Rob is an environmental scientist. He is studying the effect of insect species on environment. For his study he chose four locations, location A, location B, location C and the entire globe, which he denoted as location D. He noticed location A's loss of biodiversity is temporary , but location B's loss is permanent. Location C's loss of biodiversity yet to be determined. Would ecological restoration be helpful or not helpful for location A? Hint: Biodiversity loss is the extinction of species (plant or animal) worldwide, and also the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat. The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, depending on whether the environmental degradation that leads to the loss is reversible through ecological restoration / ecological resilience or effectively permanent (e.g. through land loss). Global extinction has so far been proven to be irreversible. Even though permanent global species loss is a more dramatic phenomenon than regional changes in species composition, even minor changes from a healthy stable state can have dramatic influence on the food web and the food chain insofar as reductions in only one species can adversely affect the entire chain (coextinction), leading to an overall reduction in biodiversity, possible alternative stable states of an ecosystem notwithstanding. Ecological effects of biodiversity are usually counteracted by its loss. Reduced biodiversity in particular leads to reduced ecosystem services and eventually poses an immediate danger for food security, also for humankind.[1]
Ans: helpful

Two students read about reproduction for biology class. Vic read more about reptile reproduction, while Fox read more about fish reproduction. Which student learned more about male fish releasing their gametes into the surrounding water? Hint: Fish reproduce sexually. They lay eggs that can be fertilized either inside or outside of the body. In most fish, the eggs develop outside of the mother's body. In the majority of these species, fertilization also takes place outside the mother's body. The male and female fish release their gametes into the surrounding water, where fertilization occurs. Female fish release very high numbers of eggs to increase the chances of fertilization.
Ans: Fox

Drought is major concern in the Midwest. To confront the problem scientists are trying to develop drought-resistant crops. To that end, they took a plant that was not exposed to drought. They labeled it as plant A. Then they took a similar plant, and repeatedly exposed it to drought. They labeled it as plant B. They wanted to find out what makes a plant drought-resistant. Would plant A function better or worse with less water than plant B? Hint: One interesting thing that has been found in plants that are consistently exposed to drought, is their ability to form a sort of "memory". In a study by Tombesi et al., they found plants who had previously been exposed to drought were able to come up with a sort of strategy to minimize water loss and decrease water use. They found that plants who were exposed to drought conditions actually changed they way the regulated their stomates and what they called "hydraulic safety margin" so as to decrease the venerability of the plant. By changing the regulation of stomata and subsequently the transpiration, plants were able to function better in situations where the availability of water decreased.
Ans: worse

Over time a species of bird has changed a lot. Originally the climate the bird lived in changed so they adapted and more of them were seen to have heavy down feathers for warmth. Later down the line it got warmer, some of the birds stayed in the warmer area and adapted to it growing thinner feathers. Some of the others decided to migrate to colder areas instead. More time passed and the birds in the warmer area eventually evolved into a very dangerous creature with sharp talons to defend itself from predators. The birds that moved to the colder environment had less predators so they remained basically harmless.. Which birds is likely a case of speciation, the birds living in the cold area or the warm area? Hint: As new changes in the DNA sequence are constantly being generated in a population's gene pool (changing the population's allele frequencies), some of these changes will be beneficial and result in traits that allow adaptation and survival. Natural selection causes evolution of a species as these beneficial traits become more common within a population. Evolution can occur within a species without completely resulting in a new species. Therefore, evolution and speciation are not the same.
Ans: warm area