Conservation Flashcards
How many major mass extinctions have happened in earths history
5
What is the 6th potential mass extinction
Climate change
What are examples of how humans modify the ecosystem
Cod (overfishing)
Stellar sea cow
What is DNA barcoding
Labeling species to help find poachers & trade of protected species
What are hotspots
Places with high levels of biodiversity
What can biodiversity be measured as?
Chemical diversity
What creates fragmentation
Habitat loss
What does habitat loss cause
Extinction and makes conservation harder
What is a major problem as habitats are fragmented and shrink in size
The edge effect
What is the edge effect
Changes in population or community structures that occur at boundary of 2 habitats
What do scientist speculate that African animals coevolved w in Africa that stopped extinction from occurring
Humans
What is a keystone
An organism whose decline or removal from a habitat causes species # to change dramatically
What does endemic mean
Species doing naturally in only one geopraphic area and nowhere else
What happens not long after humans arrive in an area
Rapid Extinction of larger animals
What is assumed to be the driving factor regarding megafungal extinction?
Homo sapiens