Topic 7—C: Populations in Ecosystems- 5. Conservation

Question 1

What is conservation?

Answer 1

• it is the protection and management of species and habitats (ecosystems) in a sustainable way.

Question 2

What does sustainable mean?

Answer 2

• it means that enough resources are taken to meet the needs of the people today, without reducing the ability of people in the future to meet their own needs

Question 3

What process is conservation?

Answer 3

• a dynamic process
• as conservation methods need to be adapted to the constant changes (caused naturally and by humans) that occur within ecosystems

Question 4

Conflicts in conservation

Answer 4

• not everyone agrees with every conservation measure
• there’s often conflict between human needs and conservation
• careful management is needed to find a balance between the two and maintain the sustainability of natural resources

Question 5

Conservation methods- management of succession

Answer 5

• human activities can interrupt the process of succession
• conservation frequently involves preventing succession in order to preserve an ecosystem in its current stage of succession

Example
- there are large areas of moorland in Scotland that provide habitats for many species of plants and animals
- if the moorland was left to natural processes succession would lead to a climax community of spruce forest
- this would mean the loss of the moorland habitat and could lead to the loss of some of the plants and animals that currently live there
- preventing succession keeps the moorland ecosystem intact
- there are a couple of ways to manage succession to conserve the moorland ecosystem:
- animals are allowed to graze on the land. This is similar to mowing- the animals eat the growing points of the shrubs and trees, which stops them from establishing themselves and helps to keep vegetation low
- managed fires are lit. After the fires, secondary succession will occur on the moorland- the plant species that grow back first (pioneer species) are the species that are being conserved e.g. heather
- larger plant species will take longer to grow back and will be removed again the next time the moors burnt

Question 6

Seed banks

Answer 6

• a seed bank is a store of seeds from lots of different plant species
• seed banks act as a back up for the conservation of plant species in the wild
  E.g. if a plant species becomes extinct or is lost from a particular habitat, stored seeds can be used to reintroduce the species
• seed banks are a good way of conserving plant species- large numbers of species can be conserved in a fairly small space as most seeds are quite small
• seeds can also be stored anywhere in the world and for long periods of time, as long as its cool and dry
• however, the seeds have to be regularly tested to see if they’re still viable (whether they can grow into a plant) which can be expensive and time consuming

Question 7

Captive breeding

Answer 7

• captive breeding programmes involve breeding animals in controlled environments
• species that are endangered, or already extinct in the wild, can be bred in captivity to help increase their numbers
• however there are some problems with captive breeding programmes e.g. animals like pandas can have problems breeding outside there natural habitat, which can be hard to recreate in a zoo
• animals bred in captivity can be reintroduced into the wild
• this increases their numbers in the wild, which can help to conserve their numbers or bring them back from the brink of extinction
• reintroducing animals into the wild can cause problems though e.g. reintroduced animals could bring new diseases to habitats, harming other species living there

Question 8

Fishing quotas

Answer 8

• fishing quotas are limits to the amount of certain fish species that fishermen are allowed to catch
• fishing quotas help to conserve fish species by reducing the numbers that are caught and killed- they aim to prevent a situation where fish populations reach such low levels that they are threatened with extinction
• however,fishing quotas can be unpopular with fishermen as they limit their potential income
• there can also be problems with ‘discards’- ships catching more fish than they are allowed to, then throwing back some fish (which are often dead already) so they don’t exceed their quota
• this is wasteful and doesn’t contribute to the conservation of fish populations
• in areas where there are fishing vessels from more than one country, international cooperation is needed for quotas to be fully effective

Question 9

Protected areas

Answer 9

• protected areas, like national parks and nature reserves, protect habitats and the species in them by restricting urban development, industrial development and farming
• habitats in protected areas can be managed to conserve them
  E.g. some woodlands are managed by coppicing- cutting down trees in a way that lets them grow back, so they don’t need to be replanted
• this helps to conserve the woodland, but allows some wood to be harvested

Protected areas also have problems
E.g. national parks are also used as tourist destinations
- this means there is conflict between the need to conserve the habitats and the need to allow people to visit and use them