A4.2 Conservation of Biodiversity Flashcards
biodiversity
amount of biological or living diversity per unit area
includes the concept of species diversity, habitat diversity and genetic diversity
ecosystem diversity
range of different habitats or number of ecological niches per unit area in an ecosystem
what does conservation of ecosystem lead to
the conservation of species and genetic diversity
species diversity
variety of species per unit area
includes number of species and their relative abundance
genetic diversity
range of genetic material present in a gene pool or population of a species
large gene pool
high genetic diversity
small gene pool
low genetic diversity
richness
refers to the number of a species in an area
evenness
relative abundance of each species
high abundance
similar abundance of all species
similar amounts of all species
low abundance
one or a handful of species dominate
lower complexity
simpsons reciprocal index
diversity indices which are used to describe and compare communities
what can simpsons reciprocal index be used to assess
whether the impact of human development on ecosystems is sustainable or not
why does low diversity occur
pollution, eutrophication or recent colonisation
what happens in distributed sites
artificially increased species richness due to mixing of habitats that are usually spatially separate
simpsons reciprocal index formula
D = N(N-1) / sum n(n-1)
points to note for simpsons reciprocal index
2 different areas can be compared using it
comparisons must be made between areas containing the same type of organism in the same ecosystem
what does a high D value symbolise
that its a stable or ancient site
more evenness
what does a low D value symbolise
disturbance and dominance of only one species cause by humans activities
how many species are predicted to be on earth and how many have been discovered
predicted - 100 million
discovered - 9 million
what does fossilisation tell us
fossilisation is extremely rare
tells us history of life
radiometric dating
measures amounts of naturally occurring radioactive substances
what is radiometric dating used for
are accurately dated to give clues about the community of organisms living at a particular time in the past
what does evidence for fossils suggest
there are currently more species alive on earth today than at any time in the past
anthropogenic
relating to human activity
how many mass extinctions have there been in the past and how much % of species have gone extinct
5 mass extinctions
75% species gone extinct
extinctions caused by natural causes
why will a 6th mass extinction occur
human causes like climate change
north island giant moas features
from new Zealand
flightless birds
lived in lowlands - scrublands, grasslands, forests
terrestrial megafauna
terrestrial megafauna
large or giant animals of an area
how did the north island giant moas get extinct
hunted for food
most important factor - farming
forests cut and burned down for arable land
natural factors and climate change didn’t have any impact
why did natural factors and climate change not have any impact on moas
they adapted to effects of climate change on their own by tracking the habitat as it expanded
effect of north island giant moas getting extinct
very large so played role in shaping the structure and composition of vegetations communities
could have been affected after extinction
Caribbean monk seals features
declared extinct in 2008
lost marine life
apart of Pinnipedia
carribean sea, gulf of Mexica, west Atlantic Ocean
why did Caribbean monk seals go extinct
being hunted for fur, meat, oil from blubber
display at museums, overfishing
easy to kill because tame behaviour and non threatening
first species of seal to become extinct because of human behaviour
effect of Caribbean monk seals extinction
knock on effect
Caribbeans food web
was top predator of fish
allowed fish to expand, altering biodiversity
Falkland Islands wolf features
only native land mammal of island
common and tame
lived in burrows
ate birds, grubs, insects and some seashore creatures
why did Falkland Islands wolf go extinct
islands thought that they were threat to sheeps
deliberate poisoning and large scale hunting
resulted in deliberate extinction
effect of Falkland Islands wolf extinction
was not threatening or a significant predator
removal of a top predator would have had an impact on the rest of the food chain
description of dipterocarp forests in south east asia
3rd largest island covered by tropic rainforest
dominated by long lived, tall, hardwood trees
high species diversity
human threats to dipterocarp forests in south east asia
logged commercially for export market
deforestation rate very high
damage to remaining forest because of logging
consequences of threats to dipterocarp forests in south east asia
too much timber removed
damage to forest structure
changes in biodiversity
oil palm plantations fragment rainforests and remove habitats
descriptions of the Great Barrier Reef
largest coral reef ecosystem
diversity of species and habitats
exposed to many glacial cycles
human threats on the Great Barrier Reef
easily damaged by divers fins and boat anchors
tourists break of bits
overfishing disrupts balance of species
climate change causes coral bleaching
consequences on the disturbance on the Great Barrier Reef
available habitats for sea turtle are being damaged by sedimentation
changes to population number
mass coral bleaching
loss in biodiversity
where can evidence for a biodiversity crisis be drawn from
reposts and other sources from IPBES
IPBES
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
founded in 2012
features of IPBES
anyone can participate
participants use the same protocol so data can be combined and be high quality
data can help professionals come to reliable conclusions
a wide community of scientists and volunteers work together and share data to public and scientists
what happened with the growing of humanity
impact of humans grew
development of settled agriculture represents one of the most significant changes and enabled them to start growing
causes for population growth
better healthcare
more nutritious food
cleaner water
better sanitation
production of staple foods
increased access of energy
where does the biggest increase in population take place and why
less economically developed countries
high infant death rates - more pressure on women to have kids
larger families needed to provide labour to families
lack of access to contraception
impact of growing population
enormous amounts of extra resources
biodiversity loss - hunting, urbanisation, deforestation, clearance of land, population, spread of pests and diseases, invasive alien species due to global transport
