CIE A-level Biology

Topic 18: BCC

Conservation
Case study: African Elephant:
In African ecology, the elephant is regarded as a keystone species. In 1930 there were estimated to be 5
10 million African elephants. By 1979 the number was reduced to 1.3 million and when it was officially
added to the endangered list in 1989, the numbers had fallen to around 600,000 - less than 10% of its
numbers earlier in the twentieth century.
A number of factors contributed to this dramatic decline in numbers:

Habitat loss elephants eat a great deal and need a large amount of habitat. During the twentieth
century, the human population of Africa has increased massively and, as a result, humans and
elephants have become competitors for living space. The forest and savannah habitats of the elephant
have been reduced as humans have used timber for fuel and building and land for growing crops and
grazing livestock.
When humans and elephants live in close proximity, various problems arise elephants raid crops and,
on occasion, will rampage through villages. Farmers and other residents regard them as something of a
pest and shoot them.
Hunting this has been a major cause of the decline in elephant numbers. Elephants became prized
trophies for big-game hunters and, more recently, they have been killed for their ivory tusks. Ivory is
easily caved and regarded as a beautiful material most of the ivory carving in the world takes place in
Japan and other countries in Asia. At one stage, ivory was more expensive than gold indeed, it
became known as white gold. Hunting continues for the global bushmeat trade
Poaching it is no longer legal to hunt elephants in most African countries. However, the high prices
paid for ivory meant that elephants continued to be killed by poachers. At its peak, the poachers
became highly organised, using automatic weapons, vehicles and even planes to herd and kill huge
numbers at a time. The biggest elephants were usually targeted (because they have the largest tusks)
which meant that it was generally the adults that were killed, leaving young elephants without any adults
to learn from. As a result, the social structure of the elephant populations broke down and many of the
elephant groups left were leaderless juveniles.

African elephants - summary

IUCN Red list status = vulnerable

CITES Listing Appendix I except Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, Appendix II
Habitat loss competition between humans and elephants for space, trees and grazing leading to loss
and fragmentation of the elephant habitat
Hunting and poaching for trophies, ivory, protection of villages and for bushmeat

Adapted by MAW for Tanglin Trust School

CIE A-level Biology

Topic 18: BCC

Task
You have research an organism registered on the IUCN as endangered. Try to find out what factors are
driving that organism towards extinction and what measures have been put in place to conserve it.

Useful links:
IUCN redlist
http://www.iucnredlist.org/
African Wild foundation list of endangered animals
http://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/all
Pandas
http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/giant_panda/?src=footer
Orangutan
http://www.un.org/works/environment/animalplanet/orangatang.html
http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/species/our_solutions/endangered_species/great_ap
es/orangutans/index.cfm
http://www.orangutan.org/facts/orangutanfacts.php

You need to present the information that you find in a leaflet

Adapted by MAW for Tanglin Trust School

CIE A-level Biology

Topic 18: BCC

Species name Dugong dugon

Kingdo
m

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Sirenia

Family

Dugongidae

Genus

Dugong

Species

Dugon

Factors driving
species towards
extinction
Dugongs are killed by
crashing into boats and
getting drowned as they
live in shallow water

Current data

Around 5% of Dugongs
are killed due to boat
strikes, a rate that
threatens the future of
dugongs.

In situ measures in
place to conserve the
species
The NGO, CITIES
regulates some areas
and has banned
international trade in
areas to reduce the
impact of boat strikes.
Boats have been asked
to travel slower in
shallower areas.

In 1998, strong support

for Southeast Asian
cooperation to protect
dugongs was achieved
in a conference.

In Philippines, regulation
is passed that manages
the exploitation of
fisheries through
implementing quotas.

Humans are hunting

dugongs and destroying
their habitats and
through finishing

In Western Islands of
Terres Strait, the dugong
harvest in 1990s has
been around 1000 per
year

In many countries,
dugong hunting is now
banned and are no
longer killed deliberately

Dugongs accumulate
heavy metal ions in their
tissues throughout their
lives due to living in
coastlines in
industrialisation and oil
spills

37 dugongs carcasses
were recovered in the
months after the an oil
spill in Arabian Gulf in
1983.

Habitats are be mapped

by university students to
identify locations of the
dugongs, helping
prevent any fatalities.

Dugongs consume
seagrass, a species that
declines rapidly due to
lack of light and extreme
weather.

In 1985, cyclone sandy

caused the loss of
151km2 of seagrassdu
representing ~20%% of
entire Gulfs seagrass
area.

Restricting activities
such as trawling in areas
containing seagrass
meadows

Sources:

Ex situ strategies to
promote reintroduction

Additional information is
obtained based on
dugong sighting.

https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2002-001.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugong#Conservation
https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/87ef6ac7-da62-4a45-90ec0d473863f3e6/files/nomination-boat-strike-2007.pdf

Adapted by MAW for Tanglin Trust School