2.1 Biodiversity Basics

Biodiversity

3 types; ecosystem, species, and genetic - diversity of life forms in an ecosystem

Ecosystem Diversity

number of different habitats avaliable in a given area

Species Diversity

number of different species in a given area and the balance/evenness of the population size of all species in the ecosystem

Genetic Diversity

How different the genes are of individuals w/in a population (same species)

Species Richness

total number of different species found in an ecosystem

high r is a good sign of ecosystem health (more quality resources available)

Species Evenness

a measure of all the different organisms in an ecosystem are balanced b/w the different species (how are they dispesered)

BottleNeck Event

• any environmental disturbance that drastically reduces the size of the population and kills organisms regardless of their genome

• reduces genetic diversity (more vulnerable to future disturbances)

Inbreeding (Inbreeding Depression)

leads to higher chance of individuals having harmful genetic mutations b/c they are similar genotypes from both parents

• more likely to be experienced by smaller populations

Ecosystem Resilience

the ability of an ecosystem to return to its orginal conditions after a major disturbance

• higher species diversity = higher resilience