Chapter 16-Biological Diversity
Packet Answers
1.
2.
3.
4.
DDT, Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
Group of organisms that can and do interbreed and produce fertile offspring
the massive variety (variation) of organisms found on Earth
species richness is the number of species; genetic diversity is the variation seen
within one species such as the fact that you and I look different…we are not
genetically identical; ecosystem diversity is the idea that there are many different
ecosystems on Earth (you just did a project on them)
5. kernels are red, yellow, purple, etc.
6. coral reefs (fringing are attached to land, barrier run along coast and atoll are
semi-circular and make lagoons and tropical rainforests
7. provide lumber for building, filter air for better breathing, keep soil intact for
fertility and possible crop growth, filter water for fresh drinking water and flood
prevention
8. pollination increases number and diversity of flowers
9. there more species there are, the greater the diversity and stability in a community
10. maintains fish populations by consuming fish predator, digs underwater holes that
help survival of fish during drought, nest mounds make little islands for increased
biodiversity by allowing vegetation and birds that would otherwise not be able to
survive, gator trails keep plant growth limited
11. if one variation is not adapted, there is a greater chance that another will be
12. blight is a fungal infection
13. a blight resistance gene was inserted into corn crops
14. The transfer of a gene from one organism to another. Can be the same or
different species
15. Yes it can if scientist insert a variety of different genes into individuals in the
same species
16. Insulin gene into bacteria, real human insulin is produced quickly and exactly
17. Evolution selects those individuals that are well adapted and these will survive
and reproduce. Their genes will be recombined with the genes from another well
adapted organism to produce offspring.
18. AZT for AIDS treatment, periwinkle and mayapple for cancer treatment, cough
medicines, etc.
19. Using a technique such a shelter belting (planting trees around farmland) and
intercropping will increase the biodiversity and thus decrease the possibility of a
disease decimating the crop b/c there are different crops, which are susceptible to
different diseases. Using this technique that increases biodiversity will also
improve soil quality and decrease erosion.
20. Aesthetic value, ethics (organisms have a right to live)
21. When no more individuals of a species exists
22. Background is the “normal” level of extinction due to natural selection; mass
extinction is the disappearance of large numbers of species in a short period of
time (5 or 6 known mass extinctions)
23. punctuated equilibrium; gradualism
24. endangered means that they are near extinction; threatened means populations
numbers are low, but not endangered level.
25. range is the area where a particular species is found
26. having a larger range, eat a wide variety of food, higher reproductive rate
27. all the opposite of #26
28. The condor needs an extremely large territory so as its range was decreased by
human building, it the species nearly went extinct. It is currently being
“artificially” bred and re-released into the wild. However, it is not self-sustaining
b/c the population is not of reproductive age and the reason for its endangerment
has not been remediated
29. endemic means native to a region
30. they are isolated and often cannot migrate. Therefore there are no new
individuals coming in with which to mate or going out if conditions are not
suitable
31. building road and building dams, survivability decreases for the same reason that
island living decreases survivability
32. pandas may face extinction as a result of habitat fragmentation and specific eating
habits
33. California, Hawaii and Florida
34. deforestation due to fruit plantations, mineral exploration, extensive slash and
burn, make space for homes, industrialization, etc
35. adaptive radiation is when one ancestor evolves into many related but different
species. Darwin’s finches show adaptive radiation
36. biodiversity hot spot-small area, lots of endemic species that are at high risk from
human activities
37. habitat destruction/degradation/fragmentation; invasive species; pollution;
overexploitation
38. ivory and now their numbers are great. Elephants use A LOT of land and have
been killing people.
39. biotic pollution is simply the movement of one species to a non-endemic location.
Invasive species cause economic or environmental loss
40. Acid rain has killed lake ecosystems; industrial chemicals have harmed birds and
other organisms, depleted ozone layer may increase the risk of mutation which
can lead to cancer
41. poaching is illegal killing of an animal while overhunting is just unregulated
hunting
42. Bellwether species are the first species to show an adverse affect to a new
environmental problem. Amphibians lay eggs in water, take air in through their
skin
43. conservation biology is the study of human impacts on organisms and ways to
biodiversity
44. In-situ is remediation in a real life situation like reestablishing a park to allow the
organisms to continue their life; Ex-situ is when the remediation takes place in a
human controlled environment like a zoo; In-situ would be preferred
45. Restoration ecology sets out to re-establish a natural land. It is in-situ b/c
everything is done in the natural location
46. zoos, aquaria, botanical gardens, seed banks
47. artificial insemination is when sperm is inserted into a female. It may be used in
place of natural methods for several reasons. First, just putting two organisms
together does not mean that they will mate. Second, maybe a zoo in the US has a
female and one in Japan has the male…cost effective.
48. Embryo transfer is when an embryo is implanted into a similar species. This
method may be used b/c pregnancy carries risk and in an endangered species, one
lost individual is major
49. Re-introduced species were bred in captivity and returned to the wild. Usually the
situation that originally led to their endangerment has not been remediated.
50. Internalities-cost of running freezers, gathering seeds, Externalities-environment
may have changed by the time the seeds are used, pollution is made by energy
needed to run freezers
51. The ESA has not been very successful in restoring endangered species, the act
infringes on property rights, it costs a lot of taxpayer money for little return
52. the habitat conservation plan involves individual property owners. Basically, if a
“rare” species lives on their property, they make “take” it as long as doing so does
not lead to its endangerment. If the owner sets aside land for the species, he will
not suffer any legal proceedings
53. different countries have different punishments and they are generally lenient; it’s
difficult to make international laws and enforce them
54. Wildlife management generally looks at one population (one species in a given
area) while conservation biology looks at a community (all the species in a given
area)
55. Primary ecological succession is when an ecosystem starts from scratch (or really
a rock that is slowly broken down by lichens and eventually becomes soil);
Secondary ecological succession is when an ecosystem starts from previously
present soil (generally the result of forest fire or some other destructive event)
56. I don’t think that we should. They should follow the laws of nature…
57. extinction is when there is not one single individual of a species left. Commercial
extinction is when there are too few of a species to make them profitable to cull
(gather)
58. bioaccumulation is when a toxin accumulates to higher and higher levels within
an individual over the course of its life. Biomagnification is when the toxin moves
up the food chain and becomes increasingly concentrated as it reaches the top
predators.
59. education, research, parks, control pollution, economic incentives to maintain
biodiversity