Why do we conserve? Flashcards
What is conservation?
The act of protecting Earth’s natural resources for current and future generations
Studying the loss of Earth’s biological diversity and the way this can be prevented
A broad approach to preserving what is already there and the due care and attention to protecting it for the future
What is global biodiversity?
The variety and abundance of life on Earth
Why is conservation important?
human survival depends on the other species we share the planet with because they provide ecological life support services and we extract their natural resources
- conservation and sustainable development is needed to maintain these resources so we can continue to use them
What resources do humans use from animals and plants?
Wood
Fuel
Fibre
Oil
Food
Why do we use wood as a natural resource?
- for manufacturing e.g. building, tools and furniture
Why do we use fuel as a natural resource?
- to power our own technology and provide modern convenience e.g. alcohol, wood, charcoal, veg oil
Why do we use fibre as a natural resource?
For making materials used in every day life and clothing e.g. wool, silk, cotton, paper
Why do we use oil as a natural resource?
- for use in foods, lubricants and soaps
- just veg and animal oil
Why do we use food as a natural resource?
- we need food.
- plants, animals, fungi, algae
Why do we conserve? (7)
- medicines
- biomimetics
- physiological research
- new food species
- genetic resources
- pest control
- ecosystem services
Why is it important to conserve biodiversity for medicines?
- plants and animals need to protect themselves from predators, so some evolved physical/chemical characteristics
- the chemical characteristics are called ALKALOIDS = in small doses, they are beneficial to us
- we conserve because only a small amount of species have been discovered that give us benefits so far. We don’t know how many others might, so we need to o=conserve entire ecosystems to unlock their potential
Give some examples of medicines derived from natural organisms
white willow = aspirin
opium poppy = morphine
tropical marine sponge = AZT (HIV/AIDS)
pit vipers = ACE inhibitors to reduce blood pressure
microbes: penicillin is an antibiotic
What is physiological research?
Relating to the branch of biology that deals with the normal functions of living organisms and their parts
Why is physiological research a reason to conserve?
Some species have evolved to be adapted to different conditions, and studying them can give a better understanding of human health problems
Give some examples of the importance of physiological reserach
- marsupials develop in pouches instead of wombs, so they are easier to study and access than human foetuses. This helps understand developmental problems in unborn babies
- hippos secrete hipposudoric acid - a natural sunscreen and antimicrobial agent which can be used to treat burns
- armadillos can catch bacterial disease leprosy, and are used in the study of disease and vaccine production
- marine sponges produce proteins that prevent rejection of grafts from other individuals. Proteins are developed to prevent the rejection of human organs after transplants
Why is it important to conserve biodiversity for pest control?
A wide range of predators, herbivores, parasites and pathogens are used to control agricultural pests. This means a reliable food supply can be maintained.
- some are indigenous, some are introduced
Give some examples of pest control species
Are they introduced naturally?
- parasitic wasps = caterpillars and whitefly
- nematodes = slugs
- ladybirds = aphids
The populations of natural predators can be increased by introducing and maintaining natural habitat such as hedgerows. This limits the need for introduction, which can disrupt food chains.
Why is it important to conserve biodiversity to help genetic resources?
Many wild plant populations have genetic characteristics that can be used in breeding programmes to improve cultivated crop varieties.
What are crop breeding programmes?
- domestic crop varieties lack genetic diversity due to intensive selective breeding
- CWR species have valuable genetic characteristics that can be bred into the commercial crops
- this gives then better variety and resistance to disease
- CWR often found in environmentally degraded places because they need to be hardier to survive e.g. Middle East and subsistence farming areas
What characteristics can be introduced from CWR species?
Give an example for each
- disease resistance
- sugar cane protected from sugar cane mosaic virus by cross breeding with wild sugar cane from Indonesia - drought resistance
- drought resistance cacao developed by cross breeding from wild plants in Amazon rainforest - salt tolerance
- introduction of salt-tolerant characteristics from wild rice and barley has led to commercially cultivated varieties that can be grown in saline soil - high yield
- oil palm yield have increased by 25% by cross breeding with wild varieties from central Africa - improved taste/appearance
- selective breeding with pineapples gave them more attractive yellower flesh and made them sweeter since selective breeding programmes in the 1950s - nutrient uptake
- many recently developed wheat does not form a strong link with mycorrhizal fungi in soil, limiting their nutrient uptake such as phosphates. Breeding programmes with wild wheat increases the nutrient uptake by forming better associations between the plants and fungi
What is a Vavilov Centre?
