Methods Of Conserving Biodiversity Flashcards
Methods of conservation biodiversity
12
1 LEGISLATION
Legal protection of habitats and species
Trade controls
\+ CITIES
2 ORGANISATIONS which aim achieve sustainable exploitation
\+IWC
\+EU CFP
\+ ITTO
3 CAPTIVE BREEDING PROGRAMMES
4 RELEASE PROGRAMMES
5 SEED BANKS
6 HABITAT CONSERVATION
\+ land ownership
\+ designated protected areas
\+ voluntary Agri-environmental
7 HABITAT CREATION AND MANAGEMENT
8 UNINTENTIONAL HABITAT CREATION
9 INTENTIONAL HABITATS CREATION 10 HABITAT DESIGN
11 PROVISION OF ABIOTIC HABITAT
12 PROVISION OF BIOTIC HABITAT FEATURESLEGISLATION/ PROTOCOLS
Legal protection of habitats and species
Legal protection of habitats and species
Wildlife and countryside act (1981) covers
+ SSSIs and Marine conservation zones
+ protect birds and their habitats
+ protects mammals and their sets
+ uprooting wild plants illegal
+ bats
Legal designation of protected areas protect habitats and species
+ protect species, habitat, restrict activity in and around protected area and management agreement w land owners and organisations, access restrictions and international coop
Protected areas in UK for wildlife conservation
+ SSSIs
+ NNR
+ SAC
+ SPA
+ Natura 2000
+ Ramsay site
+ MNR
LNR
MPA
MCZ
LEGISLATION AND PROTOCOLS
Trade controls
CITES
Appendix I - species threatened w extinction - all international trade banned except for conservation eg blue whales
Appendix II - species that may b threatened w extinction if trade not closely controlled- trade permitted where species relatively well protected eg. Honduras mahogany
ORGANISATION AIM for sustainable exploitation
IWC
What is
Conserve whale stocks by (5)
3 exceptions
IWC
Commercial Whaling banned since 1986 - aim conserve whale stocks by
\+ total protection certain specie
\+ designated whale sanctuary
\+ limit no. and size whale taken
\+ protect suckling mothers and their calves
\+ research whales
Whaling can take place for 3 resons
- aboriginal subsistence
- scientific whaling
- Iceland and Norway get own quotaORGANISATION AIM for sustainable exploitation
EU CFP
By
Env. Econ, social sust. And provide healthy food source by:
- catch quotas
- size limits
- net mesh size
- limits fishing efforts
- ban discarding unwanted fishing efforts
ORGANISATION AIM for sustainable exploitation ITTO
Sust. Management tropical forests
1990 members aimed to for International trade of tropical timber to b sust. By 2000 - limited success
CAPTIVE BREEDING PROGRAMMES
Joe decide which species to keep ex-situ
Exsitu
More species that need ex-situ then capacity so decide by:
- wild pop threatened
- genetically diverse captive pop
- in-situ success?
- realistic time ex-situ
- will release into wild b successful now or in future
CAPTIVE BREEDING PROGRAMMES
Keeping species in captivity difficult because
- habitat size
- food requirements
- species interrelationships
- financial constraints
Factors that inhibit success of captive breeding
5
1 Conditions for breeding - day length, light levels, temp, amount food - body fat
2 population interactions and breeding success - couples separate isolation from singles- affect breeding success or some may require choice of partner
3 breeding habitat eg flamingo mirrors
4 gene pool size
5 hybridisation - esp. w plants risk
Captive breeding
Methods of increasing breeding success (5)
1 Cryopreservation - freezing gametes for future programmes- transported easy - parents don’t have to meet
2 AI 1 - semen collected and inserted
Semen stored long time, transported w out moving animals, mating can b dangerous lead to death and potential partners may not accept each other.
