Factors Affecting Biodiversity

• What are some factors affecting biodiversity?

  Human population growth, habitat loss, overexploitation, urbanization, pollution, and monoculture
• What does monoculture mean?

  Growing a single variety of a single crop over a large area
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of monoculture?

  Advantages:

  • Standardized planting, maintenance, and harvesting
  • Standardized product with desired characteristics
  • Higher yields
  • Lower costs/more efficient

  
  

  Disadvantages:

  • Habitat loss/deforestation
  • Reduction in biodiversity
  • Greater risk of disease/pest outbreaks
  • Less able to cope with climate change
• What are the reasons for maintaining biodiversity?

  Economic, ecological, ethical, and aesthetic reasons
• What are the aesthetic reasons for maintaining biodiversity?

  • Enrichment of lives through natural experiences
  • Inspiration for arts and music
  • Faster recovery from stress and injury with access to nature
• What are the economic reasons for maintaining biodiversity?

  • Prevention of soil erosion and desertification
  • Utilization of natural resources (timber, food)
  • Potential for ecotourism
  • Discovery of new medicines
  • Use of wild relatives in crop breeding
• What are the ecological reasons for maintaining biodiversity?

  • Species interdependence (food chains, pollination)
  • Keystone species maintain ecological structure
  • Atmospheric gas balance
  • Maintenance of genetic resources
  • Ecosystem services (clean water, pollination, etc.)
• What are the ethical reasons for maintaining biodiversity?

  • Ethical priority to protect biodiversity
  • Right of organisms to survive in natural habitats
  • Responsibility to conserve for future generations
  • Protection of indigenous peoples' homes and resources
• What is a keystone species?

  A species that has a key role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community
• How do keystone species affect their ecosystems?

  They have a disproportionately large effect relative to their abundance
• What happens to an ecosystem when a keystone species is lost?

  Loss of a habitat will dramatically change the ecosystem
• What role do many keystone species play in their ecosystems?

  They keep herbivore population sizes in check
• How can keystone species act as ecosystem engineers?

  By providing and maintaining microhabitats
• What is an example of a keystone species that acts as an ecosystem engineer?

  Beavers