Conservation and the race to save biodiversity

Summary

This video explores the concept of conservation, focusing on two main approaches: protecting species and protecting habitats. It highlights various techniques such as species survival plans, international treaties like CITES, and reintroduction programs to save endangered species. The importance of biodiversity research, education, and genetic conservation is also emphasized. Additionally, the video underscores the value of conserving entire ecosystems through protected areas, such as national parks and marine protected areas, which help preserve biodiversity and sustain ecosystem services essential for long-term environmental health.

Takeaways

• 🌿 Conservation is the study of biodiversity loss and how it can be prevented.
• 🦅 Conservation techniques can be divided into two basic approaches: protecting species and protecting places.
• 📜 Species protection includes legislative actions like the Endangered Species Act and international treaties like CITES to regulate wildlife trade.
• 🔴 The IUCN Red List helps prioritize species for protection by classifying them into seven categories, from 'Extinct' to 'Least Concern.'
• 🧬 Species Survival Plans (SSPs) use captive breeding to maintain healthy populations of endangered species and aim for potential reintroduction to the wild.
• 🌎 Habitat preservation is crucial for species conservation, as saving species requires suitable environments for them to thrive.
• 🌊 Marine protected areas are essential for biodiversity recovery, serving as reservoirs that can replenish overexploited regions, such as in the Verde Island Passage.
• 🧪 Conservation genetics is an emerging field that focuses on genetic diversity at various levels—from individual species to entire ecosystems.
• 📚 Education and research are vital for informed conservation efforts, helping to guide decision-making and conservation policy.
• 🏞 National parks and marine protected areas play a significant role in conserving biodiversity by safeguarding entire ecosystems and promoting recovery in impacted areas.

Q & A

What is the formal definition of conservation as mentioned in the video?

Conservation is defined as the study of the loss of Earth's biological diversity and the ways this loss can be prevented.

What are the two basic approaches to conservation discussed in the video?

The two basic approaches to conservation are protecting species and protecting the places where those species live.

How does legislation help in species protection?

Legislation like the Endangered Species Act and international treaties such as CITES help protect species by regulating markets and trade, preventing over-exploitation and driving species to extinction.

What is the IUCN Red List, and why is it important for conservation?

The IUCN Red List categorizes species into seven levels of conservation status, ranging from extinct to least concern. It is crucial for prioritizing conservation efforts and making informed decisions based on biodiversity research.

What are Species Survival Plans (SSPs), and how do they contribute to conservation?

SSPs are captive breeding programs that help maintain healthy populations of endangered species in accredited zoos and aquaria. They aim to preserve genetic diversity and, in some cases, reintroduce species to the wild.

What are the risks and benefits of species reintroduction programs?

Reintroduction programs can be risky and expensive, much like surgery, but they can be effective in saving species if done in appropriate habitats. They also raise public awareness about biodiversity loss.

Why is protecting places important for biodiversity conservation?

Protecting places, such as biodiversity hotspots and national parks, is powerful because it safeguards entire ecosystems, thus preserving the habitats and species that depend on them.

How does the concept of remoteness contribute to conservation?

Places like Antarctica have been passively protected due to their remoteness, limiting human activity. However, as technology improves, these areas may face increasing threats.

What role do marine protected areas play in biodiversity conservation?

Marine protected areas serve as safe zones where species can recover from over-harvesting. These areas act as reservoirs that help repopulate surrounding ecosystems, as seen in the Verde Island Passage.

What is conservation genetics, and how does it enhance conservation efforts?

Conservation genetics studies genetic diversity at multiple levels, from individual organisms to ecosystems. This emerging field helps improve conservation strategies by assessing the evolutionary importance of biodiversity.

Outlines

00:00

🌱 Understanding Conservation and Biodiversity

The narrator introduces conservation as the study of the loss of Earth's biodiversity and the methods to prevent it. Biodiversity is a key aspect of conservation, which can be achieved through two approaches: protecting species or protecting their habitats. Species protection involves legislation like the Endangered Species Act or international treaties such as CITES, which regulates wildlife trade. Another tool mentioned is the IUCN Red List, which categorizes species based on their risk of extinction. The need for research and data collection is emphasized as crucial for making informed decisions on conservation policies. Additionally, captive breeding programs, or Species Survival Plans (SSPs), are highlighted as a method to save species on the brink of extinction, helping maintain genetic diversity and potentially reintroducing species to the wild.

