Biodiversity

• Biodiversity is the Variety of Organisms
• Biodiversity

  The variety of living organisms in an area
• Species


  A group of similar organisms able to reproduce to give fertile offspring
• Habitat

  The area inhabited by a species, including physical factors like soil and temperature, and living factors like availability of food and presence of predators
• Areas with a high biodiversity are those with lots of different species
• Levels of biodiversity

  • Habitat diversity - the number of different habitats in an area
  • Species diversity - the number of different species and the abundance of each species in an area
  • Genetic diversity - the variation of alleles within a species for a population
• Alleles

  Different versions of genes within a species
• Sampling can be used to measure biodiversity instead of counting every individual organism in a habitat, as that would be too time-consuming
• What are factors affecting global biodiversity?

  • Human population growth
  • increased use of monoculture in agriculture
  • climate change
• What is an ex-situ conservation?

  conserving an endangered species by activities that takes place outside of the normal habita.
• What are examples of ex-situ conservation?

  Zoos, botanical gardens, seed banks
• What are advantages of ex-situ conservactions?

  • Genetic diversity is monitored
  • research
  • education
  • breeding programmes
  • Organisms protected for poaching predation
• What are negatives of ex-situ conservations?

  • unusual behaviour
  • shorter life spans
  • limited genetic diversity
  • exposure to different diseases
  • Reintroduction to wild is difficult
• What is an ecosystem?

  A community of interacting organisms and their physical environment
• There are 15 national parks in the uk
• 400 national reserves
• 17 sites of marine conservations zones are in the uk
• Conservation can be done through in situ or ex situ methods.
• The main aim of conservation is to preserve biodiversity by protecting habitats, species and genes from extinction.
• 23% of land area in england is designated as nature conservation areas
• In situ conservation involves protecting species within its natural habitat, while ex situ conservation involves removing them from their natural habitats and keeping them elsewhere.
• What is species abundance?

  The frequency of occurrence of a particular species in a specific area
• What is species richness?

  A measure of the number of differentspecies in a particular area
• What is species evenness?

  A measure of how evenly represented the different species are in an area
• What is species distribution?

  The spread of species/individuals in an area/ positioning of species/individuals in an area.
• What is opportunistic sampling?

  Sampling decisions are made using previous knowledge
• What is systematic sampling?

  Sampling by recording data at fixed intervals.
• How is opportunistic sampling carried out?

  Sampling decisions are made using previous knowledge. Scientists may choose to sample a type of plant with prior knowledge.  
• What are advantages of opportunistic sampling?

  Easier and quicker method
• What are disadvantages of opportunistic sampling (non-random)?

  The data will be more biased and there is risk of overrepresentation of whatever the scientist wants included.
• What is the normal size of a quadrat?

  50cm to 1m per side
• What does setting up a lime transect involve?

  A long tape measure that is gridded
• Suggest a limitation of using a transect?

  Certain plants may not be counted
• Describe how you would sample a meadow to find out what plants

  live there?

  Using randomly selected sample sites (1)

  Place a quadrat at the sample site (1); 

  Identify all the species present (1); 

  Estimate the percentage cover of each species (1); 

  Use a point frame to measure percentage cover (1); 

  Look carefully to ensure all species have been found. (1)
• Explain why it is necessary to take samples.

  Too many plants to count individually. (1)
• Describe the ways that sampling a habitat may disturb that

  habitat.

  Trampling of smaller plants (1)

  Possible damage to some plants by efforts to observe closely and identify them (1)
• When would you use a belt transect?

  When there is a gradient of environmental conditions which produces a gradient in the species distribution (1).
• Explain why sampling in spring may give a very different measure

  of plant biodiversity when compared with sampling in summer?

  Seasonal differences in germination/ plant growth (1)

  When the different plants flower will affect how easily they are seen and identified. (1)
• Why should you always use a key to identify plants?

  To ensure that you have identified them correctly (1)

  To ensure you do not identify several species as one(1)

  which would reduce the value of the biodiversity calculated (1)
• What is the role of cites?

  Restricting the trade in individuals of endangered species.