Conservation

The IUCN Red List gives details on species conservation status across the world, including the American badger, $\textit{Taxidea taxus}$, and the black-footed ferret, $\textit{Mustela nigripes}$. Fig. 2.1 depicts an American badger and Fig. 2.2 depicts a black-footed ferret. Fig. 2.3 presents the IUCN conservation status of the American badger and the black-footed ferret in 1987 and in 2013.

Feb/March 2016

Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil obtained from the fruit of oil palm trees. Palm oil is inexpensive. It is the most widely used vegetable oil in the world. The oil yield per hectare from oil palm trees is thirty times higher than the oil yield from maize. About 85% of the world’s palm oil is now produced in Indonesia.

Feb/March 2017

The grey wolf, Canis lupus, is a large predator. In south-west Europe during the 20th century, hunting drove the grey wolf to the brink of extinction.

Feb/March 2021

The Sumatran tiger, $Panthera\ tigris\ sumatrae$, is listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species™. Fig. 7.1 shows a Sumatran tiger.

Feb/March 2025

The flatback turtle, *Natator depressus*, is an endangered species that nests on beaches in northern Australia. Fig. 1.1 shows a flatback turtle. Each female lays about 50 eggs in a nest, which is fewer than in any other marine turtle species. The eggs are buried in sand and, when the hatchlings emerge, each has a mass of about 43 g. In contrast to most marine turtles, flatback turtles spend most of their time in coastal waters, where they feed and mate. Fig. 1.2 shows the number of female flatback turtles nesting on a beach in northern Australia from 1993 to 2002.

May/June 2010

The American crocodile, Crocodylus acutus, was listed as an endangered species by the USA in 1975. It occurs in estuarine areas of southern Florida. Fig. 1.1 shows an American crocodile. Water salinity was considered to affect the distribution of the American crocodile.

May/June 2010

The American crocodile, Crocodylus acutus, was listed as an endangered species in the USA in 1975. It occurs in estuarine areas of southern Florida. Fig. 1.1 shows an American crocodile. The salinity of the water was believed to influence the distribution of the American crocodile.

May/June 2010

The polar bear, $\textit{Ursus maritimus}$, is found in the Arctic regions of the USA, Canada, Norway and Russia. Polar bears travel over the Arctic ice sheet to catch prey such as seals. Fig. 1.1 shows a polar bear. The area covered by the Arctic ice sheet changes during the year. Fig. 1.2 presents how the extent of the Arctic ice sheet varies from July to November in 1979 and 2009.

May/June 2011

The natterjack toad, Bufo calamita, is a UK amphibian species that is endangered. It emerges from hibernation in April and reproduces in pools near sand dunes along sections of the UK coastline. From a fertilised egg, a young natterjack toad needs about 10 weeks to develop. At night, a natterjack toad hunts on the sand dunes by running after its prey, mainly insects and worms. Fig. 1.1 shows a natterjack toad.

May/June 2011

The natterjack toad, Bufo calamita, is an endangered amphibian in the UK. It emerges from hibernation in April and reproduces in pools beside sand dunes along parts of the UK coast. A young natterjack toad takes about 10 weeks to develop from a fertilised egg. At night, a natterjack toad hunts by chasing its prey, mainly insects and worms, on the sand dunes. Fig. 1.1 shows a natterjack toad.

May/June 2011

The Millennium Seed Bank is in the UK. To date, it has successfully kept seeds from 10% of the world’s wild plant species.

May/June 2012

The plant Rafflesia arnoldii, found in the jungles of South East Asia, is well known because it produces the largest flower of any plant.

May/June 2012

Section B Answer any one question.

May/June 2013

Section B: Choose and answer one question.

May/June 2013

Section B. Respond to one question.

May/June 2014

The Santa Cruz tarplant, Holocarpha macradenia, is a tall annual plant found in coastal grasslands in California. An annual plant completes growth, flowering, seed production and death in under one year. The tarplant was once much more widespread in California, but only nine natural populations remain now. It is classed as an endangered species.

May/June 2015

The Santa Cruz tarplant, Holocarpha macradenia, is a tall annual plant found in coastal grasslands in California. An annual plant completes growth, flowering, seed production and death in under one year. This tarplant was once much more widespread across California, but only nine natural populations now remain. It is classified as an endangered species.

May/June 2015

Fig. 5.1 is an image of a water vole, Arvicola amphibius. This species is native to Great Britain. It is estimated that water vole numbers have declined by 94% over the last century. The cause is believed to be habitat fragmentation and also heavy predation by mink, Neovison vison, shown in Fig. 5.2. Mink come from North America, but they were introduced into Great Britain for fur farming. A number of them escaped, or were set free, and then their populations rose quickly in the wild.

