Conservation AS biology OCR Unit 2

Human Activities on nature

• Learned to use the environment to our advantage
• numbers risen more dramatically and continue to rise
• using more and more of the earth's respources
• our activities harm other species - directly or indirectly
• loss of biodiversity occurs
• extinction may occur

Extinction: When the last living member of a species dies and the species ceases to exist

Loss of biodivresity
extinction of even 1 species causes a loss of biodiversity
To produce mor food areas of natural vegetation are cleared - which is normally very diverse area - it removes the habitat of different organisms and chances of ectinction becomes higher
Monoculture : a crop of plants of a single species bred ot be very similar - replaced the natural habitat

Human activities reducing biodiversity and causing extinction

• hunting for food - over harvesting
• killing for protection - insects that are vectors of disease - or predators
• Killing competitors of our food - insects 7 fungi
• Pollution
• Habitat destruction
• Inadvertant introduction of new predators and competitors to natural flora and fauna

Why we need to Conserve Species
Economic & ecological reasons

• provide answers in design…