Planetary Boundaries and Biodiversity

In what way are humans most impacting the biodiversity of ecosystems around the world?

• a. We are putting too many organisms in zoos or keeping them as pets
• b. We are increasing biodiversity by breeding new species
• c. We are destroying the habitats of a large number of species
• d. Recreational hunting

What does biodiversity mean?

• Only one species in an area.
• The different amount of species in an area
• All abiotic life
• Nitrogen fixation

Biodiversity is the variety of ________ in a community.

• genes
• population
• species
• community

 Which biome is more likely to survive a change in the environment?

• High (rich) biodiversity
• Low (poor) biodiversity

Scientists think people have directly caused the extinction of some species through ______________.

• habitat destruction
• poaching
• pollution
• All of these

What are some consequences of DDT? (Choose two answers)

• DDT gets into the human body fat

• DDT causes birds to lay fragile eggs that break

• DDT causes malaria, a deadly disease

• DDT increases the number of mosquitoes

What is DDT?

• A pesticide, a chemical used to kill insects

• A chemical that helps insects

• A dance move

• A parasite that causes malaria

In the energy pyramid here, how much of the energy in each level gets lost as heat or used by the organism for survival?

• 80%
• 90%
• 10%
• 20%

The phenomenon by which toxins concentrate in the organisms at higher trophic levels within an ecosystem is known as...

• Biotoxicity

• Biomagnification

• Eutrophication

• Predation

Consider the following food chain:

Algae > Mayfly > Minnow > Trout

In a polluted ecosystem, which organism would likely have the HIGHEST level of toxic chemicals in its body?

• Algae

• Mayfly

• Minnow

• Trout