Rationale for wildlife conservation Flashcards
Why should we conserve and protect wildlife
- food source - current and future
- building material - wood
- medicine
- clothing
- entertainment
What is biomimetics
- developing synthetic materials and structures by mimicking designs found in nature
Examples of biomimetic
- bullet train
- aeroplanes
How have squids allowed for medical breakthroughs to be achieved
- have been used to understand sensory and nervous system
- they have helped understand dementia
How have armadillos allowed for medical breakthroughs to be achieved
- they have been used in fertility and embryology studies
How have poppies been used in medicine
- morphene , heroin
- to treat severe pain
How has the willow tree been used in medicine
- aspirin
- to treat pain
Example of a domesticated plant
- wild mustard plant
- common veg such as broccoli and cauliflower
Example of a domesticated animal
- red jungle fowl
- chicken
What are the potential new food species
- more plant-based materials
- insects
- fungi
What is a centre of biodiversity
- area of the world that has a high concentration of the close relatives of the important crop species
What does CWR stand for
- crop wild relative
What is a CWR
- they are the wild ‘cousins’ of our cultivated crops
Why are CWR so important
- increase disease resistance
- increase hardness
- increase drought resistance
- increase salt tolerance
What are the current and future risks to a Vavilov centre and to CWR’s
- deforestation
- climate change
- sea level rises
- predation
- droughts
What can we do to protect and preserve Vavilov centres and CWR’s
- seed banks
- giving areas legal protection
- educating
- removal of invasive species
What is one example of characteristics introduced to a domesticated food crop from CWR’s
- wild bananas from papua new guinea boost food security for all
What do we mean by the term biological control
- use of a living organism to control pests
Examples of species that are used as biological control
- ground beetles
- parasitic wasps
How can predation benefit a species
- can control population size
- removes weak genes from the population
Examples of seed dispersal methods
- squirrels
- exploding seeds
Two examples of pollination relationships
- humming birds
- bats
What are the causes of bee population collapse
- wild flowers being removed
- changes in agriculture techniques (nicotine based pesticides)
What are the potential impacts of bee population collapse
- loss of habitats
- loss of flowering plants
- diseases could be transferred by shipping of hives
How can one species provide a habitat for another
- tree provides habitats for insects, birds etc
- beaver creating damns
