ES 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Keystone Species, Bushmeat, Brook Trout

• School: NCSU
• Department: Environmental Science
• Course: ES 100
• Professor: Stephanie Jeffries

Document Summary

Genetic diversity - measures variety of different versions of same genes within a species. Species diversity - measures number of different kinds of organisms within a community. Ecological diversity - measures richness and complexity of a community. Species richness - total number of species in a community. Species evenness - relative abundance of individuals within each species. Currently 1. 7 million species named and identified. Drugs example: canada yew, just on the edge of its range in nc. Produces taxol, used to make tamoxifen (breast cancer drug). More than half of all modern medicines contain some natural product from a wild species. Pharmaceutical companies actively prospect tropical countries for products. Sharing profits provides an incentive to preserve native species. Soil formation, waste disposal, air and water purification, nutrient cycling, solar energy absorption, and biogeochemical and hydrological cycles all depend on biodiversity. We do not fully understand biological communities. Loss of a seemingly insignificant species can be damaging. (leopold)