A4.2 Conservation of Biodiversity

Question 1

Diversity

Answer 1

“variety/multiformity, condition of being different in character and quality.”

Question 2

Biodiversity

Answer 2

Variety of life in all its forms, levels, combinations

Question 3

Different levels of biodiversity

Answer 3

• Ecosystem Diversity
• Species diversity
• Genetic diversity within species

Question 4

Ecosystem Diversity

Answer 4

variety in the combinations of species living together in communities.
- varied environments on earth
- geographical ranges of organisms

Question 5

Species diversity

Answer 5

many different species in the evolutionary tree of life.

Question 6

Genetic diversity within species

Answer 6

variety of gene pool of each species.

Question 7

Causes of Extinction (Anthropogenic) (H PIG)

Answer 7

1) Habitat destruction
2) Invasive Species
3) pollution
4) global climate change

Question 8

Anthropogenic

Answer 8

cause of human activity

Question 9

Case studies of Extinction (CGS)

Answer 9

1) Carribean Monk seal - marine animal, Neomonachus tropicalis
2) Giant moa, terrestrial megafauna, Dinornis novaezealandiae
3) Silphium, early plant extinction

Question 10

explain the case study of the Carribean Monk seal - marine animal, Neomonachus tropicalis

Answer 10

• native to Caribbean sea + Western Atlantic
• hunted for its oil, 18th-19th centuries
• requires beaches to breed -> easy target -> slow moving
• overfishing of coral reefs -> starvation

Question 11

explain the case study of the Giant moa, terrestrial megafauna, Dinornis novaezealandiae

Answer 11

• native to new zealand, 13th century, Polynesian settlers arrived
• 200 years to be hunted for extinction

Question 12

explain the case study of the Silphium, early plant extinction

Answer 12

• grew in Libya, extinct due to arrivla of ancient Greeks
• harvested as it is birth control agent
• overgrazing + desertification -> contributed

Question 13

Habitat Destruction

Answer 13

habitat -> destroyed -> extinction of species
agriculture main cause, land used for cultivation, rearing livestock
-> cities + towns

Question 14

Pollution

Answer 14

chemical industries -> vast range of substances produced ->discarded to environment
-> burning of fossil fuels, agriculture, mining
-> accumulation of toxic substances in soil -> decline, less biodiversity
-> discharge/runoff of chemicals/pollutants in water bodies, contaminate environments and harm aquatic organisms -> less biodiversity

Question 15

Global climate change

Answer 15

• climate change is the change in environmental factors such as rapid changes in temperature and other climactic variables -> species may not adapt quickly enough.
  -> may not migrate quickly to survive

Question 16

Invasive species

Answer 16

introduction -> drive native to extinction (predation)
- can spread pests, disease, competition for resources
- endemic species become extinct when hybridized with alien species

Question 17

endemic species definition

Answer 17

any species or other taxon whose geographic range or distribution is confined to a single given area

Question 18

What happens to ecosystems when environmental conditions change?

Answer 18

Replacement of one ecosystem by another
- however recent years, rapid loss of ecosystems due to anthropogenic factors

Question 19

Case Studies of extinction of ecosystems due to anthropogenic causes

Answer 19

mixed dipterocarp forest of Southeast Asia
Loss of the aral sea

Question 20

mixed dipterocarp forest of Southeast Asia

Answer 20

MDF -> extremely high diversity of dipterocarp and others
high quantities, timber -> target for logging
> 1970s -> most areas lost, mostly lowland sites areas
lost due to -> conservation -> palm oil plantations
peat in these areas -> stores 250 tonnes, carbon per hectare
conservation -> drainage -> conservation to palm oil plantations -> peat decomposes -> co2 released
global warming -> floods peat lowland areas -> seawater -> destroying little mdf remaining

Question 21

Loss of the aral sea

Answer 21

Between Uzbekistan + Kazakhstan
4th largest lake
1960s, water management scheme -> diverted major rivers that fed Aral sea -> irrigate an area of desert -> falling water levels -> much of former lake is desert
Water salinity increased -> from 1% to >22% -> 24 species of fish became extinct
invertebrate species disappeared

Question 22

citizen science

Answer 22

-Scientific Opportunities for citizens to contribute. In the case of biodiversity, citizens are able to monitor biodiversity levels, by using methods such as surveying.

