BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

Question 1

• variety of all life on earth. It also pertains to the
• relative abundance and richness of the different traits, species, and ecosystems in a particular area or region.
• The biodiversity we see today is the outcome of over 3.5 billion years of evolutionary history, shaped by natural processes and increasingly, by the influence of humans.
• forms the web of life of which we are an integral part and upon which we fully depend

Answer 1

BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

Question 2

, of which Philippines is one of the 154 member countries who signed the declaration, defines biodiversity as the variability among living organisms from all source, including inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems, and the ecological
* Complexes of which they are part: this includes diversity within species, between
species and of ecosystems.

Answer 2

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, brazil in 1992)

Question 2

defined biodiversity as the ensemble and the interactions of the genetic, the species, and the ecological diversity in a given place and at a given time.

Answer 2

Zamora (1997)

Question 2

defined it as the wealth of life on earth, the millions of plants, animals an microorganisms, the genes they contain, and the intricate ecosystems they help build into the living environment.

Answer 2

World Wild Fund for Nature (1989)

Question 3

Types of Biological Diversity

Answer 3

Genetic diversity
Species diversity
Ecosystem/ Ecological diversity

Question 3

• variations among the genetic resources of the organisms.
• A gene is a unit of hereditary information consisting of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA.
• High genetic diversity indicates populations that can more easily adapt to changing situations and environments, and also greater assortment of materials than can be found, increasing the chances of finding a useful compound (Bernhardt, 1999).

Answer 3

Genetic diversity

Question 4

• variety of different types of species found in a particular area.

Answer 4

Species diversity

Question 4

• variety of different types of species found in a particular area. It includes terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems.

Answer 4

Ecosystem/ Ecological diversity

Question 5

• unit of interaction between the biotic community and its physical environment in a given area. It is a self-contained community of microorganisms, animals and plants that interact with each other and with their physical environment.”

Answer 5

Ecosystem

Question 6

What do we get from biodiversity?

Answer 6

1. Oxygen
2. Food
3. Clean Water
4. Medicine
5. Aesthetics
6. Lumber
7. Ideas

Question 6

• supports healthy ecosystems.
• essential part of the solution to climate change
• good for the economy.
• integral part of culture and identity.
• provides raw materials like lumber, food, spices etc.
• provides opportunities for recreational activities, such as bird watching, scuba diving, snorkeling, and nature photography.
• serves as the source of medicine.

Answer 6

Importance of Biodiversity

Question 7

claims that in terms of biodiversity, the Philippine was 5th in the world as to number of plant species; 8th in the world list of endemic plants; 4th in endemic birds; 5th in endemic mammals; and 8th in endemic reptiles.

Answer 7

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR 2009)

Question 7

List of identified endemic species

Answer 7

1. Rafflesia manillana
2. Vanda sanderiana (waling-waling)
3. Pithecophaga jefferyi (monkey-eating eagle
4. Rhyncodon typus
5. Tridacna gigas (giant clam)
6. Pandaka pygmea (dwarf goby)
7. Tarsius syrichta (tarsier
8. Tragalus nigricans
9. Tylonycteris pachpus (bamboo bat)
   10.Pisidum
   11.Connus gloriamaris
   12.Cervus alfredi
   13.Bubalus mindorensis (tamarau or dwarf water buffalo)

Question 8

• world’s largest flower

Answer 8

Rafflesia manillana

Question 8

• largest bird

Answer 8

Pithecophaga jefferyi (monkey-eating eagle)

Question 9

• world’s largest orchid species.

Answer 9

Vanda sanderiana (waling-waling)

Question 10

• largest fish

Answer 10

Rhyncodon typus

Question 10

• smallest freshwater fish

Answer 10

Pandaka pygmea (dwarf goby)

Question 11

• largest seashell

Answer 11

Tridacna gigas (giant clam)

Question 11

• smallest primate

Answer 11

Tarsius syrichta (tarsier)

Question 12

• smallest hoofed mamma

Answer 12

Tragalus nigricans

Question 12

• smallest bat

Answer 12

Tylonycteris pachpus (bamboo bat)

Question 13

• tiniest shell in the world

Answer 13

Pisidum

Question 13

• most endangered deer

Answer 13

Cervus alfredi

Question 14

• most expensive shells in the world

Answer 14

Connus gloriamaris

Question 15

• top ten most endangered species in the world and the largest endangered animal.

Answer 15

Bubalus mindorensis (tamarau or dwarf water buffalo

Question 16

described the 121 endemic mammals as critically endangered.

Answer 16

The Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Priority-setting Program (PBCPP)

Question 17

BASAHIN!!!!!!!!!

Answer 17

• One indication that a species may be endangered is a dwindling in numbers.
• The list of endangered species is long and growing.
• In the 2000 Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural resources (IUCN), of the 52,177 species in the Philippines, 418 were listed as threatened.
• The Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Priority-setting Program (PBCPP) described the 121 endemic mammals as critically endangered.
• The Bird Life International listed 116 of species of birds in the country are threatened or near threatened.
• According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources report (2010), out of 584 wildlife in the country, 72% are already threatened with extinction.
• Several species of plants, frogs, reptiles and insects remain to be documented. Unfortunately, several species were believed to have vanished without being identified.

