Biodiversity

and
Endenism
4C-1
 • Biodiversity is the totality of genes and
species in a region
• Biodiversity can be divided into two
aspects: genetic diversity and species
Defining richness. Scientists measure these in
different ways
Biodiversity • Biodiversity can be assessed on different
scales, from species level in a habitat to
the genetic level within a population
 Genetic diversity

• It refers to the variety of alleles in a gene pool; The gene pool refers to all the
genes found within a population or a group of organisms
• This covers the distinct populations of the same species (such as the thousands
of traditional rice varieties in India) or genetic variation within a population
(high among Indian rhinos, and very low among cheetahs)
• A high variety of genes in a population means that the species has a greater
chance of survival in a changing environment; For this reason, a lot of
conservation techniques are directed towards maintaining a high genetic
diversity within a gene pool
• If population size is small, inbreeding (mating with closely related individuals)
increases and the gene pool is reduced (fewer alleles remain in the gene pool)
resulting in higher homozygosity (genetic drift). More homozygosity causes low
genetic diversity
 Species richness
• It refers to the variety of species within a region or the
number of species in a region
For example, an island with five species of birds and one
species of lizard has a greater species richness than an island
with three species of birds and two lizard species
• Species richness can be a misleading indicator of diversity as it
does not take into account the number of individuals of each
species
– For example, habitat A has 10 different plant species
and habitat B has 7 different plant species
– Habitat A would be described as being more
species-rich than habitat B
– However, in habitat A there is only one individual of
each plant species present (10 individuals present)
while in habitat B there are over 20 individuals of each
species present (over 140 individuals present)
– This example illustrates the limitations of species
richness
 Global biodiversity has a major impact on humans and all other
species on the planet
• Biodiversity has a major effect on the stability of an ecosystem; A
more diverse ecosystem is better able to survive and adapt to
environmental changes or threats
• Plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and help to
reduce the greenhouse effect and climate change
• Microorganisms digest and break down the masses of organic
waste that are produced by larger organisms
• Humans have irrigation and drinking water thanks to
the transpiration of plants and their contribution to the water
Why is cycle
• Different fungi and bacteria species are a major part of the nutrient
biodiversity cycle that allows for nutrients to reenter the soil for further plant
growth

important? • Plants are producers in food webs. They are both a direct and
indirect energy source for humans through fruit, vegetables and
meat
• Many of the medicines used today have originated from plants, fungi
and bacteria
• Ecosystems have also made major contributions to the field of science
and technology
 Are some places more
important than others?
• In terms of number of species richness, around the
world biodiversity varies enormously.
• Wet tropics are generally areas of highest
biodiversity.
• As you move away from wet tropics, the species
diversity tends to fall.
• Coral reefs are the marine equivalent of the tropical
rain forests and are the key area of marine
biodiversity.
• Some areas were identified as biodiversity hotspots;
they have unusual biodiversity (they occupy around
15.7% of the earth’s surface but account for more
than 77% of the terrestrial vertebrate species)
unfortunately, these areas contain resources that
human need to use (leading to their destruction)
Biodiversity hotspots

• It is a region with a very high biodiversity

• It is an area which is particularly rich in different
species.
• It is an area that contain endemic species
 Why some areas have very rich
biodiversity
• A very stable ecosystem allows more complex relationships to
develop between species.
• High levels of productivity, brought about by high photosynthesis
rates, can support more niches.
• When organisms grow and reproduce more rapidly, more
mutations can occur which introduce more variety, enabling
organisms to adapt to particular niches and evolve to form new
species.
 Endemism

• Certain species only occur in one particular area

of the world - e.g. pygmy three-toed sloths which
are only found on a small island off the coast of
Panama
• These species are said to beendemic to that
region and they do not naturally occur anywhere
else
• Species become endemic to a specific area
because they evolved within the region and
haven’t migrated out to other areas.
Migration is limited by geographical boundaries.
So islands are more likely to have endemic
species, however that doesn’t mean endemism is
confined to islands alone.
• Endemic species are particularly at risk of
extinction due to their limited range
 Bizarre elephant’s foot plant
ENDEMIC
Baobab tree SPECIES OF
MADGASCAR

Yellow streaked tenrec Ring tailed lemur

 Australian endemic
species-marsupials and
monotremes

Herbivorous Kangaroo Tasmanian devil

Koala

Monotreme
The ash meadow Amargosa pupfish The ash meadow speckled dace

The warm spring pupfish The devils hole pupfish

Desert pupfish
 Red slender loris-Sri Lanka

Further
endemic
species Cyprus water frog-Jordan

Azraq killifish-Jordan
Species abundance

• Species abundance is the number of

individuals per species
• Relative abundance refers to the evenness of
distribution of individuals among species in a
community.
• Two communities may be equally rich in
species but differ in relative abundance
• An area showing an even abundance of
species is considered to be more biodiverse
than one containing the same number of
species but more dominated by one or two of
these species
In this case, plot B is more biodiverse than plot A
 • At the species level

