Biodiversity

• Members of a species


  Able to breed to produce living, fertile offspring
• Rules for binomial naming system

  • Names should be in italics if typed
  • Names should be underlined if handwritten
  • Only the first letter of generic name should be uppercase
  • If specific name not known, use 'sp.'
• Courtship behaviour


  Ways in which species can recognise each other and differentiate themselves from other species, particularly during mating
• Purposes of courtship behaviour

  • Recognise members of their own species
  • Identify a mate that is capable of breeding
  • Form a pair bond
  • Synchronise fertility
  • Become able to breed
• Classification


  The process of naming and organising organisms into groups based on their similar and different characteristics
• Forms of biological classification

  • Artificial
  • Phylogenetic
• Typical phylogenetic classification taxa

  • Domain
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
  • Order
  • Family
  • Genus
  • Species
• Biodiversity


  The range and variety of genes, species and habitats within a particular region
• Components of biodiversity


  • Species diversity
  • Genetic diversity
  • Ecosystem diversity
• Index of diversity


  d = N(N-1) / the sum of n(n-1), where N represents total number of organisms, and n represents the total number of organisms in each species
• Agriculture


  Reduces biodiversity
• Techniques to maintain biodiversity in agriculture

  • Maintain hedgerows and plant hedgerows instead of fences
  • Maintain ponds and where possible create new ponds
  • Reduce use of pesticides
  • Use organic fertilisers rather than inorganic
  • Include nitrogen-fixing crops in crop rotation
  • Use intercropping instead of monocultures
  • Create natural meadows
• Interspecific variation


  Differences between species
• Intraspecific variation


  Differences between individuals of the same species
• Sampling


  The random selection of individuals
• Sampling may not be representative due to chance and sampling bias
• Ways to eliminate sampling bias

  • Use a quadrat or transect and randomly generated coordinates
• To increase reliability of a sample, use a bigger sample size
• Features of a phylogenetic classification system

  • No groups overlap
  • Smaller groups are within larger groups
• Species


  A group of organisms that can reproduce with each other and produce fertile offspring
• Courtship behavior


  Essential for mating and species recognition
• Bacteria


  • No nucleus
  • Single cell prokaryote
  • 70s ribosome
  • Cell wall - Meurin
• Eukarya


  • Membrane bound organelles
  • Cell wall - some murein most cellulose
  • 80s ribosome
  • Single/multicellular
• Archaea


  • Single cell prokaryote
  • No murein cell wall
  • Similar gene to Eukarya
  • Complex RNA polymerase
• Courtship behavior

  1. Sequence of actions unique to this species help identify members to reproduce

  2. Most courtship actions are carried out by male then female picks weather worthy of mating

  3. Sequence includes sounds, dances and colorful feathers