Where are the biodiversity hot spots?
at the equator
What is the r/k selection theory?
relates to the selection of a combination of traits in organisms that trade off between quantity and quality.
what is mutational meltdown?
accumulation of harmful mutations in a small population.
leads to loss of fittness and population size.
What 3 main problems do small populations face?
- demographic stochasticity - random component to birth and death
- environmental stochasticity - if variance in r>2x the mean then extinction is likely
- genetic problems - small populations lose genetic variation by drift and interbreeding
What is the extinction vortex?
small populations, interbreeding and random genetic drift. loss of genetic variability
reduction in individual fittness and pop adaptability
lower reproduction and higher mortality - smaller population
What is the declining population paradigm?
seeks to discover why a population is declinging and how to prevent further declines.
What are guaranteed to lead a population to extinction in a short amount of time?
deterministic froces -overexploitation development deforestation disease
