Biodiversity

Question 1

Define biodiversity and describe its 3 levels

Answer 1

Biodiversity is the variety of life on earth.
Genetic diversity - Variation within or between populations
Species diversity - total species and their abundances
Ecosystem diversity - range of ecosystems and interactions

Question 2

How many species have been described globally

Answer 2

1.5 million species have been formally described.

Question 3

What do species discovery curves show us?

Answer 3

They show that increased sampling effort reveals more species and many species are rare and go undetected without extensive effort.

Question 4

Why haven’t we described all species in most groups

Answer 4

1. Most species are microscopic or in less studied groups
2. Sampling is taxonomixally biased (more focuses on birds or mammals)
3. Curves still rise steeply, showing many species remain undiscovered.

Question 5

Describe two biologeographic factors contributing to biodiversity

Answer 5

1. Latitude - more species near the equator.
2. Area - Larger areas have more species.

Question 6

What does a cosmopolitan distribution mean?

Answer 6

Species are widespread globally and tend to be generalists in habitat/diet.

Question 7

What does and endemic distribution mean?

Answer 7

Species are only found in one area only. Tend to be more vulnerable to change.