Chapter 5 Biological Diversity and Conservation
5.1 Vanishing Species
A. Biological Diversity
a). _____________________ - The variety of life in an area
1. Where is biodiversity found? - Warm, tropical places are the most bio-diverse
B. The Importance of Biodiversity
1. Importance to nature – Life depends on ___________________. Ex: Animals
could not survive without plants.
2. Importance to people – Humans depend on plants to produce _________________,
remove _____________and start food chains / webs
C. Loss of Biodiversity
a). _____________________ - The disappearance of a species when the last of its
member dies
b). _____________________ _____________________ - Species that have rapidly
decreasing numbers of individuals
c) _____________________ _____________________ - A species in which the
numbers of individuals is so low that extinction is possible.
D. Threats to Biodiversity
1. _____________________ __________Ex: a rain forest turned into a cattle pasture
2. _____________________ _____________________ - Separation of wilderness
areas from other wilderness areas
3. _____________________ Issues – Ex: migration can sustain food sources
4. _____________________ Issues – Ex: Deforestation of a rain forest may destroy
the habitat of organisms and cause endangerment.
a). _____________________ _____________________ – the different
conditions around the boundaries of an ecosystem
5. _____________________ _____________________ - The damage to a habitat by
pollution
a). _________________ _____________________ - rain, snow, sleet, or fog
with a low pH
b). _____________________ _____________________ - Layer of the
atmosphere that helps to protect living organisms on Earth’s surface from damaging doses of
ultraviolet radiation from the sun
6. Water _____________________ – Pollutants such as, detergents, heavy metals, and
chemical runoffs can severely affect dissolved __________________ levels in water. Algae growths
also steal much needed nutrients
7. _____________________ pollution – non-biodegradable substances take up space
in _____________________ and may not break-down for hundreds of years. Ex: DDT runoff and
Bald Eagles
8. Introduction of exotics - Some “new” species may steal resources from “native”
species. Ex: Maui and Bamboo, Zebra mussels in the Great Lakes, European Starlings in Oregon…
a). _____________________ _____________________ - Organisms not native
to a particular area
5.2 Conservation of Biodiversity
A. Strategies of Conservation Biology
1. _____________________ _____________________ – A new field that studies
methods and implements plans to protect biodiversity.
2. Legal protection of species - President ___________________ signed the U.S.
Endangered Species Act into law in 1973
a). The International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) – has
established ____________ of endangered species
3. Preserving habitats – only _______% of the Earth’s land is some kind of “national
park”. Ex: Yellowstone National park in the U.S. or Zaire, Africa
a). _____________________ _________– allows people to use wilderness
areas in ways that will not damage the ecosystem
b). _____________________ _____________________ - natural strips that
allow the migration of an organism from one are to another
4. _____________________ _____________________ – releasing organisms into an
are where they once lived
a). _____________________ – When members of a species are held by people
on zoos or other conservation facilities.
Ex: The Black-footed ferret in Wyoming or the Chinese Ginkgo tree