Give 3 examples
What is the problem with them?
The areas of the world that have a high concentration of the close relatives of important crop species
E.G. Mediterranean Centre = wheat, oats, pea, clover, olive
Siam, Malaysia, Javan Centre = sugarcane, banana, breadfruit
South American Centre = potato, maize, tomato, peanut, rubber tree, pepper, Brazil nut
Many of them are in parts of the world where environmental degradation threatens survival of remaining wild plants
What is a gene pool?
the total number of different genes present in all individuals in a population of a particular species
What are the problems with the gene pool?
Domesticated species lack diversity because they have a small gene pool - they were selectively bred from a very small number of original ancestors meaning they lack the wide variety of characteristic found in wild crops.
This means they have similar adaptations and are susceptible to the same environmental changes. Disadvantageous recessive genes from inbreeding cause problems.
How do we expand the gene pool?
We cannot just protect one representative of each species, we need a wide range of genetically different individuals
Each geographical area will have genes unique to that area which exist to be adapted to the specific locations to that region. By protecting a species entire range, we can protect the gene pool and breed crops that have a genetic variation for a higher chance of survival.
What is biomimetics?
Using the knowledge of adaptations of other species to improve the designs of our own technology and manufactured items.
- some involve structural features that help us to design improved engineering structures and equipment
Give some examples of where biomimetics are used
Give an example for each example
- Vehicle design
- Infection control
- Architecture
- Adhesion
- Materials
- Aircraft - copying feather structures of soaring birds reduces turbulence and drag, which increases fuel efficiency.
- Hospital operating theatres - a coating material imitating shark skin is used to control bacterial infections as bacteria cannot stick easily to shark skin.
- Ventilation in high rise shopping complexes and office blocks - termite mounds absorb sunlight and become hot, causing a convection current due to the hot air rising inside, which is a natural solar driven ventilation system. Air blowing over the mound has low air pressure and draws air out. Mimicking this system reduces the need for air con.
- Velcro - the burrs with hooks on the seeds of some plants hook onto passing animals to aid seed dispersal, and is now used to attach two sides, one hooked and one fluffy, together.
Sticky pads - copying the toe pads of geckos to reduce the need for glue. - Synthetic materials - copying lightweight, flexible, strong spider silk to produce better car airbags or body armour.
Why do we conserve biodiversity to exploit new food species?
A relatively small amount of the known animal and plant species are used for human food. Some of them are kept in areas where they are not well adapted so productivity is reduced.
Indigenous plants are better adapted than introduced species to local conditions eg pests, climate and soil, so will survive more. Selective breeding is needed to enhance desired traits and eliminate unwanted ones.
There are also plans to domesticate new species as the ones we eat now were firs cultivated a long time ago
Give some examples of plant species with the potential for commercial cultivation
- Potato Bean of North America has very high protein content
- Yeheb Tree from Somalia produces edible nuts, is drought-resistant and can grow in poor quality soils
- Perennial maize discovered in Mexico means no need to buy seeds every year and reduces the need of ploughing which would lead to soil erosion
Why should conservation of biodiversity be used to ensure ecosystem services?
Give 9
Other species influence the conditions on Earth that are beneficial for humans but their actions are often unnoticed or underappreciated. These include:
- atmospheric composition
- hydrological cycle
- biogeochemical cycles
- soil maintenance
- interspecies relationships
- food
- pollination
- seed dispersal
- habitat provision
How does biodiversity impact atmospheric composition?
- atmospheric composition is influenced by many biotic and abiotic factors which cancel each other out to create an equilibrium
- this often goes unnoticed
- e.g. respiration and photosynthesis maintain stable CO2 and O2 levels
How does biodiversity impact the hydrological cycle?
- evapotranspiration from vegetation produces a large amount of water vapour that forms clouds, controls surface temperatures and increases precipitation
How does biodiversity impact biogeochemical cycles?
- living organisms involved in the processes of BGC cycles e.g Carbon, Hydrological, Nitrogen, Phosphorus
- many done by bacteria and fungi
- without these processes, waste materials will build up and important nutrient resources would become depleted
Why is biodiversity important for the carbon cycle?
- trees/vegetation play a key role in carbon sequestration
- peat, rocks, trees
- CO2 important for photosynthesis which produces oxygen which we breathe
Why is it important that biodiversity maintains the hydrological cycle?
