Which human activities reduce biodiversity?

Which human activities reduce biodiversity?

• A. Habitat change, overexploitation, pollution, invasive species, and climate change
• B. Habitat change only
• C. Pollution only
• D. Invasive species only

Answer: (A)

Biodiversity declines when human activities disrupt habitats, populations, and ecological relationships. The best answer lists all the major ways humans can reduce the variety of life: changing or destroying habitats limits the spaces and resources species need; overexploitation reduces their numbers directly; pollution harms organisms and ecosystems; invasive species outcompete, prey on, or spread disease to native species; and climate change alters conditions, forcing species to move, adapt, or disappear. Together these pressures often compound one another, making total biodiversity fall more than any single factor alone. The other options miss some of these pressures, so they don’t capture the full impact humans have on biodiversity.

Biodiversity declines when human activities disrupt habitats, populations, and ecological relationships. The best answer lists all the major ways humans can reduce the variety of life: changing or destroying habitats limits the spaces and resources species need; overexploitation reduces their numbers directly; pollution harms organisms and ecosystems; invasive species outcompete, prey on, or spread disease to native species; and climate change alters conditions, forcing species to move, adapt, or disappear. Together these pressures often compound one another, making total biodiversity fall more than any single factor alone. The other options miss some of these pressures, so they don’t capture the full impact humans have on biodiversity.