3 Embryo transfer - if limited no. Females to reduce time embryos transferred to similar specie female
Female endangered specie treated w hormones - ovulated lots of eggs, washed out uterus and fertilised w sperm- embryos emplaned into female of more common species, eggs produced often from og female - lots offspring
4 micro-propagation of plants - tissue culture many cluster of plant produce from single parent and cultivated all genetically identical
5 cloning - limited success in livestock - nucleus from stem cell into empty egg cell which implanted into relatively closely related specie could be used w frozen stem cells when specie extinct
Important w plants - eg when specie threatened by hybrid plant
RELEASE PROGRAMMES
Key features of successful release programmes
No. Ind. sufficient to eat. Viable pop. Suitable release sites must provide: - large enough suitable habitat - reliable food supplies -low predation risk -suitable breeding sites - water - support of local humans - official support eg legal protection of habitat and species
RELEASE PROGRAMMES
Post release support and monitoring
Hard release - no post release support instictual behaviour don’t need learn survival skills
Soft release - gradual into larger areas , post release support - mammals birds
RELEASE PROGRAMMES
Problems specie may face after release
Finding/ recognising food Recognising poisonous food Dev. hunting skills Recognising and avoiding predators Being accepted in wild pop. Social grps
Parents often also in captivity can’t teach skills
Monitoring movement ins. Help w future release programmes
SEED BANKS
Store seeds wild plants so spiecie not global extinct maintain genetic diversity if rare in wild
Stored bcus threatened of CWR
Millennium Swedbank 10,000 seeds each specie fridge underground reinforced vault
HABITAT CONSERVATION
In situ
Still living work condition appropriate and entire community of species present together
Eat. Protected area/ nature reserve easier prevent damaging influences w/in but doesn’t protect from ext. damaging influences ie air pollution
HABITAT CONSERVATION
Three approaches
Land ownership
Designated protected areas
Voluntary agri-env. Schemes
Habitat conservation
Land ownership approach
Per chase areas to protect species that live there or will once conditions changed e.g woodland trust, National trust, RSPB
Ind. land owners
Habitat conservation
Designated protected areas‘s approach
Legal status protec
Ensure habitat protected not reliant on land owner
SSSIs - UK legislation protect best egs of flora, fauna, geological or physiographical feats. - management plan agreed with owner and government conservation org. Informed if wish to carry out an OLD eg ploughing
NNR - uk legislationbest egs SSSIs complete communities
SACs - eu habitat directive - isn’t. Importance restriction on activities like drainage
SPAs - Eu birds directive - internationally important bird site
Ramsay site - international gov. Agreements protects wetlands - recognise wetlands ecosystems as v important for biodiversity conservation and wellbeing human communities
Habitat conservation
Voluntary agri-environmental schemes approach
Landowners require financial support and incentives to conserve habitats
UK farms need correct farming processes to conserve wild life
Pesticides, removal hedgerows and hay meadows ^ productivity
Schemes inc. Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA)
Countryside stewardship scheme (CSS)
Environmental Stewardship Scheme (ESS)
Countryside Stewardship (CS)
Habitat conservation
Voluntary agri-environmental schemes approach
Aims of agri-env schemes
- Conserve biodiversity
- Maintain and in Hance landscape quality and character
- protect historic env
- promote public access and understanding
- protect natural resources
Habitat conservation
Voluntary agri-environmental schemes approach
Annual payment of no. Pnts achieved env. Benefiting plan. Pnts awarded for:
- beetle banks
- hedgerows, stonewalls, Ditch management
- field buffer strips
- wild bird seeds
- low input grasslands
- protected archeological sites
- managed reduce soil erosion
- protection infield trees
Habitat conservation
Voluntary agri-environmental schemes approach
Higher payment plan for also doing following:
Organic farms or farms w extra schemes like:
- wildflower rich grass margins
- unharvested conservation field headlands for winter Birdfood
- restore were grassland for waders and wildfowl
- winter meadow restoration
- maintain/ restore salt marsh, sand dunes, hedgerows, Mooreland, traditional orchards, ponds, Woodlands
- public access
HABITAT CREATION AND MANAGEMENT
UNINTENTIONAL HABITAT CREATION
INTENTIONAL HAB
- important part env.management - unplanned part of other devs
- human activities - new habitats for species to colonise eg. Reservoirs, sand and gravel pits, hedgerows , ornamental gardens.
- In situ through creation/ alt. New habitat biotic and a biotic conditions.
