3.3 Conservation and regenerationIB Environmental Systems and Societies SL: Subtopic test

1. 1
   A conservation agency in India is deciding how to protect tiger habitat. Tigers need large territories, hunt over wide areas and are sensitive to disturbance at the edge of forest. Proposal 1 is a single, roughly circular reserve of 1,000 km². Proposal 2 is five long, narrow reserves totalling 1,000 km² and separated from each other by farmland.

   (a)

   Which feature of Proposal 1 best reduces edge effects?

   [1 mark]

   • AIts roughly circular shape, which has the smallest edge compared with its area
   • BIts small number of reserves
   • CIts location next to farmland
   • DIts use of an ex situ breeding programme

   (b)

   Why is a single large reserve usually more effective than several small ones for tigers?

   [1 mark]

   • ATigers do not need territory if prey is available
   • BLarge reserves have no edge, so tigers are never disturbed
   • CIt can support larger populations with enough territory, and a larger breeding population keeps more genetic diversity
   • DLarge reserves allow tourists to see tigers more easily

   (c)

   Explain how wildlife corridors would improve the effectiveness of Proposal 2.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 1: 4 marks

2. 2
   By 1982 only 22 California condors (Gymnogyps californianus) were left, and by 1987 all remaining wild birds had been taken into captivity to breed them in zoos. Releases back into the wild began in 1992. Today there are more than 500 condors, over half of them living in the wild. Lead poisoning from ammunition fragments in carcasses remains a major cause of death.

   (a)

   The captive breeding of California condors is best described as:

   [1 mark]

   • AAn in situ, habitat-based conservation strategy
   • BAn ex situ, species-based conservation strategy
   • CAn ex situ, habitat-based conservation strategy
   • DAn in situ, species-based conservation strategy

   (b)

   Which international agreement addresses both species-based and habitat-based conservation?

   [1 mark]

   • AThe Montreal Protocol
   • BThe Ramsar Convention
   • CThe Kyoto Protocol
   • DThe Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

   (c)

   Outline one advantage and one limitation of ex situ conservation for the California condor.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 2: 4 marks

3. 3
   In 2022 the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted a target to protect at least 30% of the world's land and sea by 2030. Country X has a land area of 800,000 km², of which 96,000 km² is currently protected. The protected land is divided between 40 reserves; 25 of them are smaller than 500 km² and are isolated from one another by farmland and roads.

   (a)

   Calculate the additional area of Country X that must be protected to meet the 30% target.

   [3 marks]

   (b)

   Evaluate whether meeting the 30% target alone would be enough to protect the biodiversity of Country X.

   [4 marks]

   Total for question 3: 7 marks

4. 4
   Knepp Estate in West Sussex, England, is a 1,400 hectare area of former intensive arable farmland that was losing money. Since 2001 the owners have stopped cultivation and allowed free-roaming longhorn cattle, Exmoor ponies, Tamworth pigs and deer to graze and browse. Scrub, wetlands and wood pasture have regenerated, and nightingales, turtle doves and purple emperor butterflies now breed there. The estate earns income from nature-based tourism and the sale of meat.

   (a)

   Explain how rewilding can regenerate natural processes in an ecosystem, using Knepp Estate as an example.

   [6 marks]

   (b)

   Discuss how different environmental perspectives and value systems could influence a society's choice of conservation strategy.

   [6 marks]

   Total for question 4: 12 marks

End of questions