Biodiversity

and Evolution
Group 8

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
HOMEWORK 3
Hi! We are Group 8
Phan Huu Duc - A group's leader

Here are our group members:

Nguyen Nhat Minh

Nguyen Hoai Thao Ly

Nguyen Pham Tuong Vy

Le Uyen Nhi
 Table of
Content
• Amphibians
• Biomes
• Generalist species
• Specialist species
• Native species
• Nonnative species
• Indicator species
• Keystone species
• Habitat
• Degradation of habitat
• Natural selection
• Adaptive trait
• Humans affect Biodiversity
• Humans has caused loss of
Biodiversity
• Endemic species
• Extinction
Let's begin with
our Story!
 Amphibians
Amphibians are cold-blooded vertebrate
animals of the class Amphibia that
comprises the frogs, toads, newts,
salamanders, and caecilians. They are
distinguished by having an aquatic gill-
breathing larval stage followed (typically)
by a terrestrial lung-breathing adult stage.
This is a picture of Salamander that I took
in Vinpearl Land last year. In there, there
are plenty of Amphabian species that are
raised in an artificial environment.

Phan Huu Duc - Vinpearl Land

 Biomes
A biome is an area classified
according to the species that
live in that location.
Temperature range, soil
type, and the amount of
light and water are unique to
a particular place and form
the niches for specific
species allowing scientists
to define the biome.
There are 5 main types of
biome: aquatic, grassland,
forest, desert, and tundra.
Nguyen Hoai Thao Ly - Da Lat
 Generalist species
A generalist is a species with a broad niche that is easily
adaptable to many environmental conditions. These species
are more likely to survive (and in larger numbers) due to
the fact that they are able to easily relocate, change food
sources, and adapt in other ways to new biomes.
Humans and Cockroaches are two examples of generalist
species because of their ability to survive under various
climatic conditions and feed on various food resources.
They are found abundantly throughput the world.

Phan Huu Duc - Da Lat Phan Huu Duc - Home

 Specialist speci
A specialist species requires a very certain
type of food or can only eat a very small
range of things, and usually has a very
specific list of things needed in its habitat.
They are more prone to extinction because
of their inability to tolerate environmental
change.
Giraffes are considered specialist feeders
because of their food. They only eat the
leaves of trees, which makes them
specialist species. They do not graze like an
animal or eat grass from the ground.

Phan Huu Duc - Saigon Zoo and Botanical

 This is an image of an Asian elephant,
with its identifying features such as a
stooped back and a tumor on their head.
At the bottom of the Asian elephant's feet
there are four hoofs on the hind legs.
Also, unlike the African elephant, the
Asian female elephant has no tusks.

This is an elephant species only

distributed in Asia, live and thrive in a
specific ecosystem, also known as native
species.
Nguyen Pham Tuong Vy - Saigon Zoo & Botanical
Gardens

Native species
 Nonnative
species
Nonnative species, also referred to as
invasive, alien, and exotic species are
Red lionfish is an invasive species that migrate into, or are
species off the East Coast of deliberately or accidentally introduced
the United States. About 93% into an ecosystem.
of the invasive lionfish
population is the red lionfish, They can threaten native species through
which was first introduced off
the Florida coast in the early to competition for resources, reducing the
mid-1980s, almost certainly number native species and spread rapidly
The Alpaca is a species of South from the aquarium trade. if they find a favorable niche.
American camelid mammal. They
have been introduced to Vietnam
in the past few years. They are
raised on farms for visitors to
come here and enjoy. Phan Huu Duc - Da Lat + Insitute of
Oceanography
 Indicator
Species
species
An indicator species is an
organism whose presence,
absence or abundance
reflects a specific
environmental condition.

Cactus is an example of
indicator species. Due to
living in hot environments,
cactus's leaves vanish and
change their shape into
thorns to prevent water .

Nguyen Hoai Thao Ly - Home

Keystone species
Keystone species affect the type and abundance
of other species in an ecosystem and can be
responsible for:

- Pollination of flowering plant species;

- Regulation of populations of other species;

- May cause population crashes and extinction of

dependent species if drawn to extinction itself.

Coconut palms are often grown near stingless

bee farms because of the food that they supply to
the bee colonies. These features make palms a
keystone species in supporting wildlife in urban
environments.
Nguyen Nhat Minh - Home
 A habitat is an environment where an
organism lives throughout the year or for
shorter periods of time to find a mate. The
habitat contains all an animal needs to
survive such as food and shelter. A
microhabitat is a small area which differs
somehow from the surrounding habitat.

Le Uyen Nhi - Aquarium

Habitat
 Degradation of
habitat
Habitats are degraded when their condition
declines due to factors such as pollution,
invasive species, and over-utilization of
natural resources.
There are many causes of habitat loss,
including land conversion for development
from growing populations, mining for
materials, harvesting lumber for paper
products and, of course, agriculture.

Le Uyen Nhi - Binh Duong

 A very simple example of natural selection is
the neck of a giraffe. Each giraffe has a
different neck length. This variation in the
trait gives each giraffe various advantages like
a giraffe with a longer neck is easy to reach
the food source, so better able to survive and
reproduce.

Over time, long-neck giraffes will reproduce

more offspring and pass on their gene to the
Nguyen Pham Tuong Vy - Saigon Zoo & Botanical next generation. Thus, the future generation of
Gardens giraffes has longer necks.

Natural selection
 Definition
Adaptive trait is an aspect of the
developmental pattern which facilitates
the survival and/or reproduction of its
carrier in a certain succession of
environments.
Dog adaptations
Dogs evolved from wolves and have
developed adaptations to help them
survive in the wild, like powerful sight,
hearing, and smell as well as sharp teeth
and bodies that make them powerful
hunters.
Nguyen Nhat Minh - Home

Adaptive trait
 Sun bears are often hunted
for their bile, which is
commonly used by traditional
Chinese medicine
practitioners to treat liver, eye
and other ailments.
Nguyen Nhat Minh -
Saigon Zoo and Botanic
Garden

"We estimate sun bear populations have declined by

at least 30% over the last 30 years and are Humans affect
continuing at this rate." said Rob Steinmetz, an
IUNC bear expert.

According to Dave Garshelis, co-chair of the

Biodiversity
IUUNC bear expert group, the globe has lost around
10,000 sun bears in the last 30 years.
 The main direct cause of biodiversity loss is land use
change (primarily for large-scale food production) which
drives an estimated 30% of biodiversity decline globally.

Second is overexploitation (overfishing, overhunting

and overharvesting) for things like food, medicines and
timber which drives around 20%.

Humans has
caused loss of
Le Uyen Nhi – Long Binh Tan
Biodiversity
Endemic species
An endemic species are
those that live in a limited
area, such as a mountain
range, lake or island,
among others.
Chinese Giant Panda is
one of the endemic species
since they can only be
found in a few mountain
ranges in south central
China, in Sichuan, Shaanxi
and Gansu provinces.
Nguyen Hoai Thao Ly - China
 Extinction
Extinction occurs when a species ceases to
exist.

Tigers are on the brink of extinction. According

to data from WFF, an animal welfare
organization. Just over a century ago, 100,000
wild tigers roamed across Asia. Today, fewer
than 3,900 live in a mere four per cent of their
historic range. Much of this decline has
occurred in the past decade.That's why animal
protectionists put them on the list of rare
animals and are raised and strictly controlled by
the government.

Nguyen Pham Tuong Vy - Saigon Zoo & Botanical

Gardens
Thanks for
your
listening!