Methods of maintaing biodiversity Flashcards
What is conservation?
The preservation and careful management of the environment and natural resources
What is the result of conservation?
It maintains the organism’s chances of survival so they can reproduce and species/genetic diversity can be safe guarded
What are the types of conservation?
Ex-situ and in-situ
What are the types of conservation?
Ex-situ and in-situ
What is in situ conservation?
Within the natural habitat
What is ex situ conservation?
Out of the natural habitat
What does extinct mean?
No organisms of the species exist anywhere in the world
What does extinct in the wild mean?
Organisms of the species only exist in captivity
What does endangered mean?
A species that is in danger of exinction
What does vulnerable mean?
A species that is considered likely to become endangered in the near future
What is the focus of conservation?
To increase the number of organisms from a species classified as endangered
What does conservation promote?
Sustainable development
What is sustainable development?
Economic development that meets the needs of the people today, without limiting the future generations to meet their needs
What is the result of in situ conservation?
It maintains genetic diversity of a species and the evolutionary adaptations that allow a species to adapt continually to changing environmental conditions
How does in situ conservation help preserve more than 1 species?
It allows endangered species to interact with other species, preserving independant relationships present in a habitat, presevering interlinked species
What is an advantage of in situ conservation over ex situ conservation?
It is cheaper
What re examples of in situ conservation?
Saltwater (marine),freshwater (aquatic) and lab (terrestrial) nature reserves are specifically designed for conservation
How are wildlife reserves preserved?
Through active management
What are methods of active management?
Controlled grazing, restricting human access, controlling poaching, feeding a animals, reintroduction of species, culling or removal of invasive species, halting succession and succession
What is controlled grazing?
Only allow livestock to graze a particular area of land for a certain period of time to allow species time to recover or keeping a controlled no. of animals in habitat to maintain it
What is restricting human access?
Providing path to prevent trampling of plans and restricting areas, such as during breeding seasons
What is controlling poaching?
Creates defences to prevent access, issue fines or even removing poachable features, such as rhino horns
What is the effect of feeding animals?
Helps ensure more organisms survive to reproductive age
What is reintroduction of species?
Adding species to areas that have become locally extinct or whose numbers have decreased significantly
What is an invasive species?
An organism that is not native to an area and has negative effects of the economy, environment or health and compete with native species for resources
What is the effect of halting succession?
It can protect some habitats such as heath, down, or moorland from becoming woodland through controlling grazing and ponies, deer and sheep in some areas eat tree seedlings, preventing succession
What is succession?
A natural process where early colonising species are replaced over time until a stable mature population is achieved
What is the importance of marine conservation zones?
It preserves species-rich areas which are devastated by non-sustainable fishing methods, but doesn’t stop fishermen visiting whole area
What is ex-situ conservation?
The removal or organisms from their natural habitat and is normally used in addition to in situ methods to ensure survival of a species
What is ex-situ conservation?
The removal or organisms from their natural habitat and is normally used in addition to in situ methods to ensure survival of a species
What are examples of ex-situ conservation?
Botanic gardens, seed banks and captive breeding programs
What is the result of botanic gardens?
Plant species can be grown successfully and are actively managed to provide them with the best resources to grow, such as soil nutrients, sufficient watering and removal of pests
What is an issue with botanic gardens?
Wild species are a potential source of gene, conforming resistance to diseases, pests and parasites
What is a gene bank?
A store of genetic material
What are seed banks?
A gene bank where seeds are carefully stored so new plants may be grown in the future
How do seed banks work?
Seeds are dried and stored at room temperature to maintain their viability by slowing down the rate they lose their ability to germinate
What is an issue with seed banks?
Don’t work for all plants as some seeds die when dried and frozen, including the seeds of most tropical rainforests
What are captive breeding programs?
They produce offspring of species in a human-controlled environment and are often run and managed by zoos or aquatic centres
What is the effect of captive breeding programs?
They create a stable, healthy population of a species and then gradually reintroduce the species back into its natural habitat
What do captive breeding programs do?
The provide the animals with shelter, nutritious food, absence of predators and vetinary treatment
How do captive breeding programs help rebuilt the population?
Suitable breeding partners can be imported or mating can be arranged using artificial insemination, embryonic stem transfer and long-term cryogenic storage of embryos to reduce transport of adult animals
What are reasons why animals can’t be released from captivity?
Diseases, behaviour, genetic races and habitat
Why d diseases mean animals cannot be released from captivity?
They may e a loss of local diseases in captive-bred populations and new diseases may exists in the wild, to which captive animals have yet to develop resistance to
Why does behaviour mean animals can’t be released from captivity?
Some behaviour is innate, but much is learned through copying ad experience so couldn’t survive
Why does genetic makeup mean animals can’t be released from captivity?
The genetic makeup of captive animals can be very different from the original population so the populations cannot be interbred
Why does habitat mean animals cannot be released from captivity?
The natural habitat must first be restored as a small habitat can only support a limited number of individuals and new individuals means stress and tension leading to fighting for territory or food
What is the international union for the conservation of nature?
They assist in securing agreements between nations,
What do the international union for the conservation of nature do?
Publish a list detailing the current conservation status of threatened species, help establish the convention on trade in endangered species which regulates the international trade of wild plant and an animal specimens
What is the earth summit?
A historic meeting of 172 nations was held in Rio
What does the convention of biological diversity require?
Countries to develop national strategies for sustainable development, ensuring maintenance of biodiversity
What is the united nations framework convention on climate change?
An agreement between nations to take steps to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations within the atmosphere
What does the United nations convention to combat desertification do?
Prevent the transformation of fertile land into desert and reduce the effects of drought through programmes of international cooperation
What is the country side stewardship scheme?
Offers government payments to farmers and other land managers to enhance and conserve the english landscape
What is the main aim of the countryside stewardship scheme?
To make conservation part of normal farming and land management practice
What are the specific aims of the countryside stewardship scheme?
Sustain the beauty and diversity of the landscape, improve, extend and creating wildlife habitats, restores neglected land and conserves archaeological and historic features and improves opportunities for countryside environment
