• Aesthetic• Ethical• Educational• Economic• Recreational• Ecological
What is conservation?
• Protecting the environment from human activities
• Preventing animals and plants from extinction
• Creating new habitats• Managing natural resources and
ecosystems• Keeping the balance of nature• Preserving the natural environment
• Aesthetic• Ethical• Educational• Economic• Recreational• Ecological
What is conservation?
• Attain sustainable yields whilst maintaining environmental quality
• Maximum biodiversity of genetic resources
• Minimal pollution• Optimum aesthetic appeal.
• Aesthetic• Ethical• Educational• Economic• Recreational• Ecological
What is involved?• Preservation
– not losing habitats or species– e.g establishing reserves
• Management– maintaining the balance
– removal of alien species– restriction of human interference– deflected succession
• Reclamation• repairing previous damage• returning land / water to a more valuable state
• Habitat creation• Producing entirely new ecosystems
• Aesthetic• Ethical• Educational• Economic• Recreational• Ecological
Reasons for conservation
Aesthetic
Jacques Lake, Canada
• Aesthete– ‘Pleasure seeker’
• Natural environment is great source of pleasure
• To enjoy it we must conserve it!
Ethical
• Right to live– Are all organisms equal?– Subjective– Bacteria that cause diseases?
• Different cultures have different views– sacred animals
• Extinction is often natural– Fossil records
• Responsibility to maintain diversity?
Educational• Fieldwork in
‘outdoor classrooms’
Economic• Wildlife and
landscapes can provide income:– Visitors
spend money– Wildlife
watching holidays
– Activity holidays
Recreational
Food
• 250, 000 known plant species– Only 30 used for food on large scale
• Monocultures more susceptible to pests and disease
• Wild varieties may possess natural genetic resistance– Seed banks as biological insurance
• Most wild relatives of food crops are in the tropics– Under most threat!
Medicines
• Rainforests worth more alive than dead!• 47 major drugs from tropical plants
– Codeine– Quinine
• Animals also play a role in medical research– Cytology– physiology
• Indigenous knowledge may be invaluable– We need to learn from them
Genetics
• Wild populations face many threats:– Abiotic conditions– Disease
• Survival of the fittest– Genetic superiority/resistance
• Breeding has reduced the gene pool– Less tolerant
• Chances for:– Cross breeding– Genetic engineering
Industrial Products
• Timber• Paper• Fuel• Gums• Dyes• Oils
Ecological
• Plants– Plants help regulate;
• Atmosphere• Water cycle• Nutrient cycles• Soil structure
• Form the basis of food chains
Ecological
• Species interdependence– Food webs– Habitats– Pollination– Nutrient cycles– Seed dispersal
• What if we manipulate these?– Intentionally
• Cane toads in Australia
– Unintentionally• Brown Tree Snake in Guam
Ecological
• Indicator species:– Lichens and SO2 pollution
– Used to identify and control harmful human activities
– Involves studying the natural environment
Need for conservation
• Some factors may affect individual species directly
• Others may be threatened by loss of habitat
• Extinction• Endangered
Hunting and Collecting
Persecution
• Deliberate eradication
• Damage:– Crops– Landscape– Livestock– People– Property
• Birds of Prey in UK
Accidental Harm from Human Activities
• Fishing by-catch– Whales– Dolphins
• Farm harvesting– Mammals– Ground dwelling birds– Invertebrates
• Roadkill– Pheasants– Mammals
Introduced Species
• ‘Alien species’• Moved around world
– Boats– Aircraft
• Accidental or deliberate• May have no effect• May cause endangerments or extinctions
– Predators– Competitors– Disease
Grey Squirrel
Brown Tree Snake
American Mink
Cane Toad
Habitat Change
• Each species is adapted to a particular environment
• More competitive species may be able to survive change
• These will be the ones that are better adapted to the new environment
Habitat Destruction
• Deforestation– logging
• Expansion of farmland– Food crops– Cash crops
• Urbanisation• Mineral extraction
– Quarrying– Mining
• Flooding by reservoirs– Water supply– HEP
Pollution
Climate Change