Biodiversity Answers

Which of the following statements about migration is true?

A mutation that causes resistance in a population of beetles is an example of _______.

What is a possible cause for a decrease in ecosystem productivity?

How can an increase in biodiversity lead to an increase in ecosystem stability?

Organisms can have positive or negative impacts on the ecosystem they live in. The cane toad, or Rhinella marina, was introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in 1932 by sugar cane farmers. Farmers released the toads in their crops to help control pests that were damaging the sugar cane. The cane toad has few natural predators, as it secretes a poisonous toxin from its skin that deters larger organisms from eating it. As a result, the cane toad population thrived and grew to number hundreds of thousands by 1935. Photo by Patrick Gijsbers Which role does the cane toad play in the Hawaiian Islands?

Macroevolution occurs within a population.

Ecosystems with greater biodiversity have an increased stability.

Consider the following food chain: Plants are eaten by grasshoppers, which are eaten by mice, which are eaten by snakes. What would happen to the other members of the food chain if the plant population was wiped out?

Consider the following food chain: Plants are eaten by grasshoppers, which are eaten by mice, which are eaten by snakes. What will happen to snakes in the long term if mice become extinct?

Organisms are dependent on each other for the energy they need to survive. Photos (left to right) by Mehmet Karatay, Jens Buurgaard Nielsen, Furryscaly, and Walter Siegmund What would occur if the snake population is removed from the ecosystem pictured above?