Environmental Science: Biodiversity and Habitat Loss
Exploring how habitat changes affect living things
Environmental Science: Biodiversity and Habitat Loss
Exploring how habitat changes affect living things
Environmental Science - Grade 6-8
- 1
Define biodiversity in your own words. Include an example of biodiversity in a forest ecosystem.
Think about how many different species live in one place.
Biodiversity is the variety of living things in an area, including different plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms. In a forest, biodiversity might include oak trees, mosses, mushrooms, squirrels, insects, birds, and soil bacteria. - 2
A wetland is drained to build a shopping center. Name two ways this habitat loss could affect animals that lived in the wetland.
The animals could lose places to find food, water, shelter, and nesting sites. Some animals may move to other areas, but others may die if they cannot find a suitable habitat. - 3
Explain the difference between habitat loss and habitat fragmentation.
One means habitat is gone, and the other means habitat is split apart.
Habitat loss happens when a habitat is destroyed or changed so much that organisms can no longer live there. Habitat fragmentation happens when a large habitat is broken into smaller, separated pieces, making it harder for organisms to move, find mates, and get resources. - 4
A grassland has many types of grasses, flowers, insects, birds, and small mammals. A nearby field has only one crop species growing in rows. Which area likely has higher biodiversity, and why?
The grassland likely has higher biodiversity because it contains many different species of plants and animals. The crop field has fewer species because it is mostly one type of plant. - 5
List three human activities that can cause habitat loss.
Think about ways people change land for resources, buildings, and transportation.
Human activities that can cause habitat loss include cutting down forests, building roads and cities, mining, draining wetlands, and converting natural land into farms. - 6
A certain frog species lays eggs only in shallow ponds. If those ponds dry up because trees are removed and the area becomes hotter, what might happen to the frog population?
The frog population may decrease because the frogs would have fewer safe places to lay eggs. If many eggs do not survive, fewer young frogs will grow into adults. - 7
Why can losing one species affect other species in the same ecosystem?
Think about feeding relationships, pollination, shelter, and competition.
Losing one species can affect other species because organisms are connected through food webs and other relationships. For example, if an insect species disappears, animals that eat that insect may have less food, and plants that depended on the insect for pollination may also be affected. - 8
A road is built through a forest, splitting it into two smaller sections. Explain one problem this could create for a population of deer living there.
The road could make it harder for deer to move safely between the two forest sections. This may limit their access to food, water, mates, or shelter, and it may increase the chance of being hit by vehicles. - 9
An invasive plant spreads through a meadow and crowds out native wildflowers. How could this reduce biodiversity?
Invasive species can take space, sunlight, water, and nutrients from native species.
This could reduce biodiversity because the invasive plant may replace several native wildflower species. Animals that depend on the native plants for food or shelter may also decline. - 10
A local park wants to improve biodiversity. Choose two actions from this list and explain why they would help: plant native flowers, remove invasive plants, pave more trails, leave dead logs in safe areas, drain a pond.
Planting native flowers would help because they provide food and habitat for local insects and other animals. Removing invasive plants would help because native species would have more space, sunlight, water, and nutrients to survive. - 11
A species is called an indicator species when its health gives clues about the health of an ecosystem. Explain why amphibians, such as frogs and salamanders, can be good indicator species.
Consider where amphibians live and how sensitive they are to pollution.
Amphibians can be good indicator species because they often need both clean water and healthy land habitats. Their skin can absorb pollutants, so changes in amphibian populations may show that an ecosystem is becoming unhealthy. - 12
Write a short claim supported by evidence for this situation: In a forest study, scientists found 18 bird species before a large area was cleared for housing. Five years later, they found 7 bird species in the remaining forest.
A strong claim is that habitat loss reduced bird biodiversity in the forest. The evidence is that scientists found 18 bird species before the area was cleared, but only 7 bird species five years later.