05:01

🔄 Reintroducing Species to the Wild: Challenges and Successes

Reintroduction of species to their natural habitats is compared to high-risk surgery due to the uncertainty of outcomes and the high costs involved. Successful reintroduction, such as that of certain plants, Oryx, and whooping cranes, depends on the availability of suitable habitats. The focus shifts from saving individual species to preserving entire ecosystems. Reintroduction also plays a role in raising public awareness about biodiversity loss and the broader environmental issues that impact the survival of species and their habitats.

10:01

🏞️ Protecting Biodiverse Places: Ecosystem Conservation

The narrator shifts to the idea of conserving entire places as a powerful way to protect biodiversity. By preserving habitats and ecosystems, species are protected collectively. Some areas, like Antarctica, are naturally protected by their remoteness, but others require specific protections, such as national parks or marine protected areas. The United States' national park system is cited as a successful conservation model. Marine protected areas, like the Verde Island Passage in the Philippines, act as biodiversity reservoirs that help surrounding ecosystems recover by protecting marine life from overexploitation.

🧬 Conservation Genetics: A New Frontier

Conservation genetics is introduced as an emerging field that focuses on preserving biodiversity at the genetic level, from individual genetic traits to entire ecosystems. This approach offers a new way to assess the value of different conservation efforts and emphasizes the need for comprehensive, rigorous data rooted in evolutionary biology. Conservation genetics provides an additional tool for protecting ecosystems and highlights the growing importance of science in shaping conservation policies.

Keywords

💡Conservation

Conservation refers to the protection, preservation, and management of Earth's biological diversity. In the video, it is described as the study of the loss of biodiversity and efforts to prevent it. Conservation can take various forms, such as protecting species or habitats, and involves legal frameworks and treaties to ensure species and ecosystems are safeguarded.

💡Biodiversity

Biodiversity refers to the variety of life forms on Earth, including different species, ecosystems, and genetic variations within populations. The video emphasizes that biodiversity is central to the idea of conservation, and protecting it can be achieved by either saving species or the places they inhabit, such as biodiversity hotspots.

💡Species Protection

Species protection is a conservation strategy aimed at preventing the extinction of individual species. The video highlights how species protection can be accomplished through legislation, like the Endangered Species Act, or through international agreements such as CITES. These efforts prioritize species most at risk and regulate their trade to ensure their survival.

💡Endangered Species Act

The Endangered Species Act is a legal framework in the United States designed to protect species at risk of extinction. The video mentions this act as one of the tools used in species protection, which helps identify and prioritize organisms that need protection, aiming to prevent their extinction through legal means.

💡CITES

CITES, or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, is an international treaty that regulates the trade of wild animals and plants to prevent their over-exploitation. The video explains how CITES controls the international market for species to ensure they are not driven to extinction due to economic pressures.

💡Red List (IUCN)

The Red List by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of species. The video mentions it as a key tool that categorizes species based on the urgency of their conservation needs, ranging from 'extinct' to 'least concern,' providing critical data for research and policy-making.

💡Species Survival Plans (SSPs)

Species Survival Plans (SSPs) are programs designed to manage captive breeding of endangered species, ensuring genetic diversity and creating reservoirs for possible reintroduction into the wild. The video explains that SSPs are implemented in zoos and aquaria to maintain healthy populations of species that are in danger of extinction in the wild.

💡Reintroduction

Reintroduction refers to the process of returning species to their natural habitats after being bred in captivity or protected environments. The video describes this as a complex and costly conservation technique, but one that can be effective in saving species, like the whooping crane, when appropriate habitats are preserved or restored.

💡Habitat Preservation

Habitat preservation is the conservation approach focused on protecting entire ecosystems and the places species inhabit. The video explains that saving places, such as biodiversity hotspots, can ensure the survival of numerous species simultaneously by maintaining the integrity of ecosystems essential for their survival.

💡Marine Protected Areas

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are designated oceanic regions where human activity is restricted to conserve marine biodiversity. The video uses the example of the Verde Island Passage in the Philippines, explaining how MPAs can help restore marine ecosystems by acting as reservoirs for species, promoting recovery and sustaining biodiversity in surrounding areas.

Highlights

Conservation is fundamentally about the study of the loss of Earth's biological diversity and how to prevent it.

Conservation approaches can be classified into two basic methods: protecting species and protecting places where those species live.

Species protection can prioritize which species are most at risk of extinction and can be enforced through national legislation like the Endangered Species Act or international treaties like CITES.

CITES regulates the international market of wildlife trade, which involves hundreds of millions of individual plants and animals, aiming to prevent overexploitation and extinction.

The IUCN Red List is a crucial tool that categorizes species based on their extinction risk, helping guide conservation efforts and public awareness.

Biodiversity research is critical for making informed decisions on species protection, with accurate data leading to better conservation policies.

