Choose two of the features that make an organism vulnerable to extinction and explain how each of those traits raises extinction risk.
Explain the term committed to extinction. Why might a species be committed to extinction, even if it is not yet extinct?
Using the data below, create a species-area curve with an appropriate equation in your favorite spreadsheet program. You do not need to paste the spreadsheet into your answer, but you will need the y=mx+b best fit equation.
Island Area (sq km) Species Present
A. Give the equation of the best-fit line from your graph.
B. Given this equation, find c and z and present the species-area curve in the form S=cAz.
Using your equation from question 3, suppose the area available to mammals on Jersey declined by half to 58.1 sq. km. How many mammal species would you predict would still be present?
Why are islands likely to have higher extinction risks than the mainland?
Briefly explain how desertification can result when an area is overgrazed. How does desertification differ when we water crops with salty water?
How does habitat fragmentation alter the carrying capacity (K) of an environment for a particular species? Explain your answer.
