conservation

• certain species are endangered - if they are not helped, they are likely to become extinct
• conservation measures aim to protect species from extinction and habitats from destruction
• maintaining biodiversity- more species can survive as many species rely on other for survival
• ecotourism- countries with a abundance of wildlife can set up ecotourism holidays. this means that holidaymakers get to visit and enjoy a special ecosystem whilst contributing to its preservation and proving more funding for the project
• knowledge- we do not know all of the species in the world. if some become extinct before we discover them, there is no way to know of their importance in that ecosystem
• medicines- by conserving ecosystems, there is the potential to uncover new drugs in plants that may allow us to treat diseases
• conservation methods:

  • protecting habitats for species to live in
  • artificial ecosystems to replace destroyed ones
  • legal protection to stop hunting and trade
  • seed banks to store the seeds from rare plants
  • captive breeding in zoos to increase the population
  • education to make people aware of the problem
• if a plant species is endangered and therefore close to extinction, it is important to take measures and conserve the species
• seed banks are a conservation method for plants - they are budlings in which seeds are stored so that new plants may be grown in the future, even if naturally the plants are extinct. this helps maintain biodiversity
• seed banks are an example of a gene bank
• gene banks ate increasingly being used to preserve genic material for use in the future. a cryobank is an another example of a gene bank - embryos, sperm, and eggs are stored at very low temperatures in liquid nitrogen. they ca be thawed out at a later date for use in breeding programs
• the main advantage of seed banks over other forms of conservation is that they can be kept indefinitely without any maintenance or care required.
• a disadvantage of seed banks is that they do not guarantee survival as some seeds may fail to germinate when planted again