Methods of conserving biodiversity Flashcards
What are the methods of conserving biodiversity?
Legislation/Protocols
Captive Breeding and Release Programmes
Habitat Conservation
What are the methods by which Legislation/Protocols conserve biodiversity?
Legal Protection
Trade Controls
Organisations aiming to achieve sustainable exploitation
Give an example of legal protection
UK 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act
Give an example of trade controls
CITES
Give 3 examples of organisations aiming to achieve sustainable exploitation
International Whaling Commission (IWC)
Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union (EU CFP)
International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO)
Give methods of Captive Breeding and Release Programmes
- keeping species in captivity
- captive breeding programmes
- methods to increase breeding success
- release programmes
- seed banks
What factors influence decisions about captive breeding and release programmes?
- is the wild pop threatened
- is there a genetically diverse captive pop
- is in-situ conservation being successful
- is keeping a captive population realistic
- is release into the wild likely to be successful now or in the future
What are the problems with keeping species in captivity?
Physical size
Habitat size
Food requirements
Species interrelationships
Financial constraints
Mutations
Why is physical size a constraint for keeping a species in captivity?
too big/too small, we cannot provide the exact conditions or give enough space
Why is habitat size a constraint for keeping a species in captivity?
Give an example
Some need such large habitats
e.g. whales
Why are food requirements a constraint for keeping a species in captivity?
Give an example
Complicated requirements cannot easily be provided, and too specific means we cannot ensure supply
e.g. insectivorous bats, fish that eat plankton
Why are species interrelationships a constraint for keeping a species in captivity?
Give an example
Some need other animals to ensure survival, some have complicated or symbiotic relationships
e.g. Brazil Nut
Darwin’s Orchid
Plants with mycorrihzal root fungi relationships
Large Blue Butterfly overwinters in red ants’ nests
Why are financial constraints constraints for keeping a species in captivity?
Give an example
keeping animals in zoos/botanic gardens is expensive (for all the other reasons mentioned) and there is not enough money available to keep all endangered species in captivity
e.g. Giant Pandas - the whole population is indigenous to and owned by China
platypuses
polar bears
Why are mutations a constraint for keeping a species in captivity?
Give an example
it is a huge risk, and also risks contamination, so we cannot keep closely related species together
e.g. Sika Deer and Red Deer
What is a captive breeding programme?
the process of keeping species in a controlled environment to increase the number of individuals ex-situ and maintain a stable population in captivity
often uses as a last resort in conservation due to expense and difficulty, and are often accompanied by other conservation projects e.g. habitat protection
What are the aims of captive breeding programmes?
- increase the number of individuals in a species
- maybe release them to increase wild populations
- save species on the brink of extinction
- providing a safe environment for animals to reproduce and increase population, ensuring genetic diversity for long term survival
What are the constraints for captive breeding programmes?
- conditions for breeding (restricted knowledge)
- population interactions and breeding success
- breeding habitat
- gene pool size
- hybridisation
Why are conditions for breeding(restricted knowledge) a constraint for captive breeding programmes?
Give an example
precise timing, day length, light level, temp, display room, amount of food or amount of stored body fat may be essential for breeding of some species. If we do not know the requirements/conditions or cannot provide them, we cannot make them breed in captivity
e.g. Giant Pandas
A female panda has a single oestrous cycle once a year, in the spring, for 2 to 7 of those days, and she’s only actually fertile for 24 to 36 hours
Why are population interactions and breeding success a constraint for captive breeding programmes?
Give an example
Conflict can reduce survival if species have breeding ranges, some species breed most successfully if breeding adults are separate from other adults, some species breed most successfully with choice of partners and some mate for life
e.g. In the wild, some breeding pairs of birds choose isolation while non-breeding individuals live elsewhere. In captivity, the mixing of breeding and and non-breeding individuals may cause conflict - reduces survival of eggs and chicks
Why is breeding habitat a constraint for captive breeding programmes?
Give an example
some species will only breed if they have a suitable habitat:
-suitable site for courtship displays
- social grouping
- an area for hunting
- a nest site
e.g. flamingos only breed in large groups, so installing mirrors around a captive population give the illusion of a larger population
Why is gene pool size a constraint for captive breeding programmes?
