Study Guide for Nature of Diversity:
Lecture 1: Introduction to Biodiversity
Know the breakdown of species names in different taxa
Know the three basic body plans in animals, and why bilateral symmetry is associated with
muscles/motion and a head.
• No symmetry (sponges)
• Radial symmetry (corals)
• Bilateral symmetry (fish) and wormy head
Know why there is an explosion of fossils in the Cambrian.
• Multicellular life
• Exoskeleton
Know when inverts and verts colonized land.
• Inverts: 450mya
• Verts: 375mya
Know a few reasons why insects are so diverse. Frame these reasons in terms of reproductive isolating
mechanisms (that create species).
• Reproductive isolation from specific genitalia (only reproduce w perfect fit)
• Easily subdivided bc flight (new area)
Know the “big 6” orders of insects that contain 90% of the species!
• Orthoptera (grasshoppers)
• Hemiptera (true bugs)
• Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants)
• Coleoptera (beetles)
• Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths)
• Diptera (flies)
Know which groups radiated with which groups of plants.
• Origin of plants: Charophytes and Bryophytes
• Early vascular: seedless vascular plants/ferns
• First seed plants: Gymnosperms/conifers
• Flowering plants: Angiosperms
Know why each of the four innovations of vertebrates was adaptive and led to new radiations of
vertebrates (jaws, bone/swim bladder, feet, amniotic egg).
• Jaws = eat more things
• Swim bladder = buoyancy and respiration
• Feet = move onto land
, • Amniotic egg = hard shell and can lay eggs on land
What groups of organisms have the most biomass? Why does this make sense energetically (food
pyramids and the second law of thermodynamics).
• Plants bc lowest on food pyramid and less energy loss
How’s genetic diversity doing lately? Describe an example from crops, and from dwindling populations
of a wild species.
• Poorly
• 3 species = 60% of crop calories
• 60% of mussel species endangered
What do the 3 types of species diversity (alpha, beta gamma) measure?
• Alpha: # of species in habitat
• Beta: heterogeneity among communities
• Gamma: # of species in a region
• Beta = gamma/avg. alpha
What is functional or ecological diversity?
• Functional: filling different niches
• Ecological: different species
What is ecosystem diversity?
• Many ecosystems in one region
Why is the southeastern U.S. a great place to study biodiversity?
• Greatest species richness
• Greatest endemism rates
Lecture 2: Introduction to the Insects
Describe the pattern of duplication, specialization, and reduction. Why is each step adaptive? How are
these steps displayed in the mandibulate branch of Arthropoda?
• Duplication: new genes from mutations
• Specialization: specialized body segments
• Redundancy: perform same function in case one is deactivated
Describe two ways that insects are critical to the energetic dynamics in food webs. (One is as
detritivores).
• Detritivores: eat waste and recycle energy
• Pollinators: contribute $57bil to economy
Given their role in food webs, why is a 70% decline in insect biomass so alarming for those of us
concerned with all biodiversity?
Lecture 1: Introduction to Biodiversity
Know the breakdown of species names in different taxa
Know the three basic body plans in animals, and why bilateral symmetry is associated with
muscles/motion and a head.
• No symmetry (sponges)
• Radial symmetry (corals)
• Bilateral symmetry (fish) and wormy head
Know why there is an explosion of fossils in the Cambrian.
• Multicellular life
• Exoskeleton
Know when inverts and verts colonized land.
• Inverts: 450mya
• Verts: 375mya
Know a few reasons why insects are so diverse. Frame these reasons in terms of reproductive isolating
mechanisms (that create species).
• Reproductive isolation from specific genitalia (only reproduce w perfect fit)
• Easily subdivided bc flight (new area)
Know the “big 6” orders of insects that contain 90% of the species!
• Orthoptera (grasshoppers)
• Hemiptera (true bugs)
• Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants)
• Coleoptera (beetles)
• Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths)
• Diptera (flies)
Know which groups radiated with which groups of plants.
• Origin of plants: Charophytes and Bryophytes
• Early vascular: seedless vascular plants/ferns
• First seed plants: Gymnosperms/conifers
• Flowering plants: Angiosperms
Know why each of the four innovations of vertebrates was adaptive and led to new radiations of
vertebrates (jaws, bone/swim bladder, feet, amniotic egg).
• Jaws = eat more things
• Swim bladder = buoyancy and respiration
• Feet = move onto land
, • Amniotic egg = hard shell and can lay eggs on land
What groups of organisms have the most biomass? Why does this make sense energetically (food
pyramids and the second law of thermodynamics).
• Plants bc lowest on food pyramid and less energy loss
How’s genetic diversity doing lately? Describe an example from crops, and from dwindling populations
of a wild species.
• Poorly
• 3 species = 60% of crop calories
• 60% of mussel species endangered
What do the 3 types of species diversity (alpha, beta gamma) measure?
• Alpha: # of species in habitat
• Beta: heterogeneity among communities
• Gamma: # of species in a region
• Beta = gamma/avg. alpha
What is functional or ecological diversity?
• Functional: filling different niches
• Ecological: different species
What is ecosystem diversity?
• Many ecosystems in one region
Why is the southeastern U.S. a great place to study biodiversity?
• Greatest species richness
• Greatest endemism rates
Lecture 2: Introduction to the Insects
Describe the pattern of duplication, specialization, and reduction. Why is each step adaptive? How are
these steps displayed in the mandibulate branch of Arthropoda?
• Duplication: new genes from mutations
• Specialization: specialized body segments
• Redundancy: perform same function in case one is deactivated
Describe two ways that insects are critical to the energetic dynamics in food webs. (One is as
detritivores).
• Detritivores: eat waste and recycle energy
• Pollinators: contribute $57bil to economy
Given their role in food webs, why is a 70% decline in insect biomass so alarming for those of us
concerned with all biodiversity?
