Conservation Flashcards
Define conservation
Maintaining and protecting a living and changing environment
Advantages of zoos
Breeding to boost numbers in the wild
May save organism from extinction
Provide protection from predators
Education of local population and guidance for national parks (this help to maintain natural habitat)
If natural habitat are maintained woth assistance from the zoo/national parks, then species can be reintroduced
Can monitor and maintain the genetic diversity of the species
Protected, properly fed , given veterinary attention
Disadvantages of zoo
Hard to recreate natural habitat in zoos
Re-introduction doesnt always work
There not enough space in zoos for all endangered species
Difficult to breed some species
Captively bred animals may not able to survive in the wild
Small zoo population mean a small gene pool
Cruel act to keep the animals trapped
Define Ex-situ conservation
The conservation of components of biological diversity outisde their natural habitat
Define in-situ conservation
The conservation of ecosystem and natural habitat, and the maintence and recovery of viable population of species in their natural surroundings
Technique used in ex-situ conservation
DNA analysis
Technique used
-insert embryo into surrogate mothers
- enhance ovulation (FSH)
- transfer embryos (between population)
- donor sperm (from other zoos)
- artificial insemination
Adcanatges of ex-situ conservation
Increase genetic diversity
Predators are eliminated
Some ex-Situ conservation can bring in money from tourism to help cover conservation cost
Ex-Situ observation sites can be used for education
Close monitoring and scientific investigation are much easier as there are fewer uncontrolled variable
Eliminates predators
Involves reintroduction of several organism that have their natural habitat
Assist in breeding animals
Somatic cloning
Monitor mother and foetus
Provide woth proper care
Genetic records to prevent in breeding
Disadvantages ex-situ conservation
-behavioral and genetic problems
Limited space and limited budgets
Hard to recreate the natural habitat
Reintroduction into their habitat may be difficult as the animals will not be sued to the environment and may be less likely to survive
Genetic diversity will be significantly lowered in captive population
Ex Situ are expensive to maintain
Animals may behave differently which might make breeding programs difficult
- large animals draw customers so these focus, smaller rare animals are not given attention
- behavior crucial to reintroduction is not learned from foster parents
- stress often result in low breeding
- in small population an individual may reject the mate
Define captive breeding programme
Programme where individuals of an endangered species are bred in zoos and parks in an attempt to save the species from extinction and if possible to reintroduce them to their natural wild environment
Explain why is it easier to conserve plant biodiversity than animal biodiversity
Plants can be conserved as seeds. Plants make many seeds, so collecting a few does not harm population numbers. When cooled and dried, most seeds will last several hundred years. If not seeds, tissue cultures can be conserved that will produce more plants when desired. These techniques do not take up much space and are not very expensive.
Animals are much harder to conserve. DNA is being conserved but so far, we have no way of bringing that back into being a living animal. Conserving and breeding whole animals is very expensive, takes up a lot of space and is very time consuming.
Advantageous captive breeding and reintroduction programme
Advantages:
• It helps save some of the rarest animals and plants.
• Some species have been saved from extinction and returned to the wild.
• Genetic variety can be maintained as much as possible to support captive breeding and wildpopulations.
Disadvantage of captive breeding anf reintrofuction programme
Disadvantages:
• Ecosystems, once lost, may never be restored – animals may not have somewhere to return to so reintroduction to the wild becomes impossible.
• Animals are expensive to keep.
• It is difficult to provide the right conditions for breeding.
• Animals bred and fed in captivity may be unable to adapt to life in the wild.
• Expensive reintroduction programmes may fail.
• Award marks for any other sensible points.
What are seed banks and how does it help
Store huge humber of different species of plants seeds in hopes of helping in their preservation and to conserve endangered plant species , the seeds can be used to regrow dpecies that have become extinct in the wild
The seed banks also help conserve genetic diveristy by storing many seeds with different allele of the same species
Advanatges of seed banks
Cheaper than storing fully grown plants
Lots of seeds can be stored in a small space
Less manual labor is needed
Preserve genetics of wild plants in case existing crops die out
Dont harm existing plants wehn collected
Seeds can be stored anywhere cool and dry, conditions of grtowth from natural habitat are hard to recreate
Seeds are less likely to be damaged by disease or natural disasters
Disadvanatges of having seed banks
Testing for viability is expensive and time consuming
It too expensive to sotre and test all types of seeds regulary
Its difficult to collect seeds from some plants that grow in remote locations
Some seeds cant be stored so may need to conserve in field gene banks which take up lots of space and time
Advantages to reintroduction of animals to the wild
- it help save some of the rarest animals and plants
- some species have been saved from extinction and returned to the wild
- genetic variety can be maintained as much as possible to support captive breeding and wild population
Increase population number in the wild
—> help conserve their numbers in the wild and stop them from being endangered
Why do we need method of conservation
Pollution from human bodily waste
Agriculture for growing food
Activities such as driving leading to global warming
Using biological resources for clothing, medicine, food water m building material
How do zoos help with conservation
Provide captive breeding programs that involves allowing animals to breed under controlled environment, animals that are endangered or that are already extinct in the wild through breeding we can increase the population number
