Conservation Flashcards
Why is the extinction of a species bad?
It causes a reduction in global biodiversity
What does conservation involve?
The protection and management of endangered species
What are the two types of conservation?
- Zoos
- Seedbanks
What are the disadvantages of using botanical gardens? 2
- Space needed
- Expensive to regulate environment for different plant needs
What do seedbanks store?
Many seeds from different plant species and different plants within that species
What are plants threatened by?
- Habitat destruction
- Climate change
- Over harvesting
What are seedbanks used for? 5
- Scientific research
- Habitat restoration
- Species reintroduction
- Maintaining genetic diversity in a species
- Education about biodiversity conservation
How do seedbanks maintain genetic diversity?
Storing a range of seeds from plants with different characteristics and alleles
What conditions does seed storage need and why? 3
Dry and low temperatures
- Reduced enzyme activity and therefore growth of microbes and therefore rate of decomposition
- Reduced metabolic reactions so seed less likely to germinate
What happens to seeds after a month in storage and why?
- A sample of seeds are taken out and germinated on agar plates
- To test seed viability
What happens if seed viability is low?
Planted grown and new seeds harvested for storage
Advantages of seedbanks over fully grown plant storage 6
- Cheaper to store seeds than fully grown plants
- Large numbers can be stored as seeds take up less space: greater genetic diversity
- Less labour needed
- Different species of plant in similar conditions, fully grown plants need conditions from original habitat
- Seeds less likely to be damaged from natural disasters, disease and vandalism
- Can be stored for a long time
What are the disadvantages to seedbanks?
- Expensive and time consuming to always test seeds for viability
- Too expensive to store all types of seed
- Difficult to collect seeds from plants in remote locations
What are the aims of captive breeding programmes in zoos? 3
- Increasing number of individuals of species with low numbers
- Maintaining genetic diversity within captive population
- Reintroducing animals to the wild
What are the threats to the animal species? 4
- Land development
- Over exploitation
- Pollution
- Introduction of alien species
What is genetic drift?
Some alleles not passed to offspring purely by chance, causing a reduction in genetic variation
What is the problem with a small animal population? 4
- More interbreeding of closely related individuals
- Frequency of homozygous genotypes increases
- Loss of heterozygote genotypes
- Accumulation of recessive alleles lead to harmful effects
What are the problems with captive breeding programmes in zoos? 2
- Hard to recreate natural habitat species so animals may have issues breeding outside of their natural habitat
- People think its is cruel to keep animals in captivity
What are the advantages of species reintroduction? 3
- Increases their numbers in the wild
- Helps organisms who rely on species for food/as part of habitat
- Helps restore lost habitats
What are the disadvantages of species reintroduction? 2
- Reintroduced species could bring new diseases to other organisms
- Reintroduced organisms may not behave as wild animals e.g problems communicating/finding food
How can seedbanks be used in scientific research?
- Study how to grow plant species from seeds
- Medical research
- New material without removing endangered plants from wild
What is the disadvantage to using seedbanks in scientific research?
Limits data to small interbred populations unrepresentative of wild plants
What are zoos used for? 3
- Scientific research
- Education on conserving biodiversity
- Captive breeding programmes
How do zoos contribute to scientific research? 2
- Increase knowledge on behaviour, physiology and nutritional needs
- Can carry out research impossible for species in the wild
What is the disadvantage of using zoos for scientific research?
Animals in captivity may act differently to wild animals
How do zoos educate people about conserving biodiversity?
People can get close to organisms and so increasing enthusiasm for conservation
How do seedbanks educate people about conserving biodiversity? 3
- Provides training
- Sets up local seedbanks around the world
- Aims to conserve seeds in original country
