WFC 154

Question 1

Biological species concept

Answer 1

A species is a group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring

Question 2

Morphological species concept

Answer 2

organisms are grouped by appearance or physiology

Question 3

Phylogenetic species concept

Answer 3

organisms with a shared evolutionary lineage that can be differentiated from others based on a common trait or gene

Question 4

Cons of Biological species concept

Answer 4

does not account for asexual organisms

Question 5

Cons for morphological species concept

Answer 5

Arbitrary distinctions:

1)Similar species can look identical but have different behaviors

2)One species can have a variety of sizes and morphs that make it hard to classify them as the same species

Question 6

Cons of phylogenetic species concept

Answer 6

WHEN is it a species?

Question 7

How many species are there?

Answer 7

~2 million discovered but it’s possibly between 2-100 million on earth overall

Question 8

Where are most species concentrated?

Answer 8

Tropical rainforest and coral reefs

Question 9

Species richness

Answer 9

number of species at a site

Question 10

Simpson diversity

Answer 10

accounts for abundance

Question 11

y-diversity

Answer 11

total regional diversity

Question 12

b-diversity

Answer 12

the proportion of unshared species between communities

Question 13

Species-area approach

Answer 13

more habitat=more species

Larger areas have more species because :
> more types of habitats and local environments
>greater separation of populations means more speciation occurs
>larger populations have fewer extinction

Question 14

Extinction Debt

Answer 14

predicted eventual loss of unviable populations; extinction takes a while

Question 15

Problems with the species-area approach

Answer 15

1) extinction may be slower than habitat restoration (extinction debt can work for us)
2) species can often persist once habitats are converted

Question 16

What percent of species that have ever lived are extinct?

Answer 16

99%

Question 17

What geologic epoch had the most species alive during it?

Answer 17

todays

Question 18

Mass extinction

Answer 18

a period with severe species loss

Question 19

how many mass extinctions were there?

Answer 19

5

Question 20

All five of the historic mass extinctions were followed by_______

Answer 20

Mass speciation

Question 21

It takes ______ years to recover the lost diversity after mass extinction events

Answer 21

50-100 million years

Question 22

What do we need to know in order to determine if we are in a mass extinction?

Answer 22

1. “background” rate of extinction
2. current rate of extinction

Question 23

Background rate of extinction

Answer 23

the average rate at which species fo extinct

Question 24

The Overkill Hypothesis + evidence

Answer 24

humans could be responsible for Pleistocene extinctions across the world.

Evidence: human arrival often correlates with dramatic wildlife declines

Question 25

What are the 4 notable modern extinctions?

Answer 25

1. Thylacine; caused by poaching and competition with dogs
2. Passenger Pigeon; caused by habitat loss and hunting
3. Lyall’s wren; cat predation
4. Golden Toad; Chytridiomycosis

Question 26

What traits do vulnerable species share?

Answer 26

1. large body size
2. small range size
3. small population sizr
   4.habitat or diet specialist