Chapter 13 Solutions — Biodiversity and Conservation

Chapter-end Exercises

1. 1.
   Name the three important components of biodiversity.
2. 2.
   How do ecologists estimate the total number of species present in the world?
3. 3.
   Give three hypotheses for explaining why tropics show greatest levels of species richness.
4. 4.
   What is the significance of the slope of regression in a species – area relationship?
5. 5.
   What are the major causes of species losses in a geographical region?
6. 6.
   How is biodiversity important for ecosystem functioning?
7. 7.
   What are sacred groves? What is their role in conservation?
8. 8.
   Among the ecosystem services are control of floods and soil erosion. How is this achieved by the biotic components of the ecosystem?
9. 9.
   The species diversity of plants (22 per cent) is much less than that of animals (72 per cent). What could be the explanations to how animals achieved greater diversification?
10. 10.
    Can you think of a situation where we deliberately want to make a species extinct? How would you justify it?