Global Patterns Of Diversity

Question 1

What is conservation Biology?

Answer 1

is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific field that has developed in response to the challenge of preserving species and ecosystems

Question 2

What is biodiversity ?

Answer 2

the variety of life, in all of its many manifestations… encompassing all forms, levels, and combinations of natural variation, at all levels of biological organization, this includes:
- diversity within species
-between species
- and ecosystems

Question 3

3 levels of biodiversity

Answer 3

• ecological diversity
• genetic diversity
• organismal diversity

Question 4

ecological diversity includes

Answer 4

• biogeographic realms
• biomes
• provinces
• ecoregion
• ecosystems
• habitats
• populations

Question 5

genetic diversity includes

Answer 5

• populations
  -individuals
• chromosomes
• genes
• nucleotides

Question 6

organismal diversity includes

Answer 6

• domains / kingdoms
• phyla
• families
• genera
• species
• subspecies
• populations
• individuals

Question 7

genetic diversity

Answer 7

• encompasses the components of genetic coding that structure organisms
• variability allows species to potentially adapt to changing. envr

Question 8

Biological species concept

Answer 8

• a group of individuals that can potentially breed and don’t breed with individuals of other groups
• limits : fossil species + hybrids

Question 9

morphological species concept

Answer 9

a group of individuals that appear different from others, that is, are morphologically distinct
- can be referred to as ‘morphospecies’

Question 10

evolutionary species concept

Answer 10

a group of individuals that share unique similarities in their DNA & their evolutionary past

Question 11

Species richness

Answer 11

the number of unique species in a collection or set of observations
- difficult to measure, strongly influenced by sampling effort

Question 12

species accumulation curve

Answer 12

number of species found per sampling effort (e.g. # of transects sampled, or # of days of sampling)

Question 13

extrapolation curve

Answer 13

can be fit from a species accumulation curve to estimate how many species there might be (asymptotic richness)

Question 14

species diversity index

Answer 14

species are weighted by some measure of their importance
e.g. shannon- wiener index

• when a community is dominated by only one or a few species, it may be that rare or uncommon species are at risk

Question 15

constraints and limitations to species counts

Answer 15

• inventories are incomplete
• described species tend to be larger bodied, more abundant, and more widespread
• distributions are best known for temperate regions

Question 16

What are biomes?

Answer 16

ecological units based on dominant vegetation in terrestrial systems, and in the sea, on ocean currents and patterns of primary productivity

Question 17

why are biomes useful?

Answer 17

useful for assessing global biodiversity and ecosystem services

Question 18

How can we identify biodiversity hot spots?

Answer 18

• locations with exceptional concentrations of endemic species that are undergoing exceptional loss of habitat
• also consider ecosystem services provided + level of primary productivity

Question 19

Biodiversity hotspots must meet two strict criteria.
they must….

Answer 19

1 - contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants found nowhere else on earth
2 - have lost at least 70% of its primary native vegetation

Question 20

As of 2016, there was _____ designated hotspots?

Answer 20

36

Question 21

what are Common characteristics amongst ‘hot spots’?

Answer 21

• population dense
• home to some of the world’s poorest communities
• mostly rely directly on healthy ecosystems for their livelihood and well-being

Question 22

Patterns of biodiversity : latitudinal gradients in species richness

Answer 22

• species richness of many taxonomic groups peak near the equator

Question 23

explanations for the latitudinal gradients include 30+ hypotheses

Answer 23

including
- historical perturbation
- environmental stability
- habitat heterogeneity
- productivity
- interspecific interactions

Question 24

patterns of biodiversity –> species-energy relationships

Answer 24

the amount of available energy in an area affects level of diversity
–> energy availability generates and maintains richness gradients

Question 25

Species- energy relationships : climatically based energy hypotheses

Answer 25

e.g. as monthly summer temperature increases, so does richness of breeding birds in Britain

Question 26

what is evapotranspiration?

Answer 26

- sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from land to atmosphere - measure of the simultaneous availability of water and solar energy

Question 27

what is potential evapotranspiration?

Answer 27

- max amount of water lost from the surface due to evapotranspiration when water is not limiting - reflects energy available to evaporate water to atmosphere

Question 28

'increase potential evapotranspiration as well as richness of beetles in North America' is an example of what pattern of biodiversity?

Answer 28

Species - energy relationships --> climatically based energy hypothesis

Question 29

what is the productivity hypothesis? ( species - energy relationships)

Answer 29

energy constrains richness via trophic cascades - i.e. plant richness is limited by solar energy and water, herbivores are limited by plant production, predators are listed by herbivores.... etc..`

Question 30

how does the the ambient energy hypothesis explain patterns of biodiversity?

Answer 30

i.e. solar energy inputs affect organisms through they physiological response to temperature environments at higher altitudes have mean conditions farther from organismal optima ( thermal neutral zone) - e.g. it it more costly to live at high latitudes because the ambient temp. in polar regions is outside the thermal neutral zone of many organisms throughout the year

Question 31

Meta-analysis by Hawkins (2003) - where on the globe and for which taxa pure energy variable or water-energy variables best predict diversity?

Answer 31

Plants - water-dependent -tropics and subtropics --> water variables were best predictors or richness - cooler areas --> dependent on water-energy variables Vertebrates - water-energy variables accounted for global patterns - warm climates --> richness was affect by water or water-energy variables - cold climates -> ambient energy had the largest affect