Unit 3: Biodiversity, Conservation and Change
Topic 3.3: Threats to Biodiversity Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB ESS Topic 3.3. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
1Suggest1 mark
• Aimnova PP-practice — 3.3.2
Suggest one method that could be used to incentivise cattle ranchers in the Colombian Amazon to support jaguar conservation rather than shooting jaguars as a threat to livestock.
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• Aimnova PP-practice — 3.3.4
State one ecological argument for rewilding a large apex predator such as the Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) into a region from which it has been locally extinct for 50 years.
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• Aimnova PP-practice — 3.3.1
Name one category of value that can be assigned to the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) as justification for its conservation.
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• Aimnova PP-practice — 3.3.2
State one commercially traded product and one ecosystem service (not a commercial product) that the Pantanal wetland of South America provides as natural capital.
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A conservation project focuses on tourism and income generation. Identify the environmental perspective most closely associated with this approach.
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• Aimnova PP-practice — 3.3.4
Outline why sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are classified as a keystone species in North Pacific kelp forest ecosystems.
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Identify one reason why people support conservation.
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• Aimnova PP-practice — 3.3.1
Distinguish between a keystone species and a flagship species in conservation biology.
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• Aimnova PP-practice — 3.3.1
Outline how the mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) functions as a flagship species and explain what conservation benefit this provides.
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• Aimnova PP-practice — 3.3.2
Using the tourism revenue data in Figure 2, outline one way in which growing visitor numbers to the Danum Valley rainforest in Malaysian Borneo could affect conservation efforts.
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An abandoned sheep farm is left unmanaged and native shrubs and trees begin to regrow. Identify the conservation approach being used.
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A critically endangered frog is kept in a laboratory where eggs are raised and tadpoles are grown to adulthood for later release. Identify the conservation strategy being used.
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A zoo runs a breeding programme for a species that no longer survives in its natural habitat. Identify the IUCN category that best matches this situation.
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• Aimnova PP-practice — 3.3.3
Predict how the removal of logging roads from a critically important tiger corridor in Sumatra, Indonesia, could benefit the Sumatran tiger population.
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Outline one aesthetic reason for protecting biodiversity.
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A ranger team uses satellite images to detect new clearings in a protected area and responds quickly. Identify the type of action this represents.
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A timber company wants to sell wood to high-value international markets but must meet sustainability standards to do so. Identify the conservation tool being used.
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Define the term ex situ conservation.
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Two small nature reserves are separated by a busy highway. A “green bridge” is built so animals can cross safely. Identify the conservation strategy represented by the green bridge.
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• Aimnova PP-practice — 3.3.5
Identify one advantage and one limitation of using a national park as a method of in situ conservation.
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