3.3 Threats to Biodiversity

The number of species that exist on Earth is not known; there are many species yet to be discovered, and many may become extinct before ever being discovered. Extinction of species is a natural process but the number of species currently going extinct is significantly higher than than natural background rate and this is a consequence of human activities.

Lessons

1Estimating biodiversity
2Factors that reduce biodiversity
3Tropical ecosystems
4The IUCN red list
5Endangered species case studies
Chapter Workbook
Vocabulary Sheet

Practicals
  • (None for this chapter)

Full PSOW here.

Essay Task

“The wildlife trade is a threat to biodiversity. Explain why eliminating the trade of endangered species is a challenge and describe solutions to the problem.” [9 marks]

View essay markbands

The essay should marked using the Paper 2, Section B essay markbands.

PDF Version

Google Docs Version

Google Docs 3.3 essay

Open the link and make a copy to your own drive. The doc can easily be shared as an “Assignment” on Google Classroom.

A markbands rubric designed for Google Classroom is available here.