Biodiversity and Species Distribution

Measuring Biodiverity

Open Ended

Warm up: How do you think scientists figure out how many species there are living within an ecosystem?

Learning Objectives. SWBAT:

• Define key terms such as Biodiversity, Species richness, and Species evenness

• Explain the importance of studying Biodiversity

• Identify different ways that biodiversity is studied. 

Ecosystem Richness

• Species richness is the number of different species represented in an ecological community, landscape or region.

• i.e. How many different species are present in a single ecosystem

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Ecosystem Evenness

• Species evenness refers to how close in numbers each species in an environment is.

• Mathematically explained as Diversity index.

• i.e. How do the populations of organisms compare? Is there more of one than another?

Open Ended

2. What types of methods did the scientists use to catch and identify different species?

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5. Bats are considered “Indicator species.” What does this mean?

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8.How can surveying the biodiversity in Gorongosa National Park help protect the different plants and animals that live there

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1.What methods did you see the scientists using in this video to collect and survey different ant species?

Open Ended

2.How many different species of ants did Dr. Alonso find in Gorongosa National Park?

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4.“Conservation” means “to help protect”. How do you think the scientist’s work in this video helps to protect the different ant species in Gorongosa National Park?