Chapter 7: Biodiversity & A Healthy Society

Question 1

The sum of an area’s organisms, considering the diversity of species, their genes, their populations, and their communities.

Answer 1

Biodiversity / biological diversity.

Question 2

The best-known spokesperson for biodiversity.

An accomplished scientist and writer, he has raised awareness of threats to Earth’s life, and of impending species extinctions.

Answer 2

Edward O. Wilson.

Question 3

Biodiversity exists on three (3) levels, which are?

Answer 3

1. Genetic diversity
2. Species diversity
3. Ecosystem diversity

Question 4

The number or variety of species in a particular region.

Answer 4

Species diversity.

Question 5

Refers to the number of species.

Answer 5

Species richness.

Question 6

The extent to which numbers of different species are equal or skewed.

Answer 6

Evenness, or relative abundance.

Question 7

A particular type of organism; a population or group of populations whose members share certain characteristics and can freely breed with one another and produce fertile offspring.

Answer 7

Species.

Question 8

Includes the differences in DNA composition among individuals within a given species.

Answer 8

Genetic diversity.

Question 9

Includes diversity above the species level.

Answer 9

Ecosystem diversity.

Question 10

Three (3) alternative ways to categorize ecosystem diversity.

Answer 10

1. Community diversity
2. Habitat diversity
3. Landscape diversity

Question 11

Each species is classified within a hierarchy reflecting the evolutionary diversification of life.

Answer 11

Species and taxonomy.

Question 12

Geographic variations within species.

Answer 12

Subspecies.

Question 13

Roughly how many species have been formally described by science?

Answer 13

1.75 million species.

Question 14

The estimated range of the total number of species in the world is equal to?

Answer 14

3 million to 100 million.

Question 15

Three (3) reasons why we are still so unsure of the number of species on Earth.

Answer 15

1. Some areas remain little explored (hydrothermal vents, rainforest canopies, tropical soils)
2. Many species are tiny and inconspicuous (microbes, roundworms, protists, fungi…)
3. Some species are very similar in appearance (many taxa, even trees, birds, whales)

Question 16

Comprise more than half of all species in world.

Answer 16

Insects.

Question 17

Beetles comprise ___ of all insects.

Answer 17

40%.

Question 18

Mammals are outnumbered by spiders and their relatives by?

Answer 18

16 to 1.

Question 19

This is when an ancestral species give rise to many species that fill different niches, adapting to them by natural selection.

Answer 19

Adaptive radiation.

Question 20

Species richness increases toward the equator.

Answer 20

Latitudinal gradient.

Question 21

Last member of a species dies and the species vanishes forever from Earth.

Answer 21

Extinction.

Question 22

Disappearance of a particular population, but not the entire species globally.

Answer 22

Extirpation.

Question 23

The background rate of extinction?

Answer 23

One species goes extinct naturally every 500–1000 years.

Question 24

Earth has experienced how many mass extinction events in which over half its species were wiped out suddenly?

Answer 24

Five (5).

Question 25

Lists species that today are facing high risks of extinction.

Answer 25

Red List (from International Union for Conservation of Nature or IUCN).

Question 26

How many species are known to have gone extinct in the past 400 years?

Answer 26

1100 species.

Question 27

Five (5) causes of species extinction. First letters spell the word "HIPPO."

Answer 27

Habitat alteration Invasive species Pollution Population growth Overexploitation

Question 28

The greatest cause of extinction today. Accounts for 85% of population declines of birds and mammals.

Answer 28

Habitat alteration.

Question 29

Habitat alteration happens due to at least four (4) factors, which are?

Answer 29

1. Forest clearing 2. Urban development 3. Agriculture 4. Global climate change

Question 30

The accidental or intentional introduction of exotic species to new areas. Second-worst threat to biodiversity.

Answer 30

Invasive species.

Question 31

Refers to air and water pollution; agricultural runoff, industrial chemicals, etc. Does serious and widespread harm, but is not as threatening as the other elements of HIPPO.

Answer 31

Pollution.

Question 32

Exacerbates every other environmental problem. Along with increased resource consumption, it is the ultimate reason behind proximate threats to biodiversity.

Answer 32

Population growth.

Question 33

Overharvesting of species from the wild and overconsumption of resources. It is not the sole cause of extinction, but it often contributes in tandem with other causes.

Answer 33

Overexploitation.

Question 34

Ten (10) benefits of biodiversity.

Answer 34

1. Food, fuel, and fiber 2. Shelter and building materials 3. Air and water purification 4. Waste decomposition 5. Climate stabilization and moderation 6. Nutrient cycling 7. Soil fertility 8. Pollination 9. Pest control 10. Genetic resources

Question 35

Another benefit of biodiversity, in which many species not now commonly used for food could be.

Answer 35

Food security.

Question 36

Another benefit of biodiversity, in which many species can provide novel medicines; we don’t want to drive these extinct without ever discovering their uses.

Answer 36

Medicine.

Question 37

Another benefit of biodiversity, in that for all nations, ecotourism can be a major contributor to the economy—especially for developing nations rich in biodiversity.

Answer 37

Economic benefits.

Question 38

Refers to the human love for and attachment to other living things. “The connections that human beings subconsciously seek out with the rest of life.”

Answer 38

Biophilia.

Question 39

Occurs as continuous forest habitat gets broken up gradually. This leads to local extirpations of forest species, as fragments become too small to support them, and too distant to allow immigration.

Answer 39

Forest fragmentation.

Question 40

An example are large species with large home ranges (like tigers and other top predators). When habitat is preserved to meet the needs of this kind of species, it helps preserve habitat for many other species.

Answer 40

Umbrella species.

Question 41

A newly suggested conservation approach that uses molecular techniques to clone endangered or even extinct species, raise them in zoos, and reintroduce them to the wild.

Answer 41

Cloning.

Question 42

This bans international trade and transport of body parts of endangered organisms. Prepared in 1973.

Answer 42

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Question 43

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), from the Rio Conference in 1992, has three (3) aims, which are?

Answer 43

1. Conserve biodiversity 2. Use it sustainably 3. Ensure fair distribution of its benefits

Question 44

An area that supports an especially high number of species endemic to the area, found nowhere else in the world.

Answer 44

Biodiversity hotspot.