Biodiversity Questions AP Environmental Science

Which of the following statements about levels of biodiversity is correct?

• Genetic biodiversity is a measure of the total number of genes in a community.

• A narrow distribution of habitats leads to an increase in species diversity.

• Global hotspots are areas where species diversity is thriving due to habitat restoration.

• A population with high genetic biodiversity is better able to respond to environmental stressors.

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Which of the following best explains how environmental stressors, such as wildfires, can affect biodiversity in an ecosystem?

• After an environmental stress, a genetic bottleneck may occur, which will increase genetic diversity.

• Habitat diversity will increase the available niches if the landscape becomes more uniform after a disturbance.

• Ecosystems with more species diversity are more likely to recover after a disturbance than ecosystems with low species diversity.

• Smaller populations are less likely to go extinct than larger populations, so the species diversity will remain constant.

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Which of the following examples illustrates the community with the highest biodiversity?

• A

• B

• C

• D

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Which of the following would be categorized as a cultural ecosystem service of forests?

• Recreation and scenic areas for tourism

• Timber and landscape materials

• Mushroom and plant harvests

• Soil stabilization and air purification

Which of the following would most likely result from the deforestation of large areas of tropical rain forests caused by slash-and-burn agriculture?

• Increased ozone thinning because of the release of CFCs

• Decreased acid rain because of the sequestration of SO

  2

• Increased global temperature because of the release of CO

  2

• Deceased evaporation because of the loss of the tree canopy

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Which of the following correctly describes the disruption of an ecosystem service by an anthropogenic activity?

• Provisioning services are disrupted by increased combustion of fossil fuels, which leads to an increase in air pollution.

• Regulating services are disrupted by flash flooding from a hurricane, which decreases available food resources.

• Supporting services are disrupted by an earthquake that causes habitat destruction, which displaces plants and animals.

• Cultural services are disrupted by a tornado that causes the loss of acres of forest, which reduces the amount of harvestable timber.

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Based on the theory of island biogeography, which of the following is the most likely reason that an island in the ocean that is 5 kilometers from a continent would have a higher number of species than one that is 15 kilometers from a continent?

• There are more species that have the ability to travel 5 kilometers than can travel 15 kilometers.

• Islands that are closer to continents always have a wider range of habitats than more distant islands do.

• There are smaller populations of each species on islands that are at greater distances from continents.

• Islands that are closer to continents always have more ecological niches than more distant islands do.

A 163 square-kilometer (km²) small island is found 2,000km

from the mainland. A second, larger, 230,000 km² island is found 1,000km from the mainland. Based on the theory of island biogeography, which of the following statements is most likely true about the small island when compared with the large island?

• The rate of immigration is lower for the small island than for the large island.

• The small island has niches that are more like the mainland than the large island.

• The small island has more available resources than the large island.

• The rate of species extinction is lower on the small island than on the large island.

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Highly specialized species tend to evolve on islands because of the environmental conditions and resource availability.

Based on the theory of island biogeography, which of the following would most likely experience the greatest decline of specialist species if an invasive species emigrated from the mainland?

• A small island a far distance from the mainland

• A small island in close proximity to the mainland

• A large island a far distance from the mainland

• A large island in close proximity to the mainland

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Based on the data shown in the graph, which of the following events occurred after the glacial retreat?

• Primary succession

• Flooding

• Sea level rise

• Global climate change

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