3. Suggest a few ways in which an individual can contribute to conservation of biodiversity.
Answers
Answer:
here is the answer
Explanation:
Fresh bodies of water are essential to biodiversity. Reducing the amount of water you use, by having a 5-minute shower or not running the water when washing up the dishes, can help protect vital wetlands. Plant scientists are also working to help conserve by developing crop varieties that use less water.
Answer:
Nature preserves
Nature preserves are a form of government regulation and are often known as National Parks. They protect a region and the organisms that live there from certain forms of development and provide access for people to visit them. This is excellent because it protects the natural habitat and is a place where people can view the ecosystem.
The goal is that over time this helps people have more respect for the natural world and increases pressure on government to further protect other areas.
Currently 12 percent of earth’s surface is covered by nature preserves [6,7].
#3 Reducing amount of invasive species
Invasive species are sometimes introduced to an area on purpose, but also sometimes by accident. To limit the number of invasive species moved by accident planes, ships, and cargo must be thoroughly checked before it is offloaded in a new country.
Additionally, people should not bring new species of animals or plants to an area without consulting ecologists knowledgeable on the region.
#4 Habitat restoration
After an area is damaged by human impacts we can try to return it to its natural state. This means bringing back the plants and animals that are naturally found there. This has been shown to be a promising way of returning biodiversity to a region.
Wolf pack in the wild
One example of this is the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park. When wolves returned to the region they ate more elk and coyote, which increased the prey species of the coyote and let riparian (river bank) areas trampled by elk recover [4].
These restoration projects can be undertaken by governments, local organizations, or NGOs.
#5 Captive breeding and seed banks
Captive breeding is when animals in captivity (often at zoos) are bred. This is seen as somewhat controversial, as it requires the capture of animals that are often near extinction. On the positive side it provides the opportunity to increase the population of the species, so they can be reintroduced into the wild [4].
Seed banks are areas where huge varieties of plant seeds are stored. This provides a failsafe if a species goes extinct in nature. The plant can be grown from a saved seed and reintroduced back into its habitat.
This is a very real issue and seed banks have been collecting samples for many years, with some seed banks having over 2 billion seeds stored at a time [8].
#6 Research
Understanding how species interact within their environment is crucial to protecting them. As humans further understand species interaction we find new and more direct ways to help protect organisms and maintain biodiversity.