Biodiversity
What is biodiversity?
The variety of life. ( If an ecosystem has high biodiversity that means it has many different species in the ares)
Today, there are over 120 _____________ that are used for use as drugs and medicines.
Plants
Using only one word, what is the biggest threat to biodiversity?
HUMANS
What is the benefit of biodiversity that 80% of students will say first?
Food ( or other provisional services)
The vocabulary word that means an organism's functional role or it's job ecosystem.
Its niche. This includes its role in food web,what organisms with interacts with, where exactly it gets it's shelter, how it might affect health of other species…If the ecosystem has high biodiversity it has many organisms with similar niche that can fill it's role if one is negatively affected.
According to scientists, what is considered the greatest threat to biodiversity?
Habitat loss
TRUE or FALSE- Explain if false-
If an organism is removed from a food web then the ecosystem will fall apart. Explain if false.
False. The higher the biodiversity the more stable the ecosystem. In an ecosystem with high biodiversity there are other organisms that can take the place of the one that is lost. It can do it’s job. This includes it’s role in a food web. (High biodiversity means many organisms have very similar niches).
Explain the two problems most closely connected with deforestation. You must give two correct answers for points.
1) Habitat destruction (animals lose their homes, may be forced into another area where competition is greater or may not survive).
2) Deforestation decreases ability to store carbon in trees, therefore more carbon dioxide goes into atmosphere and increases global climate change.
3) Deforestation decreases ability of trees to reduce/prevents flooding.
What does resilience have to do with biodiversity?
Resilience is the ability to bounce back when something bad happens. If the ecosystem has high biodiversity it has greater resilience.
An _______________ is an introduced, nonnative organism that spread or expand its range from the site of its original introduction and that has the potential to cause harm to the environment, the economy, or to human health.
invasive species
What land biome that we learned about has the highest biodiversity? * Hint- closest to the equator.
Tropical Rainforest
TRUE or FALSE- Explain if false.
Stress reduction, recreation and connections to religion are all benefits of biodiversity?
TRUE
What countries do you think are the top three carbon dioxide emitters in the world? Explain why this is a problem?
China, United States, India
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas connected to global warming and the problems it can cause. The gasses form a thick blanket over earth. The sun can pass through to warm the Earth during the day, but cannot escape into the atmosphere, therefore the heat is trapped.
Explain why you should not waste food?
Wasted and thrown out food and ends up in landfills. The bacteria in the landfill breaks down the wasted food and produces a large amount of greenhouse gasses including carbon dioxide and methane gas. These gasses are associated with global warming.
Not to mention all the fossil fuels used to create and trasport foods.
Is water purification a benefit or a threat to biodiversity. Explain your answer.
This is a benefit b/c water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals/ biological contaminants from water. Makes it "pure." This is a good thing so benefit.
What happens to biodiversity as you move away from the equator and towards the poles?
It decreases
What are TWO intangible benefits (something you cannot hold in your hand) of biodiversity would you be most grateful for if you were a farmer?
Any two of these answers- Pollination of crops, providing jobs/helping economy,reduction of floods.
No other answers will be accepted
Why should you not buy Oreos? Think about the video of orangutan you watch in the packet about threats.
Explain CLEARLY.
They have palm oil in them and palm oil production is the largest cause of deforestation. (You must have included "palm oil" AND "habitat destruction/deforestation /animals losing homes" in your explanation).
Big carbon sinks? Friend or foe (enemy)? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER
Friend!!
Carbon sinks are good!! Carbon sinks such as forests, oceans, glaciers and soil are parts of nature that can suck up carbon dioxide (perform carbon sequestration) and store the carbon as different molecules. This prevents carbon dioxide from becoming a greenhouse gas and causing global climate change.
Ecosystem services are direct or indirect benefits humans receive from ecosystems.
What are the FOUR types, explain each and give one example of each.
Provisional- products- food, timber (wood) medicines
Regulating- They do a job for us to keep ecosystems healthy- water filtration, flood prevention, carbon sequestration.
Cultural- benefits that enhance our lives by making us more happy, less stressed, connected to out religion and can help educate us
Supporting- These services allow there to be ecosystems. Without them, not ecosystems and not other services. Examples- water cycle, photosynthesis (or producers), food webs, creation of soil
BONUS QUESTION- I think was in a video but not sure if we talked about this this year...Take a guess.....
Of all the species that existed on Earth, how many have gone extinct? (No longer there)
99.9% (According to some experts, ten percent of plants and animals will disappear by 2050 – a number rising up to 27 percent by 2100!)
Give THREE different negative consequences of global climate change.
Any three of these are acceptable
Hotter temperatures
More severe storms
Increased drought
A warming,rising ocean
Flooding
Loss of species
Not enough food
More health risks
Poverty and displacement (force people to leave homes)
Explain one reason why those that eat a lot of beef are more responsible for threatening biodiversity than vegetarians?
Possible answers- Ruminant livestock (cattle, sheep, and goats) have bacteria in their digestive system called methanogens. These microbes produce methane gas that is burped out. Methane gas is very potent greenhouse gas!
Livestock farming is one of the main contributors to soil erosion around the world. Turning forests into pasture and overgrazing can lead to extreme loss soil may take decades or centuries to replace.
What ocean acidification is and why it is a concern?
Pollution releases carbon dioxide into the air. Oceans absorbs a lot of this carbon dioxide. This then causes a chemical reaction which makes the water more acidic. Ocean acidification it the ocean becoming more acidic. This is negatively affecting the shells of some organisms like claims, oysters and sea urchins. It is also affecting coral reef growth.
Imagine a double line graph. One line shows the rate of human population (population amount over time) the other line shows the rate of extinction (amount of extinction over time).
Describe the 2 slopes ( lines)
Both lines would have a positive slope because human population and extinction rates are both increasing over time.