Biodiversity & Population
The number of different species present in an ecosystem is known as this.
What is species richness?
Temperature, water availability and light intensity are examples of this type of environmental factor.
What are abiotic factors?
The four nitrogenous bases found in DNA.
What are adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine?
This process uses the information in mRNA to assemble a sequence of amino acids.
What is translation?
The change in allele frequencies within a population over generations is called this.
What is microevolution?
This describes how evenly individuals are distributed among the different species in a community.
What is species evenness?
Competition, predation and disease are examples of this type of environmental factor.
What are biotic factors?
DNA replication is described by this term because each new DNA molecule contains one original strand and one newly synthesised strand.
What is semi-conservative replication?
This molecule carries a specific amino acid to a ribosome during translation.
What is tRNA?
The process in which individuals with advantageous heritable characteristics have greater reproductive success.
What is natural selection?
This sampling technique uses a frame of known area to estimate the abundance or distribution of organisms.
What is quadrat sampling?
The specific role of an organism within its ecosystem is known as this.
What is its ecological niche?
The enzyme responsible for joining DNA nucleotides together during DNA replication.
What is DNA polymerase?
This laboratory technique can rapidly produce millions of copies of a target DNA sequence.
What is PCR / polymerase chain reaction?
This type of speciation occurs when populations become geographically isolated from one another.
What is allopatric speciation?
This sampling method is most appropriate when organisms are distributed along an environmental gradient, such as moving from the shoreline inland.
What is a transect?
This type of succession begins in an area where there is no existing soil.
What is primary succession?
The process in which the information contained in DNA is used to produce an mRNA molecule.
What is transcription?
These enzymes recognise specific DNA sequences and cut DNA at or near those locations.
What are restriction enzymes?
Similar structures inherited from a common ancestor, such as the forelimbs of humans, whales and bats, are called these.
What are homologous structures?
Two communities have identical species richness, but Community A has much more similar abundances among its species. Community A has more of this characteristic.
What is species evenness?
A species that has a disproportionately large effect on ecosystem structure relative to its abundance is given this name.
What is a keystone species?
During meiosis, homologous chromosomes exchange sections of DNA at these points, increasing genetic variation.
What are chiasmata?
DNA fragments move through a gel at different rates primarily according to this property.
What is DNA fragment size/length?
In a population, individuals at both extremes of a phenotype have greater reproductive success than individuals with the intermediate phenotype. This type of natural selection is occurring.
What is disruptive selection?