Biodiversity
What is Biodiversity?
Variety of life in an ecosystem
What does it mean for an ecosystem to be stable?
Populations remain relatively constant.
Name one human activity that negatively impacts biodiversity.
Habitat destruction, pollution, deforestation, overfishing, climate change)
Kudzu is an example of what type of human impact?
Invasive species.
What is group behavior?
Animals acting together.
What is ecosystem stability?
Ability to maintain balance over time (homeostasis)
Name one factor that helps maintain ecosystem stability.
Predator-prey balance. (biodiversity, resource availability, feedback loops)
What is the goal of reducing human impact on ecosystems?
Protect biodiversity and ecosystem function.
Overfishing most directly leads to what ecosystem effect?
Population decline and imbalance.
Name one example of group behavior.
Flocking, schooling, herding, or swarming.
What does resistance mean in an ecosystem?
Little change after a disturbance
Why don’t populations usually grow without limits?
Limiting factors restrict growth.
Why is habitat restoration considered a solution to biodiversity loss?
It rebuilds suitable living conditions.
How does overgrazing contribute to desertification?
Removes vegetation, causing erosion.
How does group behavior reduce predation?
Provides protection or confuses predators.
How does high biodiversity increase resilience?
What evidence suggests an ecosystem is no longer stable?
Long-term population shifts or species loss.
How does sustainable resource use reduce environmental damage?
It limits long-term ecosystem disruption.
Why do urban areas experience the heat island effect?
Concrete and asphalt absorb and retain heat.
Why does cooperative hunting increase survival?
Allows capture of larger or faster prey.
How can data (for example a population graph) show resistance or resilience after a disturbance? You may draw a population graph for your answer.
Resistance = small change in population; resilience = recovery to original levels
Why might an ecosystem fail to return to its original state after disturbance?
Conditions and interactions have permanently changed.
Design one solution to reduce a human impact and explain why it would work.
Create wildlife corridors → allows safe movement and gene flow.
Restore wetlands → improves water quality and habitat.
Limit deforestation → protects food webs and biodiversity.
Choose one human activity (kudzu, fishing, desertification, or urbanization) and explain how it reduces biodiversity.
Human activity disrupts habitats or populations.
Explain how group behavior can increase reproductive success.
Improves mate finding or offspring survival.