how does hunting lead to problems
overharvesting and hunting - reduction in population size
animals hunted for food, medicines and souvenirs, fashion, exotic pets
how does urbanisation lead to problems
living areas are built on land that was once covered in natural habitats
areas drained and filled in during development
increase in population leads to an increased trend of urbanisation and loss of ecosystem
problems caused by deforestation
habitat loss
biodiverse ecosystems like tropic rainforests destroyed
tropical rainforests are rich in mineral resources like timber - vulnerable to exploitation
effects of converting land for agriculture
increase in population means increase demand for food
further habitat loss
almost 40% of earths land surface being used for agriculture
destruction of native habitats - replaced with monocultures
monocultures
growing of a single crop in an area
large loss of diversity
effect of mining
extensive habitat destruction that contain gorillas and other endangered animals
natural habitats cleared for plantation crops
pollution
addiction to an environment of a substance or agent by human activities
greater rate than can be handled by environment
examples of substances that cause pollution
chemicals, litter, nets, plastic bags, oil spills
effect of pollution
damages habitats, kills animals and plants, leading to the loss of life, reduction in population numbers and species
golden toad extinct
due to disease
airborne pollution or infection by fungus or parasites
spread by increasing global temperatures
what populations are particularly prone to being affected by diseases
small populations
reduced popualtion size means reduced gene pool
alien species
species that are introduced into an area by human activity
invasive species
an alien species that has increased rapidly in number, having a negative effect on the environment and on native species
what did trading result in
species being removed from their natural habitats to environments where they wouldn’t have existed naturally
lion fish in terms of invasive species
native to indo Pacific Ocean
increasing abundant in Atlantic and Caribbean
expanded due to lack of competition and predation and abundant food supplies
are aggressive and venomous
predators
overpopulate reef areas and force native species to move to less favourable areas
water hyacinth in terms of invasive species
introduced as an ornamental plant
grows rapidly forming dense mats - cover entire bodies of water
reduces native algae and plankton in the water which are food for other marine creatures
aims of conservation
to keep what we have
aims to slow the rate of extinction
in situ conservation
endangered species are conserved in their natural habitat
what does in situ conservation require
may require active management of nature reserves or national parks
clearing of overgrowth, limiting predators, controlling poaching and access, reintroducing species that have become locally extinct
successfully protected areas also
provide habitat for indigenous species
create community
receive adequate funding and resources
carryout relevant research
important role in education
protected by legislation
give the site economic value
effect of biogeographic factors
biogeographic factors affect species diversity and need to be considered when planning natures reserves
why are nature reserves better for conservation
large to support greater habitats and higher population numbers
low perimeter to area ratio to reduce edge effects
fragmented areas need to be in close proximity
low perimeter to area ratio why
edge conditions are very different to interior so flora fauna that live in the interior can survive in edge conditions
best shape is a circle - west edge - area ratio
fragmented areas need to be in close proximity why
allows plants and animals to move between
gene flow between fragmented receivers through corridors
movement of large animals and predators via corridors
rewilding definition
environmental conservation
reinstate natural processes and missing species
allowing the complex interactions that exist in an ecosystem to be reinstated
what is rewilding
is a form of environmental conservation - can increase biodiversity in an area
reintroduces lost animal species to natural environmental
3 main principles of rewilding
core habitats established
connectivity allow movement of biodiversity
carnivores reintroduction - imp to food chain
benefits of rewilding
increasing storage of carbon from atmosphere
keeping wilding adapt to climate changes - can reduce extinction
reversing biodiversity loss
improving health and well being for surrounding areas and people
ex situ conservation
preservation of a species outside their natural habitats
where ex situ conservation take place
in zoos through breeding programs
small populations obtained from the wild or from other zoos
enclosures for animals are made similar to natural habitat
botanical gardens
used for living collections and seed banks to store genetic diversity
germ plasm
cells that contain genetic material that is passed down from one generation to the next
how are germ plasm storage
live information source
conserved for long periods and regenerated whenever needed in the future
golden lion tamarin conservation
almost got extinct due to deforestation and hunted down because it was thought to carry diseases like yellow fever and malaria
loss of species would have affected insects and lizards causing them to be more numerous
captive breeding programs in certain zoos increased population
bengal tiger conservation
under threat from habitat loss and poaching
sundarbans - climate change and increasing of water levels
protect tiger - preserve areas where they are found and the tigers too
through captive breeding
captive breeding
maintains genetic diversity of the species
- cross breeding of tigers with others to maintain genetic integrity
what has international conservations on biodiversity done
shared attitudes towards sustainability
led to the Stockholm declaration - setting targets and triggering action at International and local levels
seeks to bring about a transformation in society relationship with biodiversity
EDGE
evolutionary distinct and globally endangered
species are those which disproportionately represents threatened genetic diversity
EDGE species catergorisation
above medium evolutionary distinct score and threatened with extinction
over 550 EDGE mammals
over 900 EDGE amphibians
complex issues associated with conservation efforts
ethica;
cultural
economic
political
environmental
social
