A4. 2

Question 1

Biodiversity

What is Biodiversity?

Answer 1

• The Variety or multiformity of living organisms in all its forms, levels and combinations.

Question 2

Biodiversity

What is species Richness?

Answer 2

• A measure of biodiversity that specifically considers the number of different species in a community.
• Total number of species within a given area = more = richer.
• Species richness is a strong indicator of high biodiversity.

Question 3

Biodiversity

What is Species Evenness?

Answer 3

• Indicator of how balanced an ecosystem is
• Total number of individuals of a given species within a given area
• Health ecosystem: not only lots of organisms, but lots of EACH organism, rather than one or two more dominant species.

Question 4

Biodiversity

What is meant by “Gene Pool?”

Answer 4

• Gene pools of a population are made up by all the different versions of genes (all the alleles)
• Can be specific to a single gene/trait or be in reference to the entire genome.
• Bigger gene pool –> more different alleles –> more diversity and is an idnicator of a healthier ecosystem.

Question 5

Biodiversity

(Types of Biodiversity)
Ecosystem Diversity

Answer 5

• Refers to the variety in the combinations of species living together in communities.
• the variety of different habitats, communities and ecological processes.

Question 6

Biodiversity

(Typces of Biodiversity)
Species Diversity

Answer 6

• Refers to a smaller scale of biodiversity —> narrows into within one habitat/ community.
• Considers how many unique species exist in that community.
• Healthy ecosystems have an even distribution of the species as well.

Question 7

Biodiversity

(Types of Biodiversity)
Genetic Diversity

Answer 7

• Within a single species, looking at how unqiue different members of a species are —> genetic differences.
• The more different alleles and genetic combinations —> greater the biodiversity of that species.

Question 8

Biodiversity

Past and Present Biodiversity

Answer 8

• Overall species biodiversity seems to be declining (over last couple of years)
• Rates of extinction are higher than rates of speciation –> lower number of species currently than in recent history
• Fossil fuel evidence however suggests more species now than in distant past.

Question 9

Biodiversity

Anthropogenic Species Extinction

Answer 9

• Looking specifically at the enxtinction of species due to human activities.

Question 10

Biodiversity

Overharvesting
(Antropogenic cause of extinction)

Answer 10

• Humans removal of plants and animals for food, medicine and materials (such as timber and wool) at a FASTER rate than a species can reproduce
• Fishing rates (overfishing) likely will lead to the extinction of many species
• Includes poaching and excessive hunting

Question 11

Biodiversity

Habitat Destruction
(Anthropogenic Cause of Extinction)

Answer 11

• destroying ecosystems such as forests in order for us in agriculture (initially) or for creation of homes and human infrastructure (current biggest contributor)

Question 12

Biodiversity

Invasive Species
(Anthropogenic Causes of Extinction)

Answer 12

• introduction of an alien species who then outcompete native species, which leads to their extinction.

Question 13

Biodiversity

Pollution
(Anthropogenic Causes of Extinction)

Answer 13

• the industrial revolution brought the introduction of release of substances into the environment
• can be emissions into the atmosphere/ litter ending up in the oceans
• impact on living organisms can be direct/ indirect but have widespread effects

Question 14

Biodiversity

Global Climate Change
(Anthropogenic Causes of Extinction)

Answer 14

• normally species will evolve to the changes in their environment if the changes are gradual
• the rate of climate change is faster than the rate of natural selection, meaning many species are no longer able to tolerate the abiotic conditions of their habitat.

Question 15

Biodiversity

Causes of Ecosystem Loss

Answer 15

• Land use for agriculture (highest cause)
• Land use for urbanisation (for buildings)
• Overharvesting for resources including food
• Mining and smelting both directly destroy land and release pollution.

Question 16

Biodiversity

Further Causes of Ecosystem Loss

Answer 16

• Building dams causing loss of river ecosystems
• Drainage or diversion of water for human uses
• Excess use of fertilisers leading killing animals due to plant overgrowth (eutropihcation and algal blooms)
• Climate change removing whole biomes

Question 17

Biodiversity

Evidence for a Biodiversity Crisis

Answer 17

• Decrease in population size of species
• Change in the range of species
• Calculations of species diversity at various times
• number of threatened species
• genetic diversity measures within species

Question 18

Bioddiversity

IPBES

Answer 18

• ‘Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’
• pushlish reports with reliable scientific guidlines for policy makers

Question 19

Biodiversity

IUCN

Answer 19

• ‘International Union for Conservation of Nature’
• rated species for their level of current threat
• listed more than 40,000 species as threatened with extinction

Question 20

Biodiversity Crises and Conservation

Identification of the Biodiversity Crisis

Answer 20

• The current biodiversity crisis has been linked back to 1970
• 75% of the terrestrial environment and 65% of the marine environments have been significantly altered by human activity.
• The rate of species extinction is somewhere between 100 to 1000 times higher than prior to 1970

Question 21

Biodiversity Crises and Conservation

Contribution of the Human Population

Answer 21

• Between 1920 and 2020, the human population has more than quadrupled
• Result of this has exaggerated all of human impacts of ecosystems
• More people —> more overharvesting for resources —-> more pollution.
• Increase in human travel + urbanisation increased

Question 22

Biodiversity Crises and Conservation

Situ Conservation vs Ex Situ Conservation

Answer 22

Both Conservations attempt to minimise and reverse the human impacts on ecosystems.

Situ - Conservations: involve management in the natural habitat itself.

Ex - Situ: efforts inolvement helping species but outside their natural habita.t

Question 23

Bidiversity Crises and Conservation

In Situ Efforts to Improve Biodiversity

Answer 23

• Establishement of natural parks and nature reserves (that limit development and protect wildlife within)
• Rewilding of area damaged by human activities - removal of human structures but allowing nature to rebuild itself.
• Reclamation of degraded landscapes (active planting and rebuilding of the physical ecosystem

Question 24

Biodiversity Crises and Conservation

Ex Situ Efforts to improve Biodiversity

Answer 24

• Breeding programs at zoos, including through the use of artificial insemination (breeding two animals at different zoos)
• Botanic gardens - living stores plant material
• Seed banks and animal tissue banks (seed banks exist: store living seeds for future use if species becomes endangered) - (Somatic tissue can also be collected for analysis for analysis and potential cloning)

Question 25

# Biodiversity Crises and Conservation EDGE of Existence Project Criteria

Answer 25

- (How they determine what species to preserve/ criteria) - The ICUN rating is used, then DNA sequencing information is looked at for unqiue evolutionary history and those combine to give the organism an EDGE score which determines their priority.