Species Survival Plans (SSPs) are developed for captive breeding programs to maintain endangered species and help preserve genetic diversity.

Reintroduction of species into the wild is like high-risk surgery: it's costly, risky, but in some cases essential to save species on the brink of extinction.

Reintroduction programs require appropriate intact habitats, highlighting the overlap between species protection and habitat conservation.

Conservation of places, such as biodiversity hotspots or national parks, can protect entire ecosystems, making it a powerful method for protecting biodiversity.

Marine protected areas are essential for conserving underwater biodiversity, allowing ecosystems like coral reefs to recover from overharvesting and environmental damage.

The Verde Island Passage in the Philippines is an example of a marine protected area that acts as a biodiversity reservoir, promoting resilience and recovery in nearby degraded areas.

Conservation genetics is an emerging field that focuses on protecting genetic diversity across individuals, populations, species, and entire ecosystems.

Conservation efforts now increasingly rely on evolutionary science and genetic data to assess which species and ecosystems are most crucial for biodiversity preservation.

Good data, education, and public awareness are critical partners in advancing effective conservation techniques.

Transcripts

(gentle instrumental music)

- [Narrator] I often find it helpful to look at

a formal definition of a term in order to

jumpstart some ideas about an interesting topic.

And for this video, the term I want

to look at is conservation.

It's been defined as, the study of the loss

of Earth's biological diversity,

and the ways this loss can be prevented.

So right there up front, biodiversity is a fundamental part

of the very definition of conservation.

Conservation or protection of biodiversity

can be accomplished in many, many ways,

and from my point of view, these can be classified

into two basic approaches.

One is protecting species,

and the other is protecting places

in which those species live.

Different kinds of conservation techniques

can be applied to these two different approaches,

but in a lot of cases, very similar methods

can also accomplish the goals.

The concepts of savings species and saving places

weave together just as much as they can

be treated separately.

Let's start with techniques that can protect species.

Species protection is valuable because it can be used

to prioritize which species are most in need

of being saved before they face

the biggest deadline of all, extinction.

Species protection can include legislation

at national or local levels to protect

organisms that most need protection

through things like the Endangered Species Act.

Other types of statutory protection of species

can be developed through international treaties

such as the Convention on International Trade

in Endangered Species, or CITES.

This treaty controls or regulates

international markets for wild animals and plants,

or their parts, so that they're not driven to extinction

or over exploited in ways that are harmful

not only to the organisms and biodiversity

but to the markets themselves.

An example of how economic interest

can and should dovetail with protection of the environment.

In some cases, a species is so threatened

that a complete ban on its trade is required.

International wildlife trade is estimated

to involve hundreds of millions of individual

plants and animals, resulting in a market worth

billions of dollars a year.

So it's not a small problem,

and it ranges from live animals and plants,

to products that are derived from organisms,

such as food, leather goods, timber,

curios, medicines, and even things like

wooden musical instruments.

Another really useful conservation tool is the red list

of the International Union for Conservation of Nature,

the IUCN, which provides very useful guidelines

highlighting the types of biodiversity

or the species themselves that need to be

protected the most.

All species are placed in one of seven IUCN categories,

ranging from extinct to least concern.

Placing species into these categories

requires adequate data, which underscores

the importance of biodiversity research

and the dissemination of the findings.

And that's what I always mean about biodiversity research

and its symbiotic partner, education.

Good data equal better decisions.

The IUCN highlights the crucial nature of research.

If you have the right data, you can place known species

into one of the seven different categories.

Categories that are really, really helpful for education

as well as for making good protection policies,

and even for helping fundraise for more research,

more education, and conservation.

Another species protection technique involves

the establishment of species survival plans, or SSPs.

When scientists believe that captive breeding programs

can help prevent extinction, SSPs can be developed

for species that are in danger of extinction in the wild.

SSPs help to maintain in captivity a reservoir

of healthy populations of endangered animal species.

Populations that maintain genetic diversity

through careful breeding programs

within the accredited community of zoos

and aquaria that are approved for maintaining

these breeding programs.

In North America alone, there are over 170 species

covered by more than 100 formal species survival plans

that are specifically aimed at trying to maintain

populations of species that may or may not

still exist in the wild.

Some SSPs are specifically aimed at

reintroducing these species back to the wild.

I should say a few brief words

on the concept of reintroduction.

It's a bit like any high risk surgery.

A complex ecosystem can be compared to your own body.

With surgery, it's hard to know if it's

going to be successful or maybe introduce

more problems down the road,

and it's always bloody expensive.