Assessing Species richness

Relative species abundance
biodiversity
• Endemism
4C-2: measuring biodiversity
Measuring biodiversity in a habitat
• Measuring species diversity looks at the number of different
species in an ecosystem, and also the evenness of
abundance across the different species present
– The greater the number of species in an ecosystem, and the more evenly
distributed the number of organisms are among each species, then the
greater the species diversity
– For example, an ecosystem can have a large number of different species
but for some species, there may only be 3 or 4 individuals. As a result,
this ecosystem does not necessarily have high species diversity
• Ecosystems with high species diversity are usually more
stable than those with lower species diversity as they are more
resilient to environmental changes
– For example in the Pine forests of Florida, the ecosystem is dominated
by one or two tree species. If a pathogen comes along that targets one of
the two dominant species of trees, then the whole population could be
wiped out and the ecosystem it is a part of could collapse
 • Diversity index is a measure of species
diversity within a habitat; it takes into
Diversity index account species richness and species
abundance.
Example
 How biodiversity varies
• In general, when an environment has extreme
environmental conditions (like a desert), the biodiversity is
low.
• Any change in these extreme environment has a big impact
on the population numbers.
• This type of ecosystem tends to be very unstable and very
susceptible to change.
• A natural disaster can devastate or even wipe out one or
more populations.
• These environments have also unfilled niches; so any
incoming organism can become established very quickly
and overpower existing species if they compete for food or
territories.
• In less hostile environments, biodiversity can be very high;
this results in a very stable ecosystem, because a new
species moving in or out will almost have no effect.
• As a result of these factors, some areas are more
vulnerable to the loss of biodiversity than others.
 When to measure
biodiversity
• Biodiversity is not constant.
• It can vary within the same day, and
from one season to another.
• This means that the picture of
biodiversity in an area vary greatly
through the year.
 Biodiversity within
species
• Biodiversity within an individual species is an important
concept.
• Modern DNA analysis allows us to measure biodiversity at
the genetic level.
• Mutations can increase the gene pool of a population by
increasing the number of different alleles available.
• Allele frequency is the relative frequency or abundance of a
particular allele in a population is called allele frequency; if
the mutation results in an advantageous allele, the allele
will be selected for and its frequency in the population
increases; if mutation results in disadvantageous allele,
natural selection sometimes result in its removal from the
gene pool or it might be retained at a very low frequency;
• A disadvantageous allele in one set of environmental
conditions, might become advantageous if conditions
change
• This change in allele frequency due to natural selection may
result in new species evolving.
 • The genetic diversity within a species is the diversity of
alleles and genes in the genome of species
• Although individuals of the same species will have the same
genes they will not necessarily have the same alleles for each
gene
• Genetic diversity is measured by working out the proportion
of genes that have more than one allele (heterozygotes) and
how many possible alleles each gene has
• There can be genetic differences or diversity between
populations of the same species

Genetic – This may be because the two populations occupy

slightly different ranges in their habitat and so are
subject to slightly different selection pressures that
affect the allele frequencies in their populations
diversity • Genetic diversity within a single population has also been
observed
– This diversity in a species is important as it can help
the population adapt to, and survive, changes in the
environment
– The changes could be in biotic factors such as new
predators, pathogens and competition with other
species
– Or the changes could be through abiotic factors like
temperature, humidity and rainfall
 Measuring genetic diversity
• Heterozygosity index is a measure of
genetic diversity in a population of a single
species.
• Genetic diversity can be measured by
preparing DNA fingerprints for individuals
within a population.
• By examining DNA fingerprints, it is
possible to calculate how many of different
gene loci are heterozygous i.e have more
than one allele present.
• The proportion of genes which are present
in heterozygous form can be expressed as
a number called the heterozygosity index
• A high heterozygosity index reflects a high
level of genetic variation and in turn
healthy population, a low heterozygosity
index indicates a population in trouble.
• Heterozygosity index for each sequence
can be calculated using the equation:
Worked example
 The isolated islands of Hawaii

• The island populations show clearly how living organisms adapt to a particular niche or
role in the community.
• The islands are very isolated
• They have great biodiversity in terms of species numbers – 1000 species of native
flowers, 10,000 species of insects, 1000 species of land snails and100 species of birds.
• In these isolated circumstances, a small group of founder organisms adapted and
evolved to take advantage of the different ecological niches that were available to them.
• Places where endemism is common often have a rich biodiversity in-terms of species
numbers but relatively low genetic diversity (DNA analysis show that they are closely
related, even though some of them look very different)
• This is one reason why areas with many endemic populations are very vulnerable to the
introduction of disease.
• Island ecosystems are small and so they are very vulnerable to interference and damage
of human beings.
• Over the last 400 years, 75% of the animals extinct were island species
Adaptation to niches 4C-3
 • Ecology
• Ecosystem
Important • Niche
keywords • Habitat
• Population
• Community
Definitions

