Biodiversity and Habitat Loss – High School
1. What is an international treaty to ensure that global trade in plants and wildlife does not threaten their survival?
A. CITES
B. Ramsar
C. IUCN
D. Migratory Bird Treaty
2. What is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands?
A. Ramsar
B. CITES
C. IUCN
D. Migratory Bird Treaty
3. What is a global non-governmental organization whose mission is to conserve nature and ensure that any use of
natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable?
A. IUCN
B. Ramsar
C. CITES
D. Migratory Bird Treaty
4. What is a 1916 treaty between the U.S. and Great Britain (for Canada) for the protection of birds that spend time in both
the U.S. and Canada?
A. Migratory Bird Treaty
B. Ramsar
C. CITES
D. IUCN
5. What is a list of plants, animals and fungi facing a risk of extinction or that have gone extinct?
A. the Red List
B. the Green List
C. the Blue List
D. the Yellow List
6. What is an event that reduces the genetic diversity of a popluation or species?
A. a genetic bottle neck
B. genetic modification
C. mutations
D. divergent selection
7. Why is a lack of genetic diversity in a population or species considered a problem?
A. it reduces a species' ability to adapt to environmental changes
B. it increases chances a species will hybridize with other species
C. it causes species to disperse before breeding
D. the popluations or species are more susceptible to cancers
Correct Answer - A
Biodiversity and Habitat Loss – High School
8. Svalbard, Norway, is home to what important conservation tool?
A. a global seed vault to back up other seed vaults
B. a zoo for breeding arctic mammals
C. a lab to study algae at the base of polar food chains
D. a center for the study of whale conservation
9. Which crop disaster was caused by a lack of genetic diversity in the crop?
A. Irish Potato Famine of 1845 - 1847
B. the Grasshopper Swarm of 1931 in the American midwest
C. the spread of the Boll Weevil in cotton states 1915-1917
D. the Chinese Famine of 1959-1961
10. A new strain of stem rust, Ug99 (Uganda 1999), kills 85% of the varieties of wheat it infects in field trials in Africa.
What is the most effective way to prevent Ug99 from destroying wheat fields world wide?
A. search for resistant genes in different wheat varieties
B. destroy all the plants that are infected
C. stop people traveling from Africa to the U.S.
D. only plant wheat crops upwind from sources of stem rust spores
11. As an area of habitat gets larger, it can hold more species. This increase can be modeled with the formula S = cA^z. S
is the number of species, A is the size of the area, while c is the intercept and z is the slope of the line relating S and A.
Both c and z are specific to a habitat, the units of measurement for an area and a specific taxonomic group. If c = 12 and
z = 0.15 for birds in North American forests, how many bird species would you expect to find in an area of 10,000
hectares?
A. about 48
B. about 24
C. about 135
D. about 600
12. As an area of habitat gets smaller, it can hold fewer species. The percentage of species likely to disappear can be
estimated from S' = 100 - A'^z where S' is the percent disappearing, A' is the percent area that disappears and z is
specific to a habitat and taxonomic group of species. How many bird species would be likely to disappear from a North
American forest if half of it were cut down and converted to farm land? Assume z = 0.15.
A. 10%
B. 22%
C. 2%
D. 7%
13. As an area of habitat gets smaller, it can hold fewer species. The percentage of species likely to disappear can be
estimated from S' = 100 - A'^z where S' is the percent disappearing, A' is the percent area that disappears and z is
specific to the habitat and taxonomic group of species. How many bird species would be likely to disappear from a
tropical forest if half of it were cut down and converted to farm land? Assume z = 0.35.
A. 22%
B. 10%
C. 50%
D. 78%
Correct Answer - A
Biodiversity and Habitat Loss – High School
14. Who decides if a species protection law is being broken?
A. the court system
B. congress and legislatures
C. agencies in the executive branch
D. non-governmental organizations
15. Who passes laws protecting species, assigns protection to an ageny and provides funding for the agency?
A. congress and legislatures
B. the court system
C. agencies in the executive branch
D. non-governmental organizations
16. Who sets specific standards for species protection laws, helps people, businesses and agencies follow them and
enforces them when they are not followed?
