Biodiversity and Conservation Biology

Flashcards about the lecture notes

What is Biodiversity?

Graphically represented by the tree of life including evolutionary relationships among all forms of life.

What is Species diversity?

The variety of life-forms on Earth, measured as the number and relative frequency of species in a particular region.

What is Genetic diversity?

All genetic information in all individuals of a species, number & frequency of alleles in species

What is Taxonomic diversity?

Considers the uniqueness of some lineages. - red pandas and Yangtze river dolphins have no closely related species.

What is Ecosystem diversity?

The variety of biotic communities in a region (and their abiotic components).

What are Biodiversity hotspots?

Regions that are much more species rich than others.

What are Endemic species?

Species that are found in a particular area and nowhere else.

What do Conservation Hotspots contain?

Contain 1500+ endemic plant species and 70 percent deforested (in danger of being lost)

What is causing recent extinctions?

Directly or indirectly, recent extinctions are being caused by the demands of a rapidly growing human population.

What are Direct benefits of preserving biodiversity?

Goods and services provided by the environment.Seed banks, pollination of crops, bioprospecting, bioremediation, ecotourism, & flood control.

What are Indirect benefits of preserving biodiversity?

Ways that biodiversity aids humans by contributing to a healthy overall environment. Ecosystem services, processes that increase the quality of the abiotic environment.

What are provisioning services?

Any “wild” caught plant or animal

What are regulating services?

Climate moderation, flood control, air & water purification, storm mitigation, waste decomposition, erosion control etc.

What are supporting services?

Primary productivity, nutrient cycling, pollination and biological control

What are cultural services?

Aesthetic, recreational etc.

What is the impact of species richness on net primary productivity (NPP)?

Species richness has a positive impact on net primary productivity (NPP), the total amount of photosynthesis per unit area per year that ends up in biomass.

What is Resistance?

A measure of how much a community is affected by a disturbance.

What is Resilience?

A measure of how quickly a community recovers following a disturbance.