Biodiversity and Conservation

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Biodiversity and Conservation

Section 1: Biodiversity

Section 2: Threats to Biodiversity

Section 3: Conserving Biodiversity

What is biodiversity?

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the variety of life in an area that is determined by the number of different species in that area.

Section 1 Biodiversity and Conservation

Biodiversity increases the stability of an ecosystem and contributes to the health of the biosphere.

The variety of genes or inheritable characteristics that are present in a population comprises its genetic diversity.

Genetic diversity increases the chances that some species will survive during changing environmental conditions or during the outbreak of disease.


Biodiversity

Section 1

The number of different species and the relative abundance of each species in a biological community is called species diversity.

Biodiversity

Biodiversity and ConservationSection 1

The variety of ecosystems that are present in the biosphere is called ecosystem diversity.


An ecosystem is made up of interacting populations and the abiotic factors that support them.

Biodiversity

Section 1

The Importance of Biodiversity


Most of the world’s food crops come from just a few species.

Biodiversity

Section 1

Wild species serve as reservoirs of desirable genetic traits that might be needed to improve commercial crop species.

Scientists continue to find new extracts from plants and other organisms that help in the treatment of human diseases.

A healthy biosphere provides many services to humans and other organisms that live on Earth.


Natural processes provide drinking water that is safe for human use.

Green plants provide oxygen to the atmosphere and remove carbon dioxide

Biodiversity

Section 1

Extinction Rates

The gradual process of species becoming extinct is known as background extinction.

Threats to Biodiversity


Mass extinction is an event in which a large percentage of all living species become extinct in a relatively short period of time.

Section 2



Section 2


Factors that Threaten Biodiversity

Humans are changing conditions on Earth faster than new traits can evolve to cope with the new conditions.

The current high rate of extinction is due to the activities of a single species—Homo sapiens.


Section 2


Overexploitation

Bison Passenger pigeons Ocelot Rhinoceros

Overexploitation, or excessive use, of species that have economic value is a factor increasing the current rate of extinction.


Section 2


Habitat Loss

If a habitat is destroyed or disrupted, the native species might have to relocate or they will die.

Destruction of Habitat

The destruction of habitat, such as the clearing of tropical rain forests, has a direct impact on global biodiversity.


Section 2


Disruption of Habitat

The declining population of one species can affect an entire ecosystem.


Section 2


Fragmentation of Habitat The separation of an ecosystem into small pieces

of land is called habitat fragmentation. The smaller the parcel of land, the fewer species it

can support. Fragmentation reduces the opportunities for

individuals in one area to reproduce with individuals from another area.

Carving the large ecosystem into small parcels increases the number of edges—creating edge effects.


Section 2


Pollution

Pollution and atmospheric changes threaten biodiversity and global stability.

Biological magnification is the increasing concentration of toxic substances in organisms as trophic levels increase in a food chain or food web.


Section 2


Acid Precipitation

Sulfur and nitrogen compounds react with water and other substances in the air to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid.

Acid precipitation removes calcium, potassium, and other nutrients from the soil, depriving plants of these nutrients.


Section 2

Assessing Water Quality


Eutrophication

Eutrophication occurs when substances rich in nitrogen and phosphorus flow into waterways, causing extensive algae growth.

The algae use up the oxygen supply during their rapid growth and after their deaths during the decaying process.

Other organisms in the water suffocate.


Section 2


Introduced Species Nonnative species that are either intentionally or

unintentionally transported to a new habitat are known as introduced species.

Introduced species often reproduce in large numbers because of a lack of predators, and become invasive species in their new habitat.


Section 2

Conserving Biodiversity


Natural Resources

The consumption rate of natural resources is not evenly distributed.

Section 3

Resources that are replaced by natural processes faster than they are consumed are called renewable resources.


Resources that are found on Earth in limited amounts or those that are replaced by natural processes over extremely long periods of time are called nonrenewable resources.


Section 3


Sustainable use means using resources at a rate in which they can be replaced or recycled while preserving the long-term environmental health of the biosphere.


Section 3

Protecting Biodiversity


Currently, about seven percent of the world’s land is set aside as some type of reserve.

The United Nations supports a system of Biosphere Reserves and World Heritage sites.


Section 3

Biodiversity Hotspots


At least 1500 species of vascular plants are endemic.

The region must have lost at least 70 percent of its original habitat.

These hot spots originally covered 15.7 percent of Earth’s surface, however, only about a tenth of that habitat remains.


Section 3

Corridors Between Habitat Fragments


Improve the survival of biodiversity by providing corridors, or passageways, between habitat fragments

Creates a larger piece of land that can sustain a wider variety of species and a wider variety of genetic variation


Section 3


The larger the affected area, the longer it takes for the biological community to recover.

Restoring Ecosystems


Section 3


Bioremediation

The use of living organisms, such as prokaryotes, fungi, or plants, to detoxify a polluted area is called bioremediation


Section 3

Biological Augmentation


Adding natural predators to a degraded ecosystem is called biological augmentation.


Section 3


Chapter Resource Menu

Chapter Diagnostic Questions

Formative Test Questions

Chapter Assessment Questions

Standardized Test Practice

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Glencoe Biology Transparencies

Image Bank

Vocabulary

AnimationClick on a hyperlink to view the corresponding feature.