A. agencies in the executive branch
B. the court system
C. congress and legislatures
D. non-governmental organizations
17. Who encourages the passage of species protection laws and supports their enforcement?
A. non-governmental organizations
B. the court system
C. congress and legislatures
D. agencies in the executive branch
18. Which of these is a governmental factor that can affect enforcement of laws to protect species?
A. how much funding congress or legislatures provide
B. whether a judge likes the law
C. whether a landowner cares about the species
D. whether there is a market for products made from the species
19. What kind of government initiative is the Puget Sound Marine and Nearshore Grant Program for the purchase of
nearshore and upland habitat?
A. economic incentives
B. education and information
C. research
D. penalties
20. What kind of government initiative is the "Get to Know Your Species", an interactive website from the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service that lets you find out what endangered species live in your state?
A. education and information
B. economic incentives
C. research
D. penalties
Correct Answer - A
Biodiversity and Habitat Loss – High School
21. What kind of government initiative is developing Habitat Conservation Plans that allow landowners to continue to use
their land while minimizing harm to endangered species?
A. research
B. economic incentives
C. education and information
D. penalties
22. What kind of government initiative is arresting and booking a Florida man after finding a backpack full of sea turtle
eggs in his possession?
A. penalties
B. economic incentives
C. research
D. education and information
23. What are specific areas occupied by a species at the time of listing, that contain the physical or biological features
essential to its conservation?
A. critical habitat
B. wetlands
C. tropical rain forests
D. areas larger than 100 square kilometers
24. What is any act which actually kills or injures wildlife, including significant habitat modification or degradation that
significantly impairs essential behavior patterns?
A. harm
B. deforestation
C. over fishing
D. killing elephants for their ivory
25. Which of these is the biggest threat to species worldwide?
A. loss of habitat
B. hunting wildlife out of season
C. scientific whaling
D. flying into windmills
26. Who finds wildlife products (like ivory) or wildlife that are being illegally shipped across international borders?
A. sniffer dogs and their handlers
B. wildlife forensic scientists
C. NOAA Fisheries observers
D. wildlife scientists
27. Who can identify the species a fish fillet came from to tell if it was illegally harvested?
A. wildlife forensic scientists
B. sniffer dogs and their handlers
C. NOAA Fisheries observers
D. botanists
Correct Answer - A
Biodiversity and Habitat Loss – High School
28. Who tallies the number and species of fish kept or discarded on commercial fishing vessels?
A. NOAA Fisheries observers
B. sniffer dogs and their handlers
C. wildlife forensic scientists
D. aquarists
29. Which of these is the biggest threat to migratory ducks and geese?
A. habitat loss when rivers are channelized and wetlands are filled in
B. harvesting gizzards for the traditional medicine market
C. nutrient pollution from fertilizer and manure runoff
D. legal hunting
30. Which of these led to the decline and extintion of many native plants in Australia?
A. the introduction of non-native European rabbits
B. habitat loss when rivers were channelized and wetlands were filled in
C. nutrient pollution from fertilizer and manure runoff
D. harvesting plants for their seeds
31. Which of these is the biggest threat to large African mammals like elephants and rhinos?
A. illegal hunting for ivory and horns for trophies
B. loss of habitat when rivers are diverted for irrigation
C. harvesting gizzards for the traditional medicine market
D. diseases they catch from non-native livestock
32. Which of these is the biggest threat to marine species in coastal waters near the mouth of the Mississippi river?
A. nutrient pollution from fertilizer and manure runoff
B. habitat loss when rivers are channelized and wetlands are filled in
C. diseases they catch from farmed fish
D. oil spills from tankers
33. Which of these caused the collapse of orange roughy, Chilean seabass and bluefin tuna fish populations?
A. overfishing
B. habitat loss when rivers were channelized and wetlands were filled in
C. nutrient pollution from fertilizer and manure runoff
D. disappearance of the fish they preyed on
Correct Answer - A