CIE

A-Level Biology
Topic 18

Biodiversity,
classification and
conservation
Exam questions

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1.

(a) Complete Table 8.1 to show the loss of forest cover and the percentage loss of forest cover for
Borneo between 2000 and 2010.

[2]

(b)

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 [Total 11 marks]

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2.

3.

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4. Fig. 1.1 shows a snow leopard, Panthera uncia. The habitat of the snow leopard is the high mountains
of Central Asia.

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5. (a)     A student investigated the diversity of plants at several sites on a golf course. At each
site she took a large number of random samples.

(i)      Explain the importance of taking a large number of samples at each site.

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(1)

(ii)     Explain the importance of taking samples at random.

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(1)

The student collected data from one part of the golf course and calculated an
index of diversity.

The table shows her data.

 
Species Number of
 
plants per m 2

  Sheep’s fescue 11

  Creeping buttercup 6

  Clover 5

  Dandelion 2

  Sheep’s sorrel 1

  Lady’s bedstraw 7

  Stemless thistle 4

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 The index of diversity can be calculated from the formula

                          

Where

d  =  Index of diversity.
N  = Total number of organisms of all species.
n  =  Total number of organisms of each species.

(b)     Use the formula to calculate the index of diversity for the plants on this part of the
golf course. Show your working.

                                             Answer .....................................................
(2)

(c)     The golf course was surrounded by undeveloped grassland from which it had been
produced.
The golf course had:

•        Some areas of very short grass, which was cut frequently.

•        Some areas of longer grass, which was cut less frequently.

•        Some areas of long grass and shrubs, which were never cut.

The index of diversity for insects on the golf course was higher than that for the
surrounding undeveloped grassland.

Explain the effect of developing this golf course on the index of diversity of insects.

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(Extra space) .................................................................................................

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(3)
(Total 7 marks)

6. Table 1 shows how a bird called the bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) is classified by biologists.

Table 1
 
Taxon Name of taxon

Domain Eukaryota

Animalia

Chordata

Aves

Passeriformes

Muscicapidae

Genus

Species

(a)     Complete Table 1 by filling the seven blank spaces with the correct terms.
(2)

A group of scientists investigated genetic diversity in different species of bird. For

each species, the scientists:
•        Collected feathers from a large number of birds.
•        Extracted DNA from cells attached to each feather.
•        Analysed the samples of DNA to find genetic diversity.

Table 2 summarises their results.

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 Table 2
 
Species of bird Number of genes Number of genes
examined examined that showed
genetic diversity

Willow flycatcher 708 197

House finch 269 80

Bluethroat 232 81

(b)     In this investigation, what is meant by genetic diversity?

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(1)

(c)     The scientists concluded that the bluethroat showed greater genetic diversity than the
willow flycatcher. Explain why they reached this conclusion. Use calculations to
support your answer.

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(2)
(Total 5 marks)

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7.

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8.

[Total 6 marks]

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9. Species richness and an index of diversity can be used to measure biodiversity within a
community.

(a)     What is the difference between these two measures of biodiversity?

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(1)

Scientists investigated the biodiversity of butterflies in a rainforest. Their

investigation lasted several months.

The scientists set one canopy trap and one understorey trap at five sites.

•        The canopy traps were set among the leaves of the trees 16–27m above ground
level.
•        The understorey traps were set under trees at 1.0–1.5m above ground level.

The scientists recorded the number of each species of butterfly caught in the traps.
The table on the following page summarises their results.

 
Species of butterfly Mean number of butterflies P value

In canopy In understorey

Prepona laertes 15 0 < 0.001

Archaeoprepona
14 37 < 0.001
demophon

Zaretis itys 25 11 > 0.05

Memphis arachne 89 23 < 0.001

Memphis offa 21 3 < 0.001

Memphis xenocles 32 8 < 0.001

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 (b)     The traps in the canopy were set at 16–27m above ground level. Suggest why there
was such great variation in the height of the traps.

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(1)

(c)     By how many times is the species diversity in the canopy greater than in the
understory? Show your working.

Use the following formula to calculate species diversity,

d=

where N is the total number of organisms of all species and n is the total number of
organisms of each species.

Answer = ...................................
(3)

(d)     The scientists carried out a statistical test to see if the difference in the distribution of
each species between the canopy and understorey was due to chance. The P values
obtained are shown in the table.

Explain what the results of these statistical tests show.

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 ........................................................................................................................
(3)
(Total 8 marks)

10.

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