Biodiversity Answers

Organisms can have positive or negative impacts on the ecosystem they live in. The cane toad, or Rhinella marina, was introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in 1932 by sugar cane farmers. Farmers released the toads in their crops to help control pests that were damaging the sugar cane. The cane toad has few natural predators, as it secretes a poisonous toxin from its skin that deters larger organisms from eating it. As a result, the cane toad population thrived and grew to number hundreds of thousands by 1935. Photo by Patrick Gijsbers Which role does the cane toad play in the Hawaiian Islands?

What is a possible cause for a decrease in ecosystem productivity?

Consider the following food chain: Plants are eaten by grasshoppers, which are eaten by mice, which are eaten by snakes. What would happen to the other members of the food chain if the plant population was wiped out?

Consider the following food chain: Plants are eaten by grasshoppers, which are eaten by mice, which are eaten by snakes. What will happen to the other members of the food chain if the grasshoppers are removed?

An increase in biodiversity generally causes _______.

When the comb jelly, Mnemiopsis leidyi, was introduced into the Black Sea, its population exploded to 500 comb jellies per cubic yard in 1988. The jellies devoured all the zooplankton and fish larvae, drastically reducing the numbers of the native fish populations. This situation demonstrates _______.

Migration causes a temporary appearance of new organisms in an ecosystem, but not a permanent one. Please select the best answer from the choices provided

An increase in the biodiversity of an ecosystem leads to an increase in its productivity.

Organisms are dependent on each other for the energy they need to survive. Photos (left to right) by Mehmet Karatay, Jens Buurgaard Nielsen, Furryscaly, and Walter Siegmund What would occur if the snake population is removed from the ecosystem pictured above?

Macroevolution occurs within a population.

The water hyacinth is an invasive species that can spread extremely fast, blanketing a water surface in a very short period of time. It can limit boat traffic, swimming, and fishing, and it can deprive native plants and animals of sunlight and oxygen, thus reducing the local biodiversity. This situation demonstrates _______.

Consider the following food chain: Plants are eaten by grasshoppers, which are eaten by mice, which are eaten by snakes. What will happen to snakes in the long term if mice become extinct?