• Ecology: is study of relationships between living organisms and

their environment
• Ecosystem: is an environment that includes all the living organisms
interacting together, the nutrients cycling through the system and
the physical and chemical environment in which the organisms are
living
• Habitat: place where a species lives within an ecosystem.
• Population: is a group of organisms of the same species, living and
breeding together in a particular niche in a habitat
• Community: is all the populations of living organisms living in a
habitat at any one time
 Niche

• The role that species plays within an ecosystem is its niche

It encompasses where in the environment the organism is, how it gets
its energy and how it interacts with other species and its physical
environment
This is how an organism fits into the ecosystem
Example of a niche: A dung beetle occupies a very specific niche within its
ecosystem. Dung beetles have learned to exploit the dung of animals as a
resource and they have a characteristic behaviour of rolling the dung into
balls before transporting it to their underground burrow for storage as food.
Their behaviour within their ecosystem has many knock-on effects on the
environment and other organisms living in it. The burrows and tunnels that
they create turns over and aerates the soil and the buried dung releases
nutrients into the soil both of which can benefit other organisms like plants.
The transportation of the dung underground by the beetles also helps to keep
fly populations under control
 • Successful species are well adapted to its
Successful niche; allows species to exploit every
possible habitat and and different niches
adaptations within the habitat.
• Chances of survival and reproduction
to niches increases.
• Advantageous alleles are passed on to
future generations.
 Anatomical adaptations
The white fur of a
polar bear provides Structural or physical features
camouflage in the
snow so it has less
chance of being
detected by prey

Blubber of whales
Sticky hair of sundew
Physiological adaptations
Biological processes within the organism/way Mosquitos produce
in which the body of an organism works chemicals that stop
the animal’s blood
clotting when they
bite, so that they can
feed more easily

The heart rate of a seal drops as it

dives. This is called bradycardia
 Social behavior-hunting as a team

Behavioral adaptations
The way an organism behaves/the action of
Courtship ritual organisms which gives them selective Huddling to get warm
advantage
Successful adaptation of carnivorous
fungi

• Fungi are fantastic at breaking down dead material in the soil.

• More than 200 species have evolved into predators (active carnivores)
• Their victims are nematodes (small worms that live in the soil)
• These fungi have developed a wide range of adaptations helping them to catch and
feed on these worms.
• They have variety of traps; Some fungi use sticky nets. Others use microscopic lassos
made of single coiled cells, which can constrict round a blundering nematode. The
fungi then penetrate the immobilised worms with root-like projections called hyphae,
which break down their bodies from the inside out.
 • Large eyes; provides good vision in all
directions
• long lashes; protect the eye against sandy
environments
• Long and slit nostrils that the camel closes to
protect itself against sand and wind. Hairy,
slightly prehensile, sensitive, split and
extensible upper lip; to identify and gather
food and avoid the thorns on desert plants.
• Hump; insulate the camel from the heat of
the sun; allows easily evaporation of sweat
from the rest of the body as the skin is less
insulated; this helps in cooling down.
• Large and flat feet with tough pads; this
spreads out the weight of the camel to
prevent sinking; pads to protect from heat
Ultimate •
damage.
Tough knee pads to protect from heat

survivors-camels-anat damage when the camel rests

omical adaptations
Physiological
adaptations-Ther
moregulation
• Supple skin with fine hairs; these
can erect to insulate a layer of air
near the skin in cold nights;
• can withstand a wide variation of
core temperature; mammals
maintainO their body temperature
within 2 C range; when the
camel is dehydrated, it call its
body temperature to vary up to 60
C ; this saves wnergy and water as
it doesn’t need to produce as
much sweat.
• Camels can lose 30% of their body
weight by water loss and make it
up in 10 min drinking water
without affecting the osmotic
potential of the blood; on top,
the blood doesn’t thicken when
the camel is dehydrated
• fatty hump; acts as a food store;
acts as a metabolic source of
water
Physiological adaptations-water balance

• Camel tissues can withstand 30% of water loss

without being damaged (it can go up to 10 days in
the desert without drinking water)
• They can drink up to 180 L of water in 24 hours
without effecting the osmotic potential in their
cells.
• Fat in the hump is an energy source; when
metabolized, water is produced as a waste
product.
• They minimize water loss by sweating as they can
withstand big temperature variations; their
kidneys produces very concentrated urine which
reduces water loss and enables them to drink
salty water. Production of urine is greatly reduced
when the camel is dehydrated which reduces also
water loss.
• They can produce dilute milk even when
dehydrated; this helps them to reproduce
successfully in the desert
 Behavioral adaptations

When it is hot and dehydrated, they sit down in the early They orient themselves in the sun, to absorb as
morning before the ground warms up, with their legs much less heat as possible
tucked underneath to absorb less heat by conduction

