Conservation of biodiversity

• Conservation of biodiversity


  • New food species
  • Relatively few of the known species of plant or animal are used for human food
  • Some species are kept in areas to which they are not well adapted so productivity is reduced
  • Indigenous species are usually better adapted than introduced species to local conditions such as climate, pests and soil conditions and therefore may have higher survival rates
  • Selective breeding may be needed to enhance desirable characteristics and eliminate undesirable ones
  • Most of the species that are currently farmed were first cultivated a long time ago but there are attempts to domesticate new species
  • Many plant species have the potential for commercial cultivation
• New food species


  • Potato Bean of North America
  • Morama Bean from dry areas of Southern Africa
  • Yeheb Tree from Somalia
• The Potato Bean of North America has a high protein content
• The Morama Bean from dry areas of Southern Africa has a protein content similar to soya and is drought resistant
• The Yeheb Tree from Somalia produces edible nuts, is drought-resistant, and can grow in poor soils
• Many species in the spinach family can grow in soil with a high salt content. They may be used in crop breeding programmes to increase the salt tolerance of crops grown in areas where irrigation has caused soil salinisation
• A perennial variety of maize was discovered in Mexico. Being perennial it grows year after year so there is no need to buy new seeds each year. It also reduces the need for ploughing, which reduces the risk of soil erosion
• Kemza is a perennial cereal with similar advantages to perennial maize
• Animal species investigated for domestication

  • American Bison
  • Common Eland
  • Common Ostrich
  • Cane Rats
  • Emu
  • Giant Land Snails
• American Bison


  • Graze grasslands that are too coarse for cattle
  • Better adapted to local conditions than traditional livestock species
• Common Eland


  • Browse from trees and bushes as well as graze grass
  • Can be kept without supplementary feeding
  • Better adapted to local conditions than traditional livestock species
• Biomimetics


  The use of knowledge of the adaptations of other species, to improve the designs of manufactured items
• All species have evolved over long periods of time, developing adaptations that increase their chances of survival. Some of these involve structural features that help us to design improved engineering structures and equipment
• Humpback whale flippers


  • Have tubercles (bumps) that channel water flow increasing hydrodynamic efficiency and allowing them to turn in tight circles when swimming around shoals of fish
• Shark skin


  • Has scales that reduce friction while swimming
  • The ridges created by the scales have been copied in new designs for aircraft and ship surface coatings to reduce fuel consumption
• Bacteria do not stick easily to shark skin. A coating material that imitates shark skin is used in hospital operating theatres to help control bacterial infections
• Termite mounds


  • Absorb sunlight and become hot
  • The hot air inside rises creating a convection current that draws stale air out of lower parts of the nest and creates a natural solar-driven ventilation system
  • Air blowing over the mound has a lower air pressure and draws air out of the mound
• This natural ventilation system has been copied in shopping complexes and office blocks to create natural ventilation and cooling without the need for air conditioning
• Bird wing bones


  • Must be light and strong
  • They are hollow and have internal struts that prevent the bones from bending too much or breaking
  • This lightweight, strong structure has been copied in the design of lightweight bridges and roofs
• Adhesion


  High and low adhesion are both important for survival in different situations
• Adhesion adaptations


  • Gecko lizard toes have pads that provide strong adhesion
  • Seeds of some plants have burrs with hooks that can stick to the fur of passing animals and aid seed dispersal
  • Lotus flowers have water-repelling properties
• Attempts are being made to copy the adhesion of gecko lizard toes to provide adhesion without the need for glue
• The water-repelling properties of lotus flowers have been copied to produce self-cleaning glass
• Natural materials


  • Some have properties that can be applied to the manufacture of synthetic materials
  • The lightweight, flexible, strong silk produced by spiders is being copied to produce better car airbags and body armour
• Medicines from plants


  Plants need to protect themselves from herbivores. Some produce chemicals that are toxic to the animals that may eat them. Many of these chemicals are alkaloids. In carefully controlled amounts, these chemicals may have beneficial medical effects in humans
• Medicines from plants


