Biodiversity

The non-living components of an ecosystem

Wind

Sunlight

Soil

Water

Atomsphere

Temperature

Living components within an system

The number of different habitats

Species evenness and species richness

The variation of alleles within a species

A measure of the variation found in the living world

Where an organism lives

Group of organisms that can freely interbreed to produce fertile offspring

The range of habitats in which different species live

Sand dunes

Woodlands

Meadows

Streams

Appearance

Anatomy

Physiology

Biochemistry

Genetics

Individuals in species can interbreed freely to produce fertile offspring

Offspring that can breed to give more offspring

Number of different species

Degree to which the species are represented

The variation between individuals belonging to the same species

Creates breeds within a species

Ensures we don't all look identical

Selecting a small portion of habitat and studying it

That samples taken are representative of habitat

Random

Non-random

Sampling sites selected randomly

Using randomly generated numbers as coordinates

Ensures data isn't biased by selective sampling

May not cover all areas of habitat evenly - species with low presence missed leading to underestimate of biodiversity

Opportunistic

Stratified

Systematic

Researcher makes sampling decisions based on prior knowledge or during process of collecting data

Easier and quicker than random

Data maybe biased which may lead to overestimate of biodiversity

Dividing habitat into areas which appear different and sampling them separately

Ensures all different areas of habitat at the sampled and species not underrepresented

May lead to over representation of some areas of sample

Samples taken at fixed intervals across habitat

Useful when habitat shows clear gradient in some environmental factor

Only species on line or within belt can be recorded and other species may be missed leading to underestimate of biodiversity

Suitable clothing

Suitable footwear

Apparatus needed to carry out sampling

Clipboard, pen, paper

Appropriate keys to find plants

Camera

Trampling, picking flowers and placing quadrats

Large plants - counted individually

Small plants - calculate % ground covered

Random quadrats

Using a transect

Square frame used to define the size of a sample area

Identify the different plants in the quadrat, count the plants, calculate the % covered

Line taken across the habitat

Stretch sting/tape measure across the habitat and take samples along the line

Can use quadrat at set intervals along the line (called interrupted belt transect)

Quantitative data at intervals across habitat

Quantitative data in a belt across a habitat

The convention on international trade in endangered species

Scheme to encourage farmers and other landowners to manage parts of their land in a way that promotes conservation

Ensure the international trade in specimens of wildlife doesn't threaten their survival

International trade in selected species

Endanger the survival of populations in the wild

Plants for commercial purposes is perhibited

Promoting sustainable developments

It’s about people and need for food medicine fresh air water etc as well as animals and plants

Conservation of biological diversity

Appropriate shared access to genetic resources

Sustainable use of its components

Partner states must adopt ex situ conservation facilities mainly to complement in situ measures

Importing animals

Importing genetic material - transporting sperm or eggs or embryos and using artificial insemination or vitro fertilisation

Sharing stored specimens

Enhance the biodiversity and conservation value of land at a local level

Improve natural beauty and diversity of the countryside

Improve opportunities for public access

Enhance, restore and recreate targeted landscapes and habitats and historical features

Environmental stewardship scheme

Provide funding to farmers and land managers to deliver effective environmental management on their land

Provide funding end advice to help land managers conserve and enhance and promote the countryside by:

Looking after wildlife and species and habitats

Protect historic features

Ensure traditional livestock and crops are conserved

Captive population always likely to have limited genetic diversity

Animals can be exposed to wide range of diseases

Living outside natural environment

Nutritional issues can be difficult to manage

May not behave as normal so reproduction difficult

Expensive to maintain suitable environment

When reintroduced can be difficulties with acceptance

Is reproduction successful, difficulty surviving in wild

Organisms protected from predation and poaching

Health can be monitored and medical assistance given when required

Populations can be divided so if disaster strikes one population the other survives

Genetic diversity of population can be measured

Selective reading can be carried out to increase genetic diversity

Modern reproductive technology can be used to increase chances of reproductive success

Animals and plants can you bred to increase numbers of endangered species

Conservation sites can be used for research

Conservation outside the normal habitat of the species

Conserving an endangered species by activities that take place outside natural habitat

Captive breeding - breeding endangered species and conducting research that should benefit endangered species

