Studied by 11 peopleTags & Description
Define biodiversity
the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.
What are the three types of Biodiversity?
genetic diversity, species diversity, ecosystem/habitat diversity
Why is biodiversity important?
Biodiversity's provides us with ecosytem services
Would a more or less genetically diverse population be better in responding to environmental change/stressors?
A more genetically diverse poulation because it may have organisms able to adapt to change
How does biodiversity relate to an ecosystem's ability to "bounce back" after environmental change/stress
The more biodiverse an environment the more likely it is to have a species that are more likely to adapt to change.
What is resilience?
A species abilty to be restored after sucession
What is the bottleneck effect?
A change in allele frequency following a dramatic reduction in the size of a population
What is the founder effect?
the reduced genetic diversity that results when a population is descended from a small number of colonizing ancestors.
What is the impact of bottleneck and founder's affect
They result in a small random assortment of survivors
What is a species?
A group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring.
What is species richness
the number of species in a community
What is species eveness?
a measure of the realtive abundance or (how evenly represented the species are)
Would an ecosystem with higher or lower species richness be more likely to recover from environmentalchange/disruption? Why?
A ecosytem with higher species richness would be able to survive an environmental change because the bigger the amount of species the more likely that there would be more survive
Where in the world does biodiversity tend to be higher?
Tropical Rainforests, coral reefs, and wetlands
What are the 4 ecosystem services?
provisioning, regulating, cultural, supporting
regulating services
the service provided by natural systems that helps regulate environmental conditions
ex) air purfication, wetlands, soil
supporting services
basic ecosystem processes (nutrient cycles, soil formation, pollination)
provisioning services
Benefits of biodiversity that humans use, including lumber, fur, meat, crops, water, and fiber
cultural services
ecosystems provide cultural or aesthetic benefits to many people
ex) recreational parks, nature
What is island biogeography?
# of plant and animal species in regards to area of island (how big it is) and distance from mainland.
Resistance is...
The ability of a population to withstand a disturbance.
Resilience is...
The ability to recover after suffering from a disturbance.
How have historical changes to climate impacted ecosystems and the evolution of species?
Historical impacts such as the Industrial Revolution impacted the ecosystem and the evolution as can be seen with moths due to the excess amount of smoke the tree appearances have changed and thus the lighter moths tended to die more than the darker ones.
How might historical changes in sea level have impacted available habitat? Would this have been a long term or short-term disturbance?
Historical changes that have impacted available habitat where deal levels changes have made habitat less available to species. This is a long-term disturbance because sea levels are still rising.
How can climate change impact habitat?
As temperatures increase ocean waters increase and cause determinant effects on coral reefs as they cannot sustain that temperature.
What causes migration? Why is it necessary?
Migration is caused by seasonal changes, breeding, and reproduction, food availability, escape fro extreme conditions, etc. This is necessary for the survival and reproduction of many species, allowing them access to essential resources and avoiding unfavorable conditions.
Distinguish between short- and long-term migration.
short term migrations is seasonal (ex: seasonal )and long term is permanent. (ex: species that can not handle conditions such as fish traveling farther north.)
Describe how organisms adapt to their environment.
Organisms adapt to their environment over time, both in short- and long-term scales, via incremental changes at the genetic level.
Environmental changes, either sudden or gradual, may threaten a species' survival, requiring individuals to alter behaviors, move, or perish. (natural selection)
Do individuals evolve?
No, populations do
At what level of organization does evolution occur?
The level of organization that evolution occurs at is at the population level.
What is meant by "Survival of the Fittest"?
A measure of those that are the strongest that can survive to reproduce off spring
What geological processes can have an impact on evolution?
A geological process that can have an impact on evolution is temperature and locations.
Distinguish between Primary and Secondary Succession.
Primary- Starting from bare rock
Secondary- have some soil
What is a keystone species? Give a terrestrial AND marine example.
keystone species- species that has a large impact on ecosystem that plays critical role in maintaining structure, diversity, and function.
Terrestrial ex: wolves from Yellowstone
marine: otters
indicator species
Species that serve as early warnings that a community or ecosystem is being degraded.
ex: amphibians, butterflies, birds
lichen
symbiotic association between a fungus and a photosynthetic organism
symbiotic relationship
The relationship between two species that benefit both
silly way of remembering lichen
red fungus and alice algae look a-lichen to each other
climax community
final, permanent end stage of succession populations of which plants/animals remain stable and balanced w each other and the environment.
How do new volcanic islands become colonized by plant and animal species? Explain how it can happen
Plant seeds can be blown by the wind, animals can swim or use a raft made of plants
How does island (habitat) size impact biodiversity?
The bigger the size of a habitat the more animals it can support though its resources
How does distance from the mainland impact biodiversity?
The closer the island is the easier it is for animals and plants to colonize that island
Is resource availability typically higher or lower on smaller sized islands compared to larger sized islands? Why?
Lower because the habitat diversity is low which means their resources are also low
Do island species tend to become specialists or generalists through evolution? Why?
Island species evolve to become specialists because there are fewer resources on an island
Do invasive species tend to be generalists or specialists? Explain.
Invasive species tend to be generalists because they can eat whatever and sleep anywhere
rats on the Galapagos islands. How did they get there and what impact did/do they have on the tortoises of the Galapagos? Are these rats generalists or specialists?
Rats got there by visiting pirate ships and trade ships rats are generalists
What is ecological tolerance?
the range of conditions, such as temperature, salinity, flow rate, and sunlight that an organism can endure before injury or death results
Understand the principle of tolerance limits and how genetic diversity within a population is involved
more genetic divesity= the ecological tolerance
Which is more likely to be able to survive in a broader range of tolerance? Specialists or generalists?
Generalists can eat a variety of foods and thrive in a range of habitats. Specialists, on the other hand, have a limited diet and stricter habitat requirements.
Does ecological tolerance apply to individuals, populations, or both? Explain
Ecological tolerance can apply to both individuals and to populations because individual has their own tolerance and the population shows the average tolerance
Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone
Area in the Gulf of Mexico that has low amounts of oxygen due to large amounts of nutrients. Contains large amounts of Phosphorus and Nitrogen in the water.
why does Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone occur
As dead plant material falls from the surface through the water column deeper into the Gulf, bacteria consume it using oxygen.
who is responsible for the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone
The Mississippi River and its tributaries
What impact does the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone have on Biodiversity?
Nutrient overloading and algal blooms lead to eutrophication , which has been shown to reduce benthic biomass and biodiversity.
How does this stressor impact populations living in the area? Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone
It kills them or forces them to migrate to a different area
Describe the process of eutrophication. How are nitrogen and phosphorus involved? Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone
when a body of water gets too many nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen.
Explain how natural disruptions impact an ecosystem
Sudden disruptions such as volcanoes, floods, or fires can affect which species will thrive in an environment.
Can natural disruptions be as great as human disruptions?
Natural disruptions to ecosystems have environmental consequences that may, for a given occurrence, be as great as, or greater than, many human-made disruptions.
Has Earth's climate changed before? Give examples
Yes one example being the ice age
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