Loss of Diversity??? help answer these questions & get full points...thanksz

Question

The trees in a forest aid in reducing flood damage chiefly because their

1) branches store water in the form of sap

2) leaves absorb moisture from the air

3) root systems hold the soil in place

4) stems serve to store food

When land is cleared for agriculture or home construction, small isolated sections of the original habitat may remain.How might this reduction in habitat size and the isolation of small sections of habitat lead to species endangerment???

Answer 1

Smaller, isolated populations are likely to genetically more uniform within a small population, although there may be wider differences across different isolated populations. This is called genetic erosion.

Increased levels of inbreeding and reduced gene flow may leave a species more vulnerable to disease. If a critical disease affects genetically uniform population, there are less likely to be survivors. Also, if the environmental conditions in the small population change, a lack of genetic diversity makes a species less likely to be able to adapt and survive. What if average rainfall increased or decreased rapidly? Would there be the gene types which could survive such changes?

Answer 2

First question:

3) is correct.

Second question:

Animals are in danger of being run over when they cross the road to forage :-D