Conservation Biology Flashcards
7 cards from real Biology Test practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Conservation Biology flashcards as text
Trophic cascades in conservation biology demonstrate that:
Answer: The removal of top predators can trigger dramatic changes throughout the food web
When apex predators are removed, populations of their prey increase unchecked, leading to overgrazing or over-predation that restructures lower trophic levels.
What is 'assisted migration' in the context of climate change conservation?
Answer: Deliberately relocating species to more suitable habitat ahead of climate-driven range shifts
Assisted migration (or managed relocation) moves species to new areas where projected future climates better match their requirements, helping them survive climate change.
Which metric is used to estimate the biodiversity value of a habitat patch based on its isolation and size?
Answer: Species-area relationship (SAR)
The species-area relationship predicts species richness from habitat area, making it a practical tool for evaluating how much biodiversity a patch can support.
In marine conservation, what does the term 'no-take zone' refer to?
Answer: Marine protected areas where all extractive activities including fishing are prohibited
No-take zones are the strictest class of marine protected areas, prohibiting all extraction to allow ecosystems and fish populations to recover.
Which ecological concept explains why removing one species can cause a disproportionate collapse of an entire ecosystem?
Answer: Keystone species concept
Keystone species have an outsized effect on ecosystem structure relative to their biomass, so their loss can trigger cascading extinctions.
What is the primary conservation value of maintaining genetic diversity within a wild population?
Answer: It increases the population's adaptive potential to survive new diseases, climate shifts, and other stressors
Genetic diversity provides the raw material for natural selection, allowing populations to adapt to environmental changes and resist pathogens.
The minimum viable population (MVP) concept in conservation biology defines the smallest population size that:
Answer: Has a specified probability of persistence for a given time period in the wild
MVP is defined as the smallest isolated population that has a statistically adequate chance of surviving for a defined period despite demographic and environmental stochasticity.