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Biodiversity and Conservation — HS Environmental Science practice questions

14 multiple-choice questions and 15 flashcards on Biodiversity and Conservation, about 9% of the HS Environmental Science bank. Every one carries a written rationale.

Written and maintained by the CoStudy team · last updated 2026-10-02 · how we write and review questions

What this chapter covers

Biodiversity and Conservation is one of 11 chapters in CoStudy's HS Environmental Science bank, and it holds 14 of the bank's 150 multiple-choice questions — roughly 9% of the total. That proportion is not arbitrary: chapters follow the certifying body's published exam outline, and the number of questions in each is set by that domain's published weight, so the share of your practice time this chapter takes matches the share of the real exam it accounts for.

Studying by chapter is worth doing once you have a diagnostic score. A single overall percentage tells you whether you are close; it does not tell you which domain is dragging. Working a weak chapter in isolation, and re-testing it in isolation, is the fastest way to move a score that has stalled — and it is why the mock exams in CoStudy report by domain rather than as one number.

Free Biodiversity and Conservation practice questions

6 questions drawn from this chapter, with the full rationale shown — the controlling principle behind the right answer, and why each wrong option tempts and fails.

CITES is an international agreement that mainly regulates:

  1. trade in endangered species
  2. hunting seasons within each country
  3. national park boundaries
  4. greenhouse gas emissions

Answer: A — trade in endangered species

A) Correct — It restricts buying and selling of listed plants and animals across borders. B) Domestic hunting is set by each country. C) Each country sets its own parks. D) Is the focus of climate agreements.

Creating a national park to protect species where they live is:

  1. ex-situ conservation
  2. captive breeding
  3. in-situ conservation
  4. bioremediation

Answer: C — in-situ conservation

C) Correct — Protecting habitat keeps whole ecosystems working. A) Takes species out of their habitat. B) Raises animals in zoos or facilities. D) Uses organisms to clean up pollution.

A species found naturally in only one place is called:

  1. invasive
  2. keystone
  3. generalist
  4. endemic

Answer: D — endemic

D) Correct — Islands such as Madagascar have many endemic species. A) Is non-native and harmful. B) Has an outsized role in its ecosystem. C) Can live in many habitats.

Zebra mussels in the Great Lakes are a well-known example of:

  1. a keystone species
  2. an endemic species
  3. an indicator species
  4. an invasive species

Answer: D — an invasive species

D) Correct — They clog pipes and outcompete native mussels. A) They are harmful newcomers. B) They are native to Eastern Europe and Western Asia. C) They were not chosen for monitoring.

The three levels of biodiversity are:

  1. plant, animal, and microbe
  2. genetic, species, and ecosystem
  3. land, freshwater, and ocean
  4. producer, consumer, and decomposer

Answer: B — genetic, species, and ecosystem

B) Correct — Diversity matters within species, among species, and among habitats. A) Are groups of organisms, not levels. C) Are habitat types. D) Are roles in an ecosystem.

Sea otters eat urchins that would otherwise destroy kelp forests. Sea otters are a:

  1. pioneer species
  2. invasive species
  3. producer
  4. keystone species

Answer: D — keystone species

D) Correct — Their effect on the ecosystem is far larger than their numbers. A) Colonize bare areas first. B) Sea otters are native to the Pacific coast. C) Kelp is the producer.

Biodiversity and Conservation flashcards

4 cards from the 15 in this chapter.

Keystone species?

Disproportionate effect on ecosystem. Removing causes major changes (e.g., wolves at Yellowstone).

Endangered Species Act (1973)?

US law. Protects endangered species + habitat. Major conservation tool.

National parks purpose?

Protect ecosystems + species. Provide public access. Yellowstone first (1872).

Indicator species?

A species whose health reflects the health of its environment, e.g., amphibians and lichens, which are sensitive to pollution.

Practise the full chapter

These are a sample. The full Biodiversity and Conservation chapter runs 29 items with per-chapter progress tracking, on the web and in the iOS app.

Open HS Environmental Science in CoStudy →

Other HS Environmental Science chapters

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