All Flashcards
Define biodiversity.
Variety of life on Earth, including plants, animals, and microorganisms.
What is genetic diversity?
Variety of genes within a single species.
Define species diversity.
Variety of different species in an ecosystem.
What is habitat diversity?
Variety of different habitats in a given area.
Define population bottleneck.
Dramatic reduction in population size, leading to loss of genetic diversity.
What is species richness?
The number of different species present in an ecosystem.
Define species evenness.
How evenly distributed the populations of each species are in an ecosystem.
What is ecosystem resistance?
How much an ecosystem is affected by a disturbance.
Define ecosystem resilience.
How quickly an ecosystem recovers after a disturbance.
Why is genetic diversity important?
Allows species to adapt to changes like diseases or climate shifts.
Why is species diversity important?
Different species have different roles; more species = more stable ecosystem.
Why is habitat diversity important?
Different habitats support different species; more habitat diversity = more biodiversity.
What is the impact of low species diversity?
Ecosystems are less stable and more vulnerable to collapse if a species is lost.
What characterizes an ideal ecosystem in terms of richness and evenness?
High richness (many species) and high evenness (balanced populations).
How does biodiversity affect ecosystem stability?
Higher biodiversity generally leads to greater ecosystem stability and adaptability.
What is the impact of habitat loss?
Leads to loss of specialist species and reduced numbers of species with large territorial needs.
How does biodiversity relate to ecosystem resistance and resilience?
Biodiversity increases both ecosystem resistance (ability to withstand disturbance) and resilience (ability to recover).
What are the effects of a population bottleneck?
Reduced genetic diversity, increased vulnerability to extinction.
How does clearing a forest impact biodiversity?
Reduces genetic, species, and habitat diversity, disrupting ecosystem processes.
What is the effect of low ecosystem resistance?
The ecosystem is severely impacted by a disturbance.
What is the effect of low ecosystem resilience?
The ecosystem takes a long time to recover from a disturbance, or may not recover at all.