Biodiversity quiz
Name: _________________________
Date: _______________________
1.
A)
B)
C)
D)
What is the single greatest threat to biodiversity?
Overexploitation of commercially important species.
Introduced species that compete with or prey on native species.
Pollution of Earth’s water, air, and soil.
Disruption of trophic relationships as more and more prey species become
extinct.
E) Habitat alteration, fragmentation, and destruction.
2. Of the following statements about protected areas that have been established to
preserve biodiversity, which one is not correct?
A) About 25% of Earth’s land area is now protected.
B) National parks are one of many types of protected areas.
C) Most protected areas are too small to protect species.
D) Management of a protected area should be coordinated with management of the
land surrounding the area.
E) It is especially important to protect biodiversity hot spots.
3.
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Which of the following organisms is incorrectly paired with its trophic level?
dolphin – primary producer
grasshopper – primary consumer
maple tree – primary producer
eagle – tertiary consumer
fungus – decomposer
4.
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Keystone predators can maintain species diversity in a community if they
competitively exclude other predators.
prey on the community’s dominant species.
allow immigration of other predators.
reduce the number of disruptions in the community
prey only on the least abundant species in the community.
5. The most plausible hypothesis to explain why species richness is higher in
tropical than in temperate regions is that
A) tropical communities are younger
B) tropical regions generally have more available water and higher levels of solar
radiation.
C) higher temperatures cause more rapid speciation.
D) biodiversity increases as evapotranspiration decreases.
E) Tropical regions have very high rates of immigration and very low rates of
extinction.
6.
A)
B)
C)
Introduced species can reduce the biodiversity of an area because they
may be better competitors for resources than native species.
don’t have natural predators in the new environment.
may have more effective adaptations for the environment than native organisms
do.
D) A and B only
E) all answers are correct.
7.
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
What are the three levels of biodiversity?
genetic, species, biome
molecular, species, biome
genetic, population, ecosystem
genetic, species, ecosystem
molecular, species, ecosystem
8. Coral reefs are referred to as the “rainforests of the seas” because
A) are made of limestone that supports many species of zooplankton with high
productivity
B) support and nourish so many marine species while providing shelter to more than 25%
of fish species.
C) are composed of polyps that live in and are adapted to warm, shallow tropical
waters with high nutrient availability.
D) have high turnover rates with high polyp production.
E) all of these are valid reasons.
Short answer essay. Your answer must be no less than 50 words.
9. Discuss any member (maybe more than one) of E.O. Wilson’s the Hundred
Heartbeat club and describe the cause of the threat.
10. Discuss the different ways in how to preserve endangered species.