Loss of Biodiversity: Threats and Solutions Flashcards
In ‘Surviving Progress’, society-wide debt cancellation is discussed. Why is this unlikely to happen in the modern world?
Globalisation means that debts are not usually owned by people who know each other.
Debt tends to be oligarchy-based rather than government-based in the modern world.
What was the experiment at Oostvaardesplassen designed to demonstrate?
whether the size of herbivore populations can be regulated through competition rather than predation
Which new techniques might hold the key for future control of invasive species?
CRISPR to insert altered genes into target species
What is happening to populations of hump-backed whales around the world currently?
They are increasing.
What is managed realignment?
a process where agricultural land reverts to salt marsh to provide improved sea defences further inland.
Where did Coypu originate from?
South America.
What was the key activity that prevented Arabian oryx from going extinct?
Captive Breeding
What activities were considered the key to the successful eradication of coypu in the UK?
Maintenance of high trapping effort as coypu numbers declined. Bonus for trappers completing the eradication programme early. Understanding the links between trapping effort and cold winters
What is a progress trap?
a chain of successes which, upon reaching a certain scale, leads to disaster
What can we do to prevent over-exploitation/habitat destruction?
Protect sites, nature reserve signs, national parks, woodland restoration and recreation.
What lead to the over-exploitation of the Black Rhino?
Poaching, Chinese medicine, dagger handles in the Middle East.
What solutions were created for the Black Rhino situation?
Protected species, protected new areas, translocation, security, eco-tourism, law enforcement.
Give examples of diseases that affect some species?
Crayfish plague, frog fungus, Dutch elm.
What solutions led to the reestablishment of Rinderpest?
Once eliminated from livestock, disease sustained in wild populations for only 4 more years.
Also eradicated from India.
Community based vaccination schemes were successful due to personal incentives to make programme work: treating their own cattle.
Give examples of some invasive species?
Signal Crayfish, Rabbit, Giant African land snail ,pygmy weed, Japanese knotweed, Zebra Mussel, Northern Snakeshead.