Groups of camels may lie down together to minimize

the surface area each camel is exposed to the sun

They eat wide range of vegetations, shrubs, and trees

Gene pool and
genetic diversity-4C.4
 Gene pool

• The phenotype of an organism is dependent on its genotype and

the environmental influence on the organism
Members of the same species will have the same genes, of which
there may exist different alleles (alternate versions of genes)
• A gene pool is the collection of genes within an interbreeding
population at a particular time
As these genes can have different alleles, a gene pool is
the sum of all the alleles of the genes of a population (of a single
species) at a particular time
 Allele frequency

• How often different alleles occur in the gene pool of a population is

known as the allele frequency
• The gene pool (or allele frequencies) in a species population
can change over time due to processes such as natural selection and
adaptation.
• When the gene pool (or allele frequencies) within a species
population changes sufficiently over time, the characteristics of the
species population will also change
• Over time, these changes can become so great that a new
species forms
Gene and allele frequency

• Mutations are the Sources of variation

• Mutations increase the size of the gene pool
• Which in turn affect allele frequency
• A mutation in a gene may result in a change in
the physical appearanceof an organism, in its
physiology or even in the pattern of its
behaviour
• Selection pressure are changes occurring in the
environment
• By natural selection, advantageous alleles are
selected then the frequency of those
advantageous alleles will increase;If the allele is
disadvantageous then natural selection will
usually result in its removal from the gene pool
• Example: Warfarin
 Allele frequency
• The number of individuals carrying an allele in a population determine its frequency.
• Allele frequency is expressed as a decimal fraction of 1.
• The frequency of an allele in a population is not correlated to whether it is dominant or
recessive.
• Example: a gene has two alleles A and a. If a breeding population of 100 diploid
organisms are heterozygous, then in theory every allele has a frequency of 0.5
• The allele frequency of dominant and recessive alleles are represented by this formula:
p+q=1
Where p is the frequency of the dominant allele and q is the frequency of the recessive
allele
• This formula by itself is not useful as it so hard for us to distinguish the homozygous
dominant individuals from the heterozygous ones; combined with Hardy-Weinberg
equilibrium equation, it becomes very useful
 Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
• The of change that takes place in the frequency of alleles in an population
indicates whether the population is stable or evolving.
• The hardy-Weinberg equation is used to describe the relationship between the
frequency of alleles and genotypes within a stable theoretical population that
is not evolving.
• The hardy-Weinberg equilibrium theory states that: in a population that is
not evolving, the allele frequency in the population will remain stable from
one generation to the next of there are no evolutionary influences; if the
population is evolving, allele frequency will change from one generation to
another, and so the population is not in equilibrium; When a new species is
formed, gene flow will be reduced as there will be no more breeding
between the two original populations.
• While the hardy-Weinberg equation provides a simple model of a theoretical
stable population, it’s main use in calculating allele frequency in population
genetics, providing a means of ,measuring and studying changes of species
over time.
Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium equation

Recessive phenotypes are easily

observable, and and we can measure and
calculate their allele frequency that we can
use in the above equation
The frequency of homozygous recessive individuals
is q2
by square rooting it, we can obtain q; this gives the
frequency of the recessive allele in the population.
By using the formula p+q=1, we can find p which is
the frequency of the dominant allele
 Working example-1

• Given the albinism condition we have studied before;

People who inherit the allele for the dominant pigment trait
have the genotype AA or Aa. People who are albino are
homozygous for the allele and have the genotype aa.
• Tests on samples of North Americans showed that the
frequency of albinos in the populations was 1 in 20,000.
• Calculate the frequency of the recessive and dominant
alleles in the population.
• Calculate the frequency of homozygous dominant and
heterozygous individuals in the population.
 Worked example-2

Calculate the frequency of homozygous dominant and heterozygous

individuals in the population
 Hardy-weinberg conditions
1. No mutation: No new alleles are generated by mutation, nor are genes
duplicated or deleted.
2. Random mating: Organisms mate randomly with each other, with no
preference for particular genotypes.
3. No gene flow: Neither individuals nor their gametes enter or exit the
populations i.e no immigration or emigration
4. Very large population size: The population should be effectively infinite in
size.
5. No natural selection: All alleles confer equal fitness (make organisms
equally likely to survive and reproduce).
In the real world, these conditions are never met
 • No mutations; allele frequency remains stable
• Mutations involve changes in the genetic
material, so alleles change.
• Spontaneous mutations happen within a
population all of the time.
• Mutations in somatic cells are not passed on;

Mutations •
only mutations in germ (sex) line cells do.
Although mutations happen continuously, they
don’t affect the population very rapidly.
• In each generation, each gene has a 1 in 104
chance of mutation.
• Around 60 new mutations are passed from
parents to offspring in each generation.
 Non-random mating

