Conservation methods Flashcards
Trade controls
CITES
CITES
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
CITES appendix |
Species threatened with extinction.
Complete ban on trade except in exceptional circumstances eg Zoo breeding programmes
Tiger, Blue whale, Rhinoceros, Chimpanzee, Gorilla
CITES appendix ||
Species threatened with extinction if trade is not effectively controlled.
Limited trade is permitted.
Hippopotamus, Polar bear, Venus fly trap, Honduras mahogany, Great white shark, Basking shark, Whale shark.
CITES appendix |||
Species where specific countries have requested help in protecting species.
Walrus in Canada
Pygmy anteater in Guatemala
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and 1984
UK law protecting habitats and preventing exploitation of specific plants and animals
Designated sites eg SSSI
Making the uprooting of wild plants generally illegal
Harming wild birds/nests is generally illegal
Many mammals are protected (otters, shrew, dormice)
Badgers and setts are protected
Bats are not allowed to be disturbed and any woodworm treatment must not be toxic to bats
Wildlife and countryside act 1981 1984
Designated sites
Restrictions on activities allowed in the area to provide protection
IWC
International Whaling Commission
Total protection for certain species
Designation of whale sanctuaries
Setting limits on numbers and sizes of whales that can be taken
Protection of suckling mothers and their calves
Carrying out research
IWC
CFP
EU Common Fisheries Policy
Intended to ensure sustainable exploitation of fish resources
Failed due to inability to set appropriate quotas and prevent killing of undersize fish
CFP
Captive breeding and release
Breed an endangered species in captivity then release it to wild once ready
Animals can be kept in zoos
Live plants can be kept in botanic gardens
Seeds can be dried or frozen in seed banks
Problems with captive species
Not enough room for large species eg. Blue whale
Some species have a habitat that cannot be recreated
There can be difficulties in feeding eg. Amount and type of food, way the food is eaten
Expensive
Cannot recreate species interdependence eg. mychorrhizal root fungi
Problems with captive breeding programmes
Not enough is known abut some species eg. habitat necessary for breeding
Small gene pools cause inbreeding
Case study- Flamingo
Build mud nests in shallow lake waters.
They only breed in huge colonies that cannot be replicated in zoos.
Mirrors are instead used to make it seem as though the colony is larger than it really is.
Eg. Slimbridge wildfowl and wetland centre in Gloucestershire
Case sudy- Hawaiian goose
1952, population dropped from 25000 to 30 due to hunting, habitat loss and introduced predators
Captive breeding and release was used to to build the population up.
current population is 800
Individuals can breed with related species, creating infertile hybrids
Plant interbreeding is a problem as the unique plant features can be lost very quickly
Interbreeding means the wrong species could be released
Problems with captive breeding programmes
Problems with seed banks
Seeds become less likely to germinate over time
Expensive
Hard to store large seeds eg. Coconuts
Seeds with high water content are difficult to store
Cyropresevation
Deep freezing embryos, eggs and sperm for future breeding programmes
Deep frozen sperm can be transported easier than an animal
Transporting frozen sperm causes less stress to animals, takes less time, and allows breeding in several places for more offspring
Stored reproductive cells allows breeding after individuals are dead
Artificial insemination
Breeding without the mating animals meeting reduces risks, time, and problems with breeding
Eggs are removed from the female, fertilised in a lab, and implanted in the uterus, or the sperm is introduced to the uterus during natural ovulation
Embryo trasfer
Breeding rates of female endangered animals is reduced by implanting embryos into more common species
FSH hormones are given to the female so she produces more eggs that can be fertilised via IVF and then implanted into a surrogate
Case study- bongo
Forest antelope from Africa threatened nearly to extinction by hunting.
Bongo embryos are implanted into female eland, a closely related and more common species.
Micro-propagation of plants
Form of tissue culture where clusters of tissues taken from young plants can be cultivated into a new plant. all plants bred this way are genetically identical to the original plant
Release of captive bred animals
Can occur when there is suitable protected habitat
Several related poblems
Food supplies cannot be correctly identified
Predators have a lack of skills
Animals struggle to escape from predators
Lack of immune systems
Outcasted by wild populations
Lack of instinctive behaviours eg. breeding rituals
The niche has been taken by another species
Problems with release of captive bred animals
Case study- Scimitar horned oryx
Desert antelope from North Africa that was hunted to extinction in the wild during 1990’s.
10 oryx bred in zoos in 1985 released in Bou Hedma National Park
wild population is now 150
Case study- Red kite
Persecution, habitat loss, egg collecting, poisoning, reduced numbers to below 10 by 1970’s
Captive chicks born in Spain released in 1989 to re-establish a wild population
Feeding stations were established
They have been introduced to 8 areas with over 1000 breeding pairs
Welsh birds are irrelevant as the small gene pool risked inbreeding
Land ownership
Owning an area allows the owner to manage the land as they wish as long as there are no management restrictions
The land can help conserve species if the owner is a conservation organisation
Eg. RSPB reserves and National Trust land
Designated sites
NNRs SSSIs SPAs SACs Ramsar sites
NNR
National nature reserve
SSSI
Site of special scientific interest
SPA
Special protection area
SAC
Special area of conservation
ESS
Environmental stewardship scheme
Grant to support voluntary conservation schemes
Abiotic factors eg. water, temperature, light levels
Biotic factors eg. food, predation, disease
Details necessary for the suitability of habitat
Chalk grassland
Lowland heathland
Moorland
Hay meadows
Semi natural habitats
Plagioclimax
Maintaining sheep grazing on chalk grassland
Maintaining a burning cycle on upland moorland
Maintaining grazing marshes in the Broads national park
Case study- Machair grassland
Rare calcareous grassland habitat.
70% found in north-west Scotland eg. Outer Hebrides
Many wildflowers and ground nesting birds eg. Corncrake found there
Traditional hay mowing is maintained
Cutting grass for silage is prevented
Overgrazing is prevented
Habitat management
Maintaining some semi-natural habitats
Removing unwanted species
Controlling invasive specie populations
Providing suitable conditions for wanted species eg. bat boxes
Management of activities on protected land
Habitat creation
Extremely difficult, but necessary if no suitable habitat exists.
Species interdependence can be created by introducing species while others colonise the area
Human actions often unintentionally create good habitats
Case study- Hay Tor quarry
a granite quarry that was abandoned 100 years ago
Many species have since colonised the site, making it a valuable habitat
