biodiversity Flashcards
(22 cards)
what is a species?
a group of genetically similar organisms that can breed together to produce fertile offspring
what order is the binomial system in?
domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species
how is a species name written?
the generic name (capitalised) and the specific name in italics
what is artificial classification?
classification according to useful information available at the time (analogous characteristics)
what is phylogenetic characterisation?
classification according to the evolutionary relationships between organisms and ancestors (homologous characteristics)
what are the three domains?
eukarya, bacteria, archaea
what is phylogeny?
the evolutionary relationship between organisms, with common ancestors shown in a tree
what is the process of the creation of a species?
speciation
why is courtship behaviour important?
some females are only fertile once a year, to recognise the same species, to recognise a fertile mate, to synchronise mating, to form a pair bond
what is genetic diversity?
the variety of genes possessed by individuals making up one species
what is species diversity?
the number of different species and abundance of each in a given area at the same time
what is ecosystem/habitat diversity?
the variety of habitats within a given area
what is a population?
the number of organisms in one species in an area at the same time
what is a community?
different populations of species in the same area at the same time
what is an abiotic factor?
a non-biological component to an ecosystem, eg weather or climate
what is an ecosystem?
the living and non-living factors of an area, and how they interact
what is species richness?
the number of types of species in an area
what is the formula for diversity?
[N(N-1)] / [En(n-1)] where N = total no. and n = no. per species
what impact does agriculture have on biodiversity?
species richness and genetic diversity reduced due to monocultures
what are the four ways to investigate diversity?
observable characteristics, comparing DNA sequences, comparing mRNA sequences, comparing amino acid sequences
what is a representative sample?
one with a large (>10%) and random sample
what percentage of data is within 2 standard deviations of the mean?
95%
