[APES] Unit 2: The Living World: Biodiversity

not finished - up to 2.2 ecosystem services

ecosystem diversity

the number of different habitats available in 1 area

diversity of life forms measures

1. ecosystem diversity

2. species diversity

3. genetic diversity

species diversity

the number of species in a given area + the balance/evenness of the population sizes of the species in the ecosystem

genetic diversity

how different the genomes are of individuals within the same population (same species)

richness [r]

the total number of different species in an ecosystem

evenness

a measure of how well all the populations are distributed within the ecosystem.

bottleneck event

a rastic environmental disturbance that kills a large number of species members regardless of their genome, drastically reducing population size.

inbreeding depression

when organisms mate with closely-relted ‘family’ members, causing offspring to have high chances of inheriting or developing harmful genetic mutations.

ecosystem resilience

the ability of an ecosystem to return to its original state after a major disturbance or environmental stressor. - exists more in more biodiverse ecosystems.

four types of ecosystem services

1. provisioning

2. regulation

3. supporting

4. cultural

provisioning

the service of providing goods that can be taken directly from ecosystems of made from natural resources

ex: food, lumber

regulating

the service of natural systems regulating climate/air quality, elping to reduce storm damage and healthcare costs

seen most in forests, where lots of photosynthesis takes place

supporting

service where natural ecosystems support processes we do ourselves, making them cheaper and easier

ex: pollinators, wetland plant roots purifying water

cultural

service where money is generated through recreation or scientific knowledge practiced in natural areas

ex: tourism, medicine

disrupts provisioning

overharvesting, water pollution, clearing land for urbanization or agriculture

disrupts regulating

deforestation

disrupts supporting

habitat loss

disrupts cultural

deforestation, pollution, urbanization

island biogeography

the study of ecological relationship & communities of islands(natural and figurative islands)

Rules of island biogeography

1. The larger, the more biodiverse

2. The close to the mainland, the more biodiverse

adoptive radiation

a single species rapidly evolving into several new species to reduce competitionwh

why larger islands rule

the larger, the more ecosystem diversity, the more resources for food and shelter, the more ‘niches’ available for organisms, the more roles in the ecosystem

why closer to mainland rule

the closer to mainland, the easier for migration, the more species making it to the island and making it more genetically diverse

ecological range of tolerance

range of conditions such as temperature, salinity, pH, or sunlight that an organism can endure before injury or death.

optimal range

range where organisms thrive (live, row, and reproduce)

zone of physiological stress

range where organisms can survive, but can experience stress like infertility, lack of growth, etc.

zone of intolerance

range where organisms cannot survive

ex: thermal shock, lack of food