Species will then colonise (easier for birds/insects and if isolated habitat harder
Eg wetland, wildflower meadow and artificial coral reef creation
HABITAT DESIGN
Once area selected abiotic and biotic feat. conditions to max. Suitablity for species to be supported
- habitat area - support viable pop not so low that gene pool lost. area size depend on specie and territory
Important right size as species may depend on pop size of specie eg enough trees to dupport monkey that eat fruit
Some specie-benefit from small habitats - frogs newts etc - biological corridors - prevent loss genetic diversity allow recolonisation other areas and avoid hazards when specie moving
- habitat shape - border habitats combo of neighbouring habitats important some species (core and edge habitat)
- habitat diversity- local variation range of niches colonise area to which best adapted
- light levels - eg fell some trees - ground plants
- water depth - community varies dependent on depth , type of vegetation, nutrients absorbtion light levels anchorage important
- vegetation age structure- woodlands old - variation of age clearings where dead old trees where young ones can grow 200 yrs - young forest canopy dense reduce biodiversity and wildlife value hard to create conditions of old forest. - felling and dead wood habitats can help
PROVISION OF ABIOTIC HABITAT Feats
Water - eg pond - drink, breed, aquatic habitat
Dissolved oxygen- lack turbulence low dissolved O- narrower river channel can ^ this- fish ie trout and insects eg may fly larvae need high dissolved O
Temp- dev of eggs - shallow h2o warm quicker fish eggs, tadpoles, frogs dev ^ where veg removed warm soil / sand lizard eggs
Light levels- plants specific light levels - dense tree canopy - chlorophyll red and blue light absorbed canopy already absorbed - ground veg struggle photosynthesise / survive
Forest floor plants additional pigments eg cartenoids absorb wavelengths that pass through canopy which protects them from direct sun light and damaging UV and high light levels
PH - plants can’t survive acidic souls few N fixing bacteria for plant growth - ones that survive acidic conditions lil competition even if small eg sundew
Many plants in acidic N deficient soils capture insects for nutrients
Low PH denature proteins and inhibit/ damage production Ca - based exoskeleton in crustaceans
Mineral nutrients - some plants need nutrient deficient soils where competition w taller plants for factors ie light aren’t able to compete in nutrient area - can remove top soil or not add fertilisers
Salinity - specific aquatic salinity eg opposum shrimp intertidal areas - controlling
CONTROL OF BIOTIC HABITAT FEATS
Food - eg bird species adapted find food and avoid inter-specie comp.
Control of predators- excluded or culled eg. Foxes excluded from bird nesting sites
Introduced predators no ind. mammal predators or comp. eg cats New Zealand
Control of competition eg remove invasive Himalayan balsam affect wild flowers and shades riverbanks out
Pollination- need insects - plants plants attract bees etc range plants different flowering times
Seed dispersal- eg African forest elephant, agouti
Control of pathogens - density dependent can remove weakest ind - natural selection or wipe out indigenous specie
Species reintroduction- possible reintroduce species where habitat changed by human activity- recreate natural conditions —-> succession
Non-flying animals have to b reintroduced esp. important w keystone species
Eg. Grey wolf Yellowstone - less deer, more trees, more beavers, more wetland habitat and species increased biodiversity
Eurasian otter, red kite UK
Intro can affect abiotic conditions esp. w trees - light., wind, humidity, nutrients
Control ecological succession and maintained plagioclimax
Sometimes succession change env for current species- activities produce semi natural habitat continue long time - considerd ‘natural’ many species may have inhabited this semi natural habitat meaning it has conservation value
Activities disturb climax community carried out reg New community of species develop - important for humans too eg grazed farmland, heathland, copiced woodland
Conservation of plagioclimax community involve traditional activities maintaining it often
- grazing - stop taller grass - chalk grassland flower rich meadows - trampling germination - dung invertebrates - different species for different plagioclimax habitats sheep shorter grasses invasive shrubs control, ponies selective graze avoid flowers eat invasive bracken, cattle talk rough grass
- mowing - similar to grazing as well as removing thorny , stingy bad tasting plants
- Burning - vegetation not eaten by grace and animals e.g. mature heather bushes or young trees on heathland - heather seeds lie dormant in soil until stimulated to germinate by heat of fire
- coppicing to ground level - rotational cycle each area every 8 yrs patchwork of ages each suitable different communities
- pollarding - cut so branches above deer / livestock
Population control of selected species - ^/ decrease release captive bred - ^ population and culling trapping or removal undesirable species
Restoration and maintenance of valuable habitat include removal of unwonted species even if part of ecological succession others may be invasive specie
Conifer plantations removed from new forest
CONTROL OF BIOTIC HABITAT FEATURES
List (9)
Food
Control of predation
Control of competitors
Pollination
Seed dispersal
Control of pathogens
Species reintroduced
Control of ecological succession and maintaining plagioclimax
- grazing
- mowing
- burning
- coppicing
- pollarding
Population control