Artificial insemination, in vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer being used with wild animals

A collection of seed samples

Seeds that can remain viable for decades

Storage

Provide benefits to humanity - seeds for food crops and building material for rural communities

Habitat reclamation and repopulation of endangered habitats

To prolong viability

Very dry or freezing conditions

The seeds resistant to desiccation and level of moisture in each seed

For every 1% decrease in seed moisture or 5°C reduction in temperature

They can be collected from wild without too much disturbance to ecosystem or damage wild population

Asexually

Can increase number of indi plants vey quickly which provides ample supply for research/reintroduction into wild

Difficult to fund

Collecting wild seeds causes disturbance

Collected samples may not have representative level of genetic diversity

Stored seeds may not be viable

Bread asexually reduces genetic diversity further as identical

Areas set aside for the conservation of species or habitats

Areas of sea set aside to conserve the diversity of species or habitats

Carrying out active management to maintain the biodiversity in the natural environment

Population may have already lost much of its genetic diversity

Conditions that cause the habitats/species to become endangered may still be present

Each small area may not be large enough to ensure survival

Area can act as honey pot to poachers

In natural environment

Permanently protect biodiversity and representative examples of ecosystems

Permanently protect significant elements of natural and cultural heritage

Facilitates scientific research

Possible to improve and restore the ecological integrity of the area

Areas of protected countryside

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To protect sensitive features of environment and to enable research and education

Nature parks

National nature reserves

Local nature reserves

Marine conservation zones

Active process as involved active management to maintain habitats and the species that live in those habitats

Legislation

Wildlife reserves

National parks

Possible to pass legislation to stop activities such as hunting or logging and clearing land for development or agriculture

It's specific to a particular country so it can be difficult to persuade some countries it's necessary and difficult to enforce legislation if governments not in favor

Comprehensiveness - how many species of represented in the area and what are the prevailing environmental conditions

Adequacy - is aerial large enough to provide for long term survival of all represented

Representativeness - is there a full range of diversity

Protected animals coming out of reserve to raid crops

People continuing to hunt protected animals for food

Illegal harvesting of timber and other plant products

Tourists feeding protected animals or leaving glitter

Larger animals detect presence of humans before see them and hide

Smaller animals hide and often move too quick to count

Sweep netting

Pitfall trap

Light trap

Tullgren funnel

Involves walking through the habitat with a stout net

Small animals will be caught in net and empty contents onto white sheet to identify them. Can you use pooter to collect animals before fly away

Low vegetation that's not too woody and in water

Place white sheet under branch and not branch with stout stick

Vibrations dislodge small animals and drop onto sheet

Small container buried in soil so rim is just below surface. Animals moving through will fall into the container

Trap should contain little water or scrunched up paper to stop climbing out. Covered when raining so doesn't fill up

Trap set in soil to catch small animals

Collect small animals from leaf litter

Place leaf litter in funnel. Light above drives animal down as litter dries and warms. Fall through mesh screen and collected in jar under tunnel

Collect flying insects at night

Ultraviolet light insects attracted to. Under light is collecting vessel containing alcohol

Longworth trap

Humane trap that doesn't cause harm to animals

Monitored regularly to release trapped animals

Capture recapture technique

1. Catch a sample of animals

2. Mark each in a way that causes no harm - no. captured is C1

3. Release marked and leave traps for period of time

4. No. captured 2nd time is C2, no. already marked is C3

5. Pop size = C1 x C2 /C3

Estimate calculated can we affected by animals that learn trap is harmless and contain food over those who don't like experience and keep away after first capture

Capture recapture technique

Using the ringing technique

Version of a gene

The position of an allele on a chromosome

A locus that has more than two alleles

A measure of the diversity of a habitat

Measure of how evenly represented the species are

Measure of how many different species are present

The species richness and evenness

Most species present = richer the habitat

Richer the habitat

One in which there are even numbers of individuals in each species

Counting all the species present in the habitat

Relative number/abundance of indid’s in each species

Carry out a quantitative survey

Counting all the species present in the habitat

Sample plants using sampling techniques

Record percentage cover of each plant species

Take sample of soil and sift through to find all the individuals and count them

Use net in water and sift through mud at bottom then estimate population size and density

