Biodiversity Flashcards
(28 cards)
What is an ecosystem?
A community of populations, interacting with each other and with their environment
What is a community?
All the living organisms (the different populations) which occur together in the same place at the same time
What is a population?
All the members of the same species that occur together in a particular area at a particular time
What do we mean by ‘biodiversity’?
The variety of different organisms living in a particular area
Species richness and species abundance
What are the 2 main components of the biodiversity definition?
Species richness and species abundance
What is the difference between species richness and species abundance?
Species richness is the NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SPECIES in the habitat and species abundance is the NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS OF EACH SPECIES in the habitat
What are the 3 types of biodiversity?
- Genetic Diversity (the diversity of genes i.e. all the different genetic combinations, within the gene pool of a species)
- Ecosystem diversity (the variety of ecosystems or habitats in an area)
- Species diversity (a measure of both species richness and species abundance)
What is SIMPSON’S INDEX (D) a measurement of?
Biodiversity i.e. species richness and species abundance
What does the number for Simpson’s Index (D) mean?
It is a value between O and 1 where the closer to zero D is, the greater the biodiversity in that area
How would you collect the data needed for Simpson’s Index in a particular area?
- Place quadrats (approx. 25) at randomly generated coordinates
- Record all species present and either number or % cover of each in each quadrat
What would a low species diversity (D closer to 1) tell you?
Few species with simple food webs and few niches in a stressful, unstable environment
What would a high species diversity (D close to 0) tell you?
Greater number of species with complex webs and lots of niches in a stable environment
What is a SPECIES?
A group of individuals of common ancestry that closely resemble each other, and are capable of interbreeding to form fertile offspring
What are the TAXONOMIC RANKS in order, starting with SPECIES?
Species, Genus, Family, Order, Class, Phylum, Kingdom
What is the BINOMIAL NAME of an organism made up of?
Its GENUS name, followed by its SPECIES name
Write FELIS CATUS correctly (may be more than 1 option)
• Felis catus
• Felis catus
• F. catus
What is TAXONOMY?
The study of placing organisms into groups based on similarities i.e. the study of classification
What is Phylogenetic taxonomy?
Classifying organisms according to their ANCESTRAL RELATIONSHIPS
In Phylogenetic taxonomy, what 3 features are looked at?
- Morphological and anatomical features - what physical features do they have in common? eg the pentadactyl limb
- Cell structure - tells us if they are prokaryotic or eukaryotic
- Biochemistry - looking at base sequences of DNA and RNA and amino acid sequences of proteins for similarities
In the 5 kingdom system, what are the 5 kingdoms?
Prokaryote, Protoctista, Fungi, Plantae, Animalia
What are the characteristics of prokaryotes?
• No proper nucleus, nucleoid instead
• No membrane bound organelles
• Smaller ribosomes than eukaryotes
• Cell wall of peptidoglycan
• Cell division is via binary fission
What are the characteristics of protoctista?
Eukaryotic; unicellular with little sub-cellular differentiation usually; may be multicellular with limited differentiation.
What are the 2 main types of protoctista?
Protozoa and chlorophyta.
How are protozoa and chlorophyta different?
Protozoa are heterotrophic, engulfing food by phagocytosis and digesting it intracellularly. Chlorophyta are photosynthetic, containing chlorophyll and are often aquatic.
