A4.2 Conservation of Biodiversity Flashcards

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1
Q

biodiversity

A

amount of biological or living diversity per unit area

includes the concept of species diversity, habitat diversity and genetic diversity

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2
Q

ecosystem diversity

A

range of different habitats or number of ecological niches per unit area in an ecosystem

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3
Q

what does conservation of ecosystem lead to

A

the conservation of species and genetic diversity

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4
Q

species diversity

A

variety of species per unit area

includes number of species and their relative abundance

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5
Q

genetic diversity

A

range of genetic material present in a gene pool or population of a species

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6
Q

large gene pool

A

high genetic diversity

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7
Q

small gene pool

A

low genetic diversity

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8
Q

richness

A

refers to the number of a species in an area

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9
Q

evenness

A

relative abundance of each species

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10
Q

high abundance

A

similar abundance of all species
similar amounts of all species

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11
Q

low abundance

A

one or a handful of species dominate
lower complexity

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12
Q

simpsons reciprocal index

A

diversity indices which are used to describe and compare communities

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13
Q

what can simpsons reciprocal index be used to assess

A

whether the impact of human development on ecosystems is sustainable or not

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14
Q

why does low diversity occur

A

pollution, eutrophication or recent colonisation

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15
Q

what happens in distributed sites

A

artificially increased species richness due to mixing of habitats that are usually spatially separate

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16
Q

simpsons reciprocal index formula

A

D = N(N-1) / sum n(n-1)

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17
Q

points to note for simpsons reciprocal index

A

2 different areas can be compared using it
comparisons must be made between areas containing the same type of organism in the same ecosystem

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18
Q

what does a high D value symbolise

A

that its a stable or ancient site
more evenness

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19
Q

what does a low D value symbolise

A

disturbance and dominance of only one species cause by humans activities

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20
Q

how many species are predicted to be on earth and how many have been discovered

A

predicted - 100 million
discovered - 9 million

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21
Q

what does fossilisation tell us

A

fossilisation is extremely rare
tells us history of life

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22
Q

radiometric dating

A

measures amounts of naturally occurring radioactive substances

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23
Q

what is radiometric dating used for

A

are accurately dated to give clues about the community of organisms living at a particular time in the past

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24
Q

what does evidence for fossils suggest

A

there are currently more species alive on earth today than at any time in the past

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25
Q

anthropogenic

A

relating to human activity

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26
Q

how many mass extinctions have there been in the past and how much % of species have gone extinct

A

5 mass extinctions
75% species gone extinct
extinctions caused by natural causes

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27
Q

why will a 6th mass extinction occur

A

human causes like climate change

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28
Q

north island giant moas features

A

from new Zealand
flightless birds
lived in lowlands - scrublands, grasslands, forests
terrestrial megafauna

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29
Q

terrestrial megafauna

A

large or giant animals of an area

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30
Q

how did the north island giant moas get extinct

A

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

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31
Q

why did natural factors and climate change not have any impact on moas

A

they adapted to effects of climate change on their own by tracking the habitat as it expanded

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32
Q

effect of north island giant moas getting extinct

A

very large so played role in shaping the structure and composition of vegetations communities

could have been affected after extinction

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33
Q

Caribbean monk seals features

A

declared extinct in 2008
lost marine life
apart of Pinnipedia
carribean sea, gulf of Mexica, west Atlantic Ocean

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34
Q

why did Caribbean monk seals go extinct

A

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

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35
Q

effect of Caribbean monk seals extinction

A

knock on effect
Caribbeans food web
was top predator of fish
allowed fish to expand, altering biodiversity

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36
Q

Falkland Islands wolf features

A

only native land mammal of island
common and tame
lived in burrows
ate birds, grubs, insects and some seashore creatures

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37
Q

why did Falkland Islands wolf go extinct

A

islands thought that they were threat to sheeps
deliberate poisoning and large scale hunting
resulted in deliberate extinction

38
Q

effect of Falkland Islands wolf extinction

A

was not threatening or a significant predator
removal of a top predator would have had an impact on the rest of the food chain

39
Q

description of dipterocarp forests in south east asia

A

3rd largest island covered by tropic rainforest
dominated by long lived, tall, hardwood trees
high species diversity

40
Q

human threats to dipterocarp forests in south east asia

A

logged commercially for export market
deforestation rate very high
damage to remaining forest because of logging

41
Q

consequences of threats to dipterocarp forests in south east asia

A

too much timber removed
damage to forest structure
changes in biodiversity
oil palm plantations fragment rainforests and remove habitats

42
Q

descriptions of the Great Barrier Reef

A

largest coral reef ecosystem
diversity of species and habitats
exposed to many glacial cycles

43
Q

human threats on the Great Barrier Reef

A

easily damaged by divers fins and boat anchors
tourists break of bits
overfishing disrupts balance of species
climate change causes coral bleaching