Same with programs that reintroduce species

to wild ecosystems.

They can be risky and expensive too,

but also like surgery in some cases

reintroduction can be really effective

as a last resort to save lives.

It's slowly working for things like

some species of rare plants, the Oryx, and whooping cranes.

There are guiding principles for reintroductions.

There has to be adequate, appropriate,

intact habitat in which to actually

reintroduce the species.

So here we get this overlapping effort

not just to save an individual species,

but to start talking about habitat

preservation and restoration.

It's not much good to set your hooping cranes

free in the wild if there's not enough wetland

for them to dance around in, to mate,

breed, and get food for their young,

to let them do their thing.

I would insist that the expense that we put

into these efforts are worthwhile

at every step of the way, because of so much more

than just counting up the individuals that you can save.

The whooping crane is a magnificent animal.

It symbolizes something special about

unique environments in wild places

that in general, people really want to hold onto.

People like magnificent animals.

These cranes focus attention on organisms

that symbolize the importance of trying to save

not just individuals of certain species,

but entire places where these species

can continue to exist.

And the side benefits of this kind of conservation,

this technique of reintroduction,

includes public awareness.

A teaching opportunity that focuses

even more awareness on the overall problems

of biodiversity loss.

Let's explore more about what it means

to conserve places in nature.

Arguably, this is the most powerful way

to protect biodiversity, because by saving a place,

you will likely be saving entire ecosystems.

You're certainly saving habitats,

and this approach presents an opportunity

to protect the most highly biodiverse

or unique places on Earth through the enactment

of public policy.

Places like biodiversity hotpots.

Again, this brings research and education together

to help promote and expand the idea

of saving an entire place.

Now some places have been protected

simply by their remoteness.

Think of Antarctica for example.

In spite of seeming to be harsh and lifeless,

it's a fragile place full of life,

and it's constantly under pressure

from some kind of resource extraction, like fishing.

Luckily, so far Antarctic biodiversity

has been able to avoid most of the damage

caused by human activity, but really only because

of its distance from most human activities.

It's a more difficult place to get to

and to make money in, but that will change

as technology improves so that the passive protection

of remoteness will likely soon go away.

Of course, other places that are more threatened

by human encroachment have been singled out

for special status as protected parks.

I remember in my youth, we even had places

called conservation areas in Southern Ontario

where I grew up.

Certainly as a kid I loved being able

to walk through these conservation areas,

and seeing things that I wasn't gonna see

in any urban environment that surrounded them.

They had a big influence on my early ideas

and hopes to study and protect these special places.

Everybody knows about the United States

national park system, which has been called

America's best idea.

It could be argued that without the protected parks

and regions that have been established

around the world, biodiversity would have taken

an even bigger hit than it has so far.

In the sea, marine protected areas

are underwater conservation parks.

These places are havens for organisms like fish

that would otherwise be subjected to over-harvesting

that would reduce diversity, and cause negative changes

in their ecosystems.

Marine protected areas can allow populations to recover,

serving as reservoirs to repopulate surrounding areas.

A good example of this is in the Philippines,

where a body of water called the Verde Island Passage

already has patches of coral reef ecosystems

that are marine protected areas.

But imagine if the entire passage

could become a gigantic area where the recovery

and reservoir functions can happen.

With regulation, total exploitation of this special part

of the coral triangle could be prevented,

allowing the passage to act as a kind of pump

for corals and other reef species,

distributing them out to more impacted areas

in surrounding waters.

The Verde Island Passage has shown resilience

to coral diseases and bleaching,

and surrounding areas suffering from

environmental degradation would recover more quickly

because you've got this unsurpassed

biodiversity reservoir in the Verde Island Passage

as a neighbor, a neighbor with that all important

healthy ecosystem function that makes

for strong ecosystem services.

Lastly, I want to mention an emerging field

called conservation genetics,

that ties into protection not just of species,

but of several different levels of biodiversity

from the genetic traits that vary among

individual members of populations,

all the way to the various populations

that make up a species.

And of course, this includes the genetic diversity

held within entire ecosystems.

So conservation genetics is a different

potentially powerful way of looking

at conservation techniques and a new way

of assessing the value of protecting

and conserving different ecosystems.

Essentially another tool in the conservation tool belt.

Any big picture inclusive conservation approach

such as this requires rigorous,

diverse data that rely on the science

of evolutionary lineages.

The stuff of how biodiversity is actually generated

over time and space.

All this science helps us better understand

what types of organisms are most crucial

to a given area, or to a given lineage,

and how biodiversity protection

can most effectively be served by

the right conservation techniques.

Techniques that we need now more than ever.