Chapter 55

The greatest extinction in the history of life on Earth: a. occurred at the end of the Permian period. b. occurred at the end of the Cretaceous period. c. occurred at the end of the Ordovician period. d. occurred at the end of the Cambrian era. e. may be occurring now.

The Red List published by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists: a. biodiversity hotspots. b. the conservation status of species and higher taxonomic groups. c. places where a large proportion of species are likely to face extinction. d. locations where acid precipitation is likely to damage ecosystems. e. the provisioning services provided by a variety of ecosystems.

Deforestation: a. is a problem only in the tropics. b. may speed desertification. c. is slowed by grazing and farming. d. permanently enriches the soil. e. leads to the formation of lush grasslands.

Chemical pollutants: a. can spread rapidly from the places they are released. b. do not appear to influence global climate change. c. have contributed to global mass extinctions. d. rarely affect natural bodies of water. e. rarely influence animals feeding at higher trophic levels.

Population viability analyses allow conservation biologists to: a. identify the source population from which an individual dispersed to a sink population. b. determine how large an area must be preserved for the protection of a threatened species. c. identify whether individuals of a threatened species are reproductively mature. d. predict the minimum population size of a threatened species that is likely to survive. e. predict whether a threatened species will use habitat corridors.

Beta-diversity is a measure of: a. species diversity across community boundaries. b. the number of species within one community. c. the number of endemic species found in a particular place. d. the likelihood that a particular species will become extinct in the next 20 years. e. the minimum population size needed to conserve an endangered species.

For which of the following species has the use of habitat corridors been proposed as an important conservation tool? a. sea otters b. bay checkerspot butterflies c. Florida panthers d. whooping cranes e. Eastern hemlocks

Which of the following is most likely to be a biodiversity hotspot? a. a patch of forest in the middle of North America that is \(500 \mathrm{km}\) from the nearest big city b. a series of uninhabitable sand dunes in the Sahara Desert c. a botanical garden that houses representatives of 25,000 plant species d. a tropical island with many endemic species and a growing human population e. a suburban neighborhood where fields have been converted to backyards and playgrounds

The main goal of restoration ecology is the reestablishment of: a. natural patterns of water flow. b. the vitality of a degraded ecosystem. c. the historical corridors linking forest fragments. d. the natural barriers to animal movement. e ecotourism.

How do concepts from population genetics, metapopulation dynamics, and beta- diversity apply to the design of nature preserves? Do they suggest different ideal designs for nature preserves?

National parks are often established in ecologically sensitive areas. In many places they have become so popular that visitors endanger the ecosystems the parks were originally designed to preserve. How can the goals of conservationists, who work to maintain intact ecosystems, be balanced with those of citizens who wish to visit intact eco- systems? In other words, how would you regulate domestic ecotourism?

Imagine that you are a conservation biologist who has been asked to develop a conservation plan for a species of lizard that lives in the deserts of the American Southwest. What sorts of data would you collect before developing a final plan?

Devise a field study to determine whether the species-area relationship applies to aquatic ecosystems, such as ponds and lakes, as it does to terrestrial habitats.

Over exploitation of marine fish stocks has depleted natural populations and caused a reduction in the age and size at which many fish species become reproductively mature. What sort of government regulations of fishing might reverse the current trend toward smaller adult size? Explain your answer in terms of the selection pressures that fishing places on targeted species.