Give an example
most captive pops = small gene pool = inbreeding
- harmful recessive genes may be common in the pop, but normally are rare unless both parents are closely related
- in captive breeding programmes it is often impossible to use individuals that are not closely related
- can use a stud book
e.g. Hawaiian Goose became very rare due to hunting, habitat loss and introduced predators. A captive breeding programme raised the wild pop by 1500, but to start with only had 7 individuals which produced goslings with thin, hair like fethers which did not insulate well so survival was low in cold weather
What is a stud book?
A book containing info of every individual of a species within a given region e.g. genetics, parents, offspring, births etc.
- they keep records of family trees which helps ensure breeding takes place between as unrelated individuals as possible
- helps zookeepers calculate the optimum breeding pairings
- usually managed by a zoo that specialises in keeping that particular species
Why is hybridisation a constraint for captive breeding programmes?
Give an example
wild species = individuals that naturally interbreed to produce fertile offspring
captivity = individuals may inter-breed (hybridise) with closely related species/varieties that they wouldn’t naturally meet in the wild
- produced combinations of characteristics that would not be found naturally. Not have conservation value
- not be well adapted for survival
- infertile/different to original species
- can be prevented with animals, but plants have pollen transferred by insects
- managers of early zoos didn’t get the importance of keeping sub-species apart
e.g. Lions have 2 subspecies that can hybridise, African Lion and Asiatic Lion
What are the methods for increasing breeding success?
Cryopreservation
Artificial insemination (AI)
Embryo transfer
Micropropagation of plants
Cloning
Using a stud book
Why do we need methods for increasing breeding success?
because species kept in captivity do not always breed as successfully as they do in the wild
Where can we keep species in captivity?
Zoos
Botanic Gardens
Seeds in a Seed Bank
What is a zoo?
Give an example
where animals are kept in captivity for educational, display and conservation purposes. Lots have CB programmes
e.g. ZSL London Zoo
ZSL Whipsnade Zoo
What is a botanic garden?
where plants are cultivated for ornamental, educational, scientific and conservation reasons
e.g. Kew Gardens
What is a release programme?
When captive bred animals are successfully released into the wild
Give characteristics of successful release sites
large enough suitable habitat
reliable food supplies
low predation risk
suitable breeding sites
water
support of the local human pop
official support e.g. legal protection of habitat and species
What are the different types of release?
HARD RELEASE
- releasing individuals with no post-release support
- species where behaviour is controlled by instinct so they don’t need to learn survival skills
e.g. insects and fish
SOFT RELEASE
- involves post-release support such as gradual release and acclimatisation in larger areas and provision of food as they learn how to hunt for themselves
e.g. mammals and birds
What are the benefits of soft release?
- reduces big changes
- small changes in food
- soft release pens help acclimatise
- gradual human withdrawal reduces dependence
What are the problems faced by release?
- finding and recognising food
- recognising poisonous food
- developing hunting skills
- recognising and avoiding predators
- being accepted into the social groups of wild pops
- rejection by herds
- stress
- change of climate
- lack of immunity to disease
- lack of suitable habitat
- original cause of pop decline still exists
Why is monitoring helpful for released species?
shows success of project and helps improve future release programmes
How can we monitor released species?
GPS
satellite tags
trackers
chips
cameras and camera traps
What is a seed bank?
a place where collected seeds are stored ex situ so they can be germinated and reintroduced in the future into the wild or for scientific research
so wild plants would not become globally extinct even if they were extinct in the wild
How does a seed bank work?
seeds are selected for storage because they are already threatened in the wild or because they are of particular importance to humans e.g. commercial CWR
Give an example of a seed bank
e.g. Svalbard Global Seed Bank
e.g. Millenium Seed Bank, Wakehurst Place, Sussex (Kew)
- major centre of plant genetic diversity
- purpose built long term seed storage
- large enough to hold 75% world’s storable seeds
- 2.3b seeds from 40,000 species
- stored under dry/refrigerated conditions
- target number of seeds from each species = 10,000 to maintain diverse gene pool
- stored underground in a reinforced vault to reduce major accident risks
How does seed preservation at Millennium Seed Bank work? (don’t need to know this)
When seeds they are:
- dried in a room at 15 degrees, relative humidity 15%
- stored at room temp or in vault at -20 degrees
What is the most important way of conserving habitat and why?
