Intro To Biodiversity & Classification Of Organisms

Flashcards reviewing key concepts from a lecture on biological classification, biodiversity, and related topics.

What is a species according to the Biological Species Concept?

A population of organisms whose members can breed freely in nature and produce fertile offspring.

What is biodiversity?

The number and variety of species and ecosystems on earth.

What is a keystone species?

They have a disproportionately large effect on the ecosystem in which they live.

What is genetic diversity?

The genetic variability among organisms, usually referring to individuals of the same species.

What is the result of sexual reproduction on genetic information?

It results in offspring with a unique combination of genetic information inherited from their parents.

What does variation among individuals allow?

Populations are able to adapt to environmental changes.

What is species diversity?

A measure of diversity that takes into account the quantity of each species present, as well as the variety of different species present.

What does a variety of species ensure?

That the ecosystem is able to adapt to environmental changes.

What is ecosystem diversity?

The diverse range of habitats, organisms, and interactions that connect them.

What can structural diversity create?

It can create microhabitats.

Give some examples of structural diversity

Food supply, protection, transportation, reproduction, hygiene, and digestion.

How can loss of biodiversity impact human populations?

Threatened food supply, eliminates sources of natural medicines, economic impact on tourism and forestry, and disruptions to biogeochemical cycles.

Name the possible causes of the decline in the global population of honeybees.

Pesticide use and viral infection transmitted by parasites.

What is biological classification?

The systematic grouping of organisms into biological categories based on physical and evolutionary relationships.

What are the observable characteristics used to identify organisms?

Morphology, behaviour, and geographic location.

What is taxonomy?

The science of naming, identifying, and classifying all organisms.

What is binomial nomenclature?

The formal system of naming species whereby each species is assigned a genus name followed by a specific name; the two words taken together form the species name.

List the taxonomic levels (taxons).

Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species

With binomial nomenclature, what are the parts of the name?

The genus and species.

What is phylogeny?

The study of the evolutionary relatedness between, and among, species.

What is a phylogenetic tree?

A diagram that reflects the hypotheses of evolutionary relationships.

What are the three domains of life?

Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.

Describe Bacteria and Archaea.

Microscopic and unicellular prokaryotes.

What is a Eukaryotes?

Organisms whose cells contain membrane-bound organelles.

Describe the structure of prokaryotes:

Free-floating, uncoated DNA; fission or budding; transfer of genes; none, single-celled; not all require oxygen; microscopic; free-floating enzymes; simple flagella.