Chapter 1: Biodiveristy

Question 1

what species are included in biodiversity?

Answer 1

all eukaryotic species

Question 2

how many eukaryotic species have been named and described?

Answer 2

2.1 million

Question 3

number of animals

Answer 3

1.5 million

Question 4

what group is the animal kingdom dominated by?

Answer 4

insects, especially beetles

Question 5

percentage of vertebrate species in all eukaryotes

Answer 5

<4%

Question 6

what animal makes up almost half of all describes vertebrate species?

Answer 6

fishes

Question 7

terrestrial vertebrates comprised _____ of eukaryotic species on earth

Answer 7

~2%

Question 8

but how many species are there really?

Answer 8

• hard to find species tucked away in remote places
• less attention for less charismatic species
• morphologically similar but with DNA shows differences
• crazy worlds of species within each individual

Question 9

what approach helps improve our estimates of biodiversity?

Answer 9

molecular DNA

Question 10

wildlife =

Answer 10

vertebrate species

Question 11

wildlife definition

Answer 11

free-living, undomesticated vertebrate species

Question 12

examples of wildlife

Answer 12

• mammals
• birds
• reptiles
• amphibians
• fishes

Question 13

wildlife in biodiversity

Answer 13

the very small (<4%) subset of biodiversity

Question 14

why care about biodiversity/wildlife?

Answer 14

• ecosystem services
• storehouse of raw materials & services
• emotional, cultural, educational, spiritual, inspirational, and soul-filling values

Question 15

what contributes to a species influence on its community & ecosystem?

Answer 15

• local density
• geographic range
• per capita impact of each member of the species

Question 16

modern rate of population change 1960-2022

Answer 16

• human population growth reached its peak of 2.2% increase per year in the 1960s
• then began to decline, but stayed positive

Question 17

why did population begin to decline but stay positive?

Answer 17

vital rates

Question 18

population growth is all about the vital rates

Answer 18

• increases from 1800 to 1970 largely driven by increased survival
• since ~1970s survival has continued to increase only a little bit while fertility has sharply decreases
• this has driven a decline in population growth rate

Question 19

survival cant go much higher, but…

Answer 19

• reproduction is decreasing (esp in urbanized worlds)
• births likely match deaths in a few decades, but growth will continue

Question 19

when will our population trajectory flatten?

Answer 19

by the end of this century

Question 20

why does growth continue in populations?

Answer 20

population momentum

Question 21

reasons why reproduction is decreasing

Answer 21

• less push for larger families needed for chores, hedge against infant mortality
• women more employable, better pay, more access to education
• education reduces the total number offspring and increases age of 1st reproduction

Question 22

population momentum

Answer 22

all age classes are not created equal in effects on population growth