What is a wildlife corridor?

a strip of habitat linking two separate areas. It lets animals move between habitats.

What does a seed bank conserve?

the genetic resources of plants. Seeds are stored cold and dry.

What does extinct mean?

no living members of the species remain. Extinction cannot be reversed.

Which strategy protects a whole habitat?

a national park. Everything living there is protected together.

How does regulating trade help endangered species?

it reduces the hunting of them for sale. With no legal market, there is less reason to kill or capture them.

Which is a limitation of captive breeding?

animals may not survive when released into the wild. They may never have learned to find food or avoid predators.

Conserving biodiversity · Cambridge IGCSE Environmental Management

In plain words

Biodiversity is the variety of life in an area. Once a species is gone it is gone for good, along with every gene it carried. The strategies here run from fencing off whole landscapes to freezing a handful of seeds.

9 things to know

Sustainable harvesting of wild plants and animals: taking only as much as the population can replace. Sustainable forestry: felling selected trees, not whole areas, and replanting.
National parks and reserves are areas protected by law, where hunting, logging and building are banned or limited.
Wildlife corridors are strips of habitat that link separate areas, so animals can move between them to find food and mates.
Seed banks store seeds from many plant species, cold and dry, so the plants can be grown again if they die out in the wild.
Zoos and captive breeding: endangered animals are bred in captivity, and their offspring can be released into the wild.
Ecotourism is tourism that causes little damage and gives local people an income from keeping wildlife alive.
International cooperation against the animal trade, and the regulation of trade in vulnerable and endangered species, stop wild animals and their parts from being sold across borders.
Organisms are classified by threat level. A threatened species is at risk of becoming endangered. An endangered species is at high risk of extinction. An extinct species has no living members.
Limitations. Parks need rangers and money, and poaching continues. Animals bred in captivity may not survive when released, and zoos hold only small populations. Seed banks save the plant but not its habitat. Too many tourists disturb wildlife.

Worked example

Two small forests, each with a population of monkeys, are separated by farmland. Suggest a strategy and explain how it helps.

Plant a wildlife corridor, a strip of trees joining the two forests.
Monkeys can move between the forests to find food and mates.
The two small populations act as one larger one, with more genetic variety, which is less likely to die out.

Tips and tricks

Give each strategy a limitation as well as a benefit. "Discuss" questions expect both.
A seed bank and a zoo conserve species away from their habitat. A national park conserves the habitat itself, with everything in it.

6 questions, about 2 minutes.

It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.

Conserving biodiversity: 6 questions and answers

These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.

What is a wildlife corridor?
- a fence around a national park
- a strip of habitat linking two separate areas (the answer)
- a road for tourists
- a cage in a zoo
It lets animals move between habitats.
What does a seed bank conserve?
- the genetic resources of plants (the answer)
- whole habitats
- animals bred in captivity
- soil nutrients
Seeds are stored cold and dry.
What does extinct mean?
- at risk of becoming endangered
- found only in zoos
- at high risk of dying out
- no living members of the species remain (the answer)
Extinction cannot be reversed.
Which strategy protects a whole habitat?
- a seed bank
- captive breeding
- a national park (the answer)
- regulating trade
Everything living there is protected together.
How does regulating trade help endangered species?
- it reduces the hunting of them for sale (the answer)
- it increases the number of zoos
- it makes their habitat larger
- it stores their seeds
With no legal market, there is less reason to kill or capture them.
Which is a limitation of captive breeding?Stretch
- it protects animals from poachers
- it increases the number of animals
- it raises money from visitors
- animals may not survive when released into the wild (the answer)
They may never have learned to find food or avoid predators.

6 questions

Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.

Worksheet

3 questions, 8 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.

Conserving biodiversity

Cambridge IGCSE Environmental Management 0680 · 8 marks · papermunch.org

Name ______________________________ Date ______________

Explain the purpose of a seed bank.[2]
Show answerHide answer
Seeds of many plant species are stored. The plants can be grown again if the species dies out in the wild, so their genes are not lost.
I got this one
Describe how captive breeding helps to conserve an endangered species, and give one limitation.[3]
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Animals are bred in zoos, where they are protected. The offspring can be released to increase the wild population. Limitation: animals raised in captivity may not survive in the wild (or: the captive population is small, with little genetic variety).
I got this one
State the three threat levels used to classify organisms, in order of increasing seriousness.[3]
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Threatened, endangered, extinct.
I got this one

Answers: Conserving biodiversity

1. Seeds of many plant species are stored. The plants can be grown again if the species dies out in the wild, so their genes are not lost.
2. Animals are bred in zoos, where they are protected. The offspring can be released to increase the wild population. Limitation: animals raised in captivity may not survive in the wild (or: the captive population is small, with little genetic variety).
3. Threatened, endangered, extinct.