Jump to content

Environmental Systems & Society: Biodiversity and Conservation


Recommended Posts

Environmental Systems & Society: What is the definition of biodiversity and what factors might determine the conservation status of a species on the Red List (hint: there are 4)?



Biodiversity: the amount of biological living diversity PER UNIT AREA (this last bit is intrinsic to the definition!). Biodiversity includes diversity of species, habitat and genetics (again, you need to know all these three!).



Factors that may determine the conservation status of a species on the Red List include...


Population size


Genetic diversity within a species


Number of adults capable of reproducing


Degree of endemicity


Rarity


Geographic range


Quality of the habitat


Habitat size


Specialised habitats (for instance where the prey of the species is rare)


Threats to the habitat or species



Remember you need to know at least one example of a specific named animal on the Red List and which, if any, factors put it specifically on the red list. You can find the Red List here: http://www.iucnredlist.org



Revision Tip!

You can group the Red List factors to help remember them into 5 that relate to reproduction (genetic diversity, reproducing adults, endemicity, rarity, population size) and 5 that relate to habitat and location (geographic range, quality of habitat, size of habitat, specialised habitat & threats to habitat).


Even if it is a 2 mark question remember that they may well want you to give at least 4 of these factors.



Any questions, please ask either here or in the Biology & ESS forum :)


  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...