Biodiversity, Ecosystems, and Resilience Assessment

What is biodiversity?

• The total number of animals in an ecosystem

• The total of all genetically-based variation in all organisms in the biosphere

• The number of endangered species in a region

• The study of living organisms in their natural habitats

Which of the following is NOT one of the three types of biodiversity mentioned in the text?

• Ecosystem diversity

• Species diversity

• Habitat diversity

• Genetic diversity

What does ecosystem diversity refer to?

• The variety of habitats, communities, and ecological processes in the biosphere

• The number of different species in a particular area

• The total of all different forms of genes present in a particular species

• The study of relationships between organisms and their environment

Approximately how many eukaryotic species have been identified and named by biologists?

• 9 million

• 100,000

• 1.2 million

• 500,000

What is genetic diversity?

• The number of different habitats in an ecosystem

• The variety of species in a particular area

• The total of all different forms of genes present in a particular species

• The number of endangered species in a region

Why is genetic diversity important?

• It provides food for predators

• It enables organisms to adapt to changing external factors

• It prevents ecosystem collapse

• It increases the number of keystone species

Which medicine was first discovered in wild species?

(a)  

How can wild plant relatives benefit agriculture?

• They can carry genes for disease resistance that could be transferred to crop plants

• They can be used as natural fertilizers

• They can be sold as exotic foods

• They prevent soil erosion around crop fields

What is resilience in an ecosystem?

• The ability of an ecosystem to resist any change

• The ability of an ecosystem to recover after a disturbance

• The number of keystone species in an ecosystem

• The amount of biodiversity in an ecosystem

How does biodiversity contribute to ecosystem resilience?

• It increases the number of predators in the ecosystem

• It ensures that all organisms have the same tolerance ranges

• It makes ecosystems more vulnerable to change

• It increases the likelihood that some species can tolerate different environmental conditions