Conservation Planning

Question 1

What should conservation planning consider to maintain viable gene pools?

Answer 1

1. biogeography
2. reproductive behaviour
3. population dynamics

Question 2

What is biogeography?

Answer 2

Is the study of the geographic distribution of living things and how those distributions relate to the environment, the origins of the species and the changes that have occurred over time.

Question 3

Describe reproductive behaviour

Answer 3

• Reproductive behaviour is a behaviour related to the production and care of offspring.
• Knowledge of reproductive behaviours allows biologists to recreate conditions in zoos for reproduction.
• Allows biologists to ensure there are suitable reproductive conditions when reintroduced to the wild.
• Reproductive behaviour may change in captivity in which fewer individuals reproduce which reduces biodiversity.

Question 4

Describe population dynamics

Answer 4

• Population dynamics is the study of the number, gender, age and relatedness of individuals in a population.
• Births, deaths and migration directly affect population size.
• Understanding the conditions that will lead to an increase or decrease in the population allows biologists to intervene before populations begin to decline.
• Understanding the age structure of the population indicates the potential to reproduce and therefore a population’s ability to recover from a change.