Biodiversity Flashcards
What is biodiversity?
All the different plant, animal, fungus and microorganism species in the world, the genes they contain and the ecosystems of which they form a part
What are ways that organisms are connected?
Production of oxygen, food, shelter, creation of soil, composition for recycling elements and disease control
What are keystone species?
They have an impact larger than expected for their biomass
What can you find out from measuring biodiversity?
You can detected changes in the environment
How can you measure biodiversity?
Habitat, genetic diversity and species
What is a habitat?
Where an organism lives which is a specific location with specific conditions
What are factors present in a habitat?
Abiotic (physical) and biotic (living)
What is the relationship between species and habitat?
The species is adapted to the habitat
What is an issue with measuring habitats?
They are hard to measure as animals travel and there is no boundary
What are examples of habitats?
Beaches, dunes, mudflats, rock pools, salt marshes, meadows, stream, woodlands and fields
What are biotic factors?
Mates, predators, prey, bacteria and parasites
What are abiotic factors?
Carbon dioxide concentration, soil pH, humidity, light intensity, oxygen concentration, water availability, space, soil particle size and temperature
What is an ecosystem?
An area that supports interacting organisms and it can have many of few habitats
What is the result of a rich ecosystem?
It has more habitats and supports more complex communities
What is a niche?
The role of an organism in an ecosystem - e.g. nitrogen recycler
What is the relationship between habitats and niches?
More habitats means more niches
What is the relationship between genes and traits?
Genes have organisms their traits as they make proteins which result in traits
What do members of the same species share?
A gene pool - genes and alleles
What makes up a gene pool?
All the genes that make up genetic diversity of a species
What is the result of a wide range of genes and alleles?
Te make a species better at adapting to the changing conditions
What causes genetic diversity?
Mutations and meiosis
What can alter genetic diversity?
Genetic drift, bottlenecks and the founder effect
What is polymorphism?
How many genes have multiple alleles
What is allele richness?
How many possible alleles there are