Question 18

• Domestic agriculture and industrial wastes are poorly treated and are often discharged into the sea, and to other bodies of water, such as rivers and lakes.
• Pollution can lead to diseases and pollution stresses, such as coral bleaching on reefs

Answer 18

Environmental Pollution

Question 18

• Commercial logging, community logging, timber poaching, and kaingin (slash and burn agriculture).
• In mangrove ecosystem, the extraction of fuel and construction ma

Answer 18

Over-exploitation/ Over-hunting/ Over-harvesting/ Over-fishing

Question 19

• In coral reefs, coastal development, aquaculture, agriculture, and land-cover change increasing sediments and nutrients outflow onto reefs, and the muro-ami fishing technique.
• The development of fishponds (aquaculture) in mangrove forest

Answer 19

Habitat Loss/Habitat destruction/ Habitat alteration

Question 19

• Drastic changes in the atmosphere can have catastrophic effects such as increase concentration of greenhouse gases and destruction of forest.

Answer 19

Climate Change

Question 19

• Invasive species are greater threat to native biodiversity than pollution, harvest, and disease combined (Simberloff, 2000).
• It can cause alterations either within species groups or within the environment.

Answer 19

Invasive species or Non-native species

Question 20

The underlying causes of Philippine biodiversity loss are:
a. Population growth and increasing resource consumption
b. Ignorance about species and ecosystems
c. Poorly conceived policies and poor law enforcement
d. Effects of global trading systems
e. Inequity of resource distribution
f. Apathy or failure to account for the value of biodiversity, and

Answer 20

Underlying Causes of the Loss of Philippine Biodiversity

Question 20

• Worldwide, over 191 million hectares have been planted with genetically modified crops as of 2018, particularly herbicide and pest-resistant canola, cotton, corn and soybeans.
• The United States had the largest area worldwide of GM crops, followed by Brazil, Argentina, Canada and India (Shahbandeh, 2019).
• The first commercially available GM food was called the Flavr Savr tomato that had an antisense gene that increased its shelf life and delayed ripening ( Bruening and Lyons, 2000). Designed by researchers at Calgene (now a division of Monsanto, Inc.).
• Monsanto is the leading company in genetically modified crop based on revenue.

Answer 20

GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS

Question 21

are organisms whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques, which is a direct manipulation of an organisms genome.

Answer 21

GMOs or Genetically Modified Organisms

Question 22

• responsible for the loss of large numbers of silkworm in Japan. A few years thereafter, in 1911,

Answer 22

Sotto Disease

Question 22

− variant that has been genetically altered to express more proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis which produces a bacterial toxin including Delta-toxins.
− Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a bacterium found in soil that are toxic to some insects when eaten, but not others.
− The era of Bt had its beginning in 1901, a Japanese scientist named Shigeta Ishiwata isolated a bacterium from dead silkworm larvae while he was investigating the cause of the so called “sotto disease”

Answer 22

Bt corn

Question 23

isolated a related strain from dead Mediterranean flour moth larvae in the German state Thuringia. He named the organism Bacillus thuringiensis. The bacterium has been used as an insecticide since 1938.

Answer 23

German scientist Ernst Berliner

Question 23

are part of a growing industry that is clouded by controversy, fear and suspicion.

Answer 23

Genetically Modified Organisms

Question 24

BASAHIN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 24

• Genetically Modified Organisms are part of a growing industry that is clouded by controversy, fear and suspicion.
• Technology must be evaluated to accurately determine the relationship between GM foods and human health.
• For instance, damage from weed infestation destroys crops worldwide.
• Cultivating GM crops has provided significant benefits to farmers globally to combat this problem. Several of the main reasons for generating transgenic crops
  include increased nutritional value of crops like maize with improved protein and golden rice fortified with Vitamin A and Iron.
• GMOs also improved the growth characteristics and yield of agriculturally valuable crops which often enhanced color and taste, enhanced production or reduction of enzymes, and prolonged shelf life.
• With the use of GMO crops, there will be less use for herbicides/ pesticides, and lower cost for cultivation and labor. Additionally, it provides crop resistance against insect and viral pests, drought and herbicides. This could help farmers to reduce the use of fertilizer and pesticides, controlling the purity of the hybrid
  seeds that ensures higher yields and increase potential growth and harvest.
• Despite the promising claims of GMOs, there have been many controversies and issues whether genetically modified food is less healthy than non-genetically modified food.
• A major concern in the use and consumption of GMOs include promote the development of pesticide resistant pests.
• Introduction of the GMOs in the natural environment may cause disruption of the natural communities through competition interference.
• Potential risk of the modified gene to be transferred from the GMO crop to its wild relative or organism in the soil. Emergence of new forms resistance and secondary pests and weed problems might ensue.
• GM crops express concerns about allergenicity. Consumption of GMOs may have adverse effects since it is not naturally or organically produced. It may alter the balance of existing microorganisms in the body and production of toxins may be detrimental to human health.
• GM crop can be both expensive and time consuming since it is performed in the laboratory. Although the debate about GM food is active. Scientists and researchers continue to pave the way for GMO- a path that leads to an unimaginable array of benefits, but also raises extremely important questions.