• Random mating keeps the gene pool in equilibrium and the allele frequency
remains stable.
• Random mating is the likelihood of any two individuals in the population
mating is independent of their genetic makeup.
• Non-random mating occurs when some feature of the phenotype affects
the probability of two organisms mating ( for example the male peacock
displays its tail to attract the female, and the mating resulting afterwards is
non-random)
• Certain features displayed by males appears to be more attractive than
average by females and this applies a selection pressure; consequently, they
will be more likely to have the opportunity to mate and pass on their genes
to their offspring are likely to carry the alleles for these attractive
characteristics.
 Gene
flow(isolation)
• If the hardy-Weinberg equilibrium to
maintained, the population should be
isolated (gene flow is restricted).
• There should be no migration of
organisms into and out of the
population.
• Gene flow involves the movement of
genes into or out of a population, due to
either the movement of individual
organisms or their gametes (eggs and
sperm, e.g., through pollen dispersal by
a plant).
• Organisms and gametes that enter a
population may have new alleles, or
may bring in existing alleles but in
different proportions than those already
in the population.
• Gene flow can be a strong agent of
evolution
 Populations of varying size
• Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium is only valid if
the population size is large.
• Large populations have large gene pools;
the chance of losing an allele by random
event is reduced in a large population.
• So, in large populations, there is a bigger
chance of maintaining a useful allele.
 Selection pressure

• For hardy-Weinberg equilibrium to apply, all alleles should have the

same reproductive advantage or disadvantage.
• This is not the case in the natural world.
• Natural selection is the most famous mechanism of evolution!
• Natural selection occurs when one allele (or combination of alleles
of different genes) makes an organism more or less fit, that is, able
to survive and reproduce in a given environment.
• If an allele reduces fitness, its frequency will tend to drop from one
generation to the next. If the allele is advantageous, it’s allele
frequency increases as it will be abundant in the population.
• This changes the genetic makeup of the population over time; this
natural selection in progress!
Reproductive isolation and speciation
4C-5
• Speciation is the formation of new species
• It forms as a result of different parts of the population become reproductively isolated and the gene flow between them is reduced.
• The two isolated populations experience different selection pressures
• As a result, natural selections acts in different directions on both populations
• Overtime, the genotype and the phenotype of the isolated populations change drastically to the point even of members of the isolated
populations reunite, they can no longer interbreed successfully.

Isolation
and
speciation

Speciation can occur as a result of hybridization and this mainly occurs in plants
Isolating mechanisms

• For populations to evolve, they need to bereproductively isolated; This means mating, and in turn,
gene flow between them is restricted.
• There are several types of isolation mechanisms:
• Geographical isolation: A physical barrier that separates individuals from an original population
• Ecological isolation: Two populations inhabit the same region but develop preferences for different
parts of the habitat
• Seasonal isolation: The timing of flowering or sexual receptiveness in some parts of a population drifts
away from the norm of the group; This can lead to two groups reproducing several months apart
• Behavioral isolation: Changes may occur in courtship rituals, displays or mating patterns so that some
animals do not recognize other animals as being potential mates; This might be due to mutation that
changes the colour or patterns of marking
• Mechanical isolation: A mutation may occur that changes the genitalia of animals, making it
physically possible for them to mate with only some members of the group; A mutation may also
occur changing the relationship between stigma and stamens in flowers, making pollination between
some individuals unsuccessful.
• Allopatric speciation occurs as a result of geographical isolation
• It is the most common type of speciation
• A species population splits into one or more groups which then become separated from each other by
geographical barriers
The barrier could be natural like a body of water, or a mountain range
It can also be man-made (like a motorway)
• This separation creates two populations of the same species who are isolated from each other, and as a result, no genetic
exchange can occur between them
• If there is sufficient selection pressure or genetic drift acting to change the gene pools within both populations then
eventually these populations willdiverge and form separate species
The changes in the alleles/genes of each population will affect the phenotypes present in both populations
Over time, the two populations may begin to differ physiologically, behaviourally and morphologically
(structurally)

Allopatric speciation
 Example of allopatric
speciation
• Imagine there is a population of trees that
are all one species
• A new mountain range forms that divides
the population into two
• The natural barrier prevents the two
groups from interbreeding, so there is no
gene flow between them
• The two populations experience different
selection pressures and genetic drift
• Over thousands of years the divided
populations form two distinct species
that can no longer interbreed
 • Adaptive radiation is the relatively fast
evolution of many species from a
single common ancestor where each
Adaptive occupies a different ecological niche.
Adaptive radiation generally occurs
radiation when an organism enters a new area
and different traits affect its survival.
Adaptive radiation leads to speciation
Example 1-Australian
marsupials and
monotremes
• Australia is well know for its unusual 2 groups
of mammals: marsupials( protect their young
in pouches) and monotremes (egg lying
mammals)
• In the rest of the world, placental mammals
dominate.
• Until around 5.5 million years back, Australia
was connected to the rest of world’s land
mass; at that time, the only mammals were
marsupials and monotremes.
• After Australia got separated from the rest of
the continents, marsupials and monotremes
evolved to fill the variety of ecological niches
there (such as herbivores kangaroos, koalas,
quoll, and Tasmanian devils). On the other
continents, marsupials and monotremes
evolved into placental mammals; these didn’t
reach Australia until humans arrived and
brought these mammals with them.
 Example 2-Darwin finches