In situ conservation because species are still living where survival conditions are appropriate and the entire species community is still together
What are some of the methods of in situ conservation?
- Land ownership
- Designated protected areas
- Voluntary Agri-environmental schemes
- Habitat creation and management
- Unintentional habitat creation
- Intentional habitat creation
- Habitat design
- Provision of biotic habitat features
- Provision of abiotic habitat features
How does land ownership conserve habitat?
Give examples
wildlife conservation organisations buy areas to protect the species that already live there, or will do so once the conditions have been changed so they are suitable
individuals landowners may also make management decisions for the benefit of wildlife
e.g. RSPB, National Trust, Woodland Trust
How do designated protected areas conserve habitat?
establishes legal protection
owners of habitat may not wish to manage their land for wildlife, so giving it legal protection means it should be protected
How does designating protected areas work in the UK?
Give some examples
few are state owned, so areas are protected by legal restrictions and management agreements. NP are primarily for landscape and allowing public access vs other countries where they are for wildlife e.g. Serengeti NP, Tzn.
Ramsar sites
SSSIs
Special Protected Areas
Special Areas of Conservation
National Nature Reserves
Is habitat creation always intentional?
No, sometime happens as part of other developments
What is unintentional habitat creation and how does it help conserve biodiversity?
Give examples
human activities make new habitats that are unsuitable for original species but may be suitable for new wildlife species that may colonise the area
e.g. reservoirs, flooded sand and gravel pits, roadside verges, hedgerows, ornamental gardens
e.g. 11,000km of roadside verges n Cumbria active as wildflower refuges for over 500 native species
Why do we intentionally create habitat?
- in situ conservation can only be successful if species habitat is suitable
- these may exist or we my need to alter existing habitats
- requires understanding of abiotic/biotic habitat features that species require
How does intentional habitat creation work?
- species not present will colonise as conditions become suitable
- easiest for mobile species e.g. birds and insects
- if habitat is isolated, then natural colonisation may become more difficult so deliberate introduction may be needed
- may also be restoration such as rewilding or meandering rivers
e.g. new wetlands, new woodlands, wildflower meadows, artificial coral reefs
e.g. RSPB Lakenheath and RSPB Wallasea Island were both areas of arable farmland before habitat creation began
What is habitat design and what features must be considered?
Where abiotic and biotic features of a selected area are planned to maximise suitability for species
- habitat area
- biological corridors
- habitat shape
- habitat diversity
- light levels
- water depth
- vegetation age structure
Give an example of habitat management
Dominant moorland veg = heather
= food source for grouse
grouse only eat new shoots but as heather gets old it gets woody and inedible.
to encourage new growth, heather is burnt. The continued burning cycle prevents trees from establishing.
What is a cost-benefit analysis?
the process of giving everything a monetary value, and if the costs of a project exceed the benefits then the project is likely to be scrapped
Why are cost-benefit analyses complicated?
It is subjective - it is difficult to give some things a monetary value e.g. how can you price a habitat provided by an ancient pear tree?
Give an example of a cost benefit analysis
HS2 - high-speed railway planned to connect London to Birmingham, the the West Midlands, then Leeds and Mancheser
Pros:
- reduced travel time
- low emissions, going towards net 0
- electrification goes towards decarbonisation
- carried lots of people, reduced emissions
Cons:
- cut through protected and nature-valuable areas e.g. Nature Reserves
- destroyed/fragmented habitats and niches
- destroyed ancient woodland and all those benefits
- socially bad = compulsory purchase
- was cancelled in in the end
- ruined the landscape
Give some stats for the management of the Great Barrier Reef
- world’s largest World Heritage Site, over 2000km long
- 61% seagrass, 7% coral reefs and many more habitat types
- Zoning plan increases no-catch zones from 4.5% to 33%
- flagship species: Dugong. 16 D. protection areas created
- sea level on the reef has raised 3mm per year since 1991
- receives runoff from 38 major catchments which drain 424,000km squared of coastal Queensland e.g. fertilisers and pesticides
