Slideshow 3

Question 1

What is one of the biggest ecological mysteries of the last 200 years

Answer 1

why species richness of
most taxa increases dramatically from the poles to the equator

Question 2

What is Alpha diversity

Answer 2

the number of species found at a local site

Question 3

What is Beta Diversity:

Answer 3

a measure of the difference in species composition,
or species turnover, between two or more habitats or local sites within a region

Question 4

What is Gamma Diversity

Answer 4

a measure of species richness in a region.

Question 5

What are the 4 main categories explaining the latitudinal diversity gradient

Answer 5

NULL MODELS
ECOLOGICAL HYPOTHESES
HISTORICAL EXPLANATIONS
EVOLUTIONARY HYPOTHESES

Question 6

What are the NULL MODELS examples

Answer 6

MID DOMAIN EFFECT

Question 7

What is the mid domain effect

Answer 7

Proposed that the latitudinal gradient in species diversity reflects the
outcome of placing species ranges in a bounded domain

Question 8

How was the Mid Domain effect tested

Answer 8

Spreading dye model

Question 9

What are the Ecological hypothesis examples

Answer 9

Species-energy hypothesis

Question 10

What are the 2 Species energy hypothesis

Answer 10

HYPOTHESIS 1: Number of individuals an area can support will increase with increasing
primary productivity (energy)
HYPOTHESIS 2: Species richness varies as a function of the total number of individuals in an
area. BECAUSE: over evolutionary time – a greater number of individuals can divide into
more species with viable population sizes.

Question 11

What are the Historical explanations examples

Answer 11

time-and-area hypothesis and the
concept of tropical niche conservatism

Question 12

What are the 2 time-and-area hypothesis

Answer 12

1. Tropical environments are much older and more widespread in Earth’s history
2. More time available for diversification; equatorial regions have suffered less from
   harsh climatic events (ice ages) that drive extinctions and reset the biodiversity clock
   (this was based from the Pleistocene glaciations)

Question 13

What is the Tropical Niche conservatism

Answer 13

The transition from the tropical to temperate environment presents a physiological
hurdle. This now appears common among terrestrial organisms but not so for marine

Question 14

What are the Evolutionary Hypotheses examples

Answer 14

Do rates of diversification differ across
latitude and PHYLOGENETIC EVIDENCE

Question 16

What is a cradle

Answer 16

generation of new taxa

Question 17

What is a Museum

Answer 17

preservation of existing diversity

Question 18

How are fossil evidence limited

Answer 18

1. Few taxonomic groups
2. Marine invertebrates

Question 19

What is PHYLOGENETIC EVIDENCE

Answer 19

Same pattern observed for some birds,
butterflies, amphibians and plants