1. Biodiversity is related to the economic value of a species or area. Name 3 direct values/services of species or the environment and 3 indirect services.

Direct Values/ Services of species:

• Natural pollination of crops
• Breathable and Clean air
• Provisioning services including potable water, food and medicinal benefits.

Indirect Values/ Services of species:

• Ethical or moral value
• Ecological value
• Aesthetic value

 

2. The scale at which conservation biologist work often makes direct experimentation difficult. But computer models can assist in predicting the future of populations of ecosystems. Some scientists feel that these models are inadequate because they cannot reproduce all the variables found in the real world. If you were trying to predict the impact on songbirds of clear-cutting a portion of a forest, what information would you need to develop a good model?

 

To have a good model to predict its impact not just in its present state but the impact for the future, information that would help develop a good model to predict the impact of songbirds as there would be clear-cutting of a portion of the forest is population and the growth rate of these organisms. The population and growth rate would reflect how vast the impact would be both on the songbirds and their probability of extinction. Information about alternative habitation would also be important to be able to distinguish probable places of relocation to be able to preserve the population of songbirds. With this information on hand, it would be easier to solve further problems arising concerning the population and possible impacts on songbirds.

 

3. Bioprospecting is the search for medically useful molecules derived from living organisms. The desire for monetary and medicinal gains from such discoveries can lead to the overexploitation of endangered species. What types of living organisms would bio prospectors be most interested in?

 

Bio prospectors should build much interest in living organisms that contain enzymes and protein that would be beneficial for people. Living organisms that contain molecular properties that would help effectively cure life-threatening illnesses such as cancer and the Covid-19 would be both beneficial for bio prospectors and the people.

 

4. Fill in the following table about causes of extinction:

 

Cause of extinction	Describe / explain	Two examples of species or ecosystems being harmed by this action
Habitat loss	When a habitat is lost, the ability of the plants, animals, and other living organisms to survive in the ecosystem will degrade and eventually flatten to the extent of becoming extinct.	-Mountain Gorillas -Sea Turtles
Exotic species	Species that are exotic and invasive may cause harm to another living organism, hence, they are being destroyed or killed to avoid its effect on others.	-Honeysuckle -Purple loosestrife
Pollution	Pollution can kill species and can lead to extinction. Garbage pollution is a great threat to the marine ecosystem.	-Pacific Loggerhead Sea Turtle - Cory’s Shearwater
Climate change	With the changing of the temperature to a hotter state, cold-grown species die and became extinct.	-Polar Bear. -Snow Leopard.
Overexploitation	Overexploitation refers to the over-harvesting of natural resources that are vital to its co-existing species and can affect its capability of reproducing.	-crayfish -sea stars

 

 

 

5. Describe the biotic potential of the lionfish and explain how it’s contributing to the destruction of coral reefs in the Caribbean. Propose potential solutions to minimize the impact that lionfish have upon the coral reef ecosystem in the Caribbean.

 

The biotic potential of female lionfish can go about 2 million eggs per year reproducing every 4 days. This biotic potential of lionfish has excessively contributed to the exponential growth of such along the Caribbean. And with this situation, coral reefs are being destroyed. To limit such growth of population, there should be natural predators along the Caribbean to minimize and regulate the growth of lionfish.

 

6. If your economic livelihood was destroyed by the invasion of the lionfish, would you want to hold the people who introduced them into the Atlantic responsible? How would you do this?

 

 

 

Yes, lionfish invasion can cause the extinction of another living organism in the ocean for lionfish can eat and expand up to 30 times their original size just to consume another organism. With this, it can not only destroy coral reefs but also the livelihood of people. If this happens, people who introduced such should be accountable, this is for the reason that before proposing this, they would have seen the possible effects of such. To make them accountable, make them implement strategic management to regulate lionfish in the ecosystem or have further studies to regulate their invasion. Alongside the community regulation, there should be laws and regulations that would limit or prevent the introduction of such organisms or make this illegal to prevent such happenings to further spread.

 

7. Is it possible for an invasive species to play a beneficial role in the ecosystem it was introduced into?

 

Yes. Invasive species are considered to be disrupting the ecosystem as it throwing the native population into disarray. But there are certain circumstances wherein these invasive species turn out to be beneficial. One example of invasive plants, these plants produced so much in a small amount of time that would help in keeping birds because they have enough supply of food. These invasive species also have rich pollens or nectar that can be an energy supply for bees. This can be seen in California as native butterflies are fed with non-native plants. Thus, in certain circumstances, invasive species can be beneficial in the ecosystem.