Unit 3- Conservation

Question 1

What ethical reasons are there for for conserving biodiversity?

Answer 1

• spiritual enrichment
• cognitive development
• reflection
• recreation
• aesthetic experiences (SCRRA)

Question 2

What economic reasons are there for conserving biodiversity?

Answer 2

The ecosystem provides many services for us:
Purification of water and air
Waste decomposition
Stabilising atmosphere and climate
Nutrient cycle
Provides genetic diversity for the production of crops and medicines

Question 3

What is in situ conservation?

Answer 3

The conservation of whole natural ecosystems ecosystems and the various species they contain

Question 4

Give an example of in situ conservation

Answer 4

National parks

Question 5

What is the aim of sustainable development?

Answer 5

Supplying the population with everything they need while also minimising the effects on wildlife and the ecosystem

Question 6

Advantages of in-situ conservation

Answer 6

• when a habitat is conserved the whole community is also conserved
• large numbers of animals and plants can be conserved
• young animals learn natural skills
• reserves are safe environments to reintroduce animals from captivity
• popular tourist destinations

Question 7

Disadvantages of in-situ

Answer 7

• expensive to maintain an protect such large areas of land
• commercial and political interest often conflict with conservation, eg loggers
• tourist income can be limited as parks are expensive

Question 8

What is ex situ conservation?

Answer 8

Conserving a species away from their natural habitat

Question 9

Give 3 examples of ex-situ conservation

Answer 9

Zoos
Seed banks
Gene banks

Question 10

Why do thy store seeds rather than plants in seed banks?

Answer 10

• less space required
• most plants produce large numbers of seeds, so collecting samples won’t damage a population
• easy to store as they are dormant
• it is cost effective

Question 11

How do seed banks store seeds?

Answer 11

• dried out and cryogenically at -40 degrees

Question 12

What concerns do we have about keeping animals in zoos?

Answer 12

• behave unnaturally
• most species are not in danger and are only there for publicity
• animals may be kept in poor conditions
• exhibition may reduce wild populations

Question 13

What are zoos main roles in conservation? (3)

Answer 13

• education
• scientific research
• captive breeding programs

Question 14

What scientific insight do zoos provide?

Answer 14

• research into the spread of diseases
• research into behaviour of animals
• research into techniques to improve breeding

Question 15

What is the point of captive breeding programs?

Answer 15

• increase numbers of a population to reduce risk of extinction
• release animals into the wild
• maintain genetic diversity

Question 16

How do can zoos sometimes reduce the genetic diversity, and why is this bad?

Answer 16

Some species only have small numbers so inbreed, reducing genetic diversity increasing the risk of harmful genetic conditions

Question 17

How do zoos maintain genetic diversity amongst the animals?

Answer 17

• do not allow organisms to repeatedly breed with the same partner
• select partners using in vitro fertilisation or inter zoo swapping
• keep records of individuals and their breeding history in stud books

Question 18

How do are seed banks operated?

Answer 18

• seed banks collect from a number of individual plants, to ensure genetic diversity is high
• seeds are x rayed to check for fully formed embryos, only viable seeds are stored
• seeds dried to remove water, increasing storage time
• seeds stored cryogenically to increase storage time
• some seeds are periodically germinated to check viability

Question 19

Explain the advantage of selecting seeds of different sizes for long term storage:

Answer 19

• a large gene pool should be maintained to increase chance of future survival
• different sized seeds are likely do have different alleles
• variety means there is less chance of them all being susceptible to the same disease

Question 20

Advantages of ex situ

Answer 20

• endangered species can be protected
• well managed breeding programs can maintain genetic diversity
• animals in zoos have longer life expectancy
• zoos are cheaper and fundraise a lot of money

Question 21

Disadvantages of ex situ

Answer 21

• Only a small number of animals can be conserved
• zoo environment can be small and unnatural for large animals, so interact differently
• young animals do not learn natural skills eg hunting

Question 22

What’s the difference between conservation and preservation?

Answer 22

Conservation is the wise use of resources and preservation is never using the resources