Vocabulary
Define “biodiversity.”
The variety of life in an area.
What is “species richness”?
The number of species in an ecosystem.
Name one threat to biodiversity.
overexploitation, habitat loss/fragmentation, pollution, invasive species, climate change
List at least 3 direct economic effects of biodiversity.
Materials for clothing, shelter, medicine, and paper goods. Tourism, including travel hiking, snorkeling, diving, and ziplining etc. Bionics.
The variety of habitats in an area is...
Ecosystem Diversity.
If Site A has Simpson’s Diversity Index 0.23 and Site B has 0.45, which site is more diverse and why?
Site a because the SDI is closer to 0.
Name a species that has been overexploited in Maine.
List at least 3 indirect economic effects of biodiversity.
Improved recovery after disease, floods, droughts, or fires. Improved soil health, production of oxygen, uptake of carbon dioxide, bioremediation, clean water, crop production.
Define “invasive species” and provide one Maine example that harms local habitats.
Given Area X has 3 species with counts [10, 10, 10] and Area Y has 3 species with counts [28, 1, 1], which area has higher evenness? Explain briefly.
Area X, because evenness is a description of the relative abundance of species. In Area X, they all have the same abundance, in Area Y, one species is dominating.
Describe the effect that climate change has had on one species in Maine.
Shrimp, sugar maples, lobster, and herring - all moving North
Corals - dying
Define bioremediation and give an example of it.
Using organisms such as plants and bacteria to detoxify polluted ecosystems. Planting hemp at an air force base to remove forever chemicals from the soil.
Describe the difference between bioaccumulation and biomagnification.
Bioaccumulation is the build up of a toxin in ONE animal over it's life. Biomagnification is the build up of a toxin in a whole food chain, concentrating the toxin at the top.
What is the current extinction rate?
1000-5000 per million species per year.
Predict which island (30 sq mi vs. 400 sq mi nearby) will likely have higher biodiversity using and defining the term “edge effect.”
400 sq miles will have more because the edge effect is greater on the smaller island, meaning that conditions are different on the edge vs middle of a habitat, so not all organisms can thrive in either place. Since the 400 sq mile island has a larger middle, it can likely support more species there.
Explain why higher biodiversity generally makes an ecosystem more resilient. At least two examples.
Less vulnerable to diseases spread (because not all individuals are vulnerable and vulnerable individuals are more spread out), less food chain disruption (with more organisms at each level of the food chain/web, there are other things to eat if one species is reduced/removed), stabilizing soil (prevents erosion after storms), etc.
Define “genetic diversity” and explain why low genetic diversity increases extinction risk; give one example of a species with low genetic diversity.
The variety of genes within a species, more vulnerable to diseases or bad mutations, kelp, moose, cheetah
Calculate the SDI of a forest with 4 Red Maples, 5 Northern Red Oaks, 8 Eastern Hemlocks, and 3 Yellow Birch trees.
0.25
Describe a reintroduction program and identify one reason it might fail after replanting or release.
Answers will vary. Problems could be their food no longer exists, the habitat has changed, etc.
Name one keystone species covered in the unit. Describe 3+ effects that species had on its ecosystem.
Wolves at yellowstone, whales in the ocean, or sea otters in kelp forests.