A4.2. Conservation of biodiversity Flashcards
What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity is the variety of life in all its forms, levels, and combinations, including species diversity, genetic diversity, and ecosystem diversity.
How is biodiversity quantified at different levels of biological organization?
Biodiversity is measured at three main levels:
1 Genetic diversity – Variation in genes within a species.
2 Species diversity – Number of species in a given area.
3 Ecosystem diversity – Variety of habitats and ecological processes in a region.
How does the number of species on Earth today compare with past levels of biodiversity?
Current biodiversity is lower than past levels due to increasing extinction rates driven by human activity and environmental changes.
What is extinction?
Extinction is the permanent loss of all individuals of a species.
How many mass extinction events have occurred on Earth?
There have been five major mass extinction events in Earth’s history.
What are the causes and effects of past mass extinctions?
Causes include
volcanic activity
asteroid impacts
climate change
ocean anoxia.
Effects include the loss of species, changes in ecosystems, and opportunities for new species to evolve.
What does “anthropogenic” mean
Anthropogenic refers to environmental changes caused by human activity.
What are some anthropogenic causes of species extinction?
Habitat destruction, pollution, overexploitation, invasive species, and climate change.
How did the Moas become extinct?
Moas, large flightless birds from New Zealand, were driven to extinction by overhunting by humans and habitat destruction.
What caused the extinction of the Caribbean monk seal?
Overhunting and habitat degradation led to their extinction
What are some direct and indirect human causes of ecosystem loss?
Direct causes: Deforestation, urbanization, pollution.
Indirect causes: Climate change, economic development, policy failures.
What caused the loss of the mixed dipterocarp forest in Southeast Asia?
Deforestation due to palm oil plantations, illegal logging, and agriculture.
What caused the loss of the temperate rainforest in the Pacific Northwest?
Extensive logging and land conversion for agriculture and urban development.
What evidence can be monitored to assess biodiversity loss?
Species extinction rates
habitat destruction
genetic diversity decline
and population size reductions.
How are species richness and evenness used to track biodiversity?
Species richness measures the number of different species.
Species evenness looks at how evenly individuals are distributed among species.
What role do citizen scientists play in monitoring biodiversity?
They collect and report data on species populations, habitat changes, and biodiversity trends.
What is the difference between in situ and ex situ conservation?
In situ conservation: Protecting species in their natural habitat (e.g., national parks).
Ex situ conservation: Protecting species outside their natural habitat (e.g., zoos, seed banks).
What are the benefits of in situ conservation?
Preserves ecosystems
maintains natural behaviors
and supports ecological interactions.
What is rewilding?
The process of restoring ecosystems by reintroducing native species and natural processes.
Give examples of ex situ conservation programs.
Zoos, botanical gardens, captive breeding programs, and seed banks.