Question 23

How can we use surveys to gather evidence of loss of biodiversity?

Answer 23

Species:
- population size
- genetic diversity
- range of speces

Ecosystems:
- Species diversity
- richness and evenness of biodviersity
- araa occupied
- extent of degradation

• number of species threatened in a taxonomic group.

Question 24

biodiversity crisis

Answer 24

the unprecedented loss of ecosystems and species.

Question 25

exploitation of resources

Answer 25

• the overexploitation of natural resources, such as deforestation, hunting of animals, and fishing can threaten ecosystems, leading to loss in biodiversity.

Question 26

Why are extinction rates getting increasingly higher over the years?

Answer 26

• because population size of humans has been increasing drastically. Overpopulation, leads to human activities becoming threatening towards other species -> thus ecosystem collapses.

Question 27

Direct and indirect Causes of ecosystem loss:

Answer 27

• Agriculture
• Urbanization
• Overexploitation of natural resources
• Mining and smelting
• Water management
• Drying of wetlands
• Leeching
• Climate change

Question 28

Discuss the significance of Mining and Smelting on ecosystem loss.

Answer 28

opencast mines, destroy natural ecosystem areas, e.g tropical forests
smelting and disposal of waste -> causes pollution + widespread damage

Question 29

Discuss the significance of Water management on ecosystem loss.

Answer 29

reservoirs created -> can flood ecosystems
extraction of water for irrigation+industrial+domestic use -> reduce river flows e.g Aral sea

Question 30

Discuss the significance of Drying of wetlands on ecosystem loss.

Answer 30

Swamps+wetlands, drained for conversion to agriculture
wetlands -> water diverted, flowing to human use

Question 31

Discuss the significance of Leeching on ecosystem loss.

Answer 31

washing of fertiliezers -> river and lakes -> eutrophication + algal blooms
Oligotrophic ecosyystems, organisms adapted to low nutrient concentrations -> lost

Question 32

What are the strategies for conserving biodiversity?

Answer 32

• In situ conservation
• Ex situ conservation
• The need for management of nature reserves
• Rewilding
• Storage of Germ Plasm:

Question 33

In situ conservation

Answer 33

leave species in their native habtitats, degraded areas can become nature reserves/parks -> allowing for life to be conserved in the abiotic envrionmnt they adapted in.

Question 34

Ex situ conservation

Answer 34

preservation of species outside native habitat -> remove species from natural habitat -> breed them outside, zoos for animals, botanic gardens for plants -> ultimate aim to reintroduce them back to their natural habitat.
Ecosanturaries, are examples -> semi natural conditions + predator control

Question 35

• The need for management of nature reserves

Answer 35

removal of alien species
-reintroduction of native species
-control of population sizes
-control of human access
-prevention of poaching

Question 36

• Rewilding

Answer 36

The return of degraded ecosystems to as natural of a state as possible.
- recovery -> rapid
- balance -> maintained
- due to natural ecological processes
- EXCLUDING INTERVENTION BY HUMANS

Question 37

• Storage of Germ Plasm:

Answer 37

(long term)
- storage of living material used for propagation in the future (Multiplication or increase, as by natural reproduction)
- seeds (plant) stored dry -> seed banks -> low temps (-20 celsius)
- maintain -> vability
- animal germ plasm -> stored at -20 to -200, tissue banks

Question 38

What is the EDGE of Existence program?

Answer 38

• A project with two criteria -> which animal species requires conservation the most?
• Evolutionary Distinct:
  Does it have Few or no relatives? Member of a small clade?
• Globally Endangered:
  Are remaining populations all threatened?