Bio Terms

Question 1

What is sustainable use?

Answer 1

Using resources without compromising future generations’ needs.

Question 2

How does species biology factor into sustainability?

Answer 2

Species with slower reproduction (K-selected) are more vulnerable to overexploitation.

Question 3

What are r-selected species?

Answer 3

Short-lived, early reproduction, many offspring (e.g., insects, sardines).

Question 4

What are K-selected species?

Answer 4

Long-lived, fewer offspring, more care (e.g., elephants, whales).

Question 5

Example of aquatic overexploitation?

Answer 5

Overfishing, coral collection, whale hunting before moratorium.

Question 6

What’s the whaling moratorium?

Answer 6

A 1986 ban on commercial whaling; led to some species’ recovery.

Question 7

Why are parrots and reptiles common in pet trade?

Answer 7

They are colorful, exotic, and often illegally collected.

Question 8

What plants are targeted for poaching?

Answer 8

Orchids, cacti, succulents.

Question 9

Examples of trade in animal parts?

Answer 9

Ivory, rhino horn, tiger bones, lion trophies.

Question 10

What species cause cascading effects when overexploited?

Answer 10

Keystone species and top predators.

Question 11

What shared abiotic resource’s exploitation harms ecosystems?

Answer 11

Freshwater.

Question 12

What is an herbarium?

Answer 12

A collection of preserved plant specimens for study.

Question 13

How are herbarium specimens collected?

Answer 13

Pressed and dried in the field, then mounted with data.

Question 14

Uses of herbarium specimens?

Answer 14

Taxonomy, climate studies, education, conservation planning.

Question 15

What is a seed bank?

Answer 15

A facility storing seeds to preserve genetic diversity.

Question 16

What’s special about California flora?

Answer 16

High endemism and biodiversity; many species found nowhere else.

Question 17

What is a protected area?

Answer 17

A designated region for conserving biodiversity and ecosystems.

Question 18

What determines which areas are protected?

Answer 18

Species richness, endemism, threat levels, uniqueness.

Question 19

Species richness definition?

Answer 19

Number of species in a community.

Question 20

Relative abundance definition?

Answer 20

How common a species is relative to others.

Question 21

What is species diversity?

Answer 21

Combines richness and relative abundance.

Question 22

What does the Shannon Diversity Index measure?

Answer 22

Community diversity considering richness and evenness.

Question 23

What explains latitudinal species richness?

Answer 23

Time, productivity, and area hypotheses.

Question 24

What are megadiversity countries?

Answer 24

Nations with extremely high biodiversity (e.g., Brazil, Indonesia).

Question 25

What are biodiversity hotspots?

Answer 25

Areas with high endemism and high habitat loss.

Question 26

What are representative habitats?

Answer 26

Typical or unique ecosystems chosen for protection.

Question 27

What is the “Last of the Wild”?

Answer 27

Least human-impacted ecosystems on Earth.

Question 28

Diversity-Stability Hypothesis?

Answer 28

More diverse ecosystems are more stable and resilient.

Question 29

What is an indicator taxon?

Answer 29

A group used as a proxy for overall biodiversity.

Question 30

What is taxonomic distinctiveness?

Answer 30

Uniqueness of a species in the evolutionary tree.

Question 31

Strength of protected areas?

Answer 31

Long-term habitat and species protection.

Question 32

Weakness of protected areas?

Answer 32

Often small, poorly located, or under-enforced.

Question 33

Ideal reserve shape?

Answer 33

Large and round to reduce edge effects.

Question 34

Why do reserves not match the ideal shape?

Answer 34

Political boundaries, land use, human activity.

Question 35

Why is active management needed?

Answer 35

To maintain habitat, control threats, or assist species (e.g., butterfly example).

Question 36

What is a flagship species?

Answer 36

Charismatic species used for conservation campaigns.

Question 37

What is a sentinel species?

Answer 37

Species sensitive to environmental changes.

Question 38

What is a keystone species?

Answer 38

Species with disproportionate ecosystem impact.

Question 39

What is an umbrella species?

Answer 39

Protecting it benefits many others due to large range.

Question 40

Can a species be in multiple categories?

Answer 40

Yes (e.g., elephants = flagship, keystone, umbrella).

Question 41

What is the 30 by 30 project?

Answer 41

Goal to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030.

Question 42

First national park?

Answer 42

Yellowstone (1872).

Question 43

What's happening with US public lands now?

Answer 43

Underfunding, climate stress, development pressure.

Question 44

Three parameters of rarity?

Answer 44

Geographic range, habitat specificity, local population size.

Question 45

What is MVP (Minimum Viable Population)?

Answer 45

Smallest size needed for long-term survival.

Question 46

Challenge with estimating MVP?

Answer 46

Requires long-term data and depends on many variables.

Question 47

What is masked decline?

Answer 47

Stable adult population hides lack of reproduction.

Question 48

What is the 6th mass extinction?

Answer 48

Current extinction crisis caused by humans.

Question 49

What is the Living Planet Index?

Answer 49

Measures changes in global wildlife populations.

Question 50

What is Ne (Effective Population Size)?

Answer 50

Individuals contributing to next generation's gene pool.

Question 51

What is a genetic bottleneck?

Answer 51

Population crash reducing genetic diversity.

Question 52

How does genetic diversity help conservation?

Answer 52

Supports adaptability, reduces inbreeding risk.

Question 53

Why is gene flow important?

Answer 53

Introduces diversity, strengthens populations.

Question 54

How does hybridization affect conservation?

Answer 54

Can threaten species integrity or increase adaptability.

Question 55

What is ex situ conservation?

Answer 55

Preserving species outside their natural habitat.

Question 56

When is ex situ needed?

Answer 56

When in situ fails or extinction risk is extreme.

Question 57

Ex situ vs in situ?

Answer 57

Ex situ is backup; in situ preserves ecosystems.

Question 58

Plant material conserved ex situ?

Answer 58

Seeds, cuttings, tissue culture, whole plants.

Question 59

Advantages of captive breeding?

Answer 59

Prevents extinction, supports reintroduction.

Question 60

Challenges of captive breeding?

Answer 60

Costly, genetic issues, survival skill loss.

Question 61

What is reintroduction?

Answer 61

Releasing species into their former range.

Question 62

What is translocation?

Answer 62

Moving species to safer or new suitable habitats.

Question 63

What is population reinforcement?

Answer 63

Adding individuals to boost a struggling population.

Question 64

Example of reintroduction?

Answer 64

California condor, black-footed ferret.

Question 65

Why mixed results in ex situ programs?

Answer 65

Habitat loss, genetic problems, failure to address root threats.