Biodiversity

• what is a species?

  a group of organisms that can breed to produce fertile offspring
• What is classification?

  Organising living organisms into groups
• What are the types of classification?

  • artificial
  • Phylogenic
• what is artificial classification

  • groups by physical characteristics e.g. number of legs or size of ears
  • Described by the same function not the same evolutionary origin
• what is phylogenic classification?

  • based upon evolutionary relationships
  • partly based on homologous characteristics
• what are the 3 domains?

  • bacteria
  • archaea
  • eukarya
• What are the 5 kingdoms?

  • bacteria
  • Fungi
  • Animals
  • Protists
  • Plants
• What is community?

  all the living organisms present in an ecosystem at a given time
• What is an ecosystem?

  All the living and non-living parts of a particular area
• What is a habitat?

  A place where an organism normally lives, characterises by physical conditions and the types of other organisms present
• what is biomass?

  The total mass of living material, normally measured in a specific area over a given time
• What is conservation?

  Methods of maintaining ecosystems and the living organisms that occupy them
• What is biodiversity?

  A measure of the variety of organisms living in a particular place
• What does species richness tell us?

  The number of different species within a community
• What is the index of diversity?

  A measure that tells us the relationship between the number of species in a community and the number of individuals in each species
• Process for calculating species richness within an area:

  • First, divide the area into quadrats
  • Next, use a computer or table to generate random coordinates.
  • Then, count the number or frequency of each species in that quadrat
• What is courtship behaviour?

  An act carried out by an organism to attract a mate of the same species and the opposite sex
• Steps of courtship behaviour:

  • recognise members of own species
  • Identify a mate that is capable of breeding
  • Form a pair bond
  • Synchronise mating
  • Become able to breed
• Examples of courtship behaviour:

  • crickets use series of chirps
  • Fireflies give of pulses of light
• What is taxonomy?

  The theory and practice of biological classification
• What are the 3 components of biodiversity?

  • species
  • Genetic
  • Ecosystem
• What is species diversity?

  the variety of different species within a specific area or ecosystem.
• What is genetic diversity?

  The variety of genes possessed by individuals that make up any one species
• What is ecosystem diversity?

  The range of different habitats within a particular area
• What is phylogeny?

  The evolutionary history and relationships among organisms.
• What is a taxon?

  a group of organisms classified together based on shared characteristics.
• What is taxonomy?

  The study of classification groups and their positions on a hierarchy’s order
• What is the lineal classification list?

  • Domain
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
  • Order
  • Family
  • Genus
  • species
• What is bacteria?

  A group of single -celled prokaryotes
• structural features of the bacteria:

  • absence of membrane -bound organelles
  • Unicellular
  • Ribosomes are smaller than in eukaryotic cells
  • Cell walls present made of Murein
  • Single loop of naked DNA made up of nucleic acids
• What is archaea?

  A grouped of single -celled prokaryotes that were originally classified as bacteria
• structural features of archaea:

  • gene and protein synthesis is moe similar to eukaryotes rather than bacteria
  • Membranes contain fatty acid Chains attached to glycerol by ester linkages
• What is a eukarya?

  A grouped of organisms made up of one or more eukaryotic cells
• structural features of eukarya:


  • cells have membrane-bound organelles
  • Have membranes containing fatty acid Chains attached to glycerol by ester linkages
  • not all possess cells with cell wall
  • Ribosomes are larger that bacteria and archaea
• D= index of diversity

  N= total number of organisms in an area of all species

  Sigma= sum of

  n= total number of organisms of a particular species in the area

  
• Examples that reduce species diversity:

  • removing of hedgerows and grubbing out woodland
  • Filling in ponds
  • draining marshes and wetland
  • Use of pesticides
  • Absence of crop rotation
• examples that increase species diversity:

  • plant hedges rather than fences
  • Maintain existing ponds
  • Leave wet corners of fields rather than draining them
  • Use organic rather than inorganic fertilisers
  • Reduce use of pesticides
  • Use crop rotations
• Sigma= sum of

  x= measured value (from the sample

  X= mean value

  n= total number of values in the sample

  
• how is new scientific information validated by the scientific community?

  • data is peer reviewed
  • methods are retested by other scientists
  • journals are also peer-reviewed
  • presented in a conference
  • published in books / websites
• How could you know if two populations are from the same species?

  breed them together and see if they produce a fertile offspring