The value of biodiversity

Explain what biodiversity is and name its three levels, giving an example of each.

What is an endemic species? Give an example of fauna or flora from the Iberian Peninsula or the islands.

What is genetic diversity? Explain why a population with high genetic variety withstands a disease better than one with little.

Some old varieties of wheat withstand drought better than modern ones. Explain why conserving traditional varieties and the wild relatives of crops is an investment for the future.

Ecosystems provide us with ecosystem services free of charge, such as crop pollination, water purification, or fertile soil formation. Name two of these services and explain what one of them involves.

Name two products we obtain thanks to biodiversity (food, medicines, materials) and state which living thing each one comes from.

Name two iconic species of Spanish wildlife and explain why they are used as symbols in conservation campaigns.

Explain what it means for a species to be in danger of extinction and cite one common cause of this situation.

A large proportion of the crops we consume depend on pollinating insects such as bees. Explain what would happen to food production if they disappeared, and what this teaches us about the value of biodiversity.

Many medicines come from substances discovered in plants, fungi, or bacteria. Explain what is lost when a species that has not yet been studied becomes extinct (the potential value of biodiversity).

Mangrove forests protect coasts from storms and serve as a nursery for countless fish. Relate these functions to the value of biodiversity and explain what is lost when a mangrove forest is destroyed.

Birdwatching tourism generates income in counties with well-preserved wetlands. Explain how this economic value can become an argument for protecting biodiversity.

Distinguish between the direct and indirect value of biodiversity and classify these examples: honey, the shade of a forest that cools a valley, the timber of an oak tree, and the water purification carried out by a wetland.

Earthworms and soil fungi are not "attractive" species, but without them forests would not work. Use this example to explain why biodiversity is not valued only for its best-known species.

During a debate on the overexploitation of the aquifer that feeds the Doñana marshes, an agricultural spokesperson states: "Water is only useful when it irrigates crop fields to produce food and jobs; letting it stay in the Doñana lagoons is wasting it because it does not produce any human benefit there."

1. a) Refute this argument by explaining to the spokesperson what ecosystem services are and provide two specific examples of direct or indirect benefits that the marshes provide to society.
2. b) Justify why Doñana must be protected based on its intrinsic value, regardless of any utility or economic benefit to humans.

In a rural region, it is proposed to eliminate subsidies for vulture restaurants (feeding stations for scavenging birds), arguing that vultures "contribute nothing to the regional economy because they produce neither meat nor milk."

1. a) Classify the type of ecosystem service provided by vultures and justify why their disappearance would cause an unavoidable additional economic cost for livestock farmers and the county.
2. b) Predict two ecological and health consequences that the region would suffer if livestock carcasses were left in the fields for weeks without the intervention of scavenging birds.

A city council plans to drain a hypersaline wetland to build an industrial park, claiming that "it is just a foul-smelling, unproductive mudflat where no species of interest live." However, a team of microbiologists has just isolated a bacterium in that wetland with an enzyme capable of synthesizing bioplastics from agricultural waste.

1. a) Refute the city council's position by applying the concept of the potential or option value of biodiversity.
2. b) Justify what irreversible scientific and industrial consequences arise from the destruction of extreme habitats before their microscopic biodiversity has been researched.

A company plans to build a tourist resort on a coastal dune ridge where protected birds nest, claiming that "the dunes are just unproductive sand and the 200 jobs created by the hotel more than compensate for their disappearance."

1. a) Identify two essential regulating ecosystem services provided by dunes and predict what will happen to the beach and to the boardwalk itself during winter storms if the dunes are destroyed.
2. b) Refute the company's position using the concept of the intrinsic value of biodiversity and reason why short-term economic benefits cannot compensate for an irreversible biological loss.

It is proposed to label supermarket products according to their impact on biodiversity, as is already done with the energy efficiency of household appliances. Analyze two advantages and one difficulty of the measure and conclude with your opinion.

An ecosystem with many species tolerates a drought or a pest outbreak better than one with few species. Explain why, using the idea that if one species fails, others can fulfill its function.

A logging company proposes replacing a mixed native forest with a clonal plantation of fast-growing eucalyptus, claiming that "by generating more plant biomass per year, the plantation will capture more CO2 and improve the surrounding biodiversity."

1. a) Refute the company's claim by explaining how this change will affect food webs and the variety of ecological niches in the ecosystem.
2. b) Predict, with reasoned arguments, how each of the two forest stands will respond to the arrival of an insect pest or a period of extreme drought.

The graph shows the results of an experiment: two grasslands, meadow A with twelve plant species and meadow B with only three, experience the same drought, and the percentage of their initial production maintained by each is measured. Interpret the data in the graph and relate them to ecosystem stability.

The number of butterfly species is counted in three meadows under different management: an unmowed meadow (38 species), a meadow mowed once a year (25 species), and a lawn mowed every week (7 species). Interpret the data, relate them to the management of each meadow, and reason which one will provide better services such as pollination.