Relationships
This occurs when two organisms fight for the same limited resource.
Competition
What is biodiversity?
Strong variation in species.
How does the loss of a species disrupt ecosystem balance?
The extinction of one species can disrupt others that rely on it for survival.
This process, caused by rising ocean temperatures, turns coral white and leads to loss of habitat for countless marine species.
coral bleaching
Name one way humans cause environmental change.
Pollution, cutting down forests, and building cities.
How does commensalism differ from mutualism?
Commensalism: helps one organism and doesn’t affect the other.
Mutualism: both organisms help each other.
Conserving wetlands and coral reefs is important because they are examples of ecosystems with ___ biodiversity.
high
What happens to ecosystem stability when biodiversity increases and more species can fill similar ecological roles.
stability increases
When pollution or overfishing cause several species to disappear from a food web, the ecosystem becomes ___.
less stable
How does pollution affects aquatic ecosystems?
It can kill aquatic animals and make water unsafe.
Define parasitism and give one example.
Parasitism helps one organism and harms the other.
This happens to biodiversity when coral reefs are destroyed by pollution, rising ocean temperatures, or destructive fishing practices.
A decrease in biodiversity
How does interspecies competition affect ecosystem balance?
Competition can make it harder for species to survive.
Name a natural event that can cause ecosystem change.
Hurricanes, fires, floods, etc..
How might coral bleaching impact biodiversity?
It removes homes for plants and animals.
A crown-of-thorns starfish eats coral. If too many live in the reef, coral dies and fish lose their homes. What kind of impact is this?
Predation — the starfish eats coral, which can hurt the reef.
This happens to an ecosystem’s biodiversity and stability when native species go extinct due to an invasive species
What is a decrease in biodiversity and a decrease in stability
How does high biodiversity contribute to ecosystem stability?
Species diversity boosts an ecosystem’s ability to withstand change.
During an extended dry season in an area, the majority of the ground cover dried up. How would this impact ecosystems in that area?
The ecosystem would become less stable because less energy would be available to it from the decrease in producers.
Name one of the long-term effects of climate change on global ecosystems?
Raises temperatures, melts ice, and hurts ecosystems.
How does interspecies competition affect ecosystem balance?
Competition can make it harder for species to survive.
When many species occupy similar ecological roles, biodiversity helps ecosystems remain this, even during disturbances.
Stable
If ______ is low, an ecosystem becomes vulnerable. Why?
biodiversity
With few species, disease or change can destroy the ecosystem.
Growing new corals in labs and replanting them on reefs is an example of this method to help restore damaged ecosystems.
Restoration
These human activities—like ____ and _____ —reduce ocean biodiversity and disrupt marine food webs.
overfishing and pollution