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level: Biodiversity

Questions and Answers List

level questions: Biodiversity

QuestionAnswer
what has happened to the variety of life on Earth over time?over time the variety of life on Earth has become extensive but is now being threatened by human activity
biodiversitythe range of species in a habitat the genetic diversity within a species
endemismthe state of a species being unique to a particular geographic location and found nowhere else
how is biodiversity measured within a habitat?species richness genetic diversity within a species
heterozygosity indexH = number of heterozygotes/number of individuals in the population
biodiversity indexD = N(N-1)/Σn(n-1) D = biodiversity index N = total number of organisms from all species n = number of individuals in a species
nichethe role of an organism within its community
three types of adaptationsanatomical behavioural physiological
anatomical adaptationsstructural/physical features of an organism that helps it survive
behavioural adaptationshow organisms behave in order survive
physiological adaptationsinternal processes that occur in an organism which helps it survive
natural selectionthe process by which better adapted individuals to the environment survive and pass on advantageous alleles to future generations
evolutionthe process by which the frequency of alleles in a gene pool changes over time as a result of natural selection
adaptationan alteration of any part of an organism's structure or function as a result of natural selection the organism becomes better fitted to survive and reproduce in its environment
how can natural selection lead to adaptation and evolution?a variety of phenotypes exists due to a mutation environmental changes occur and selection pressure changes some individuals posses advantageous alleles giving them a selective advantage allowing for survival and reproduction advantageous alleles are passed on to their offspring over time the frequency of alleles in a population changes
Hardy-Weinberg equationp² + 2pq + q² = 1 p +q = 1 p² = dominant allele 2pq = heterozygous allele q² = recessive allele p = frequency of dominant allele q = frequency of recessive allele
what is the Hardy-Weinberg equation used for?estimate the frequency of alleles in a population monitor changes in allele frequency over time
conditions of the Hardy-Weinberg equationno mutations no selection pressure large population isolated population random mating
reproductive isolationthe accumulation of different genetic information in populations due to different environments and selection pressures
types of reproductive isolationallopatric sympatric
allopatricgroups of organisms that are geographically isolated
sympatricorganisms are isolated by other factors but within the same area
classificationthe way of organising the variety of life based on relationships between organisms using differences and similarities in phenotypes and genotypes it is built around the species concept
classification orderdomain kingdom phylum class order family genus species
3 domainsEukaryote Bacteria Archaea
5 kingdomsAnimal plants fungi protists prokaryotes
speciesa group of organisms that can reproduce with one another to produce fertile offspring
taxonomythe science of naming, describing and classifying organisms
molecular phylogenythe analysis of molecular differences in DNA and proteins of different organisms to determine how closely related organisms are
why is the process of critical evaluation of new data important to the scientific community?data obtained by molecular phylogeny has been accepted by scientists giving rise to new taxonomic groupings - the three-domain model of classification scientist publish their findings in public journals and present them at conferences where the scientists would study the evidence by peer review