• Darwin’s finches is a classic example of how the availability of different niches

can provide different selection pressures and result in the evolution of several
species.
• These birds were discovered by Charles Darwin.
• On the Galapagos Islands, there are a number of feeding niches near the
equator for birds.
• These include: small seeds, large nuts and insects living in rotten bark.
• The original finches that arrived at the island were of a single species.
• The islands are 500 miles from land, people suspect a hurricane or storm
carried the birds there.
• Within the birds that have arrived at the island, there would have been
variation in alleles and characteristics, and different niches on the island would
have favoured individuals with different variations.
• So, a bird with a slightly smaller, stronger beak would get food by eating • Food was such an important selection pressure.
mainly seeds. • So, it was important to mate with a finch with a similarly
• This would enable it to thrive, reproduce and pass on its beak characteristics shaped beak to pass on the advantageous characteristic.
to its offspring. • Mating with a finch that had a differently shaped beak
• Over generations, natural selection resulted in individuals with small strong would produce a variety of offspring that were less well
beaks ideally adapted to eating seeds. adapted to feeding, so there would also be a selective
• Similarly, a finch with a longer, thinner beak would be more successful pressure on choosing the right kind of mate.
probing dead wood for insects. • Any other behavioural or phenotypic changes that made
• By exploiting different niches, the finches avoid competing for the same choosing the right mate easier were also selected for.
relatively scarce food sources. • Selection for features that give reproductive success is
• As a result, 14 different species of finch (remarkably similar DNA) have evolved known as sexual selection
on the Galapagos Islands over several million years from one common
ancestral species.
• Sympatric speciation takes place with no geographical barrier
• A group of the same species could be living in the same place but in order for speciation to take place
there must exist two populations within that group and no gene flow occurs between them; they
become reproductively isolated by mechanical, behavioral, or seasonal changes.
• Something has to happen that splits or separates the population:
Ecological separation: Populations are separated because they live in different environments
within the same area; For example, soil pH can differ greatly in different areas. Soil pH has a
major effect on plant growth and flowering
Behavioural separation: Populations are separated because they have different behaviours; For
example differences in feeding, communication or social behaviour

Sympatric speciation
 Example
• A species of fish lives in a lake
• Some individuals within the population feed on the bottom while others
remain higher up in the open water
• The different feeding behaviours separates the population into different
environments
Behavioural separation leads to ecological separation
• The separated groups experience different selection pressures
Long jaws are advantageous for bottom-feeding whereas shorter jaws
are advantageous for mid-water feeding
• Over time natural selection causes the populations to diverge and
evolve different courtship displays
• They can no longer interbreed; they are separate species
The effect of small
populations
• Large populations containing many individuals have large gene
pools.
• This is because the chance of losing the allele by bad luck is
much less.
• For example, in a population of 10 individuals; 1 individual
carries an advantageous allele of allowing the individual to run
faster; If a predator chases the individual, and the individual
breaks its leg then the favorable allele will be lost from the
population; However in a large population, favorable alleles
will be carried by a larger number of individuals and the
likelihood of these organisms ‘all’ being destroyed is remote.
• So, there is a bigger chance of a potentially useful alleles being
maintained in the larger population.
• This is one reason why large, genetically diverse populations
are needed to maintain biodiversity
 1-Population bottleneck
• A population bottleneck is an event that drastically reduces the size of a population.
• The bottleneck may be caused by various events, such as an environmental disaster, the
hunting of a species to the point of extinction, or habitat destruction that results in the
deaths of organisms.
• The population bottleneck produces a decrease in the gene pool of the population
because many alleles, or gene variants, that were present in the original population are
lost.
• Due to the event, the remaining population has a very low level of genetic diversity,
which means that the population as a whole has few genetic characteristics.
• Following a population bottleneck, the remaining population faces a higher level of
genetic drift, which describes random fluctuations in the presence of alleles in a
population.
• In small populations, infrequently occurring alleles face a greater chance of being lost,
which can further decrease the gene pool.
• Due to the loss of genetic variation, the new population can become genetically distinct
from the original population, which has led to the hypothesis that population
bottlenecks can lead to the evolution of new species
 2-Founder effect

• When a small number of individuals leave the

main population and set up a separate new
population, genetic diversity is easily lost.
• This produces voluntary population bottleneck
• The alleles carried by the individuals who
leave the main population are unlikely to
include all alleles, or at the same frequency, as
the original population(The alleles this group
carries may be a random selection of the gene
pool)
• Which alleles end up in the new founding
population is completely up to chance
• Any unusual genes in the founders of this new
population may be amplified as the population
grows.
• This is known as the founder effect – process
by which any unusual alleles become relatively
common in a small population where the
founders started off with the particular
unusual allele
 Example 1-founder effect

