Conservation of Biodiversity Flashcards
What are biomimetics? Give one example.
Involves the use of knowledge of the adaptations of other species, to improve the designs of manufactured items.
Adhesion = seeds of some plants have burrs with hooks that stick to the fur of animals. Copied in development of velcro.
How are some medicines made (from organisms)?
Poppies = painkillers, morphine, codeine.
Bark of willow = aspirin
Tropical marine sponge = AZT (treats HIV)
Yew tree = taxol (treats range of cancer)
What is physiological research? Examples.
Animals + plants used to research breakthroughs in understanding aspects of human health.
Dolphins + bats use high frequency sounds = development of new ultrasound scanners.
Marsupials give birth at young stage of deevlopment = understood development problems in unborn babies.
What are genetic resources?
Characteristics introduced from crop wild relative species.
High yeild = oil palm yield increased by 25% by cross breeding with wild varieties.
Salt tolerance = characteristics from wild varieties of rice and barley bred with commercial variety, can be grown in saline soil.
What is biological control?
Living organisms used for agricultural activities.
Ladybirds regulate population of aphids on crops.
Parasitic wasps control whitefly pests on crops.
What are EDGE species?
Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered. Have few close relatives, often only surviving member of their genus.
Pygmy Hippo
What are flagship species?
Species that have a high public profile. Includes species in same habitat that are less likely to attract support.
Tigers, pandas.
What is a keystone species?
Maintains ecological structure of a community with low abundance of population biomass.
African forest elephants, grey wolves, beavers.
What are endemic species?
Not found in any other area so if it goes extinct in one area, it’s fully extinct.
Aldabra Giant Tortoise.
What are the roles of the IUCN?
- 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.
What are the 8 categories of the IUCN Red List?
- Extinct
- Extinct in the wild
- critically endangered
- endangered
- Vulnerable
- near threatened
- least concern
- data-deficient
Threats to wildlife:
Direct exploitation
Provide food, used as fashion, capture as pets or for entertainment, medicine.
These can cause extinction from over-exploitation.
Threats to wildlife:
introduced species
Introducing competitors, predators, pathogens, cross breeding.
Competitors take resources from natives, predators kill natives, gene-pool changed by introduction of genes that are not natural.
Threats to wildlife:
Deliberate eradication of predators and competitors
Animals that threaten humans, pathogen vectors, livestock predators, pests on agriculture.
Can decrease biodiversity, population, slowly leads to extinction.
Threats to wildlife:
Change in biotic factors
Pollinators increase/decrease, seed dispersal increase/decrease, impact food chains.
Plants rely on pollen, no insects = no plants.
Animals eating seeds will disperse them, no animals = no plants.
Threats to wildlife:
Change in abiotic factors
Availability of water, temperature and acidic conditions, decrease in dissolved oxygen in water from hot water discharge from power stations.
Threats to wildlife:
Habitat destruction
Deforestation, ploughing, reservoirs, mining/mineral extraction, urban expansion.
What are CITES? What is its role?
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
Appendix I: Species threatened with extinction = all international trade is banned except movement for conservation. Big cats, rhinos…
Appendix II: Trade is permitted from countries where the species is well protected so limited exploitation does not threaten their survival. Great White Shark
What is the International Whaling Commission?
Regulates and manages whaling.
- Total protection for some.
- Whale sanctuaries.
- Setting limits for number and size of whales that can be taken.
- Protection of suckling mothers + calves.
- Does not ban: Aboriginal subsistence, scientific whaling, some commercial whaling.
What is the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO)?
Encourage sustainable management of tropical forests.
Strive for international trade of tropical timber from sustainably managed forests by 2000, but little evidence of success 2000 onwards.
What makes a species more suitable for captive breeding?
- Frequent birth rate.
- Long lifespan.
- Relatively large sum in captivity.
- Short pregnancy duration.
- Reach sexual maturity quickly.
- Cheap to maintain.
- Don’t need much space.
What are the problems with captive breeding?
- Possible inbreeding.
- Species may be too big or mobile.
- Diet may be difficult to provide.
- May be unable to recreate suitable abiotic conditions.
- Low breeding success rate.
How does artificial insemination increase breeding success?
Increases the likelihood of fertilisation, sperm can be transported.
How does embryo transfer increase breeding success?
Embryos implanted in surrogate female, allowing female to have more babies.
How does provision of suitable abiotic factors increase breeding success?
e.g. tropical species need heating to maximise survival + breeding.
How does recreating population dynamics and conditions for breeding increase breeding success?
e.g. right ratio of males to females, species aren’t too closely related, appropriate nesting sites etc.
What are some possible problems with releasing into the wild?
- Too friendly
- May not be immune to disease.
- Loss of habitat.
- Lack of survival skills.
What is hard release programmes?
Been in the wild before and spent minimal time in captivity. Released quickly back into environment.
What is a soft release programme?
Released into a pen into their habitat and given time to acclimatise before opening a gate and letting them go.
Temperate Forests:
Features
Importance
Threats
Conservation
- Don’t have major extreme temps, soil deep + fertile, lack of available food in winter = animals migrate, hibernate, store food.
- High biodiversity, hydrological cycle, carbon sequestration.
- Woodland clearance, habitat fragmentation.
- Legal protection of ancient woodland, Designated Protected Areas
Tropical Rainforests:
features
importance
threats
consevation
- Stable tropical climate, high biodiversity, species susceptible to extinction.
- Certain species may have medicinal uses, carbon sequestration, forest resources.
- Fuelwood collection, timber harvesting, agriculture/farming.
- Debt For Nature Swaps (conserve a wildlife habitat = get a debt paid off).
Tropical Coral Reefs:
features
importance
threats
conservation
- Hard, calcium carbonate skeletons produced by coral animals and polyps.
- Medicinal discoveries, fisheries.
- Rising sea levels, trawling, coral bleaching.
- No Take Zones (no fishing), appendix I CITES
Deep-water coral reefs
features
importance
threats
conservation
- 200-400m deep, get nutrients from passing currents, fish nursery/breeding.
- Support large biomass of fish, provide shelter and food for invertebrates.
- Underwater cables sway back and forth, killing them. Gas exposure smothers them, trawling, coral bleaching.
- Coral Reef Conservation Act
Mangroves:
features
importance
threats
conservation
- Halophytic trees that live in saline water.
- Habitat for crabs, lobsters, shrimp, reptiles etc, nursery grounds, traditional herbal medicine.
- Expansion of economic developments, deforested, exploited for wood.
- Reduce use of nearby fossils fuels which pollute + cause acid rain, anti-deforestation laws, plant new mangrove forests.
Oceanic Islands
features
importance
threats
conservation
- Formed by eruptions in oceans, low biodiversity, rich soil.
- High proportion of endemic species, may be unique medicines/biomimetics.
- Exploitation of species (dodo), local species unable to cope with mammals.
- Eradication of introduced species, stop climate change.
Antarctica
features
importance
threats
conservation
- Most wildlife is marine, 98% ice, poor frozen soil, 6 months day, 6 months night.
- Research to study past climate, sea ice keeps temp cool, gold, tin and copper found.
- Invasive fishing (decreases predators), global climate change, unregulated tourism.
- Antarctic Treaty (1959) = no mining, nuclear fishing, no extra/extended claims.
White Desert (sustainable tourism). No more than 100 people, 5m away from wildlife.
