Habitat Loss, Degradation, and Fragmentation - exam 2

Question 1

Define:
habitat conversion/transformation
habitat loss
habitat degradation
habitat fragmentation
What % of earth’s surface has been transformed by humans? What % is considered degraded or unsustainably used?

Answer 1

Question 2

What types of habitat have been most heavily impacted by habitat loss?
Which are predicted to suffer the most future losses?

Answer 2

Question 3

How much native vegetation cover remains in the US?
Which 3 states have the greatest numbers of threatened ecosystems?

Answer 3

Question 4

What is the number 1 land use that leads to habitat loss/degradation/fragmentation? What factors related to this use determine its impacts on biodiversity?
What are 5 other major causes of land degradation?

Answer 4

Question 5

Describe the steps in the process of habitat fragmentation.
Define habitat patch and matrix.
Describe habitat shredding and tentacles.

Answer 5

Question 6

How does natural disturbance affect habitat heterogeneity? What is this pattern called?
How does this affect the species on the landscape, and at what scale(s)?
What are some examples?

Answer 6

Question 7

Compare natural patchiness vs. human-caused fragmentation.
connectivity
unique features
structure
contrast/edge

Answer 7

Question 8

What is habitat contrast?

Answer 8

Question 9

What are edge effects and why are they important?
How are they affected by habitat patch size?

Answer 9

Question 10

With regards to fragmentation, what is initial exclusion? What is the lifeboat effect?
How might the lifeboat effect be misleading to biodiversity assessments?

Answer 10

lifeboat effect can lead to an intial increase in species density before relaxation occurs

Question 11

Describe insularization and area-sensitive species.

Answer 11

area-sensitive probably due to edge effects

Question 12

What is the matrix effect?
What underlying factors cause it?

Answer 12

Question 13

What are metapopulations?
What is colonization capacity, and what factors influence it?
What is a good example of this?

Answer 13

Question 14

Describe source/sink metapopulation dynamics.

Answer 14

Question 15

Generally describe the effects of habitat fragmentation on Florida’s 2 smallest populations of black bears.

Answer 15

Question 16

What is one tool that is being used to maintain connectivity where roads fragment the landscape?

Answer 16

Question 17

Describe fragmentation, insularization, and homogenization caused by invasive species.

Answer 17

Question 18

What are some ecosystem services provided by forests?

Answer 18

Question 19

How much forest (%) has been lost globally in the past 300 years?
How many countries have lost over 90% of their forest? 100?
What is the least forested continent besides Antarctica?
What continent has the highest current rate of forest loss?
What proportion of humans practice slash and burn?
What is the most at risk type of forest, and how much has been lost?

Answer 19

Question 20

What % of the world’s terrestrial species live in the Amazon Rain Forest (ARF)?
What is it often called because of its effects on climate regulation?
How much of the ARF has been lost as of 2022?
What kinds of activities are leading to its loss?
What is happening in the eastern section of the ARF and why is that important?

Answer 20

Question 21

What did overexploitation of forests in the US lead to in the late 1800s?

Answer 21

Question 22

How much (%) forest has KY lost?
What is unique/important about KY forests (2 things)?
What portion of KY forests are privately/publicly owned?

Answer 22

Question 23

What are 2 major extractive causes of landscape-scale forest loss in North America?

Answer 23

Question 24

What are grasslands, and how much of our 2 major types (?) have we lost in the US?

Answer 24

Question 25

How much urbanization (acres) per day and per year is happening in KY? What is the "golden triangle" and what is happening there? How much farmland (%) has KY lost to urbanization in the past 40 years?

Answer 25

Question 26

What are wetlands and what are the 3 characteristics that define them? What are major threats to wetlands? What % of streams in the US and globally run unimpeded? What percent of fish and mussels that are federally listed are affected by impoundments (dams)? What are other major threats to these species?

Answer 26

Question 27

Describe the distribution of wetlands in the US, and the distribution of their greatest losses (% of original extent). What % of wetlands has KY lost? What about the US? How much economic benefit do wetlands provide?

Answer 27

## Footnote 50% loss in US $100B in economic benefits

Question 28

What is hydrological connectivity? What are examples of deleterious downtream human activities and their effects upstream in the system?

Answer 28

Question 29

What are 2 international and 3 US water bodies that are suffering catastrophic habitat loss and degradation?

Answer 29

## Footnote in addition to pollution and overuse, the reduced water volume causes concentration of otherwise normal contents (like salt) causing the remaining water to become toxic to widlife

Question 30

What % of the human population lives within 60 miles of a coastline? What % of coastal systems are highly modified? What are the 5 biggest threats to coastal ecosystems?

Answer 30

Question 31

What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? What is the major culprit?

Answer 31

Question 32

Explain eutrophication and hypoxic dead zones. Where do some of these occur?

Answer 32

Question 33

Besides eutrophication, what are some other major pollution sources in marine systems?

Answer 33

Question 34

What is hydrological fragmentation and what are some major species groups affected by it in the US?

Answer 34

## Footnote rivers broken up by dams, other impediments

Question 35

Name and define 4 types of measurements we can use to assess habitat loss and fragmentation.

Answer 35

Question 36

What are 6 broad categories of species that are especially vulnerable to fragmentation?

Answer 36

Question 37

What are 3 general strategies used by some species to cope with fragmentation? What is a major threat to all these strategies?

Answer 37

Question 38

Answer 38

Question 39

How does light pollution act to degrade or destroy habitat?

Answer 39

Question 40

What are examples of toxins that degrade or destroy habitat?

Answer 40

## Footnote also large chemical spills and dumping (exxon valdez, deepwater horizon, etc.)

Question 41

What are EDCs? What are some examples? Define these types: teratogenic carcinogenic metabolic reproductive

Answer 41

Question 42

Describe the formation and impacts of acid rain.

Answer 42