• Anole lizards inhabit most Caribbean Islands and

they can travel from one island to another via
floating debris or vegetation
• The individual lizards that arrive on an island, as
well as the alleles they carry, is completely up
to chance
• They may only carry a small selection of alleles,
with many more alleles present in the lizard
population on the original island
• The lizards on the original island could display a
range of scale colours from white to yellow and
the two individual lizards that arrived on the
island have white scales
This means that the whole population
that grows on that island might only have
individuals with white scales
In comparison, the original island
population has a mixture of white and
yellow scaled individuals. Thisdifference
between the two populations is
completely due to chance
 Example 2-Founder effect
• Founder effect is demonstrated clearly among the Amish, American religious group who lives
in 3 isolated communities
• One of the groups has a high frequency of a rare genetic disorder called Ellis-Van Creveld
syndrome.
• This is because among the founder group were a married couple, one of whom carried the
gene.
• More cases of this syndrome have been found in this one small population than in the whole
rest of the world giving a clear demonstration of the role of the founder effect in bringing
about a dramatic change in allele frequencies in the population.
• The gene pool of the current population is significantly different from that of the original
population
Conservation-why
and why not
4C-6
 Introduction
• The human population is around 7 billions and is growing
• This has resulted in a lot of waste being produced annually;
most of this is left untreated and contributed to pollution
on land, in oceans, and the atmosphere
• People are using the resources available in the
environment to supply space for living, food, medicine, and
water; as a result, ecosystem resources are depleted and
many of animal and plant species are getting extinct at an
alarming rate
Human population size

Reasons behind the increase in

the human population starting
the 18th century
• Industrial revolution
• Agricultural revolution
• Medical advances
(medicines, vaccination)
 Climate change
• there is an increasing evidence that the earth’s
climate is changing:
The earth’s surface temperature is rising
Extreme weather event are more common
• The earth’s climate has changed regularly over
time; fossil record shows that the earth has gone
through periods of ice ages followed by periods
of heating or desertification.
The difference this time is that the change is
Human happening so quickly and there is an increasing
evidence that it’s the result of human activities.

threat to These changes mean that variety of animal and

plant species will no longer survive;

biodiversity
Depletion of biological resources
• As the human population grows, the demand on ecosystem
resources increases
• As a result, biological resources are depleted and
ecosystems get destroyed; biodiversity is destroyed along
with the ecosystems
 • Biodiversity is being reduced through activities such as
overfishing, habitat destruction, and climate change;
• Scientists around the world, are working hard to reduce
these trends and to conserve the biodiversity we still
have.

• Conservation means keeping and protecting

organisms and their habitats; it is
Maintaining biodiversity and sustainability;
conservation allows human activity alongside
other species in a managed way
• It is an active process and involves variety of
projects:
Reclaiming land after industrial use
Sustainable agriculture
Conservation Protection of threatened species
Global legislation on greenhouse gas
emissions and pollution
 Reasons for conserving biological
resources

There are many reasons for conserving biodiversity and all the resources that
are associated with it, such as:
• People believe that humans have a moral obligation to prevent the
manmade loss of biodiversity
• The supply of important natural resources such as wood for construction
and paper
• Employment
• The supply of food for the human population
• Economic benefits to individual countries
• As humans are the most intelligent species on the planet the responsibility
falls upon their shoulders to protect and value all of the organisms on the
planet
 Conservation of
threatened animals and
plants

An endangered species is a species that is

being threatened with extinction

There are 2 ways for conserving animals and

plants
• Ex-situ conservation; conserving them
outside their natural habitat (zoos, seed
banks)
• In-situ conservation; conservation takes
place in their natural habitat
 • Conservation of components of biological
diversity (living organisms) outside their
natural habitat.
• It is considered to be an alternative approach
to in-situ conservation and ideally it takes
place in the country where the threatened

