Topic 1 – Biological Diversity and Survival – PART I
Biological Diversity
______________________________ is the number and variety of organisms
WHY IS BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY IMPORTANT?
Diversity
What is the world didn’t have mosquitoes?
Wouldn’t it be magical?
 If we could get rid of them, would it have an affect on anything else? (positively,
negatively?)
People benefit from __________________________but so does the eco-system
Variation
What are __________________?
 Distinctive characteristics or features that make living things different.
 CAN YOU THINK OF ANY EXAMPLES?
Variations within a Species
A ___________________ is any type of plant or animal
Dogs, cedars, etc.
 Organisms are grouped together as a species if:
They interbreed in nature
Their offspring are able to breed
 Can you think of an animal that cannot breed?
 What does “flora” and “fauna” mean?
Variation among species
How did we get so much diversity?
 Scientists study this question on islands
WHY ISLANDS???
We looked at cat families – lynx, house cat, tiger, etc.
 Overtime, one type of cat evolved into a variety of similar but separate species
 This is called __________________________
Much of Earths diversity is due to speciation.
The Galapagos Finches
Galapagos Islands – located off the west coast of South America – The Islands are volcanic in
nature
Each island had very different eco-systems (dry with cacti, humid forests)
On the Island are 13 species of birds (finches)
Discovered by Charles Darwin
These finches had differences between them… we are going to discover these differences.
Questions
1. Study the diagram of the different
finches. What is the major
PHYSICAL difference between the
species? Form a hypothesis that
might explain the difference between
the woodpecker finch and the cactus
finch.
2. What sorts of food might different
species of finches eat and why?
Variations for Survival
Every organism has adaptations for their environment
 How do most plants get nutrients?
The Pitcher Plant eats bugs to get nitrogen
 Found in northeastern Alberta
This kind of adaptation is called a __________________________
 When do owls hunt?
They are nocturnal which is a ____________________________
How do owls differ from birds that feed during the day?
Why is variation important?
Mountain Pine Beetles destroy lodge pole pine – Why should we care?
 If a forest has variation, and disease/bugs attack one species, the forest will still remain
even though one species is under attack