Biodiversity 9

• Biodiversity


  The variation of life forms within an ecosystem
• High biodiversity or having lots of biodiversity is indication of a good ecosystem
• Types of biodiversity


  • Genetic diversity
  • Species diversity
  • Ecosystem diversity
• Genetic diversity


  The total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species
• The more genes in a gene pool a species has the better that species can adapt to changes in the environment
• Species diversity


  The diversity within an ecological community
• The rainforest has more species than the desert because there is more sunlight and water available
• Conservative estimates of the number of species on Earth range from 5 to 7 million but some scientists estimate as many as 30 million
• With only about 1.6 to 2 million of these species having been studied (many only at the most basic level) and given a name, much still needs to be learned about the diversity of life on Earth
• There are more species of insects than all of the other kinds of life forms combined
• Ecosystem diversity


  The variety of different habitats on the planet
• Ecosystem


  The living and non-living components in a given geographic area
• Scales of ecosystems


  • Micro (e.g. pond)
  • Messo (e.g. forest)
  • Biome (e.g. tropical rainforest)
• Species


  A particular group of organisms that have the same structure and can reproduce with each other
• Population


  Members of a species that live in a specific area and share the same resources
• Community


  Populations of different species living in the same area
• Abiotic factors


  • Hydrogen
  • Oxygen
  • Carbon
  • Nitrogen
  • Phosphorous
  • Sunlight
  • Water
  • Soil
• Biotic factors


  • Producers (autotrophs)
  • Consumers (heterotrophs)
  • Decomposers
• Biotic factors rely on abiotic factors for life
• Much of the Earth's biodiversity is concentrated in the tropics
• 50 percent of all species on the planet are found in tropical rainforests that comprise only 6 to 7 percent of the Earth's land surface
• It is estimated that up to 20 percent of the Earth's biodiversity may become extinct in our lifetime due to the rapid rate at which tropical rainforests are being cut
• If you consider the wide range of environmental conditions that exist on Earth, from the frigid cold of the poles to the steamy heat of the tropics, there is no single kind of organism that can survive in all of Earth's regions
• Each area possesses its own unique community of characteristic life forms
• Most of the different species of plants and animals can be found in tropical regions and, more specifically, in the rainforests
• As you move closer to the poles of the Earth, there is less biological diversity
• Pluie, a radio collared wolf

  1. Left the Central Rockies Study Area

  2. Reappeared near the panhandle area of Idaho

  3. After 2 years spent travelling over 3000 kms, reentered the Central Rockies and established a new pack

  
• Properties of all living things

  • Made up of cells
  • Need energy
  • Grow and develop
  • Reproduce
  • Have adaptations which suit them to the specific habitat in which they live
• Biosphere


  The global sum of all ecosystems
• Biological classification system developed by Carolus Linnaeus


  A Latin naming system enabling scientists around the world to refer to the same species by the same name, using structure rather than habitat as the basis
• Domains of biological classification

  • Archaea (prokaryotic, single celled organisms without a nucleus, most primitive often characterized by living in extreme environments)
  • Bacteria (prokaryotic, single celled organisms without a nucleus)
  • Eukarya (eukaryotes, cells have a nuclear membrane, has 4 kingdoms)
• Kingdoms of the Eukarya domain

  • Fungi (e.g. yeasts, molds, mushrooms)
  • Plantae (e.g. mosses, flowering plants)
  • Animalia (e.g. insects, arachnids, crustaceans, human beings)
  • Protista (e.g. red algae)
• Scientific name


  Genus species (e.g. White Spruce - Picea glauca, Wolf - Canis lupus, Bull Trout - Salvelinus confluentus, Human Beings - Homo sapiens)
• Each and every species depends on many other species within an environment in order to survive and prosper
• Niche


  The role of an organism within a particular ecosystem, including what it eats, what eats it, its habitat, nesting site, range and habits, what effect it has on the other populations and the environment, which can change depending on the environment and the organisms it interacts with
• Resource partitioning


  The action which enables competing species to share resources by accessing them in different ways, involving less direct competition
• Resource partitioning


  • Three warbler species feeding on spruce bud worms in different parts of a spruce tree
• Interspecies competition


  Happens when two or more species need the same resource, helping to limit the size of populations of the competing species
• Types of symbiotic relationships

  • Commensalism (one organism benefits, the other is unaffected)
  • Mutualism (both organisms benefit)
  • Parasitism (one organism benefits, the other is harmed)
• Commensalism


  • A bird using a tree to build its nest in, barnacles on a whale