How people affect biodiversity
Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence
NameDate
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
One woodland over ten years (model data)
cause evidence land cleared for houses 30 hectares before, 12 hectares after a vine from another continent covers 5 hectares of the ground a water test for a pesticide none found Ari reads the woodland table. Which drivers of biodiversity loss have evidence here?
- Habitat loss and pollution, since the three rows each name a driver
- Habitat loss and an invasive species have evidence; pollution does not
- An invasive species alone, since the vine is the one living cause
- Habitat loss alone, since 18 hectares is the largest change
Direct drivers of change in nature, ranked by global impact so far (real data, IPBES 2019)
rank driver 1 changes in land and sea use 2 direct exploitation of organisms 3 climate change 4 pollution 5 invasive alien species Bo reads the ranking. Which statement does the table support?
- The top driver explains the loss, so drivers 2 to 5 can be set aside
- Climate change has had the largest global impact so far, since its warming reaches the whole planet
- Land and sea use changes have had the largest global impact so far; climate change ranks third
- Invasive alien species rank first, since they spread the fastest
Two NOAA lists at the end of 2023 (real data, NOAA Fisheries, 2023)
list what puts a stock on it stocks overfishing list the catch rate is too high 21 overfished list the population is too small 47 Esme reads the NOAA table. Which sentence matches it?
- Overfishing means the stock is too small, and overfished means the catch is too high
- An overfished stock is gone, so 47 stocks have disappeared
- A stock can be too small, overfished, or caught too fast, subject to overfishing
- The two lists name the same 21 stocks, counted twice
Wetlands since 1700 (real data, IPBES 2019)
measure value wetlands present in 1700 that were lost by 2000 more than 85% Jun reads the card. About how much of the 1700 wetland area was left in 2000?
- About half of it
- Less than 15% of it
- More than 85% of it
- Zero percent of it, since the wetlands were lost
DDT after the 1972 cancellation (real facts, US EPA)
when what the EPA states 1972 the EPA issued a cancellation order for DDT because of its effects on wildlife after US use stopped levels in the environment and in animals have gone down still today residues from past use remain, because DDT lasts a long time in the environment Kira reads the card about DDT. What does it say happened after DDT use stopped in the United States?
- Levels fell to 0 as soon as the order was issued
- Levels went down, but residues from past use remain
- Levels went up, because DDT lasts a long time
- Residues were gone, because the soil and water looked clean
Tests at four sites on a model stream (model data)
site water looks pesticide level (parts per billion) limit (parts per billion) site 1 clear 2 5 site 2 cloudy 0 5 site 3 clear 9 5 site 4 cloudy 4 5 Luz reads the table. Which sites go over the pesticide limit?
- Sites 2 and 4: cloudy water shows the pollution
- Only site 3: 9 is above the limit of 5, though the water looks clear
- Sites 1 and 3: clear water hides pollution, so both are over
- Site 4: 4 is the highest reading among the cloudy sites
Noah reads the graph. About how far uphill did the highest plant move each decade, and what fits the pattern?
- About 4 m a decade, the rise each year
- About 160 m a decade, the whole rise counted as if it happened in one decade
- No shift, since the plant stayed near 800 m
- About 40 m a decade, fitting a range that shifts upslope as the air warms
The zebra mussel (real data, USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species)
fact entry native range Black, Caspian and Azov Seas likely route to the Great Lakes a cargo ship's ballast water found today in all of the Great Lakes Ren reads the zebra mussel card. Which statement is supported?
- It is native to the Black, Caspian and Azov Seas and is invasive in the Great Lakes
- It is native to the Great Lakes, since it is found in each of them today
- It is invasive in the Black Sea, since it arrived there from the Great Lakes by ship
- It is native to ships' ballast water, which carried it to the lakes
Kudzu in the United States (real data, from OpenStax Biology 2e)
fact entry native to Japan brought to the United States 1876 later use planted to protect soil area covered in the southeast over 7 million acres Tala reads the kudzu card. Kudzu was planted on purpose to protect soil. Why is it called invasive?
- It was brought in 1876, which is too long ago to be called invasive
- A species counts as invasive if it arrives by accident, and kudzu was planted on purpose
- It is native to the southeast, where it covers over 7 million acres
- It is native to Japan and now spreads over more than 7 million acres of the southeast
Cane toads in Australia (real data, Australian Museum)
fact entry toads brought from Hawaii about 100 toads released in north Queensland in July 1935 more than 3,000 reason for the release to control cane beetles range since then much of northern Australia Zee reads the cane toad card. Which statement does the card support?
- Cane toads are native to northern Australia, which is why they live across so much of it today
- The release controlled the beetles, so the toads stayed in the cane fields
- About 100 toads became 3,000 released in 1935, and the range now covers much of the north
- More than 3,000 toads were brought from Hawaii in 1935