L35 Intro to conservation Biology Flashcards
3 Reasons to conserve nature
Human activities threaten biodiversity
Ethical-moral reason to save species
Natue provides ecological services
Conservation biology
Integrates ecology, physiology, molecular biology, evolutionary biology and genetics in effort to conserve biological diversity
3 level at which biodiversity can be considered
Genetic diversity
Species diversity
Ecosystem diversity
Why is genetic diversity important
Define species diversity
The number of species in an ecosystem or across the biosphere
What are the 3 patterns proposed to expllain declining polewards biodiversity and higher diversification rates
“Tropic as cradle” model
“Tropic as museum” model
“Out of the tropics” model
Is species extinction increasing over time
yes
Red list of threatened species
Extinct (EX), Exctinct in the wild (EW), Critically endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), Vulnerable (VU), Near threatened (NT), Leasy concerned (LC), Deficient data (DD)
4 Major threats to biodiversity
Habitat loss
Introduced species
Overharvesting
Global change
Define Habitat loss
Human altercation of habitat through agriculture, forestry, urban development, mining, and pollution
Define alien species
Animals, plants and other organisms that have been introduced by human activiities to new regions
Define invasive species
A subset of alien species known to have establishd and spread with negaitve impacts on nature
How do invasive species impact nature
Change ecosystems
Predation and herbivory
Compete with native species
Define overharvesting
Harvesting of organisms at rates exceeding the ability of their populations to rebound
What species are especially vulnerable to overharvesting
Species with restricted habitats
