BSC 3052 EXAM 1 QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED
ANSWERS
Conservation biology is - Answers - A. Concerned with detecting problems.
B. Concerned with evaluating solutions.
C. A multidisciplinary science.
What is meant by "Crisis Discipline" - Answers - Decisions need to be made quickly and
with limited information
What kind of triage is conservation biology? - Answers - Can be saved - absolute
urgency
Pre-1850 Conservation Biology - Answers - Religious ideas of stewardship
Enclosure and preservation of royal hunting grounds
— Royal forest
1850-1950 Conservation Biology - Answers - Transcendental / romantic ethic
— Beauty of nature (national parks)
— Preservation for spiritual value
Resource conservation ethic
— Nature conservation (national forests)
— Sustainable resource production
Evolutionary-Ecologic land ethic
— Man as part of complex ecology
1950s Conservation Biology - Answers - Synthetic pesticides adopted for agriculture
Why was DDT a problem? Biomagnification
Regulating Services - Answers - Ecosystems produce things we harvest
Ecosystems can control natural processes
Cultural Services - Answers - Ecosystems provide non-material benefits
Supporting Services - Answers - Services that benefit us indirectly, make other services
possible
Provisioning Services - Answers - Products obtained from ecosystems
I=PxAxT - Answers - I = Environmental impact
P = Population
A = Affluence
T = Technology
, Biodiversity - Answers - the variety of organisms at all levels of biological organization
Morphological species concept - Answers - individuals are grouped into species on the
basis of morphological and physiological similarities
Biological species concept - Answers - individuals that interbreed in the wild to produce
viable, fertile offspring
Evolutionary/Phylogenetic species concept - Answers - a distinct evolutionary lineage
based on average genetic relatedness
Phylogenetic diversity - Answers - Species weighted based on their evolutionary
distinctiveness
Calculated using phylogenetic tree
Measures evolutionary dispersion of biotas
Functional diversity - Answers - Species weighted based on their ecological
distinctiveness Calculated based on characters (traits) representing niche
dimensions
Measures ecological dispersion of biotas
Ecosystem diversity - Answers - Ecoregions = large areas with similar mix of
environmental
conditions and relatively distinct group of organisms
• Ecoregions are defined differently depending on the goals of the person doing the
definition.
Alpha diversity - Answers - Diversity of a local community on some scale of interest
Within habitat
Beta diversity - Answers - Change (or turnover) in species composition over some
distance
Between habitat
Gamma Diversity - Answers - Total diversity over a large geographic area such as
biome,
continent, or ocean basin
Extinction - Answers - the loss of all individuals in the population of a given species
Endemic - Answers - a species unique to a particular area
Threats to biodiversity and causes of endangerment - Answers - Habitat
loss/degradation
Overexploitation
ANSWERS
Conservation biology is - Answers - A. Concerned with detecting problems.
B. Concerned with evaluating solutions.
C. A multidisciplinary science.
What is meant by "Crisis Discipline" - Answers - Decisions need to be made quickly and
with limited information
What kind of triage is conservation biology? - Answers - Can be saved - absolute
urgency
Pre-1850 Conservation Biology - Answers - Religious ideas of stewardship
Enclosure and preservation of royal hunting grounds
— Royal forest
1850-1950 Conservation Biology - Answers - Transcendental / romantic ethic
— Beauty of nature (national parks)
— Preservation for spiritual value
Resource conservation ethic
— Nature conservation (national forests)
— Sustainable resource production
Evolutionary-Ecologic land ethic
— Man as part of complex ecology
1950s Conservation Biology - Answers - Synthetic pesticides adopted for agriculture
Why was DDT a problem? Biomagnification
Regulating Services - Answers - Ecosystems produce things we harvest
Ecosystems can control natural processes
Cultural Services - Answers - Ecosystems provide non-material benefits
Supporting Services - Answers - Services that benefit us indirectly, make other services
possible
Provisioning Services - Answers - Products obtained from ecosystems
I=PxAxT - Answers - I = Environmental impact
P = Population
A = Affluence
T = Technology
, Biodiversity - Answers - the variety of organisms at all levels of biological organization
Morphological species concept - Answers - individuals are grouped into species on the
basis of morphological and physiological similarities
Biological species concept - Answers - individuals that interbreed in the wild to produce
viable, fertile offspring
Evolutionary/Phylogenetic species concept - Answers - a distinct evolutionary lineage
based on average genetic relatedness
Phylogenetic diversity - Answers - Species weighted based on their evolutionary
distinctiveness
Calculated using phylogenetic tree
Measures evolutionary dispersion of biotas
Functional diversity - Answers - Species weighted based on their ecological
distinctiveness Calculated based on characters (traits) representing niche
dimensions
Measures ecological dispersion of biotas
Ecosystem diversity - Answers - Ecoregions = large areas with similar mix of
environmental
conditions and relatively distinct group of organisms
• Ecoregions are defined differently depending on the goals of the person doing the
definition.
Alpha diversity - Answers - Diversity of a local community on some scale of interest
Within habitat
Beta diversity - Answers - Change (or turnover) in species composition over some
distance
Between habitat
Gamma Diversity - Answers - Total diversity over a large geographic area such as
biome,
continent, or ocean basin
Extinction - Answers - the loss of all individuals in the population of a given species
Endemic - Answers - a species unique to a particular area
Threats to biodiversity and causes of endangerment - Answers - Habitat
loss/degradation
Overexploitation
