Final answer:
True The statement that humans can survive on Earth without biodiversity is false. Biodiversity is essential for ecosystem services and human survival. Increased human population leads to biodiversity loss through various environmental pressures.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to the relationship between human population growth and biodiversity. It is false to claim that humans can survive on Earth without biodiversity. Biodiversity is crucial for ecosystem services such as pollination, water purification, and soil fertility which humans heavily rely on for survival.
Therefore, statement (a) Biodiversity will decline as human population increases because of habitat loss, increased pollution, and climate change is the most likely explanation of how human population increase could lead to a decrease in biodiversity.
Nature's biosphere has undergone natural selection, creating a balanced and interdependent system, whereas modern civilization has yet to be tested for long-term sustainability.
Increased human populations intensify pressures on biodiversity through overharvesting, climate change, habitat destruction, spread of invasive species, and increased occurrence of zoonotic diseases, leading to disproportionate impacts on the natural world.
This unsustainable path not only reduces the biodiversity necessary for a healthy ecosystem but also compromises human well-being.