Invasive/Keystone Review

Invasive/Keystone Review

Biodiversity

The variety of plants and animals and other living things in a particular area or region.

Also means the number, or abundance of different species living within a particular region

Multiple Choice

the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem

• biodiversity

• demography

• carrying capacity

• poaching

Keystone Species

A keystone species is an organism that helps define an entire ecosystem. 

Without its keystone species, the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether.

The removal of a keystone species REDUCES the BIODIVERSITY of the ecosystem.

Keystone Examples

When sea stars are removed from ecosystems, mussel population increases while other species numbers decreases.

Therefore, the biodiversity decreased.

Keystone Examples

The keystone species in this habitat is the sea otter.

The key otter eat urchins and therefore keep the population of sea urchins low. Sea otters also build dams which create wetlands for other organisms to live in.

Without sea otters, sea urchins over populate and eat all of the kelp. Wetlands are destroyed and biodiversity decreases.

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Why are some sharks considered a keystone species?

• Because they are a top predator

• They scare off smaller fish that may overgraze an area of sea grass

• They are tertiary consumers

• They are cartilaginous

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Why are bees considered a keystone species?

• The honey they make supports the bear population

• They pollinate flowers that produce fruit which supports the ecosystem

• They sting when threatened

• They live in hives

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What is a keystone species?

• A species that helps to hold an ecosystem together

• A species that lives in or around rocks

• Keys and stones have nothing to do with ecology

• A keystone isn't a living thing, it's just a stone

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A species form that supports an entire ecosystem.

• Keystone Species

• Herbivores

• Umbrella Species

• Predators

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species that are critical to the functioning of an ecosystem

• mass extinction

• invasive species

• biodiversity

• endangered species

• keystone species

Invasive Species

• Invasive species, or a species that causes harm to a new environment. 

• Invasive species have traits that give them a competitive advantage over native species.

• Invasive species can directly (prey on native species) or indirectly (change food webs) impact native species.

Invasive Species Examples

• The zebra mussel  was carried to the Great Lakes in the mid-1980s from Eastern Europe in ships. 

• They have become  invasive species whose growth produces huge populations.

• They upset aquatic food webs, filtering so much plankton from the water that some native fishes and shellfish starve.  

Invasive Species Examples

• Cane Toads are native to Central and South America.

• Cane Toads were introduced to Australia and other countries to control insects (beetles) that damaged sugar cane plantations.

• The poisonous toads have caused severe damage to local wildlife wherever they were introduced.

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What is a native specie?

• A specie that is local and has lived in the same place
• A specie who has come from another state or country
• A specie that has no "home" and travels for its whole life
• None of the above

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1. What makes a species invasive?

• Moving to a new ecosystem and taking resources from natives 
• Not having papers
• Species that can't adapt
• Plants that take up too much space

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These were released in Australia to eat cane beetles, but now they are an invasive species and number in the millions.

• dingo
• Kangaroo
• Cane toad
• Rabbits

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How did the zebra mussels end up in the Great Lakes?

• In ballast tanks of ships
• They were intentionally released
• They have always been in the Great Lakes
• That's not a zebra mussel

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When taken to a new habitat, non-native plants often threaten native plants of the new habitat. Why do they do this?

• Non-native plants are able to mutate rapidly

• Non-native plants cause native animals to relocate

• Non-native plants are able to be used for medicine

• Non-native plants compete with native plants for resources

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When taken to a new habitat, non-native plants often threaten native plants of the new habitat. Why do they do this?

• Non-native plants are able to mutate rapidly

• Non-native plants cause native animals to relocate

• Non-native plants are able to be used for medicine

• Non-native plants compete with native plants for resources