Conservation and Preservation of Wildlife

 

Wildlife conservation is the practice of protecting plant and animal species and their habitats.

As part of the world’s ecosystems, wildlife provides balance and stability to nature’s processes. The goal of wildlife conservation is to ensure the survival of these species, and to educate people on living sustainably with other species.

The human population has grown exponentially over the past 200 years, to more than seven billion people today, and it continues to rapidly grow. This means natural resources are being consumed faster than ever by the billions of people on the planet.

This growth and development also endangers the habitats and existence of various types of wildlife around the world, particularly animals and plants that may be displaced for land development, or used for food or other human purposes.

Other threats to wildlife include the introduction of invasive species from other parts of the world, climate change, pollution, hunting, fishing, and poaching.

Conserving wildlife is at heart of our mission. We must focus on protecting populations of some of the world’s most ecologically, economically, and culturally important species—the survival of which are threatened by poaching, illegal trade and habitat loss.

We should use the best science available to link on-the-ground work with high-level policy action to create lasting solutions that benefit wild animals as well as the people that live alongside them.

By conserving wildlife, we're ensuring that future generations can enjoy our natural world and the incredible species that live within it.

To help protect wildlife, it's important to understand how species interact within their ecosystems, and how they're affected by environmental and human influences.

Factors affecting wildlife conservation:

Phenology:

Plants and animals have life events that seemingly occur like clockwork every year. Birds can migrate, mammals may hibernate, flowers bloom, and leaves change colours. The study of how the biological world times these natural events is called phenology.

Climate is impacted by non-biological factors—temperature, precipitation, and available sunlight. Species use the predictable yearly changes in the climate to determine when they start natural events such as breeding or flowering.

Climate change is slowly increasing average annual temperatures. One of the most noticeable ways that climate change is impacting wildlife is by disrupting the timing of natural events.

With warmer temperatures, flowering plants are blooming earlier in the year and migratory birds are returning from their wintering grounds earlier in the spring.

Phenology is an important subject for conservationists to study because it helps us understand the patterns of specific species and overall ecosystem health.

Every species has an impact on those in its food chain and community, and the timing of one species' phenological events can be very important to the survival of another species.

Food webs and Bioaccumulation:

The energy we receive from food can be traced back to the sun. As the sun shines, it radiates light energy. Plants absorb the light energy, convert it to sugars (photosynthesis), and produce energy for other wildlife.

The energy from the sun moves its way through ecosystems by predators eating their prey. A food web breaks down how all the producers, consumers, and decomposers interact in an ecosystem and how energy is transferred between species.

When animals eat their prey, they consume more than just energy. They also absorb all the chemicals and nutrients inside the prey. Sometimes animals ingest pollutants that can become stored in their fat and tissues.

Human-caused pollution has added heavy metals, oil, and industrial and pharmaceutical chemicals to the environment. Plants, fish, and other species absorb these toxins, and as they are eaten by predators, the toxins are then absorbed into the predators’ tissues.

As the chain of predator and prey continues up the food web, the toxins become more concentrated and move higher and higher up the food web. The process that causes the concentration of a substance to increase as it moves up the food web is called bioaccumulation.

The pollutants can have a disastrous effect on the food web and potentially kill species.

Corridors and Flyways:

Wild animals are always on the move. They move from place to place in search of food, mates, shelter, and water.

Many animals do not have to move far in order to have all their needs met, but other animals—for example migratory birds, wolves, mountain lions, or butterflies—require much more space.

Currently many species with large territories, including grey wolves, are threatened because habitat loss and fragmentation have limited their available space. Roads, fences, and buildings cut off habitat and force wildlife into smaller areas.

Conservationists have to take into account the different spatial needs of wildlife when designing plans to protect them. They have to think about the territory size, different habitat types, and migration routes that wildlife need.

A wildlife corridor is a tract of land that connects different wildlife habitats (such as refuges, parks, or rivers) that might otherwise be separated by human development.

Wildlife corridors provide many benefits to wildlife. With corridors, animals have a better opportunity of finding the basic necessities they need—food, water, shelter, and places to raise their young.

