A level Biology B · Edexcel 9BI0 · Topic 3D
Conservation
Key points
- Conservation protects species and habitats for ethical, economic and ecological reasons (including possible medicines and ecosystem services).
- In situ conservation keeps species in their natural habitat, e.g. national parks, marine reserves and controlling invasive species.
- Ex situ conservation protects species away from their habitat, e.g. zoos, captive breeding programmes and seed banks.
- Seed banks store dried seeds at low temperature, preserving genetic diversity; seeds are tested for viability from time to time.
- Zoos run breeding programmes using records (studbooks) to avoid inbreeding and may reintroduce animals to the wild.
- Problems of ex situ methods: small populations lose genetic diversity, and captive animals may not cope after release.
Topic notesPremium
Conservation is the protection and careful management of species and habitats. It uses the measurements of biodiversity to decide priorities, and combines protecting animals and plants in the wild with keeping safety copies elsewhere.
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