Biodiversity and Succession

Biodiversity

100

The unique "role" that a species plays in an ecosystem

Niche

200

The three levels of biodiversity

Species, genetic, ecosystem (or habitat)

300

The reason why tropical rainforests are more biodiverse than other ecosystems

More stable conditions makes it easier to specialize. More niches = more species

400

The two important parameters used to measure biodiversity

Richness and Evenness

500

Which list of letters has greater overall diversity and WHY?

1: AAAYAAAABAAAACAAAAAAAAAAR

2: YYYYYAAAAAACCCCCCCBBBBBB

List 2 because it has greater evenness (even though there is one fewer different letter)

Succession

100

Define ecological succession in your own words

The change in species composition in an area over time

200

The key difference between primary and secondary succession

Primary- no soil at the beginning, secondary- starts with soil already present.

300

The stable community that is the end result of succession

Climax community

400

Give an example of an early pioneer species in primary succession

moss, lichen (after that ferns and simple plants)

500

How was the man in the food forest video able to produce so much food with so little work compared to conventional (monoculture) farming? 

use knowledge of succession to explain

A food forest is already a climax community, so it's self-stable. A monoculture has to be constantly kept in an early successional stage, which requires a lot of work.

Human impacts

100

What is one example of how human activity harms biodiversity

*answers may vary

200

How many mass extinctions has Earth had in it's history (excluding the present one)

5

300

What is one reason biodiversity is important for humans?

Examples: pollination of crops, ecosystem services, new discoveries, health and nutrients

400

What are at least 2 factors leading to the decline of native bee populations?

disease, climate change, pesticide use

500

Explain a potential solution to one of the biodiversity crises we talked about in class

Example: To reduce plastics in the ocean, ban single-use containers from being manufactured.

Potpourri

100

What type of succession is this any why?- a hurricane comes through an area and knocks down 80% of the trees in a forest.

Secondary- there is still soil available after the storm.

200

The main threat leading to the loss of elephants in Africa

Poaching

300

How does biodiversity increase the resilience of an ecosystem?

More variety of species= more likeliness that some will survive a disturbance.

400

The successional stage made up of shrubs and small trees.

Intermediate species

500

Which set of letters has the greatest richness and why?

1. TTTTGGGGUUUUYYYY

2. TTGTTTUTTTYTTTHTTV

2 because it has more different letters