Ex-situ •
species originates
When an organism is threatened in extinction,
sometimes there is no enough time to
conservation conserve their habitat or protect them in situ.
It is possible to conserve species by removing
animals or plants from their natural habitat
This sometimes enables theirgenetic material
to be conserved and at other times breeding
populations to be returned back to their
natural habitat
 • It is estimated that around 25%
of the world’s flowering plant
species would disappear in the
next 50 years.
• Plants are vital for human life; if a
particular plant species gets
extinct, it’s genetic material will
Ex-situ be lost forever; this would be a
disaster for plants and possibly
for human survival as well.
conservation • Cross breeding crop plants to
their original wild plants, or using
of plants wild plant genes in genetic
engineering, are ways in which
the long term health of our crop
plants could be maintained
• Botanic gardens and seed banks
are two ways of ex-situ
conservation of flowering plant
species.
Botanic
gardens
• A botanical garden is a garden with
a documented collection of living
plants for the purpose of scientific
research, conservation, display, and
education.
• Typically plants are labelled with
their botanical names.
• Most are at least partly open to the
public, and may offer guided tours,
educational displays, art exhibitions,
book rooms, open-air theatrical and
musical performances, and other
entertainment
 Seed banks
• Seedbanks store a large number of seeds in order
to conserve genetic diversity and prevent plant
species from going extinct.
• Storing seeds instead of plants means that a large
variety of species can be conserved; it’s also
cheaper than storing whole plants as it takes up
less space.
• The seeds are first scanned using x rays to make
sure they contain fully developed embryos, and
them stored in cool (-20 and -40 o C), dry
conditions as this maximises the amount of time
they can be stored for and they are periodically
tested for viability
• Seeds of the same species are collected
from different sites , so that the stored samples
contain a good proportion of the total gene
pool of that species --> genetic diversity is not • Some plants have seeds that can’t be stored well( don’t have long longevity)
lost such as mango, coconut, avocado and many others
• seeds can be stored for a long time with little
maintenance , anywhere in the world
• These are mainly maintained in botanic gardens
• seeds are germinated every few years to: • In order to preserve the genetic diversity of these plants successive
check if seeds are still viable generations must be grown or tissue cultures taken
produce new plants to collect new seeds
• One problem is that this takes a lot of space and work
find conditions for breaking seed dormancy
Seeds that can’t
be stored
Advantages & Disadvantages of Seed Banks Table
 Ex-situ
conservation of
animals
• It is not always possible to
conserve animals in their natural
habitat because the conditions
that have put them under threat
of extinction still exist.
• Zoos and wildlife parks are
examples of ex-situ conservation
of animals
 Zoos
• Zoos contribute to the conservation of endangered animal species
• Captive breeding programmes can breed individuals of a species
so their offspring can be released into the wild
• Zoos are an invaluable resource for scientific research
Scientists are able to closely study
animal’s genetics, behaviours and habitat needs
• There are some problems with zoos and their role in conservation:
Captive breeding of small species populations can reduce
genetic diversity (in-breeding)
Certain animal species will not breed in captivity
Not all zoos can provide adequate habitats for animals with
specific needs
Many people question the ethics of keeping animals
in captivity
 Zoos-continue
There are stories of both success and failure when
it comes to zoos and conservation: Animals in zoos may not behave the same way they
The oryx is an antelope-like species would in the wild, so this raises questions about
that was saved from extinction and the reliability of the data from some zoo-based studies
reintroduced into the wild in Africa
thanks to zoos and captive breeding
programmes
Pandas have been in captive breeding
programs for over 60 years and not a
single panda has been reintroduced
into the wild
Zoos contribute to educating people about endangered
species by bringing them close to these organisms
and increasing public
Zoos make a valuable contribution to scientific
enthusiasm for, and public engagement with,
research in a variety of ways:
conservation efforts
They provide information about
the specific needs (behavioural,
physiological, nutritional) of different
animal species, which aids
conservation efforts in the wild
They can carry out studies that would
be very difficult to do in wild
populations
Advantages & Disadvantages of Zoos
 Reintroduction
back into the wild
• Plants and animals from these facilities can be released
back into their natural habitat, which holds
certain benefits:
This will help prevent them from going extinct in
the wild
Organisms that rely on these plants and animals
for food or habitat may also benefit from their
presence
This contributes toward restoring lost or degraded
habitats
• Reintroduction may have some negative effects too:
These organisms may carry new diseases that will
harm other organisms living in that habitat
Reintroduced animals may lack the ability to find
food or communicate effectively with members of
their own species
Problems with
Captive
breeding and
reintroduction
programs
problems
 Sustainability
• Sustainability is the ability of an ecosystem to
maintain (or ideally increase)
its biodiversity while providing humans with the
resources they need over a long period of time
• Humans, in the way that they set up and manage an
ecosystem, are in control of whether that ecosystem
is sustainable or not
The resource must be allowed sufficient time to
replenish before being harvested so that it
does not run out
No harm should be done to the ecosystem, its
surrounding areas, or to species living within it
Practices that boost biodiversity are promoted
The long-term future of the ecosystem must be
guaranteed
Sustainable strategies
• Sustainable forestry:
Tress are harvested selectively and replantation programs are
carried out; this conserves biodiversity while humans can still use
forests for income (this is to replace slash and burn techniques)
• Sustainable agriculture:
Use methods that minimize damage to the environment and
avoids monoculture
Use organic fertilizers when possible instead of chemical fertilizers
Use biological control methods instead of chemical pesticides
Maintaining hedgerows to help maintain biodiversity
Rotate crops to avoid exhausting of the soil
• Sustainable tourism (ecotourism)
Causes minimal damage to the environment
Provides jobs and money for local people
Conserves the environment
 People need to learn about:
• The impact of human activities on the
natural world
• Ways in which people can act to protect
animals, plants, and habitats
The When people learn about the damages they
are causing the environment, they often
importance want to change

of education When they discover the great range of

biodiversity in the world, and how it can be
conserved and protected, they usually want
to help
Zoos, national parks, botanic gardens, seed
banks are important for educating people.