1. Even though five mass extinctions have occurred in the past, the current wave of extinction is causing alarm. Why?
2. Describe some of the indirect economic values of biodiversity.
3. Describe the four diversity-generating mechanisms that may explain the high diversity that has been observed in some homogeneous habitats.
4. What factors contribute to the extinction rate on a particular piece of land?
5. Compare and contrast some of the trends in species loss for mammals, birds, and reptiles during the last 400 years.
6. Why do lakes, mountain tops, and oceanic islands tend to have more endemic species?
7. What are some reasons that endemic populations tend to be particularly vulnerable to extinction?
8. How does a low genetic variability contribute to a species' greater risk of extinction?
9. What are some examples of edge effects that put a population at risk?