Components of Biodiversity 3.7 Flashcards
Why do we measure biodiversity
To provide key information to allow conservationists to decide what areas and species need support to survive
What is genetic diversity
Number and frequency of all the alleles that exist in a population
What is ecosystem diversity
Number of distinct ecosystems within a defined area
What are the 3 measurable components of biodiversity
Genetic diversity, ecosystem diversity, species diversity
What are the 2 types of species diversity
Species richness and relative abundance
What is species richness
Number of different species in an ecosystem
What is relative abundance
Proportion of each species in the ecosystem
What is the effect of a dominant species presence
The community will have a lower species diversity than another community with the same species richness but no dominant species
