Exam 15: Conserving Biodiversity: Community and Ecosystem Ecology

A woman is more susceptible to vaginal yeast infections when taking antibiotics because

A graph depicting the relationship between the size of a region and the biodiversity that it can support is called a(n)________ curve.

Approximately 200 of the 300 native species of fish in Lake Victoria haven't been observed since the 1960s and are therefore probably extinct. Using the estimate of the background extinction rate, how many species of Lake Victoria fish would one expect to have naturally become extinct during the last 50 years?

There have been ________ mass extinctions experienced on a global scale before the alarming mass extinction that's now occurring.

"Colony collapse disorder" is thought to be due to an increase in ________ of honeybees.

The current rate of extinction is estimated to be ________ times greater than the calculated background rate.

Which of the following is at the "bottom" of a trophic pyramid?

All individuals of all species living within an area of interest represent a(n)

The best strategy for preserving biodiversity is to

Not everyone can travel to a remote area of the world to protect a rare habitat, but there are choices each of us can make each day to reduce habitat destruction and slow the rate of species extinction. Which of the following could you do to reduce habitat destruction caused by the mining, drilling, and transport of fossil fuels?

The "psychological need" that many humans have for nature is called

Why is the preservation of ancestor species, such as Mexican teosinte (Zea diploperennis), important in the context of human welfare?

An owl eating a seed-eating mouse is an example of a

At the current rate of habitat destruction, nearly ________ of all living species will be extinct in 50 years.

Which of the following threats to biodiversity isn't directly due to humans?

Purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria, is a beautiful, long-stemmed wetlands species brought to the United States from Europe as an ornamental plant. In the United States, it has no predators and crowds out cattails, Typha latifolia, another wetlands plant that's a valuable resource for many species. Purple loosestrife is an example of

Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, is situated on land that was once a fen, a kind of wetland. The replacement of the fen is an example of

The runoff of fertilizers from agricultural and residential areas can cause the aquatic algae in bodies of water to grow prolifically, resulting in a phenomenon called

What law was passed to address the problem of rapid species loss in the United States?

During the 19th century, sea otters were hunted almost to the point of extinction. When the number of sea otters became very low, it was noticed that the ecosystem of kelp bed "forests" was also disappearing. It was discovered that the sea otters were predators of sea urchins, which were, in turn, predators of the kelp. When sea otters declined, the sea urchin populations grew, destroying the kelp ecosystem and the many species that depended on it. It was then understood that sea otters were ________ in this ecosystem.