Methods of conserving biodiversity

Question 1

What are the methods of conserving biodiversity?

Answer 1

Legislation/Protocols
Captive Breeding and Release Programmes
Habitat Conservation

Question 2

What are the methods by which Legislation/Protocols conserve biodiversity?

Answer 2

Legal Protection
Trade Controls
Organisations aiming to achieve sustainable exploitation

Question 3

Give an example of legal protection

Answer 3

UK 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act

Question 4

Give an example of trade controls

Answer 4

CITES

Question 5

Give 3 examples of organisations aiming to achieve sustainable exploitation

Answer 5

International Whaling Commission (IWC)

Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union (EU CFP)

International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO)

Question 6

Give methods of Captive Breeding and Release Programmes

Answer 6

• keeping species in captivity
• captive breeding programmes
• methods to increase breeding success
• release programmes
• seed banks

Question 7

What factors influence decisions about captive breeding and release programmes?

Answer 7

• 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

Question 8

What are the problems with keeping species in captivity?

Answer 8

Physical size
Habitat size
Food requirements
Species interrelationships
Financial constraints
Mutations

Question 9

Why is physical size a constraint for keeping a species in captivity?

Answer 9

too big/too small, we cannot provide the exact conditions or give enough space

Question 10

Why is habitat size a constraint for keeping a species in captivity?

Give an example

Answer 10

Some need such large habitats

e.g. whales

Question 11

Why are food requirements a constraint for keeping a species in captivity?

Give an example

Answer 11

Complicated requirements cannot easily be provided, and too specific means we cannot ensure supply

e.g. insectivorous bats, fish that eat plankton

Question 12

Why are species interrelationships a constraint for keeping a species in captivity?

Give an example

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Why are financial constraints constraints for keeping a species in captivity?

Give an example

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Why are mutations a constraint for keeping a species in captivity?

Give an example

Answer 14

it is a huge risk, and also risks contamination, so we cannot keep closely related species together

e.g. Sika Deer and Red Deer

Question 15

What is a captive breeding programme?

Answer 15

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

Question 16

What are the aims of captive breeding programmes?

Answer 16

• 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

Question 17

What are the constraints for captive breeding programmes?

Answer 17

• conditions for breeding (restricted knowledge)
• population interactions and breeding success
• breeding habitat
• gene pool size
• hybridisation

Question 18

Why are conditions for breeding(restricted knowledge) a constraint for captive breeding programmes?

Give an example

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Why are population interactions and breeding success a constraint for captive breeding programmes?

Give an example

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Why is breeding habitat a constraint for captive breeding programmes?

Give an example

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Why is gene pool size a constraint for captive breeding programmes?

Give an example

Answer 21

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

Question 22

What is a stud book?

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Why is hybridisation a constraint for captive breeding programmes?

Give an example

Answer 23

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

Question 24

What are the methods for increasing breeding success?

Answer 24

Cryopreservation
Artificial insemination (AI)
Embryo transfer
Micropropagation of plants
Cloning
Using a stud book

Question 25

Why do we need methods for increasing breeding success?

Answer 25

because species kept in captivity do not always breed as successfully as they do in the wild

Question 26

Where can we keep species in captivity?

Answer 26

Zoos Botanic Gardens Seeds in a Seed Bank

Question 27

What is a zoo? Give an example

Answer 27

where animals are kept in captivity for educational, display and conservation purposes. Lots have CB programmes e.g. ZSL London Zoo ZSL Whipsnade Zoo

Question 28

What is a botanic garden?

Answer 28

where plants are cultivated for ornamental, educational, scientific and conservation reasons e.g. Kew Gardens

Question 29

What is a release programme?

Answer 29

When captive bred animals are successfully released into the wild

Question 30

Give characteristics of successful release sites

Answer 30

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

Question 31

What are the different types of release?

Answer 31

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

Question 32

What are the benefits of soft release?

Answer 32

- reduces big changes - small changes in food - soft release pens help acclimatise - gradual human withdrawal reduces dependence

Question 33

What are the problems faced by release?

Answer 33

- 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

Question 34

Why is monitoring helpful for released species?

Answer 34

shows success of project and helps improve future release programmes

Question 35

How can we monitor released species?

Answer 35

GPS satellite tags trackers chips cameras and camera traps

Question 36

What is a seed bank?

Answer 36

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

Question 37

How does a seed bank work?

Answer 37

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

Question 38

Give an example of a seed bank

Answer 38

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

Question 39

How does seed preservation at Millennium Seed Bank work? (don't need to know this)

Answer 39

When seeds they are: - dried in a room at 15 degrees, relative humidity 15% - stored at room temp or in vault at -20 degrees

Question 40

What is the most important way of conserving habitat and why?

Answer 40

In situ conservation because species are still living where survival conditions are appropriate and the entire species community is still together

Question 41

What are some of the methods of in situ conservation?

Answer 41

1. Land ownership 2. Designated protected areas 3. Voluntary Agri-environmental schemes 4. Habitat creation and management 5. Unintentional habitat creation 6. Intentional habitat creation 7. Habitat design 8. Provision of biotic habitat features 9. Provision of abiotic habitat features

Question 42

How does land ownership conserve habitat? Give examples

Answer 42

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

Question 43

How do designated protected areas conserve habitat?

Answer 43

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

Question 44

How does designating protected areas work in the UK? Give some examples

Answer 44

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

Question 45

Is habitat creation always intentional?

Answer 45

No, sometime happens as part of other developments

Question 46

What is unintentional habitat creation and how does it help conserve biodiversity? Give examples

Answer 46

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

Question 47

Why do we intentionally create habitat?

Answer 47

- 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

Question 48

How does intentional habitat creation work?

Answer 48

- 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

Question 49

What is habitat design and what features must be considered?

Answer 49

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

Question 50

Give an example of habitat management

Answer 50

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.

Question 51

What is a cost-benefit analysis?

Answer 51

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

Question 52

Why are cost-benefit analyses complicated?

Answer 52

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?

Question 53

Give an example of a cost benefit analysis

Answer 53

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

Question 54

Give some stats for the management of the Great Barrier Reef

Answer 54

- 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