- without it, too much water causes floods, too little causes droughts, the salinity of the oceans and soils are affected and ocean encroachment threatens low lying habitats
Why is biodiversity important for the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles?
- worms and decomposers break down the soils returning nutrients to the Earth, such as in sustainable farming techniques
- this means more vegetation can grow and animals can eat them
- it also avoids the leaching of nutrients
How does soil maintenance impact biodiversity?
- soil is vital for survival for almost all plants, and thereby animals as it rovides water, nutrients, and support
- also regulates the hydrological cycle by sustaining even river flow and reducing flooding
- soil also contains dead and decaying organic matter and the processes to decompose this involves invertebrates, fungi and bacteria
- the organic matter/humus produced helps hold the soil together and decomposition produces organic acids which aids breakdown and weathering of rocks, producing more soil and releasing more nutrients
- 1cm of fertile soil takes 200-400 years
What are the layers of the soil? (horizons)
- organic layer
- humus - topsoil
- minerals with humus - eluviation layer
- leached minerals and organic matter - subsoil
- deposited minerals and metal salts - parent rock
- partly weathered rock - bedrock
- unweathered parent rock
What do decomposers do?
They plough, mix, aerate, and allow roots to grow in soil/
How does biodiversity impact interspecies relationships?
- species interdependence is crucial because no species can live on their own due to their survival relying on other species for resources and ecological services
Give an example of species interdependence
The Brazil nut tree:
- to pollinate, the flower forms an arched ‘hood’ formed by several elongated staminodes which creates a chamber enclosing the reproductive organs
- only species with specific strength can open it = the orchid bee, which needs the scent from the flower to attract females
- when the pod falls from the tree, it has a hard outer casing that is hard to open. The agouti has sharp enough teeth to open it, and when it reaches the nuts it eats some and buries others as a stash.
- the forgotten stashes grow into more trees - and the cycle begins again
What is symbiosis?
the close relationship between species usually with benefits to one or all species involved. Includes:
- mutualism
- commensalism
- parasitism
- predation
What is mutualism?
both species benefitting from the interaction
e.g. oxpeckers remove the ticks from larger animals such as antelopes, zebras, and gazelles. oxpeckers get food, mammal is freed of potentially harmful parasites
What is commensalism?
one species benefits but the other is unharmed
e.g. remoras and sharks. remoras get protection and food but the shark isn’t negatively impacted in any way
What is parasitism?
one species benefits at the expense of the other
e.g. fleas on raccoons can cause blood loss and infection. the flea gets food, the raccoon gets sick
What is predation?
when one species eats another
e.g. lion eats zebra. lion gets fed, zebra dies
How does biodiversity impact the availability of food?
all heterotrophs rely on other organisms as a source of energy and nutrients to survive.
a loss of biodiversity causes a loss of prey or predators which can skew food chains
also human food is impacted
How does biodiversity impact pollination?
- insect pollination e.g. bees
- allows plants to disperse over a wider range as insects search over a large range. The plants also don’t to use as much energy to produces pollen as it is more efficient than wind pollination
- some flowers have adapted so only specific insects can pollinate them, and some insects have evolved to pollinate specific plants. This ensures the insect gets to eat exclusively, and reduces the risk of pollen being carried to a separate species of plant - animal pollination e.g. moths, monkeys
- important in areas such as forests where wind velocity is reduced by trees
- often unwitting animals who come to drink the nectar and pick up pollen when they do so
Give an example of specialised pollination
Darwin’s Orchid
- in Madagascar
- nectar at the end of 30cm tube
- only insect with a long enough tongue is the Sphinx Moth which carries it between flowers
- no risk of unspecialised feeders wasting pollen by carrying it to a different plant
How does biodiversity impact seed dispersal?
Animals are much more advantageous than wind in seed dispersal as it is not as haphazard and seeds can be carried further
- they live in same habitat as plant = takes seeds to places where they can survive
- allows seeds to be larger which increases chances of survival as they can contain more nutrients for growth during germination
-attract animals using brightly coloured fruit that tastes good
- can be physically carries e.g. hooks, or eaten then carried in faecal material that acts as a fertiliser
- some seeds are stimulated to germinate by passing through the intestines of animals that disperse them
How does biodiversity impact habitat provision?
One species provides habitat for many
e.g.
- trees are nesting sites for birds
- hermit crabs live in shells of dead molluscs
- trees control abiotic factors below canopy like light levels, humidity, wind velocity and temp. Provides suitable conditions or species that cannot survive in more exposed locations.
