Conservation Designations

• National and Local Nature Reserves (NNR and LNR)
• Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
• Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA)
• Ramsar Sites
• Special Protection Areas (SPAs)
• Special Areas of Conservation (SAC)

Conservation Organisations

CITES - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora

IWC - International Whaling Commission

WWF - World Wildlife Fund

RSPB - Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Reintroducing Beavers to the UK

Habitat
Rivers, streams, lakes, ditches and wetland areas

Why introduce beavers to Britain?

• Beavers are part of Britain's native fauna and would still be present if it were not for human activity
• Beavers are a keystone species, acting as "ecosystem engineers" in and around riparian, wetland and forest ecosystems
• Beavers are inherently interesting to humans and could become a flagship species for raising awareness about nature conservation
• Their dams create upstream ponds which capture sediment and organic matter, possibly reducing water treatment costs
• By cleaning river water, they will increase the survival of fish fry, increasing biodiversity
• Dams and canals create new habitats, increasing the complexity and resilience of food webs
• By slowing water flow and creating new channels, they help reduce downstream flooding and help to maintain water levels through summer

Arguments against

• The dams they construct cause a huge increase  in water surface area
• There is an increase in water depth
• Reduced oxygen levels in the water in spring and summer
• There is a loss of species dependent on riparian trees as habitats
• Altered populations of fish species
• Increased plankton productivity (eutrophication)
• Reduced variability in the rivers discharge regime.
• Will cost 1,879,100 euros
• They may restrict fish movement and migration

The Problems with Captive Breeding

• The species must retain its ability to survive in its original habitat and this becomes more unlikely the longer an individual is kept in captivity.
• Captive breeding often only begins when the wild population has fallen to very low levels. The genetic diversity of the captive population is therefore usually very low.
• Captive breeding is very expensive
• The problem may be made worse because zoos are in competition. A zoo that uses its visitor profit to maintain captive breeding populations can be harmed if a competitor decides to use its profits in a price war.

Wildlife conservation - zoos and botanic gardens

Biotic and abiotic factors of Antarctica

ABIOTIC FACTORS

• 44% is compromised of ice shelves
• 38% is made of ice walls
• 13% is formed off ice streams/ outlet glaciers
• 5% is composed of rock

The lowest recorded temperature was -89.2`C and the highest being -2`C. However in the summer months the temperature may rise to 2`C.

BIOTIC FACTORS

Phytoplankton and zoo-plankton

• Phytoplankton are the primary producers in the Antarctic food web
• Zoo-plankton are small organisms such as krill and are fed upon by larger creatures such as blue whales

Squid and fish

• There is approximately 100 million tonnes of squid in the Antarctic and are eaten by whales, seals and sea birds
• There are between 120 and 200 of.fish in the Antarctic. Most feed.on krill and on one another

Penguins

• There are 5 species of penguin in the Antarctic environment, these include: Adelie, Emperor and Chinstrap penguins
• The Emperor penguins are the largest of all species
• They feed on fish and krill
• They are preyed on b y leopard seals and killer whales

Seals

• There are 4 species of seal in Antarctica:
• Weddell seals feed on squid and fish
• Crabeater seals feed on krill
• Leopard seals feed on penguins and small seals
• Ross seals are very seldom observed. They mostly feed on squid and fish, however there are no known predators

Sea Birds

• Skuas are both predators and scavengers. They feed on carcasses and eggs as well as living penguin chicks
• Snow Petrels feed on zoo-plankton

Whales

• Orcas (killer whales) feed on penguins, seals and fish the the surface of the sea
• Sperm whales feed on fish and squid in deep water
• Minke whales are the smallest of the baleen whales. They feed on krill and are preyed upon by Japanese and Norwegian whalers for supposedly 'scientific research'
• Blue whales are the largest mammal on Earth. They feed on krill and are preyed upon by humans and Orcas