01 - Environmental Science 4502



Skills Worksheet

Active Reading

Section: Biodiversity at Risk

Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.

Like rain forests, coral reefs occupy a small fraction of the marine environment yet contain the majority of the biodiversity there. Reefs provide millions of people with food, tourism revenue, coastal protection, and sources of new chemicals. One study in 1998 estimated the value of these services to be $375 billion per year. But reefs are poorly studied and not as well protected by laws as terrestrial areas are. Nearly 60 percent of Earth’s coral reefs are threatened by human activities, such as development along waterways, over fishing, and pollution. Similar threats affect coastal ecosystems, such as swamps, marshes, shores, and kelp beds. Coastal areas are travel routes for many migrating species as well as links to ecosystems on land.

IDENTIFYING MAIN IDEAS

ONE READING SKILL IS THE ABILITY TO IDENTIFY THE MAIN IDEA OF A PASSAGE. THE MAIN IDEA IS THE MAIN FOCUS OR KEY IDEA. FREQUENTLY, A MAIN IDEA IS ACCOMPANIED BY SUPPORTING INFORMATION THAT OFFERS DETAILED FACTS ABOUT MAIN IDEAS.

Read each question and write the answer in the space provided.

1. How much of the marine environment do coral reefs make up?

2. What percentage of coral reefs are threatened by human activity?

3. How much of the marine environment’s biodiversity is contained in Earth’s coral reefs?

4. How much money are the coral reefs worth, according to one study?

5. Which are better protected by laws, terrestrial areas or coral reef areas?

6. Name four reasons why coral reefs are beneficial to humans.

7. Name four types of coastal ecosystems.

Active Reading continued

RECOGNIZING SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

ONE READING SKILL IS THE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TWO PHRASES, IDEAS, OR THINGS. THIS IS SOMETIMES KNOWN AS COMPARING AND CONTRASTING.

Read each question and write the answer in the space provided.

8. What are the similarities between coral reefs and coastal ecosystems?

9. What three human activities are threatening both coral reefs and coastal ecosystems?

RECOGNIZING CAUSE AND EFFECT

ONE READING SKILL IS THE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE CAUSE AND EFFECT.

Read each question and write the answer in the space provided.

10. Why are coral reefs perhaps in more danger than inland areas?

11. What two purposes do coastal areas serve for wildlife?

12. List three reasons why it is beneficial to humans to protect coral reefs.

probably no way to know beforehand whether one or more wolf populations will begin preying on livestock. (Note: Studies have shown that there is little evidence to support the claim that wolves are responsible for killing large numbers of livestock.)

17. No; we do not fully understand what effects we are having on the environment when we eliminate a species from an ecosystem. However, we have seen many cases where the results have been negative. Such tampering has been at least partly responsible for the losses of additional populations and species that have occurred over the last several centuries.

Active Reading

SECTION: WHAT IS BIODIVERSITY?

1. B

2. a

3. d

4. Answers may vary; for example: Biodiversity is critical to world food supplies.

5. biodiversity

6. a crop developed by combining genetic materials from other populations

7. It has been crossbred with other plant populations.

8. a few areas of high biodiversity

9. combining genetic material from other populations

10. If humans rely on one crop and that crop becomes diseased, the entire crop could be wiped out and there would not be enough food.

11. If the crop is diseased and the plants are crossbred with their wild plant relatives, the resulting hybrid may be more resistant to disease.

SECTION: BIODIVERSITY AT RISK

1. A SMALL FRACTION

2. 60 percent

3. the majority of it

4. $375 billion per year

5. terrestrial areas

6. Coral reefs are a source of food,money from tourism, coastal protection, and new chemicals.

7. swamps, marshes, shores, and kelp beds

8. Both contain biodiversity; both serve important purposes but are being threatened by human activity.

9. developments along waterways, over fishing, and pollution

10. They aren’t well studied and aren’t as well protected by laws.

11. travel routes for migrating species and links to ecosystems on land

12. Answers may vary. Students might listany of the following: Services providedby coral reefs are worth an estimated$375 billion per year; the reefs provide food, tourism revenue, coastal protection, and sources of new chemicals; it is important to protect areas of vastbiodiversity.

SECTION: THE FUTURE OF BIODIVERSITY

1. B

2. d

3. a

4. 983

5. the federal government

6. The federal government is not allowed to carry out any project that might harm a listed species.

7. everyone

8. d

9. a

10. compile a list of all endangered and threatened species in the United States

11. a fine

12. The second provision is violated if people harm, buy, or sell any part of an endangered species.

Map Skills

1. fork-marked lemur; golden-brown mouse lemur

2. endangered

3. golden bamboo lemur; fork-marked lemur

4. Answers may vary. Students should indicate an understanding of the fact that the map shows distribution of the population, not the population itself.So, although the golden bamboo lemur does not have the smallest distribution, it may have the smallest over all population

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