The Conditions for Life on Earth Flashcards
(48 cards)
Why can population control be necessary?
To help mitigate high or low birth and death rates as well as predation or competition
What is a plagioclimax and how can they be made/maintained?
An area of natural development maintained in its current state by human activities like Burning, Grazing, Mowing, Coppicing, Pollarding
What abiotic features can we provide for new habitats and how?
- Water, pouring it in
- Dissolved oxygen from narrowing rivers
- Temperatures by increasing sunlight
- Light level by clearing areas
- pH by providing acid or alkaline
- Mineral nutrients by providing fertilisers
- Salinity by providing water or salt
Name 2 things taken into consideration during habitat design for in situ conservation
- Habitat area
- Biological corridors
- Habitat shape
- Light level
- Water depth
What are agri-environmental schemes?
Schemes that provide financial support to farmers who invest in conservation and protection of wildlife
What are the three approaches to habitat conservation?
- Land Ownership. The purchase and protection of land by groups like the RSPB
- Designated Protected Areas. Legally protected by organisations or government
- Habitat Creation. Both intentional or unintentional
What is a seed bank?
They store the seeds of wild plants so if they become extinct in the wild they are not globally extinct
What are the two types of release program and how are they different?
Hard and Soft release. Hard has no build up or post-release support where Soft does.
Hard is ideal for reptiles or fish that work off instinct where Soft is better for mammals and birds.
Name 2 methods of increasing breeding success in captivity
- Cryopreservation of eggs, semen and embryos
- Artificial insemination
- Embryo transfer, where an embryo into a closely related female species
- Micropropagation, using a cluster of cells to reproduce a plant
- Cloning
What issues are there with captive breeding programs?
- Conditions for breeding can be specific
- Some species require separation during mating to avoid hurting their peers
- Specific habitats may be required
- Small gene pool of captive populations increase inbreeding risk
- Risk of hybridisation with other animals
Why can it be difficult to keep animals in captivity?
- Habitats may need to be very large or are too large to be viable
- Food may be expensive or hard to acquire
- Interspecies relationships may not be available
- Upkeep cost
What do in and ex situ conservation mean?
In or away from their natural habitat respectively
What is CITES and what are its two appendixes.
CITES is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
Appendix One: Trade is banned due
Appendix Two: Trade is only allowed from certain areas where a species is well protected
Name 3 forms of protected area
- Site of Special Scientific Interest
- National Nature Reserve
- Special Area of Conservation
- Special protection area
- Natura 2000 sites
- Ramsar sites
- Marine nature reserve
- Local nature reserve
- Marine protected area
- Marine conservation zone
How are species selected to be researched for the IUCN redlist?
- Keystone species
- Evolutionally uniqueness
- Endemic species
- Flagship species
- Population dispersal degree
What are the IUCN redlist catagories?
- Globally Extinct
- Extinct in the Wild
- Critically Endangered
- Endangered
- Vulnerable
- Near Threatened
- Least Concern
What is the IUCN?
The International Union for Conservation of Nature
How can an introduced species effect an environment?
- Increasing competition
- Increased predation
- New pathogens
- Hybridisation
How can a decrease in one species lead to increasing or decreasing in another?
Food chain impacts, such as an increase in predators leading to a decrease in prey and therefore an increase in plants
Give an example of a seed dispersal species
- Elephant
- Rhino
- Gorilla
- Other large herbivores
Give an example of a pollinator?
- Bee
- Butterfly
- etc
What are two ways animals can be abiotic factors?
Pollinators and seed dispersal species
What are biotic factors?
Living factors (species) that effect their environment
What human activities increase water turbidity?
Ploughing, mining and dredging
