Exam 15: Conserving Biodiversity: Community and Ecosystem Ecology

What is the "psychological need" that many humans have for nature?

There is an article in your local newspaper about an upcoming Biodiversity Day event at your university. Because, after studying biology, you understand why it's important to conserve biodiversity, you plan to attend. Your younger brother tells you he doesn't understand how the loss of a few species or habitats in town can have any impact on anyone's life. What would you tell your brother?

Most of the energy contained in one trophic level is "lost" when it gets to the next trophic level. What form does the lost energy take?

Each breed of dog is known to be susceptible to certain illnesses, such as heart problems, eye disorders, or thyroid problems. Why do dog breeders often go to great lengths to breed a dog that's unrelated to a dog they want to breed?

During the nineteenth 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. What role did sea otters perform in this ecosystem?

North Atlantic right whales, Eubalaena glacialis, were called "right whales" because they were the best whale for early whalers to kill. They have long baleen and lots of blubber and oil. When killed, they could be towed back to land for processing because they float. They once numbered in the millions, but the entire population of the species is now less than 400. The history of the right whale is an example of

Cattle egrets hitch a ride on domestic cows and eat insects that are stirred up by their activity. What term describes this relationship?

-According to this graph, when did the extinction rate in mammals exceed that of birds, if at all?

Teosinte is a wild grass in Mexico from which corn (maize) was originally domesticated. How might corn that is grown commercially compare to teosinte?

What is the best strategy for preserving biodiversity?

To address the problem of preserving biodiversity, biologist Norman Myers and colleagues have identified various "hot spots" around the world. What exactly is a hot spot?

What term includes the variety of species in an area of interest?

Over the past 580 million years, how has biodiversity changed?

What topics are the basis of the U.S. Endangered Species Act that mandates decisions about the management of endangered species?

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. What action could you take to reduce habitat destruction caused by the mining, drilling, and transport of fossil fuels?

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

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which of the following sequences shows groups with the highest percentage of species in danger of extinction, from most endangered (on the left) to least endangered (on the right)?

In the heart of Costa Rica there's a private reserve called Rara Avis. Here, one can hike high into the mountains of a tropical cloud forest to take guided nature hikes and learn about this unique ecosystem. What principle applies to this tactic of habitat preservation?

Extracts of the rosy periwinkle, Catharanthus roseus, have provided medicine with vincristine and vinblastine, drugs now available for treating cancer. What human action promotes the ability to find this species of plant and discover its potential use for medicines?

How many times greater than the calculated background rate is the current rate of extinction estimated to be?