10 public questions tagged with this topic.
Cryopreservation preserves gametes, embryos, seeds, and other genetic material at very low temperatures as an ex situ conservation method.
Ref: NCERT Class 12 Biology Chapter 13: Biodiversity and Conservation Biodiversity Conservation - In situ Ex situ Hotspots
The IUCN Red List categorizes species according to their risk of extinction and serves as an important conservation tool.
Ref: NCERT Class 12 Biology Chapter 13: Biodiversity and Conservation Loss of Biodiversity - Alien Invasion Co-extinction Mass Extinction - Evil Quartet
Olive Ridley Lepidochelys olivacea smallest sea turtle performs arribada mass nesting where thousands females simultaneously nest on specific beaches. Odisha coast supports largest global rookeries at Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary, Rushikulya river mouth, and Devi River mouth. Arribada occurs December-March driven by wind, lunar cycle. Gahirmatha recorded over half million nests single season. Turtles require undisturbed sandy beaches above high tide, low artificial lighting. Odisha government enforces trawler-free zone 20 km, TED turtle excluder devices, Indian Coast Guard Operation Olivia protects during breeding migration. Field identification relies on this character, making it essential for wildlife surveys and protected area management protocols.
Ref: WII Olive Ridley Arribada Odisha Gahirmatha Rushikulya; MoEFCC Olive Ridley Nesting Sites Odisha
Ganges river dolphin Platanista gangetica gangetica, obligate freshwater cetacean, occurs in main channels and tributaries of Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna system across Gangetic Plains biogeographic zone from Himalayan foothills to Sundarbans. Functionally blind due to muddy waters, navigates by echolocation clicks, preying on fish, shrimps. Population estimated below 3500, threatened by barrages fragmenting populations, entanglement in fishing nets, pollution and noise. India's National Aquatic Animal since 2009, protected under Wildlife Protection Act Schedule I, Vikramshila sanctuary in Bihar dedicated. This example illustrates how ecological adaptations correlate with biogeographic zonation and conservation prioritization in Indian context.
Ref: WII Ganges Dolphin Project Gangetic Plains; IUCN Red List Platanista Endangered National Aquatic
Captive breeding programmes systematically breed threatened species in controlled environments such as zoos, breeding centers, hatcheries to increase population, maintain genetic heterozygosity, and minimize inbreeding through pedigree management and studbooks. Offspring undergo acclimatization, behavioral enrichment, health screening before reintroduction into restored habitats after threat mitigation. Indian examples include gharial breeding at Chambal, pygmy hog at Basistha Assam, snow leopard at Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Park. Goal is preventing imminent extinction and ultimate reinforcement of wild populations. Field identification relies on this character, making it essential for wildlife surveys and protected area management protocols.
Ref: WII Captive Breeding Guidelines and Reintroduction; IUCN One Plan Approach Integrating Ex-situ In-situ
National Chambal Sanctuary, established 1979 along Chambal River crossing Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh over 5400 km², is India's only tri-state protected riverine tract dedicated to aquatic fauna conservation. Its clear waters, sandy banks, and deep pools provide prime breeding habitat for gharial Gavialis gangeticus with distinctive long narrow snout specialized for fish catching, critically endangered with less than 1000 adults wild. Sanctuary also shelters Ganges dolphin, red-crowned roof turtle, and migratory birds. Field identification relies on this character, making it essential for wildlife surveys and protected area management protocols.
Ref: WII Chambal Gharial Conservation Programme; MoEFCC Wildlife Sanctuaries – Chambal Gharial Focal Species
Bishnoi community inhabiting Thar desert of Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana follows 29 principles prescribed by Guru Jambheshwar in 1485, emphasizing protection of trees and animals. Khejrali massacre 1730 where 363 Bishnois sacrificed lives protecting khejri trees symbolizes ethic. Bishnois protect blackbuck Antilope cervicapra, chinkara, peafowl, allowing them to graze near villages, actively guarding against poachers, providing water. Government awards like Amrita Devi Bishnoi Wildlife Protection Award honor contributions; court judgments cite Bishnoi vigilance. Knowledge of this distribution aids in understanding endemism patterns and UNESCO heritage site designations across India.
Ref: Bishnoi Community Ecology History – Blackbuck Protection; WII Traditional Communities Conservation Notes
“Isolated small islands” for the highest risk of extinction is usually found on. This relationship follows from the ecological mechanism represented by the terms in the item, not merely from an association between their names. At equilibrium, species identities can continue to turn over even when richness is approximately stable. The model predicts a balance of rates, not an absence of colonization or extinction. The remaining alternatives—“Isolated large islands”, “Islands close to the mainland”, “Large continental islands”—refer to different states, processes, or scales and therefore do not express the same causal relationship. Island biogeography explains species richness as a dynamic balance between immigration and extinction. Immigration generally declines as an island fills with species, whereas extinction rises as more species divide finite area and maintain smaller populations. Linking the wording to measurable consequences for fitness, abundance, or flux gives the conclusion its scientific meaning and prevents a purely mnemonic interpretation.
Ref: Biogeography, Lomolino et al., 5th Ed., Ch. 1-4
“High variability in population size” for which of the following is most vulnerable to extinction. This relationship follows from the ecological mechanism represented by the terms in the item, not merely from an association between their names. The mechanism should be evaluated across both local and global scales. Local disappearance can be reversed by recolonization, whereas global extinction is irreversible and requires the loss of every surviving population. The remaining alternatives—“Wide geographic range”, “Low trophic level”, “High dispersal ability”—refer to different states, processes, or scales and therefore do not express the same causal relationship. Human-driven habitat conversion, exploitation, introduced enemies, pollution, and climate change often interact rather than acting independently. Traits such as slow reproduction or ecological specialization can magnify vulnerability. Field observations could test this account by measuring the proposed driver and the demographic or ecosystem response while controlling plausible confounding factors. This distinction matters because similar surface patterns can arise through different mechanisms, whereas ecological prediction depends on identifying the mechanism that actually changes rates.
Ref: Conservation Biology, Primack & Sher, 6th Ed., Ch. 7
