WorksheetsBiodiversity and Sustainability
Total questions: 4
Worksheet time: 20mins
An ecosystem that is not sustainable can break down when a natural disaster occurs. This can lead to organisms in the ecosystem either leaving the area or dying off.
Increased biodiversity results in a more sustainable ecosystem because -
a greater number of plants species means that there is less barren land
a greater variety of species present allows more organisms to adapt after changes occur
the transition area between two ecosystems is narrower
there are fewer species to be affected by environmental stresses
Students in a science class visited four local ecosystems. The students observed the species present in each ecosystem and recorded their observations in the table.
Based on these observations, which ecosystem is likely to be the least sustainable?
Ecosystem 1, because it has the fewest species
Ecosystem 2, because it includes both aquatic and terrestrial species
Ecosystem 3, because it has few predators
Ecosystem 4, because it supports many animals
Tropical rain forest have the greatest biodiversity of any type of land ecosystem. How does biodiversity contribute to the sustainability of an ecosystem?
The presence of more species with different adaptations makes it more likely that some organisms will survive an ecological disaster.
Greater genetic variation within species makes it more likely that some individuals will survive a disease outbreak.
The presence of a variety of herbivore species that can feed on a large number of different producer species helps ensure abundant prey for predators in the ecosystem.
All of the above.
The food web below models relationships among the organisms in two ecosystems.
Which ecosystem would be more likely to survive if a disease killed the grasses?
The forest ecosystem, because most of the animals can eat other organisms
The grassland ecosystem, because several predators compete for food
The forest ecosystem, because it has three top predators
The grassland ecosystem, because it has many herbivores
