Conservation of biodiversity continued Flashcards
What is ex-situ conservation?
Removing the animals from the regular habitat, commonly for breeding programmes
What factors influence captive breeding and release programmes?
Wild population threat, genetic diversity of captive population, in-situ conservation success, realism and is release likely to be successful
What are the problems with keeping species in captivity?
Size, habitat requirement, food source, species interactions, financial constraints and breeding problems
Why might captive breeding of anteaters be hard?
Food requirements- the insects
Why might some plants struggle with captive breeding?
Symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi and plants with specific pollinators may not be replicated
What factors inhibit success in captive breeding?
Conditions for breeding, population interactions, breeding habitat, gene pool size and hybridisation
How may conditions inhibit breeding?
Breeding is often triggered by environmental stimuli and if these conditions aren’t known and therefore not replicated, the breeding won’t occur
How are seahorses effected by captive breeding?
They mate for life and can die of a ‘broken heart’ if separated
How does population interactions affect breeding success?
Many species of bird don’t enter each others territory except for when breeding (blackbirds)
How are flamingos bred in captivity?
They only breed when in large groups, so by putting mirrors around them this illusion can be created
What organisms does hybridisation affect?
Plants as their pollen is carried, animals can be easily separated
What are the methods of increasing breeding success?
Provision of essential conditions for breeding, group dynamics, difficulties in providing required abiotic conditions, artificial insemination, cryopreservation, micro propagation, cloning and embryo transfer
What is cryopreservation?
The storage of semen, eggs and embryos by freezing so they can be used for breeding programmes in the future
What are the benefits or artificial insemination?
Animals don’t have to be transported, mating can be dangerous for large animals, potential partners may not accept each other
What are the benefits of embryo transfers?
Some mammal species have few breeding females and gestation periods can be long, with ET animals of similar species can be used as surrogates
What are some species that do not currently breed?
Northern White Rhinoceros
What is micro-propagation?
Tissue culture where many clusters of cells can be produced from a single plant or tissue sample
What’s the disadvantage of micro-propagation?
The plants produced are genetically identical to the parent cell
What are the key features of successful breeding programmes?
The number of individuals released needs to be sustainable, the habitats must: be large enough, have reliable food sources, low predation/poaching, have suitable breeding sites, water access, support of local human population and legal protection
What are the different forms of release?
Hard and soft
What is hard release?
Releasing individuals with no post-release support, mostly for fish, insects, amphibians and reptiles
What is soft release?
Post-release support such as gradual release into larger areas and provision of food as they learn how to find food themselves, mainly mammals and birds
What problems do individuals face once released?
Finding and recognising food, recognising poisonous food, developing hunting skills, avoiding predators and being accepted socially
Why do we use seed banks?
Store the seeds of wild plant so if they go extinct in the wild they can be regrown
What conditions are the seeds stored under?
Dry and refrigerated
What is the target number for each species?
10,000 to ensure genetic diversity
What are disadvantages of seed banks?
Small gene pool, reduced viability of seed, cannot be used by all species and no evolution can occur
Why are stud books kept?
Prevent inbreeding as it reduces gene pool and leads to genetic weaknesses
What are the approaches to habitat conservation?
Designated protected areas, land ownership and habitat creation and management
What do agri-environmental schemes do?
Provide financial support to farmers to reward and encourage environmentally beneficial developments
What are some agri-environmentally schemes that have been used?
Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA), Countryside Stewardship Schemes (CSS), Environmental Stewardship Scheme (ESS) and Countryside Stewardship (CS)
What are the aims of agri-environmental schemes?
Conserve wildlife, maintain and enhance landscape quality and character, protect the historic environment, promote public access and understanding and protect natural resources
What features are contributed to agri-environmental schemes?
Beetle banks, hedgerows, stone walls, ditch management, field buffer strips, wild bird seeds, low input grasslands, protected archeological sites, management to reduce soil erosion and protection of in-field trees
What features are rewarded with higher payments on agri-environment schemes?
Wildflower-rich grass field margins, restoration of wet grassland, water meadow restoration, public access and maintenance/restoration of sand dunes, hedgerows, hay meadows, salt marsh, moorlands and ponds
What are some unintentional habitats created by humans?
Reservoirs, flooded sand and gravel pits, roadside verges, hedgerows and ornamental gardens
What habitats have been created intentionally for conservation?
Wetlands, woodlands, wildflower meadows and artificial coral reefs
What factors are considered in intentional habitat creation?
Area, biological corridors, habitat shape, habitat diversity, vegetation age structure, water, dissolved oxygen, temperature, light levels, pH, food, predation, competitors, pollination, seed dispersal, control of pathogens, species re-introduction,
What organisms benefit from smaller habitat areas?
Frogs, toads and newts breed more successfully in ponds that are too small to support predatory fish that would eat their eggs and tadpoles
What are the benefits of biological corridors?
Link isolated areas so if a species dies out in one area then re-colonisation is possible
How can we alter light levels to increase biodiversity of created habitats?
Felling of certain trees to allow light levels to pass onto smaller vegetation underneath
Where do plants with emergent vegetation live?
Can only support their weight in shallow water where roots can be held firmly by sediments
How can oxygen concentration in a river be improved?
By narrowing the river, turbulence and flow rate will increase
How can warmer areas be provided for egg development (lizard)?
Clearing where vegetation has been removed
How do forest floor plants overcome low light levels?
Additional chemicals such as anthocyanin and carotenoids, which can absorb wavelengths of light that have passed through the chlorphyll
What colour wavelengths do chlorophyll absorb?
Red and blue
What plant can survive in acidic conditions?
Sundew
How does pollination affect the creation of habitats for insects?
Plants that pollinate all year round may be necessary as this will provide food for the insects
What’s an example of re-introduction?
The Gray Wolf in Yellowstone National Park
What species have been successfully re-introduced into the UK?
Red Kite, White-tailed Eagle, Eurasian Otter, Common Crane, Great Bustard and the Large Blue Butterfly
How do sheep contribute to grazing?
Eat shorter grass and some breeds eat bushes and can be used to control invasive shrub
How do ponies contribute to grazing?
Selectively eat grass and usually avoid flowering plants but they will eat invasive bracken with is avoided by most grazing animals
How do cattle contribute to grazing?
Remove long rough grass
What are the benefits of mowing?
Removes all vegetation including thorny or bad-tasting
What is coppicing?
Trees are cut to the ground level every 3-30 years depending on the intended use of the harvested branches
What is pollarding?
Similar to coppicing but they are cut at levels at which the deer can eat regrowing branches
What are the features of temperate broadleaf woodland?
Regular water supply, summers not very hot, winters not very cold and seasonality
What is the importance of temperate broadleaf woodland?
High biodiversity, resources, climate control, soil erosion control and recreation
What are the threats to temperate broadleaf woodland?
Deforestation for other land uses, fragmentation of remaining woodland and management change
What are the conservation efforts for temperate broadleaf woodland?
Designated protected areas, legal protection of ancient woodland in UK and conservation management
Where are the temperate broadleaf woodlands?
Northern Hemisphere is Europe, East North America and East Asia