Topic 3.2: Natural Selection, Variation and Speciation Questions

Explain one reason why a large proportion of deep-sea invertebrate species appear in the 'Data Deficient' category of the IUCN Red List.

State which organisation publishes the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Define the term conservation status.

State one reason why good biodiversity data helps conservation planning.

A bar chart shows the percentage of species in each IUCN threat category for four taxonomic groups: freshwater turtles, seagrasses, stony corals, and dragonflies. Read the approximate percentage of freshwater turtle species that are classified as threatened (combining Vulnerable, Endangered, and Critically Endangered).

A river fishery is open to anyone. Each fisher increases their catch because they worry others will take the fish first. Define the term tragedy of the commons.

A farmer plans to clear forest for cattle ranching, but a PES programme offers annual payments if the forest is kept standing. Suggest one reason this could reduce deforestation.

State one reason why good biodiversity data is important for conservation planning.

State two direct threats to biodiversity.

Rangers discover traps set in a protected forest to catch wildlife for meat and trade. Identify one direct threat to biodiversity shown in this scenario.

A species is described as widespread and common with a stable population trend. Identify the most likely IUCN category.

State one criterion the IUCN uses when assigning a conservation status to a species.

Table 2 shows information used to assess three species for the IUCN Red List.

Table 1 shows three human pressures recorded in four forest sites and the number of gorilla groups observed.

A clothing company switches to sustainably sourced materials and reduces wastewater release from its factory. Suggest two ways businesses can contribute to conserving biodiversity.

Suggest two reasons why the Amur leopard cat is at greater risk of extinction than the Amur leopard, given that both species live in the same temperate forest biome in the Russian Far East and both have experienced significant habitat loss.

Identify two factors that can be used to assess a species' conservation status.

The Sundarbans is the world's largest mangrove forest, located in the delta region of Bangladesh and India. Study the resource booklet figures showing the location, climate data, and biodiversity statistics for the Sundarbans region.

Explain the chain of ecological processes by which conversion of the Kalahari scrubland into irrigated cropland could ultimately cause the local extinction of the rufous-tailed shrike, a ground-nesting insectivore that feeds on beetles, grasshoppers, and small lizards.

Outline two mechanisms by which the introduction of a non-native predatory fish, the Nile tilapia, into Lake Tangeru (a fictional East African rift lake) could lead to a reduction in the lake's native species richness.