1. Explain how the fragmentation of a landscape can have both positive and negative effects on biodiversity.

2. Why is it important to consider the quality of the matrix habitat that exists between habitat fragments?

3. How do local sampling, regional habitat diversity, and the isolation of continents affect the slope of the species–area relationship?

4. Compare and contrast alpha, gamma, and beta diversity.

5. Why might we expect that regions with high species diversity will also exhibit high niche diversity?

6. Why do small islands that are distant from a mainland typically have fewer species than large islands that are close to a mainland?

7. How has continental drift affected global patterns of biodiversity?

8. In what way might the age and area of a region affect its species richness?

9. How does knowledge of historic climatic patterns affect our interpretation of present-day patterns of species diversity?

10. What is the relationship between the length of time the modern continents have been connected and the similarity among the species on each continent?