Levels of diversity Flashcards
(15 cards)
What are the different levels of biodiversity?
- Habitat biodiversity
- Species biodiversity
- Genetic biodiversity
What is habitat biodiversity
The variety of different habitats in an area; each habitat supports a variety of different species
What is species biodiversity
The species richness and species biodiversity
What is genetic biodiversity
The variety of genes that makes up species, a high genetic biodivesrity means a variety of characteristics exhibited in a species
Give two benefits of genetic biodiversity?
- Allows for species to adapt to changing environments
- Provides variation for natural selection
Give two factors which increase genetic biodiversity
- Mutations
- Interbreeding between different populations
How do mutations increase genetic biodiversity?
It increases the variety of alleles in the population
How does interbreeding increase genetic biodiversity?
It causes gene flow which increases the number of alleles in a population
Give three things which reduce genetic biodiversity
- Selective breeding
- Captive breeding
- Cloning
How does selective breeding reduce genetic biodiversity?
- It prevents random mating between species as only “desireable” traits are bred
- This reduces the variety of alleles in the population
How does captive breeding reduce genetic biodiversity?
It prevents random mating as there is only a small number of captive animals and the zoo keeprers choose the parents
This** reduces the variety of alleleles** in the population
What is species biodiversity
It takes into account species richness and species evenness
What is species richness?
The number of different species in a population
What is species evenness?
The number of individuals within each species within the community
Why is biodiveristy important
It gives ecosystems resilience so that they are better able to survive in the face of change
