BIOL 103 Study Guide - Final Guide: Speciation, Ecosystem Diversity, Species Richness
21 Jul 2016
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Document Summary
Biodiversity can be measured & analyzed at several levels. Genetic diversity: the total genetic information contained within all individuals of species, measured as the number and relative frequency of all alleles present in a species: technological breakthrough of cataloguing genetic diversity. Species diversity: the variety of life-forms on earth, measured as the number and relative frequency of species in a particular region: documenting species diversity. Barcoding: the use of a well-characterized gene sequence to identify distinct species, using the phylogenetic species concept: speciation increase species diversity extinction decreases it. The 3 levels of biodiversity aren"t independent of each other: genetic and species diversity change due to the different number and types of individuals present, and ecosystem diversity is altered due to the change in abiotic conditions. In order to assess biodiversity, the first bit of information needed is the number of species that exist today.
