Habitat Loss, Overharvesting, Invasions, and Climate Change

All flashcards

What is an endemic species?

A species that occurs naturally in a specific geographic area and nowhere else. Such species can be highly vulnerable when that area's habitat is damaged.

What is habitat loss?

The destruction or substantial alteration of the places and environmental conditions that species need to survive. If habitat is eliminated across a species' range, extinction can result.

How do dams alter river ecosystems?

Dams change the flow of water, affecting species adapted to natural river conditions and potentially reducing or eliminating their populations.

What does FSC certification indicate?

The Forest Stewardship Council certifies specific forest products as meeting standards for responsible sourcing. Certification applies to particular products rather than automatically covering every product from a producer.

Why are Sumatra and Borneo examples of biodiversity at risk?

Their forests support orangutans, elephants, tigers, and many other species, but extensive forest clearing for timber and palm oil threatens these habitats and their endemic species.

Quiz questions

1. What does a fishery collapse mean?Answer: A fish population has declined so much that it cannot support its former level of fishing.
2. How can open-access fisheries produce a tragedy of the commons?Answer: Each fisher has an incentive to harvest before others, contributing to collective depletion.
3. What makes an introduced species invasive?Answer: It establishes and spreads in ways that can threaten native organisms or ecosystems.
4. Why does declining sea ice threaten polar bears?Answer: It reduces access to sea ice used as a platform for hunting seals.
5. Why can introduced predators be especially damaging on islands?Answer: Isolated native species may have few defenses against unfamiliar predators.