BSC 1005: BIODIVERSITY STUDY GUIDE
Biodiversity - Answers - The variety of life
How many species are there? - Answers - 1.2 to 2 million
What is a species? - Answers - Individuals within a population that can make fertile
offspring and share similar recent evolutionary history
Problems with species definition - Answers - 1. Not all organisms mate or can be
observed mating (bacteria)
2. Subspecies are not done speciating (Coyotes and Wolves)
3. Not enough is known about the organisms
*The ability to interbreed is commonly used to distinguish species of birds and
mammals
Largest number of species of life on Earth? - Answers - Insects
Linnean System of Classification - Answers - First name is always capitalized, second is
not
How to measure diversity? - Answers - Go out and count them
Genus
Genera: Plural form - Answers - First name (Name that the species belongs to)
Life on Earth consists of three domains - Answers - Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya
Species richness - Answers - Number of species in an environment
Diversity - Answers - Number of species present AND the evenness of abundance
Why do we think of a community with equal abundances as being diverse? - Answers -
Number of different species
Fundamental basis for biodiversity - Answers - Differences in genes
Evolution - Answers - Change in the genetic nature of living things over time
Replaces one species with a different species
Phylogeny - Answers - Branching pattern of Evolution
Binomial name - Answers - Genus Species
, What factors affect species diversity? - Answers - Latitude, Precipitation, Temperature,
Altitude, and other Species
First major advance in unifying principles of Biology - Answers - All organisms are
composed of smaller structures made of cells
Genotype - Answers - The set of genes carried by an individual
Phenotype - Answers - The expression of trait in an individual
Why do individuals within a species differ? - Answers - They have different alleles
Ecosystem - Answers - All the living organisms and nonliving components in a particular
area
Ecosystem service - Answers - Something provided by an ecosystem. Freshwater,
oxygen, or food.
Abiotic - Answers - Non-living
Biotic - Answers - Living
Biophilia - Answers - Attraction to the elements of the natural world (humans enjoy
going to zoos and watching nature programs)
Comparative method - Answers - When biologists compare different forms of life to
reveal the relationship between form and function
Genomics - Answers - The study of the molecular structure of many genes at the same
time
Genome - Answers - The entire set of genetic material in a cell
Mass extinction events - Answers - Period in which biodiversity dramatically declined
*The world has seen 5 over the last 450 million years
Last extinction 65 million years ago resulted in.. - Answers - The extinction of dinosaurs
How was all the diversity on Earth originated after life originated? - Answers - Evolution
Population - Answers - All the organisms of one species, in one area (That are capable
of interbreeding and vary in their characteristics)
Mean - Answers - Typical value of population
Biodiversity - Answers - The variety of life
How many species are there? - Answers - 1.2 to 2 million
What is a species? - Answers - Individuals within a population that can make fertile
offspring and share similar recent evolutionary history
Problems with species definition - Answers - 1. Not all organisms mate or can be
observed mating (bacteria)
2. Subspecies are not done speciating (Coyotes and Wolves)
3. Not enough is known about the organisms
*The ability to interbreed is commonly used to distinguish species of birds and
mammals
Largest number of species of life on Earth? - Answers - Insects
Linnean System of Classification - Answers - First name is always capitalized, second is
not
How to measure diversity? - Answers - Go out and count them
Genus
Genera: Plural form - Answers - First name (Name that the species belongs to)
Life on Earth consists of three domains - Answers - Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya
Species richness - Answers - Number of species in an environment
Diversity - Answers - Number of species present AND the evenness of abundance
Why do we think of a community with equal abundances as being diverse? - Answers -
Number of different species
Fundamental basis for biodiversity - Answers - Differences in genes
Evolution - Answers - Change in the genetic nature of living things over time
Replaces one species with a different species
Phylogeny - Answers - Branching pattern of Evolution
Binomial name - Answers - Genus Species
, What factors affect species diversity? - Answers - Latitude, Precipitation, Temperature,
Altitude, and other Species
First major advance in unifying principles of Biology - Answers - All organisms are
composed of smaller structures made of cells
Genotype - Answers - The set of genes carried by an individual
Phenotype - Answers - The expression of trait in an individual
Why do individuals within a species differ? - Answers - They have different alleles
Ecosystem - Answers - All the living organisms and nonliving components in a particular
area
Ecosystem service - Answers - Something provided by an ecosystem. Freshwater,
oxygen, or food.
Abiotic - Answers - Non-living
Biotic - Answers - Living
Biophilia - Answers - Attraction to the elements of the natural world (humans enjoy
going to zoos and watching nature programs)
Comparative method - Answers - When biologists compare different forms of life to
reveal the relationship between form and function
Genomics - Answers - The study of the molecular structure of many genes at the same
time
Genome - Answers - The entire set of genetic material in a cell
Mass extinction events - Answers - Period in which biodiversity dramatically declined
*The world has seen 5 over the last 450 million years
Last extinction 65 million years ago resulted in.. - Answers - The extinction of dinosaurs
How was all the diversity on Earth originated after life originated? - Answers - Evolution
Population - Answers - All the organisms of one species, in one area (That are capable
of interbreeding and vary in their characteristics)
Mean - Answers - Typical value of population