  • Poppies are cultivated to produce the painkillers, morphine and codeine
  • The cinchona tree of South American rainforests was used to produce quinine for malaria protection
  • Aspirin was extracted from the bark of willow trees
  • Taxol is extracted from the yew tree and is used to treat a range of cancers
  • The Mexican yam from Central American rainforests was the source of diosgenin that has been used to make steroid medicines
  • The drug AZT was discovered in a tropical marine sponge found in the Caribbean
  • The alkylglycerols and polyunsaturated fatty acids found in shark liver lipids can suppress the growth of cancer tumours
  • The drug AD 114 is being tested as a cure for fibrosis of the lungs. It is based on an antibody extracted from shark blood
• Only a very small proportion of the species that exist have been studied for the medicinal substances they may contain. This is a powerful argument for conserving the other species, or preferably entire habitats, for the medicinal substances they may contain
• Physiological research


  • Studying species adapted to specific environmental conditions can give a greater understanding of human health problems
  • Studying a developing kangaroo or wallaby in a pouch is easier than studying a human baby of the same age inside its mother's womb. This has helped in understanding developmental problems in unborn babies
  • Hippopotamus skin secretes hipposudoric acid which is a natural sunscreen and antimicrobial agent. This is being studied to help improve the treatment of burns victims
  • Marine sponges produce proteins that prevent the rejection of grafts from other individuals. These proteins are being developed to prevent the rejection of human organs after transplant surgery
• Embryos of the Purple Sea Urchin are used to test whether new medicines are teratogenic and could cause abnormal embryo development in humans. This does not threaten sea urchin populations as the sea urchin is a common species and a single female can produce half a million eggs
• Studying dolphins and bats that use high frequency sound to echo-locate their food has enabled the development of new ultrasound scanners that give better 3-D images for medical diagnosis
• Human nerve cells are very small and difficult to study, particularly the sodium-potassium pump across cell membranes. Squid nerves are much larger and therefore easier to study. This has provided a better understanding of human heart disease, stroke, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and kidney disease
• Armadillos are among the few animals that can catch the bacterial disease leprosy. They are used in the study of the disease and in vaccine production
• Pest control species


  • A wide range of predators, herbivores, parasites, and pathogens are used to control agricultural pests
  • Some may be indigenous species, while others may have to be introduced
  • The populations of natural predators such as ladybirds and ground beetles can be increased by providing suitable habitats such as hedgerows and beetle banks
  • Herbivores may be introduced to control weeds, especially if the weed species is non-indigenous and is not eaten by the indigenous herbivores
  • Encarsia formosa is a parasitic wasp that is released in greenhouses to control whitefly pests on crops such as tomatoes
  • Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a pathogenic bacterium that has been used to control insect crop pests as it produces proteins that are toxic to insects
• The prickly pear cactus became a weed after its introduction to Australia from South America. The Cactoblastis moth was successfully introduced from South America to control it
• Crop breeding programmes


  • Domesticated crops often lack genetic diversity because they have been produced from a limited number of original plants
  • The search for new characteristics that can be bred into the commercial crops focuses on wild plants of the same species or close relatives. These are often called Crop Wild Relative species (CWR)
  • Many CWR species are naturally found in areas where environmental degradation threatens their survival, for example, the Middle East, Central America, and South America
• Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)


  A pathogenic bacterium that has been used to control insect crop pests as it produces proteins that are toxic to insects
• Beetle banks


  • Provide habitat for the predators of crop pests
• Sea kale


  • Has salt-tolerant characteristics which may be bred into commercial crop varieties
• Crop Wild Relative species (CWR)


  Wild plants of the same species or close relatives of domesticated crops that have genetic characteristics that may be used in breeding programmes to improve cultivated crop varieties
• Domesticated crops often lack genetic diversity because they have been produced from a limited number of original plants