Animals that require larger territories can access new habitats and maintain a healthy territory size. Wildlife corridors also promote genetic biodiversity. When more individuals of a species are interconnected, the gene pool becomes larger and more viable.

Migratory wildlife benefit from corridors because they can move safely over long distances without having to come into contact with human developments or cars. Species are more likely to survive disturbances by having more undisturbed areas.

Natural Disturbances:

A natural disturbance is any event that causes a disruption to the current state of an ecosystem. Natural disturbances are caused by forces of nature, including weather, geology, and biological fluctuations.

This may include fires, floods, earthquakes, diseases, and droughts. After a disturbance impacts an ecosystem, there can be devastation, but healthy ecosystems have an amazing ability to bounce back.

Some ecosystems even depend on disturbances, such as the threatened longleaf pine ecosystem.

Sometimes the ecosystem will go back to its former structure, with the same plant and animal species. Other times, the disturbance will create something new by allowing new species to populate the area.

Not all disturbances are natural. Human actions have contributed to many disturbances seen in ecosystems today. While natural disturbances happen on occasion, human disturbances are putting constant pressure on ecosystems and dramatically impacting species.

Human disturbances, including clear-cutting, habitat fragmentation, and pollution, are continuously affecting ecosystems. The moment the ecosystem begins adjusting to one stress, another appears.

Many ecosystems that we depend on are not given enough time to adapt to the new conditions.

The natural cycle of disturbances—growth, dieback, and growth—cannot properly function because too many disturbances are putting pressure on the ecosystem at once.

Prevention of wildlife:

There are more than 7 billion people on Earth. Imagine if every one of us committed to do one thing — no matter how small — to protect wildlife every day. Even minor actions can have a major impact when we all work together. Here are ways you can make a difference:

1.   Adopt:

From wild animals to wild places, there’s an option for everyone. Get together with classmates, family to adopt an animal from a wildlife conservation organization such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Symbolic adoptions help fund organizations.

2.   Volunteer:

If one doesn’t have money to give, donate the time. Many organizations and zoos have volunteer programs. One can help clean beaches, rescue wild animals or teach visitors.

3.   Donate and Speak up:

When we visit our local accredited zoos and nature reserves, pay the recommended entry fee. Our donations help maintain these vital conservation areas.  

Share the passion for wildlife conservation with the family. Tell friends how they can help. Ask everyone we know to pledge to do what they can to stop wildlife trafficking.

4.   Take Responsibility, Pitch up:

By not purchasing products made from endangered animals or their parts, we can stop wildlife trafficking from being a profitable enterprise. Trash isn’t just ugly, it’s harmful.

Birds and other animals can trap their heads in plastic rings. Fish can get stuck in nets. Plus, trash pollutes everyone’s natural resources. Do the part by putting trash in its place?

5.   Recycle + Restore:

Find new ways to use things we already own. If one can’t reuse, recycle. The Minnesota Zoo encourages patrons to recycle mobile phones to reduce demand for the mineral Colten, which is mined from lowland gorillas’ habitats.

Habitat destruction is the main threat to 85 percent of all threatened and endangered species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. We can help reduce this threat by planting native trees, restoring wetlands or cleaning up beaches in our area.

Conclusion:

National and international organizations like the World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the United Nations work to support global animal and habitat conservation efforts on many different fronts.

They work with the government to establish and protect public lands, like national parks and wildlife refuges. They help write legislation, such as the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 in the United States, to protect various species.

They work with law enforcement to prosecute wildlife crimes, like wildlife trafficking and illegal hunting (poaching). They also promote biodiversity to support the growing human population while preserving existing species and habitats.

National Geographic Explorers, like conservation biologists Camille Coudrat and Titus Adhola, are working to slow the extinction of global species and to protect global biodiversity and habitats.

Environmental filmmakers and photographers, like Thomas P. Peschak, are essential to conservation efforts as well, documenting and bringing attention to endangered wildlife all over the world.

 

Written by – Sakshi Chauhan