Year 10 HaSS: Biodiversity Name: ___________________

Loss of Biodiversity
1. What is biodiversity?

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2. Why is biodiversity important to humans?

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Figure 1:Much of the world’s land surface is no longer in its natural state. Farmland and
cities have replaced areas once covered by forests and grasslands. Farming, as with beef
cattle farming, tends to replace hundreds of species with just one. This greatly reduces
biodiversity
3. Describe the change in biodiversity shown in this image.

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 4. Which of the five main causes of the loss of biodiversity does this illustrate?

a. habitat change such as deforestation

b. over exploitation of resources such as fresh water

c. pollution of land, water and air

d. the spread of invasive species

e. climate change brought about by human activity

Figure 2: Biodiversity Hotspots

5. What is a biodiversity hotspot?

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6. Why are biodiversity hotspots so important?

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 7. Identify two biodiversity hotspots for each continent

Continent Hot Spot 1 Hot Spot 2

Australia
Africa
Asia
Europe
North America
South America

8. The South-West Australia Ecoregion (SWAE) is Australia's only Global

Biodiversity Hotspot and is home to a variety of unique flora and fauna
which are under serious threat.

Research this Biodiversity hotspot/or biodiversity in the Kimberley and identify its:
 Location
 Threats to biodiversity
 Habitats in the region
 5 species of flora or fauna that are under threat
 The management plan to protect biodiversity in this region

Use this information to:

 Create a poster to inform visitors of the biodiversity challenges in the region
 Write an email/letter to a member of parliament or the local government
expression your concerns and making suggestions on how to improve the
management of the region.

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