Wildlife Conservation and

Management
Zool – 722: 3(2-2)
Wildlife Conservation and Management
• Wildlife

• Conservation

• Management
Biodiversity

Genetic Species
diversity diversity

Ecosystem
diversity
Diversity of subspecies
Within species,
diversity exists in
subspecies, or
geographic
variations.

The tiger,
Panthera tigris,
had 8 subspecies.
5 persist today,
including Panthera
tigris altaica, the
Siberian tiger.
Distribution of biodiversity

Species are not evenly spread among different groups.

Insects comprise more than half of all species in world.

Beetles comprise fully 40% of all insects.

Mammals are outnumbered by spiders and their relatives 16 to 1.

Distribution of Biodiversity
Size of each
organism is
scaled to its
number of
species.

Mammals
are located in
front of the
insect’s
mandibles.
Distribution of biodiversity Species richness
increases toward the
equator.

30–100 bird species in

large area of the Arctic

500–700 bird species in

small area of the tropics
Biodiversity hotspots
Biodiversity hotspot = an area that supports an especially
high number of species endemic to the area, found
nowhere else in the world

Endangered golden lion

tamarin, endemic to Brazil’s
Atlantic rainforest, which
has been almost totally
destroyed
Biodiversity hotspots

Global map of biodiversity hotspots, as determined

by Conservation International
Biodiversity has increased over time
Benefits of biodiversity
• Food, fuel, and fiber
• Shelter and building materials
• Air and water purification
• Waste decomposition
• Climate stabilization and moderation
• Nutrient cycling
• Soil fertility
• Pollination
• Pest control
• Genetic resources
Benefits of biodiversity: Food security
Many species not now
commonly used for
food could be.

Genetic diversity
within crop species
and their relatives
enhances our
agriculture and
provides insurance
against losses of
prevalent strains of
staple crops.
Benefits of biodiversity: Medicine
Many species can provide
novel medicines; we don’t
want to drive these extinct
without ever discovering
their uses.

Ten of our top 25 drugs come

directly from wild plants; the
rest we developed because
of studying the chemistry of
wild species.
Benefits of biodiversity: “Biophilia”
Biophilia = human love for and attachment to other living
things;
“the connections that human beings subconsciously
seek out with the rest of life”

e.g., Affinity for parks and wildlife

Keeping of pets
Valuing real estate with landscape views
Interest in escaping cities to go hiking,
birding, fishing, hunting, backpacking…
Biodiversity loss and species extinction
Extinction = last member of a species dies and the species
vanishes forever from Earth

Extirpation = disappearance of a particular population, but

not the entire species globally
These are natural processes.
On average one species goes extinct naturally every 500–
1,000 years—this is the background rate of extinction.

99% of all species that ever lived are now extinct.

Mass extinctions
Earth has experienced five mass extinction events in which over half of its species were wiped
out suddenly.
Today’s mass extinction
Currently Earth is undergoing its sixth mass extinction—because
of us.

Humans have increased the extinction rate by a factor of 1,000.

1,100 species are known to have gone extinct in the past 400
years.

The Red List, from the IUCN, lists species that today are facing
high risks of extinction.
Today’s mass extinction
Species of large
mammals and birds
plummeted with the
arrival of humans,
independently, on each
of three continents—
suggesting that human
hunting was the cause.
Major Causes of Species Extinction

• Habitat alteration
• Invasive species
• Pollution
• Population growth
• Overexploitation
Invasive species
Examples: • Gypsy
• Mosquito fish moth
• Zebra mussel • European
• Kudzu starling
• Asian long- • Indian
horned mongoose
beetle • Caulerpa
• Rosy algae
wolfsnail • Cheatgrass
• Cane toad • Brown tree
• Bullfrog snake
Aurochs (Bos primigenius)

• Large species of cattle (Bovidae)

• Distribution ranged: Britain to Africa
• By 13th century: only seen in Poland, Prussia
• By 1564 only 38 animals remained
• Ban imposed on hunting
• Hunted to extinction by 1627