Biodiversity

• Biodiversity: The variety of living organisms.

How can Biodiversity be measured?

1. Number of Species within a habitat
2. Genetic Variation within a species

• Edemism: when a species of organism is found only within a

particular geographical region.
Why Biodiversity matters?
• Moral and ethical: some people/cultures believe we have no right to
cause extinction of other species.
• Ecological: ecosystems are more stable when biodiversity is high. They
also add direct value to us eg medicinal herbs and must be protected
so that species beneficial to us are not lost.
• Nutrient cycles and food chains are disrupted when biodiversity is
harmed.
• Aesthetic: many people enjoy the variety of organisms and habitats
on earth, which provide inspiration for creative people.
The number of species in a community is known as species richness
• Species diversity takes species richness into account, but also includes
evenness of abundance of each species
• In species diversity there are two points that need to be found:
distribution and abundance of species.
• Species abundance is the measure of the number of species in a given
area.
Measuring Biodiversity:
Diversity Index: ( Comparing Biodiversity of Different Habitats)
• D = diversity index
• N = The total number of organisms
• n = The total number of organisms in each species

Genetic Diversity:

The greater the heterozygosity index, the greater the diversity due to high genetic variation
Fish Number (n)
Brown Trout 10
Smallmouth Bass 7
Catfish 8
Carp 3
Steelheads 5
Northern Pike 6
Total (N)
Fish Number (n)
Brown Trout 15
Smallmouth Bass 14
Catfish 10
Carp 11
Steelheads 14
Northern Pike 18
Total (N)
 Niche
The role of a species within its
habitat, including both biotic &
abiotic interactions.
biotic - e.g. what it eats
abiotic - e.g. what time of day it is
active
 Adaptations
• Types of Adaptations:
1. Anatomical: A physical change in the structure of an organism giving it an advantage.
Example: Camouflage/Mimicry, Large ears, Thorns
BODY PART

2. Physiological: A change in the chemical working of the body giving an advantage. E.g.
venom production
INSIDE BODY

3.Behavioral: A change in instinctive behaviors for survival benefits.

E.g. Hibernation, Migration
ACTION
 Hardy-Weinberg’s Principle:
• Used to calculate allele, genotype and phenotype frequencies within a large randomly
mating population.
• p represents dominant allele frequency
• q represents recessive allele frequency
Hardy-Weinberg’s principle does not apply when there is:
• Significant selective pressure against a genotype
• Migration into or out of population
• Non-random mating
• Limited population

• Gene pool: The total amount of genes in a given population.

• Mutations cause changes in the genetic information of an organism, which can lead to a
change in the gene frequency in a given population. They can also occur as a result of
In a group of students, 36% could roll their tongues, a trait
determined by a dominant gene. The other 64% are nonrollers.
Calculate the frequencies of the gene R for tongue rolling and
it’s recessive r for nonrolling.
There are 65 dark moths and 35 light moths. The dark moths carry a dominant
allele while the light moths are homozgous for a recessive allele. What is the
estimated frequency of the recessive allele in the population? How many of the
dark moths in the sample are likely to be homozygous for the dominant allele?
 Why does Natural Selection occur?
1. Predation
2. Disease
3. Competition

All of these factors result in

differential reproduction and survival.
How does natural selection relate to adaption
and evolution?
Random mutations result in new alleles. ->

Some alleles provide an advantage, making an individual more likely to

survive and reproduce. ->

Their offspring receive the new allele, and therefore possess new
adaptations that allow them to survive in their environment; they have
evolved.
Isolation and Conservation
• Speciation is the formation of new species
• Geographic speciation: when speciation occurs where two populations are
separated from each other geographically.

• Mixing of the two is prevented, and each have different selection pressures
acting on the populations
• This results in different alleles being selected for, and soon the morphological,
physiological and behavioural features become so different that the two
populations can no longer interbreed even if the barrier is removed
• Sympatric speciation: is when a new species is evolved from a species that
inhabits the same geographic region. It’s mostly due to a change in behaviors
between mates. Preventing the recognition of reproduction behaviors.
 Major threats to biodiversity:
• Habitat loss: process in which habitat is rendered functionally unable to
support the species present. In this process, the organisms that previously
used the site are displaced, habitats get destroyed, reducing biodiversity
and leading to extinction in extreme cases.
• Deforestation: due to farming, urbanisation etc leads to severe land
degradation as a result of soil erosion.
• Climate change: plants and animals affected as they may not be able to
adjust.
- Major cause is greenhouse gas emission from eg organic waste (methane)
and factories (CO2). It traps more heat, causing global warming and a rise in
sea levels.
- As the earth gets warmer, organisms at high altitudes find it difficult to
adapt.
Extinction of species due to overfishing, mining, fertilizer run-off, and
high temperatures
• Pollution caused by untreated industrial and domestic waste leaking
into the environment, effecting animals’ metabolism or excretion.
• Non-biodegradables such as plastic can be eaten by animals
• Fertilizers can drain into rivers causing eutrophication, killing all
species in that ecosystem.
• Air pollution causes acid rain, affecting aquatic life and vegetation.
• Poaching: hunting and poaching for eg ivory, and overfishing due to
overpopulation
 Zoo: has a variety of functions in addition to providing
enjoyment and interest for visitors who can study animals they
would not be able to see otherwise.
Advantages:
• Provide protection for endangered species and have successful captive breeding
programs with the aim of reintroducing them to their natural habitat.
• Maintain genetic diversity by breeding with different mates.
• Research to better understand breeding habits, habitat requirements and ways to
increase genetic diversity

Disadvantages:
• Not all conservation attempts are a success
• Animals can refuse to breed in captivity
• Sometimes not possible to create suitable habitat
• Difficult for animals to adapt to wildlife as they were used to being cared for.
• They do not have the skills required to survive in natural habitat as they can’t:
1. Avoid predators
2. Find food
3. Rear their own
• Frozen zoos & seed banks: storage facility in which
genetic materials taken from animals (e.g. DNA,
sperm, eggs, embryos and live tissue) are gathered
and stored at very low temperatures for optimal
preservation over a long period.