44
Q

consequences on the disturbance on the Great Barrier Reef

A

available habitats for sea turtle are being damaged by sedimentation
changes to population number
mass coral bleaching
loss in biodiversity

45
Q

where can evidence for a biodiversity crisis be drawn from

A

reposts and other sources from IPBES

46
Q

IPBES

A

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

founded in 2012

47
Q

features of IPBES

A

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

48
Q

what happened with the growing of humanity

A

impact of humans grew
development of settled agriculture represents one of the most significant changes and enabled them to start growing

49
Q

causes for population growth

A

better healthcare
more nutritious food
cleaner water
better sanitation
production of staple foods
increased access of energy

50
Q

where does the biggest increase in population take place and why

A

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

51
Q

impact of growing population

A

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

52
Q

how does hunting lead to problems

A

overharvesting and hunting - reduction in population size
animals hunted for food, medicines and souvenirs, fashion, exotic pets

53
Q

how does urbanisation lead to problems

A

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

54
Q

problems caused by deforestation

A

habitat loss
biodiverse ecosystems like tropic rainforests destroyed
tropical rainforests are rich in mineral resources like timber - vulnerable to exploitation

55
Q

effects of converting land for agriculture

A

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

56
Q

monocultures

A

growing of a single crop in an area

large loss of diversity

57
Q

effect of mining

A

extensive habitat destruction that contain gorillas and other endangered animals
natural habitats cleared for plantation crops

58
Q

pollution

A

addiction to an environment of a substance or agent by human activities

greater rate than can be handled by environment

59
Q

examples of substances that cause pollution

A

chemicals, litter, nets, plastic bags, oil spills

60
Q

effect of pollution

A

damages habitats, kills animals and plants, leading to the loss of life, reduction in population numbers and species

61
Q

golden toad extinct

A

due to disease
airborne pollution or infection by fungus or parasites
spread by increasing global temperatures

62
Q

what populations are particularly prone to being affected by diseases

A

small populations
reduced popualtion size means reduced gene pool

63
Q

alien species

A

species that are introduced into an area by human activity

64
Q

invasive species

A

an alien species that has increased rapidly in number, having a negative effect on the environment and on native species

65
Q

what did trading result in

A

species being removed from their natural habitats to environments where they wouldn’t have existed naturally

66
Q

lion fish in terms of invasive species

A

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

67
Q

water hyacinth in terms of invasive species

A

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

68
Q

aims of conservation

A

to keep what we have
aims to slow the rate of extinction

69
Q

in situ conservation

A

endangered species are conserved in their natural habitat

70
Q

what does in situ conservation require

A

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

71
Q

successfully protected areas also

A

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

72
Q

effect of biogeographic factors

A

biogeographic factors affect species diversity and need to be considered when planning natures reserves

73
Q

why are nature reserves better for conservation

A

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

74
Q

low perimeter to area ratio why

A

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

75
Q

fragmented areas need to be in close proximity why

A

allows plants and animals to move between
gene flow between fragmented receivers through corridors
movement of large animals and predators via corridors

76
Q

rewilding definition

A

environmental conservation

reinstate natural processes and missing species
allowing the complex interactions that exist in an ecosystem to be reinstated

77
Q

what is rewilding

A

is a form of environmental conservation - can increase biodiversity in an area

reintroduces lost animal species to natural environmental

78
Q

3 main principles of rewilding

A

core habitats established
connectivity allow movement of biodiversity
carnivores reintroduction - imp to food chain

79
Q

benefits of rewilding

A

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

80
Q

ex situ conservation

A

preservation of a species outside their natural habitats

81
Q

where ex situ conservation take place

A

in zoos through breeding programs

small populations obtained from the wild or from other zoos
enclosures for animals are made similar to natural habitat

82
Q

botanical gardens

A

used for living collections and seed banks to store genetic diversity

83
Q

germ plasm

A

cells that contain genetic material that is passed down from one generation to the next

84
Q

how are germ plasm storage

A

live information source
conserved for long periods and regenerated whenever needed in the future

85
Q

golden lion tamarin conservation

A

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

86
Q

bengal tiger conservation

A

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

87
Q

captive breeding

A

maintains genetic diversity of the species
- cross breeding of tigers with others to maintain genetic integrity

88
Q

what has international conservations on biodiversity done

A

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

89
Q

EDGE

A

evolutionary distinct and globally endangered

species are those which disproportionately represents threatened genetic diversity

90
Q

EDGE species catergorisation

A

above medium evolutionary distinct score and threatened with extinction

over 550 EDGE mammals
over 900 EDGE amphibians

91
Q

complex issues associated with conservation efforts

A

ethica;
cultural
economic
political
environmental
social