Case Studies

Question 1

Everglades

Answer 1

wood stork: limited water to concentrate food sources in pools
snail kite: long wet periods
issue; one degradation for one species may mean enhancement for another

Question 2

2 ways of defining degradation by conservation biologist and ecosystem ecologist

Answer 2

conservation biologist : loss of structural attributes or abundance and diversity of species

ecosystem ecologist : changes in ecosystem function such as loss of productivity

Question 3

redundancy

Answer 3

ecosystem function all be unaffected by loss of a species if another species performed the same function

Question 4

what did studies on redundancy show

Answer 4

strong effects of changed biodiversity even though the species used performed the same function

redundant species may act as insurance to environmental change

increased biodiversity result in inreased invasion resistance