4/6 - ICH - Conservation & Preservation - Biodiversity Flashcards
What is conservation and preservation?
conservation = Protection of ecosystems, habitats and species by taking action to halt destruction and extinction
preservation = Protecting an ecosystema dn keeping it exactly the way it is
3 things that conservation includes
- Managing areas of land
- Taking steps to encourage species in their habitats
- In extreme cases removing animals to captivity or growing plants in cultivation
Why is conservation to maintain biodiversity important?
Ecological reasons (3)
Help to prevent climate change
- e.g. when trees are cut down vast amounts of CO2 ∴ contributing to global warming. This wouldn’t happen if trees were conserved
Prevents disruptions to food chains + protect keystone species
- If a keystone species is affected due to human activity it could cause a whole ecosystem to collapse due to knock on effects e.g. some species of bear feed on salmon which feeds on herring. If herring pop size decreases it can affect both salmon and bear pop
Maintains biodiversity
Why is conservation to maintain biodiversity important?
Ethical reasons (2)
- All organisms have the right to existance
- Humans have caused the extinction of species, so its our ethical responsibility to prevent any further extinction
Why is conservation to maintain biodiversity important?
Economic reasons (3)
Ecotourism
Provides useful resources for humans
- E.g. drugs, clothes and food from rainforests
- Important as these are traded on a local and global scale
- If ecosystems are conversed then supply will run out in the future ∴ there will be less to trade
To reduce soil depletion
- Continuous monoculture causes soil depletion because nutrients required by crop are gradually used up
- Rotating with other types of crops so that nutrients + organic matter are replaced is used in traditional farming. Now a days fertilisers can be used to artificially replace nutrients
Why is conservation to maintain biodiversity important?
Social reasons (2)
Looks attractive
Relaxing
What is an endangered species?
Endangered species = Those that have such small populations that they are at risk of extinction.
There’s little variability within such species, this increases the risk they will become exinct as they’re more suceptable to genetic / infectious disease
What is ex situ and in situ conservation?
Which one is more effective?
Ex situ = Conservation off site - away from the organism’s natural habitat
In situ = Conervation happens on site - involves protecting species within their habitat
In situ conservation is considered to be far more effective and cheaper
What does in situ conservation involve? (6)
- Habitat protection - creating reserves
- e.g. national parks
-
Creating new habitats
- e.g. creating new wetlands
- Preventing of hunting threatened species / digging up threatened plant species
- Promote particular species by excluding the competition or increasing food sources
- Employing local people as rangers
- Legal protection
What does ex situ conservation involve? (5)
Relocating
- Move an organism to a safer area
Zoos cooperating / captive breeding
- Captive breeding of an endangered species + often specialing in a particular species
- Reintroduce them into the wild afterwards
Botanic gardens
- Cultivating endangered plants
Education
- Educating people about the importance of conservation
Setting up seed banks
- Seeds are frozen and stored for future use. They’re useful if natural reserves are destroyed e.g. disease or natural disaster
- Can act as sources of genetic diversity for future selective breeding
Rio Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)?
Rio Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
- Aims to develop international strategies on the conservation of biodiversity + how to use animal and plant resources in a sustainable way
- Conservation made it a part of international law that conversing biodiversity = everyone’s responsibility
- Provides guidance to governments on how to conserve biodiversity
Convension on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)? (4)
Problems concerning this treaty (3)
Convension on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
- Illegal to kill endangered species
- Conserve species by limiting trade through licensing
- Illegal to trade in products made from endangered animals e.g. rhino ivory and leopard skin
- Raises awareness through education
Problems:
- High prices for illegal trade
- Cost of checking exports
- Problems of species identification
The countryside stewardship scheme (CSS)? (3)
The countryside stewardship scheme (CSS)
FARMERS
- Government pays farmers to follow management techniques they were suggesting
- Regenerate hedgerows to leave grassy margins around the edges if the fields so wildflowers can grow
- Graze upland area to keep down braken (fern - thought to be carcinogenic)
What does biodiversity in a habitat mean?
- The no’ of different species living there (species richness)
- Distribution of species (species evenness)
- Range of physical conditions there
- The more variable a habitat, the greater its species richness
What does biodiversity within a species mean?
- Variability of individuals ( genotype)
- Range of form, size and colour (phenotype)
What are polymorphic genes and how can they be used to measure genetic diversity?
Polymorphic genes have more than 1 allele, most genes are not polymorphic.
Proportion of polymorphic gene loci = no’ of polymorphic gene loci / Total no’ of loci
Higher the proportion of polymorphic gene, the greater then genetic biodiversity within the population
