Biodiversity

• Biodiversity stands for biological diversity. It is this variety of all living things on earth.
• A species is a group of organisms which can produce fertile offspring.
• genus + species = binomial name
• population - a group of animals from the same species
• community - groups of different species(populations) living together
• ecosystems - interaction between a community of living organisms and their non-living environment (e.g. air, water)
• Plants compete for light, water, space, and minerals.
• adaptions - features that help an organism to survive in their habitat
• structural adaptions - the physical features of a plant that allow them to compete in their environment
• behavioural adaptions - behaviours that give plants a competitive advantage in their environment
• psychological adaptions - processes of plants that allow them to compete
• Animals compete for food, mates (for reproduction), and territory (space).
• abiotic (non-living) - light, temperature, water, and oxygen for aquatic animals
• biotic (living) - food and predators
• There are 2 types of animal competition: intraspecific & interspecific
• intraspecific - within the same species
• interspecific - between different species
• A species becomes extinct when no more individuals from that species remain.
• Endangered species are close to extinction because of their low numbers.
• In animals/plants only those with the best genes survive to reproduce and pass on their genes.
• natural selection - process by which species change over time in response to environmental changes and competition for resources
• selective breeding - humans choose the plants or animals that are going to breed so that the genes for a characteristic are passed on
• evolution - the gradual change in the inherited traits of a population over time
• Evolution passes on inherited characteristics.