Count by observation

Species evenness and richness

0 No diversity

1 infinite diversity

Number of individuals of a particular species

Total number of all individuals of all species

Calculating the number of loci in one individual that are heterozygous

Calculating the percentage of loci in the population that have more than one allele

Doesn't give good measure of the value of the population as a genetic resource

Increases genetic diversity

Number of polymorphic gene loci / total number of loci

Where there’s more than one allele for a particular locus

Will lead to variations between individuals that may be easily observable and more genetic differences between gametes

Variations between individuals that may be easily observable and more genetic differences between gametes

Assess the value of a population as a resource for conservation

Limited genetic diversity

A diverse habitat

Habitat provides place for many different species and organisms

May only affect 1 species and if species is only small part of habitat total number of individuals affected is small proportion of the total number present therefore effect on whole habitat is small and tends to be stable and able to withstand change

Habitat is dominated by few species

If affected one of the species which dominated could damage or destroy the whole habitat

Habitat provides place for many different species and oraganisms - able to withstand change

Significant long-lasting changes in weather patterns

Crop consisting of one strain of one species

Human population growth

Climate change

Agriculture

Extinction

As grows, demand more food and consumer goods

Learned to use environment to our advantage

We alter ecosystems to provide ourselves with food

Destroy and fragment habitats

Pollute atmosphere

Use more and more of earth's resources

Result of activities harms species either directly or indirectly and can lead to extinction

When the last living member of a species dies and the species to exist

Genetic diversity

Product easier to harvest

Mono culture and selective breeding to increase efficiency

Makes product easier to harvest

Farmer select particular traits such as rapid growth or high protein content

Selecting for specific breeds of domesticated plants and animals meaning other breeds die out reducing the genetic diversity of the species

As clear natural vegetation, reduce the size of habitats and the population size of species in the habitat. Reduces genetic diversity of the species as their pops reduced meaning species has less capacity to adapt to changing conditions through evolution. may also leave fragmented pops that's too small to survive

Show less variation between individuals

As climate changes less able to adapt to changes in temp and rainfall inhabitat

Move and follow climate patterns to which they're most suited meaning slow migration towards the poles

Major human developments

Agricultural land

Large bodies of water

Mountain ranges

Selectively bread to provide best yield in specific conditions so have little variation so agricultural species unlikkely to be able to adapt to changing conditions and are vulnerable to disease

Efficiency will decline and less food will be available in farmers will need to change crops they grow and variety of animals they key

One that has a disproportionate effect upon its environment relative to its abundance

The loss of soil fertility caused by removal of minerals by continuous cropping

Ecological reasons

Food resources

Biological control moral and ethical reasons

Educational reasons

Economic reasons

Aesthetic reasons

In organic agriculture, living organisms used to control pests

E.g ladybirds control aphids by eating them

By studying bird wings, developed efficient aircraft ailerons. Studying death of cells in roundworms, found gene that triggers cancer - hope to find cure

Severe flooding

Protection of soil reduced when trees removed and replaced by buildings. Rainfall drains more quickly and there's more run off = flooding more likely

Whale and bird watching

Wellbeing

Physical, intellectual and emotional health

Many prescription drugs come from compounds discovered in rainforest

Soil from rainfall that could erode and wash away exposed soils

Genetic resource

Interdependence of organisms

Genetic diversity also declines

Plants have evolved wide range of molecules that combat diseases and fungi evolved molecules to combat bacteria in soil - help develop new medicines

Biodiversity declining = genetic diversity declining

All organisms in habitat linked in food chain or web

When one species affected, numbers decline, affect other species

Ones with higher species diversity

Has dramatic effect on habitat

Predators that limit pop size of herbivores so vegetation isn't overgrazed

Deep roots = transfer water for other plants

Foliage = cover keeping soil moist and cool, provides shade

Natural ecosystems perform processes valuable to humans:

Regulation of climate and atomsphere

Recycling of nutrients

Croo pollination

Formation and fertilisation of soil

Depletion of soil

Soils subjected to continuous monoculture become less and less fertile - result, agriculture yield declines as crop takes minerals out of soil and when harvested, minerals removed from ecosystem

Plants - evolved molecules combat diseases

Fungi - molecules to compete with bacteria in soil

The molecules could help develop new and effective pharmeceutical products