AH bio 2.1

what is a hazard?

something that can cause harm

what are 4 examples of a hazard?

- adverse weather conditions
- difficult terrain
- problems associated with isolation
- contact with harmful organisms

what is risk?

the likelihood of harm arising from exposure to a hazard

what does a risk assessment help to do?

minimise risk

sampling should be carried out in a certain way to help minimise what?

impact on wild species and habitats

what are rare species?

those that are found at low density or those who's total population is small

what are vulnerable habitats?

those that are easily damaged by human activity

what is a point count?

A point count involves the observer recording all individuals seen from a fixed point count location. it is used for determining species abundance.

what is a transect?

a line along which different samples can be taken.

what is remote detection?

employing the use of camera traps that are triggered when wildlife is present

what are quadrats?

square frames that can be used to estimate population sizes. they help to reduce bias and ensure reliability

what sampling techniques would be used for sampling mobile species?

nets or traps

what sampling techniques would be used for sampling elusive species?

camera traps and scat sampling

how can identification of an organism in a sample be made?

- classification guides
- biological keys
- analysis of DNA or protein

what are classificaton guides?

guides that provide information such as illustrations, descriptions of key features, habitat preferences, known abundance and seasonal distribution

what are biological keys?

a series of questions which focus on the characteristics that allow different species to be sepapated

why is analysis of DNA or protein a more powerful technique for separating species?

it allows the identification of species where only partial or molecular evidence is present

what does taxonomy involve?

the identification and naming of organisms and their classification into groups based on shared characteristics

what is taxonomy?

the organisation of life into a hierarchy of groups of increasingly closely related species

what are the 8 main taxonomy groups?

- domains
- kingdoms
- phyla
- classes
- orders
- families
- genera
- species

what is classic taxonomy classification based on?

similar morphological (physical) characteristics

what is phylogenetics?

the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among individuals or groups of organisms

what does phylogenetic use to create a phylogenetic tree?

- morphology
- DNA sequences
- protein structures

what is a phylogenetic tree?

a diagram hypothesis of an organism's relationship to other organisms

what can genetic evidence reveal?

relatedness obscured by divergent or convergent evolution

what is a model organism?

a species that is easily studied or has been well studied

model organism for the bacterial domain

e.coli

model organism for flowering plants

Arabidopsis thaliana

model organism for nematodes

Caenorhabditis elegans

model organism for athropods

drosophila melanogaster

model organism for chordates

mice, rats and zebra fish

what can presence, absence and abundance of indicator species give information about?

environmental qualities such as presence of a pollutant

what kind of species can be used to monitor an ecosystem?

susceptible and favoured species

what is the equation to estimate population size using mark and recapture?

N\=MC/R

what does the mark and recapture method assume?

all individuals have an equal chance of capture, there is no immigration or emigration, individuals that are marked and released can mix fully and randomly with the total population

what should the marking technique do?

have minimal impact on the species being studied

what are 4 examples of indicator species?

- lichen
- mayflies
- bloodworms
- rat-tailed maggots

what are 5 methods of marking?

- banding
- tagging
- surgical implantation
- painting
- hair clipping

what is latency?

the time between the stimulus occurring and the response

what is meant by frequency?

the number of times a behaviour occurs within the observation period

what is meant by duration?

the length of time each behaviour occurs during the observation period

what is an ethogram?

a list or graphic display of the behaviours shown by a species in a wild context

what do ethograms allow?

investigation and the construction of a time budget

what must be avoided when constructing an ethogram?

anthropomorphism

what is anthropmorphism?

the allocation of human characteristics to the behaviour of animals