Exam 8: Biodiversity and Conservation Biology

The species most often vulnerable to human impact is the ______________

The greatest cause of the worldwide loss of species is ______________.

Of the following, _________________ can change global species diversity.

The country of Belize depends on lobster for a major portion of its income, along with fishing and tourism. Over the past 30 years the average size of an individual lobster has dropped, even as increasing numbers of Belizeans buy boats, build lobster traps, and enter the industry. This is an example of _______________.

Choose the item that best matches each item in the following: -An area that supports an especially great diversity of endemic species

The greatest diversity (numbers of different species) of organisms can be found in _____________.

What is the value to a species of having genetic diversity?

The Convention on Biological Diversity has goals _______________.

Use the figure above to answer the following question -More greenhouse gas emissions will indirectly lead to ________________.

Read the following scenario and answer the question below. Many biologists and environmental educators are interested in maintaining biodiversity in urban landscapes, where preserves or reserves are scarce unless land has been set aside for them in urban planning. Nonetheless, they have discovered that making even small changes in commercial and residential landscaping can help promote biodiversity. Some of the changes that have been recommended and are having success are using native species for street trees and for decorative landscaping, reducing pesticide use on lawns and gardens and reducing fertilizer use through composting and mulching. Also, managers of schools, larger businesses and residences are encouraged to increase habitat diversity by creating ʺlandscape islandsʺ that include larger trees surrounded by shrubs and herbaceous plants. Landscape islands ideally should include native species, mixed with exotic ornamentals at the discretion of the land owners. -In addition to the butterfly project, you decide to stop spraying the pesticides that control lawn pests. Over the next year, you notice that the lawn grass doesnʹt grow as well, but many other species of plants invade the lawn, many of them native species. This will result in all of the following, except _______________.

European rabbits were introduced into Australia and quickly spread, reproduced, and became a terrible pest. They eat up to $600 million worth of food and pasture crops annually, and have damaged the populations of many native plants and the populations of animals that eat the plants. Twice in the past 50 years, rabbit diseases have been introduced to try to control the population, with some success. This is a case where _______________.

The field of conservation biology _____________.

Choose the item that best matches each item in the following: -Protected animals, such as tigers, that need large amounts of land

Choose the item that best matches each item in the following: -A population differentiating, over time, into a new species

What is the value to humankind of biodiversity in the organisms with which we share our planet?

Biodiversity enhances human food security because it ________________.

Wildlife in the Serengeti is currently threatened by _______________

The extinction of a particular population from a given area (but not the entire species globally) is called _______________.

Paleontologists and ecologists agree that _______________.

The IUCNʹs Red List is _________________.