Answer 5

Total number of ecosystems in the area

Question 6

Unique ecosystems

Answer 6

Ecosystems that occur nowhere else in the world

Question 7

Causes for loss of Biodiversity

Answer 7

habitat loss, invasive species, over , exploitation, climate change along with global warming, pollution

Question 8

Mutations

Answer 8

Changes in DNA that lead to changes in a species. Mutations are the cause for genetic diversity

Question 9

Species Richness index

Answer 9

Used to Quantify Biodiversity. It is the total number of species in an area

Question 10

Species evenness

Answer 10

The Species Evenness is another method to measure biodiversity. Evenness expresses how uniformly the individuals in a community are distributed among the different species

Question 11

Simpsons Index

Answer 11

Used to quantify Biodiversity . D = Sigma n/N where n is the total number of individuals of a particular species and N is the total number of organism in all the species. Low Simpsons index number means more biodiversity and vice versa.

Question 12

Population Bottle neck

Answer 12

Occurs when the size of a population is reduced at least for one generation.

Question 13

Ecosystem services

Answer 13

Services provided by our ecosytem. It is of four types, supporting, regulating, provisioning and Cultural

Question 14

Provisioning services

Answer 14

Something produced by the ecosytem that can be directly used by humans. Eg, Fruits, Vegetables

Question 15

Regulating services

Answer 15

processes that help environmental conditions stable. Eg, Flood prevention, Climate regulation

Question 16

Cultural Services

Answer 16

Cultural, emotional, or aesthetic benefits provided.

Educational, recreational, aesthetic

Question 17

Supporting services

Answer 17

Processes that are needed for human survival that are extremely costly.
E.g, Nutrient cycling, primary productivity

Question 18

Island Biogeography Theory

Answer 18

This model states that the number of species (richness) found on an island is determined by the interactions of two factors: the rate at which new species immigrate to the island and the rate at which species become extinct locally on the island. Two features of an island determine the immigration and extinction rates: island size and an island’s distance from the mainland.

Question 19

Adaptations

Answer 19

a change or process by which an organism becomes better suited to its environment.

Question 20

Structural adaptations

Answer 20

These adaptations are body structures that allow an animal to find and consume food, defend itself, and to reproduce its species. Structural adaptations include things such as body color, body covering, beak type, claw type.

Question 21

Behavioural adaptations

Answer 21

These are adaptations that help an organism meet their needs for food, water, shelter, and protection.For example, bird calls and migration are behavioral adaptations.

Question 22

Physiological adaptations

Answer 22

Physiological adaptation is an internal body process to regulate and maintain homeostasis for an organism to survive in the environment in which it exists, examples include temperature regulation, release of toxins or poisons, releasing antifreeze proteins to avoid freezing in cold environments .

Question 23

Succession

Answer 23

Succession is the gradual and fairly predictable change in species composition of an area over time.
During succession, some species colonize and their populations become more numerous, whereas other species populations decline and even disappear.

Question 24

Primary Succession

Answer 24

Succession where there was no previous biotic community.

Ex: Newly formed island

Question 25

Secondary succession

Answer 25

Succession in a previously occupied by a community

Ex: Mount St. Helen’s blast area

Question 26

Aquatic succession

Answer 26

transition from pond or lake to terrestrial community

Question 27

Pioneer species

Answer 27

The organism that first colonize a deserted area during succession

Question 28

Climax community

Answer 28

The final diverse ecosystem formed during the end of succession