Conservation Flashcards
Biomimetics
Developing man made systems that mimic biologically produced substances, mechanisms and processes
Ring tailed lemur - not hunted for food and does not produce any harvestable resource.
Give 2 reasons why they should be conserved.
Species interdependence
Ethical reasons
Educational reasons
Biomimetics
Aesthetic reasons
Why might it not be enough to simply protect the individuals of a species in order to conserve them?
Need suitable habitat
May depend on other species
EDGE species
Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered - threatened species that have few or no close relatives on the tree of life.
Flagship species
Species selected to act as an ambassador, icon or symbol for a defined habitat, issue, campaign or environmental cause.
Keystone species
A species that influences the survival of many other species in an ecosystem.
Endemic species
Species that are native to and found only within a limited area.
Roles of IUCN
(International Union for Conservation of Nature)
- coordinating global data on biodiversity conservation
- increasing understanding of the importance of biodiversity
- deploying nature based solutions to global challenges in climate, food and sustainable development
Human activities that threaten biodiversity. (Biodiversity is the variety and abundance of life on Earth. As humans, our survival depends on the other species with which we share the planet.)
- Deliberate exploitation
- Accidental harm
- Deliberate eradication
- Change in biotic factors (living things within an ecosystem eg. plants, animals and bacteria).
- Change in abiotic factors (non living things within an ecosystem eg. water, soil and atmosphere).
- Habitat destruction.
CITES
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
role of CITES
Regulates the international trade in endangered species and their products.
Wildlife and countryside act
- bans certain methods of killing or taking wild animals
- restricts introduction of certain animals and plants
- designation of protected areas eg SSSIs and NNRs (National Nature Reserve)
Examples of management activities
- maintaining a plagioclimax (a managed ecosystem)
-removal of introduced species - fencing off visitors
- restricting building development
- provision of food sources or nesting sites
protected areas in the UK
Studland Bay (SSSI - Site of Special Scientific Interest)
Lundy Island (MNR - Marine Nature Reserve)
IWC
International Whaling Commission
IWC purpose
- conserve whale populations but facilitate sustainable whaling in special circumstances
IWC roles
- total protection of some species
- setting limits on numbers hat can be taken
- having designated sanctuaries where no whaling can take place
- protection for mothers and calves
- carrying out research
CFP
EU Common Fisheries Policy
CFP purpose
To ensure sustainable harvesting of fish
ITTO
International Tropical Timber Organisation
ITTO purpose
moving towards all exports of tropical timber coming from sustainably managed sources
Limitations with legal protection
- financial cost
- can be hard to enforce (especially in remote areas)
- wildlife does not necessarily respect borders
- may require agreement of several countries
Captivity positives
- may be only place a species can survive
- people are able to see wildlife they would otherwise not / education
-generates income (for conservation)
Captivity negatives
- cost of keeping them in captivity
-many animals need very specific condition s or complex species interactions - doesn’t solve issues with wild populations
Ex situ conservation
conserving wildlife outside of their natural habitat
Problems with captive breeding
- possible inbreeding
-difficult for mobile or large species
-diet may be difficult to provide
-may be unable to recreate suitable abiotic conditions
-unable to house large groups
-low breeding success rate
how breeding success can be increased
-artificial insemination
-embryo transfer
- provision of suitable abiotic factors
-recreating population dynamics and conditions for breeding
artificial insemination
-sperm from desired male obtained
-injected into female of same species
this increases the likelihood of successful fertilisation but means a female can become pregnant without physical contact.
Sperm can be transported to different locations.
embryo transfer
-female give hormones to stimulate the release of eggs which are collected
-sperm that has been collected and the egg can be fertilised in vitro (in a lab)
-embryos can be implanted into another surrogate female
-cryopreservation used to store semen / eggs / embryos by freezing
this allows a single female to be the mother of many more offspring than she could naturally
problems with releasing into wild
- possible association with humans
-may not be immune to local diseases
-loss of habitat
-unsuitable age / sex ratio
-lack of survival skills eg finding food or avoiding predators
soft release
release of animals from captivity where they are provided with post release support eg food.
hard release
release of animals from captivity where they are not provided with post release support
seed banks
stores seeds as source for planting in case others are destroyed
seed banks limitations
- to store all seeds for all species would be hard - especially larger seeds
- viability of seeds declines over time - reduces gene pool
-seeds with high water content are difficult to store
Local elephant in a keystone species - what ways could other local species be affected if elephant population dies out
-reduce seed dispersal
-less food for predators
-less trampling / grazing so plants grow
-plant competition increases
-more food for herbivores
-less faeces for detritivores (creatures that absorb nutrients by absorbing dead and decomposing matter eg worms and beetles)
