Biodiversity and Conservation — Practice

Question 1

Differentiate between in situ and ex situ conservation with one example each.

Accepted Answer

In situ conserves species in their natural habitat (e.g. Kaziranga National Park); ex situ conserves them outside it (e.g. a zoo or seed bank).

Question 2

Name the four major causes of biodiversity loss (the Evil Quartet).

Accepted Answer

Habitat loss and fragmentation, overexploitation, invasive alien species, and co-extinctions.

Question 3

What is a biodiversity hotspot and what are the criteria for one?

Accepted Answer

A biodiversity hotspot is a region of very high biodiversity that is under threat. To qualify it must have at least 1500 endemic vascular plant species and have lost at least 70% of its original vegetation.

Question 4

What are ecosystem services? Give two examples.

Accepted Answer

They are benefits humans gain from ecosystems, such as pollination by insects and water purification by wetlands (also climate regulation and soil formation).

Question 5

What is the species-area relationship and what does z represent?

Accepted Answer

It states that species richness increases with area as S = c A^z. The exponent z is the slope of the log-log plot, about 0.1-0.2 for mainland regions and 0.6-1.2 for islands.

Practice — Biodiversity and Conservation

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