Sustainability and Interdependence - Threats to Biodiversity

Question 1

exploitation

Answer 1

making the best use of natural resources e.g. food. raw materials

Question 2

overexploitation

Answer 2

• a resource is removed at a rate that cannot be sustained
• harvested at a rate greater than the species reproductive rate

Question 3

bottleneck effect

Answer 3

• when only a small population of a species is left, the remaining organisms may be descendants of only a small number of individuals, thus lacking genetic diversity
• this results in the population and species being susceptable to environmental change

Question 4

bottleneck event

Answer 4

a mass reduction in a species population which results in the bottleneck effect

e.g. natural disaster

Question 5

habitat fragmentation

Answer 5

• one large habitat is broken into multiple smaller fragments
• habitat fragments are prone to degradation at their edges further reducing habitat size

Question 6

habitat corridors

Answer 6

narrow stip of habitat which allows species to move between fragments of the original habitat

Question 7

introduced

species

Answer 7

non-native species that have been moved by humans, either intentionally or accidentally, to new geographical locations

Question 8

naturalised

species

Answer 8

introduced species that have become well established within wild communities

Question 9

invasive

species

Answer 9

naturalised species that have spread rapidly and eliminated native species

Question 10

degradation

Answer 10

reduction in the quality of a natural ecosystem as a result of human activity

Question 11

recolonisation

Answer 11

returning and resettling into a habitat after a local extinction

Question 12

conservation

Answer 12

protection and careful management of natural resources