Chapter

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1. A2. B3. C4. D

CDQ 1

Which factor is most responsible for the lack of plants in polar regions?

A. heavy grazing by herbivores

B. little precipitation

C. no soil for plants to take root

D. not enough sunlight

Biodiversity and ConservationChapter


1. A2. B3. C4. D

CDQ 2



What form of pollution is caused by extensive algae growth in waterways?

A. acid precipitation

B. eutrophication

C. biological magnification

D. edge effects

1. A2. B3. C4. D

CDQ 3



Which is not a renewable resource?

A. solar energy

B. fossil fuels

C. agricultural plants

D. clean water

1. A2. B3. C4. D

FQ 1


Which has indirect economic value?

A. ecosystems that decompose wastesB. organisms that provide food and shelterC. plants that contain medicinal substancesD. species that havedesirable genetic traits

Section 1 Formative Questions

1. A

2. B

FQ 2



It is likely that some of the world’s unidentified species will have economic value.

A. true

B. false

1. A

2. B

3. C

FQ 3



When does the aesthetic value of an ecosystem become most apparent?

A. when scientists begin to study the ecosystem

B. when the ecosystem has been destroyed

C. when the ecosystem is given economic value

1. A

2. B

3. C

4. D

FQ 4


A. background extinction

B. mass extinction

C. natural extinction

D. progressive extinction

Which describes the current rate of species disappearance?


1. A

2. B

3. C

4. D

FQ 5


A. deserts

B. grasslands

C. tropical forests

D. temperate forests

Where are most extinctions likely to occur in the near future?


1. A

2. B

3. C

4. D

FQ 6


A. habitat loss

B. eutrophication

C. overexploitation

D. nonnative predators

What is the primary factor that has endangered the North American bison and the white rhinoceros?


1. A

2. B

3. C

4. D

FQ 7


A. habitat loss

B. human predators

C. transported diseases

D. background extermination

What is the number one cause of species extinction today?


1. A

2. B

3. C

4. D

FQ 8


A. agricultural plants

B. clean water

C. forest timber

D. mineral deposits

Which resource is nonrenewable?


1. A

2. B

3. C

4. D

FQ 9


A. farming

B. logging

C. oil drilling

D. commercial fishing

For which human activity is sustainable use not possible?


1. A

2. B

3. C

4. D

FQ 10


Which is an example of bioremediation?

A. replanting trees in an area affected by acid rainB. using microorganisms to detoxify an oil spillC. enacting a law that protects endangered

amphibiansD. introducing natural predators to control a crop

pest


1. A

2. B

3. C

4. D

CAQ 1


Look at the figure. Name the process that is occurring with the increasing concentration of DDT.

A. pollution

B. extinction

C. biological magnification

D. habitat fragmentation


1. A

2. B

3. C

4. D

CAQ 2


Use the graph to determine the approximate recovery time for a volcanic eruption.

A. 1–10 years

B. 10–100 years

C. 100–1000 years

D. 1000 years or more



Explain how killer whales adapted to their environment when their primary food source began to disappear.

Answer: Killer whales started to prey onsea otters instead of sea lionsand harbor seals.

Chapter

CAQ 3


1. A

2. B

3. C

4. D

STP 1


A. ecosystem diversity

B. genetic diversity

C. social diversity

D. species diversity

Which type of biodiversity increases as you move geographically from the polar regions to the equator?


1. A

2. B

3. C

4. D

STP 2



A. It increases the number of organisms that have useful genes.

B. It increases the ability of a species to adapt to environmental changes.

C. It produces a variety of species within a biological community.

D. It randomly distributes members of a species throughout an ecosystem.

How does genetic diversity increase a species’ chance of survival?

1. A

2. B

3. C

4. D

STP 3



If a toxic substance enters this food web, which animals will have the highest concentration of the toxic substance in their tissues?

A. fishes

B. killer whales

C. sea otters

D. sea urchins

1. A

2. B

3. C

4. D

STP 4



A. acid rain

B. fertilizers

C. PCBs

D. pesticides

What type of substances causes eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems?

1. A

2. B

3. C

4. D

STP 5



Which factor has the greatest impact on a country’s rate of natural resource consumption?

A. land area

B. population

C. industrialization

D. availability of resources

1. A

2. B

3. C

4. D

STP 6



Which event has the greatest potential to cause irreversible damage to biodiversity?

A. oil spill

B. urbanization

C. industrial pollution

D. modern agriculture


Glencoe Biology Transparencies

Chapter


Image Bank

Chapter

extinction

biodiversity

genetic diversity

species diversity

ecosystem diversity


Vocabulary

Section 1

Section 1

background

extinction

mass extinction

natural resource

overexploitation

habitat

fragmentation

edge effect

biological

magnification

eutrophication

introduced species


Vocabulary

Section 2

Section 2

renewable resource

nonrenewable resource

sustainable use

endemic

bioremediation

biological augmentation


Vocabulary

Section 3

Section 3


Visualizing Biodiversity Hot Spots

Animation

Biodiversity and Conservation

Documents

Transcript of Biodiversity and Conservation