species at risk

Question 1

what are the 6 reasons species are threatened

Answer 1

Natural selection

non-contiguous population

loss of habitat

overhunting by humans

pollution

competition from introduced species domestic animals and the accidental introduction of organisms

Question 2

natural selection

Answer 2

occurs when individuals less suited to prevailing condition reproduce less successfully their numbers decrease which may lead to their extinction

Question 3

non-contiguous population

Answer 3

the total number of individuals in a species may suggest that numbers are sufficient to ensure the continuation of the species

Question 4

Loss of habitat

Answer 4

deforestation means they will have to find somewhere else to live and if they can’t adapt to the new conditions it means that the species will die out and become extinct

Question 5

overhunting

Answer 5

hunting them to extinction

Question 6

competition from introduced species including domestic animals

Answer 6

dodo for example

Question 7

what is conservation

Answer 7

the protection preservation management and restoration of natural habitats and their ecological communities to enhance biodiversity while allowing suitable human activity

Question 8

conservation is done in a number of ways

Answer 8

protecting habitats
international cooperation
gene banks
sperm banks
seed banks
rare breed
species reintroduction
education
legislation
ecotourism

Question 9

how does protecting habitats improve conservation

Answer 9

protects the species that live there and communities act as living gene banks some of these places could even be a local nature reserve

Question 10

how does international cooperation restricting trade improve conservation

Answer 10

preventing trade if items such as ivory and whaling discourage people to obtain these items or they would have to sell it illegally

Question 11

how does a gene bank improve conservation

Answer 11

endangered species are protected and entered into breeding programmes in specialised zoos and botanic garden

e.g. pandas

Question 12

how does a sperm bank improve conservation

Answer 12

used to store genes of economically important animals and of threatened species

which can then be used in breeding programs

Question 13

how does a seed bank improve conservation

Answer 13

maintain stocks of seeds of traditional varieties and of vulnerable species in a highly controlled condition often in liquid nitrogen

Question 14

how does species reintroduction improve conservation

Answer 14

breeding to the point where they are no longer in danger then setting them free in their original habitats

Question 15

how does education improve conservation

Answer 15

helps to prevent people from killing or taking endangered species to let them know that they need to be bred so that their species doesn’t die out

Question 16

what does ecotourism aim to do

Answer 16

contribute to conservation efforts

employ local people and give the money back to local communities

educate visitors about the local environment and culture

cooperate with local people to manage natural areas

Question 17

what is ecotourism

Answer 17

responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well being of local people

Question 18

what are the reasons to conserve

Answer 18

ethical reasons

agriculture + horticulture

environment changes

potential medical uses

Question 19

Ethical reasons for conservation

Answer 19

each species represents a particular combination of genes and alleles adapted to a particular environment and it is considered that the uniqueness of each is intrinsically valuable

Question 20

agriculture + horticulture reasons for conservation

Answer 20

plants and animals used in agriculture + horticulture have been developed from those in the wild.

sleective breeding increases genetic uniformity with the loss of rarer alleles.

breeders may have neglected important alleles such as cold resistance so must rebreed but if that species is endangered this may not be possible