Biodiversity Conservation

what human activity is the largest cause of biodiveristy decline?

habitat destruction

what human activity removes more individuals than can be replaced by the population?

overharvesting

This pictures shows how overharvesting caused the collapse of the Atlantic cod fishery. What does the right graph represent?

The right valleys represents a healthy cod population. The left valley represents a collapsed population. The purple boll represents heavy fishing acting as a force that pushes the green ball into the left valley, leaving the cod population trapped in recovery phase.

what human activity can cause organisms to compete with, consume, and infect native species?

introduced species

what human activity produces heavy metals, toxins, and pesticides can impact individuals species and whole food webs?

pollution

DDT was a common outdoor spray that controlled mosquito populations in 1972. DDT undergoes biomagnification in food webs meaning it tends to stay within bodies of organisms that consume it. Using this diagram, explain the cascade effect of DDT.

Plankton absorb DDT from the water and, as predators eat them, it causes birds of prey, such as bald eagles and osprey, to lay fragile, thin shelled eggs that crack before hatching. Predator populations start to decline causes prey populations to explode.

what threatens species that can’t adapt to new environments or move to track suitable habitat?

global climate change

in what ways have countries reduced habitata destruction?

increased habitat protection

as overharvesting as reduced over the years, what do we observe in many populations?

populations have the capacity to rebound

How have gray wolves been a prime example of the trends we see from reduced harvesting?

In 2023 10 gray wolves were released in the Southern rockies after regional extinction and by 2024 the first pups were produced. They’re now establishing new territories and forming packs.

How can we prevent new species invasions and manage invasive species at levels that minimize their impacts? Use the lionfish as an example.

Lionfish, that are an extremely invasive and voracious predator, have been fished and put on menus across the nation

How is the Paris agreement an example of how we’ve acted to regress the effects of global climate change?

The agreement was the keep the rise in global average temp below 2C