May/June 2016

Fig. 5.1 depicts a water vole, Arvicola amphibius. This species is native to Great Britain. Estimates suggest that the number of water voles has declined by $94\%$ over the past century. This is believed to be linked to habitat fragmentation, as well as heavy predation by mink, Neovison vison, shown in Fig. 5.2. Mink came from North America, but they were introduced to Great Britain for fur farming. Some escaped, or were let loose, into the wild, where their populations rose quickly.

May/June 2016

The Sumatran orangutan, $\textit{Pongo abelii}$, occurs only on Sumatra, Indonesia. Fig. 1.1 presents a Sumatran orangutan. It spends most of its life in trees and is highly vulnerable to habitat destruction. Table 1.1 gives the area of natural forest in Sumatra and the numbers of orangutans in $1985$ and $2016$.

May/June 2018

The Sumatran tiger is native to the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Fig. 1.1 depicts a Sumatran tiger.

May/June 2018

The Sulawesi macaque, Macaca nigra, lives on the large island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. It is also present on other smaller islands near Sulawesi, for example Bacan. Fig. 1.1 shows a Sulawesi macaque. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the world’s largest international environmental organisation. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ assesses the conservation status of plant and animal species. On the IUCN Red List, the Sulawesi macaque is classified as critically endangered. Table 1.1 gives the numbers of humans and the numbers of Sulawesi macaques on Sulawesi and Bacan.

May/June 2018

Section B. Answer just one question.

May/June 2018

A method for assessing global biodiversity is to count how many species of organisms there are. Table 3.1 gives 2009 estimates of species numbers in some animal taxa. The figures in brackets are the values revised in 2019 from the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) for three taxa that have been studied intensively.

May/June 2021

The African penguin, f\textit{Spheniscus demersus}f, occurs along the South African coast. Fig. 10.1 depicts two African penguins.

May/June 2022

The Malayan tapir, Tapirus indicus, is found in the rainforests of South East Asia. Fig. 8.1 shows a Malayan tapir with her calf. On the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, the Malayan tapir is classified as endangered and may become extinct. One difficulty is the illegal trade in the Malayan tapir.

May/June 2022

Around the world, many zoos take part in captive breeding programmes for endangered species.

May/June 2023

Several bear species belong to the mammal family Ursidae. In recent years, climate change and habitat loss caused by human activity have reduced the numbers in some bear populations.

May/June 2024

The Asian common toad, Duttaphrynus melanostictus, was accidentally brought to eastern Madagascar in 2010 on a ship. Fig. 9.1 displays an Asian common toad. The Asian common toad is now classed as an invasive alien species because: - it reproduces quickly in the warm, wet conditions of eastern Madagascar - it can move up to $2.5\,\text{km}$ per year - its skin contains poison, which is highly toxic to humans and predators.

May/June 2024

Fig. 9.1 illustrates the way the mean global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration has changed during the 800000 ($800 \times 10^3$) years before 2020.

May/June 2024

The Boelen’s python, $Simalia\ boeleni$, is a non-venomous snake that occurs only on the island of Papua New Guinea. Fig. 8.1 depicts a Boelen’s python. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has not assessed the conservation status of $S.\ boeleni$ because this python is extremely difficult to detect and find. $S.\ boeleni$ is included in one of the appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

May/June 2025

The Bengal Tiger, $\textit{Panthera tigris tigris}$, is an endangered mammal species found in Southern Asia. It mainly inhabits forest habitat. Fig. 1.1 shows a Bengal Tiger. Table 1.1 presents the link between available forest habitat and Bengal Tiger numbers from 1970 to 2010.

Oct/Nov 2011

Corals are uncomplicated marine animals and usually live in colonies containing thousands of individuals. Fig. 7.1 illustrates a coral colony. Corals take in calcium carbonate from the sea to construct their skeletons, and these skeletons help create large coral reefs. Coral reefs are home to about $25\%$ of the fish species known so far and have the greatest biodiversity of any marine ecosystem.

Oct/Nov 2012

Corals are basic marine animals and they usually live together in colonies containing thousands of individuals. Fig. 7.1 illustrates a coral colony. Corals take in calcium carbonate from the sea in order to make their skeletons, and these skeletons contribute to the formation of extensive coral reefs. Coral reefs act as a habitat for about $25\%$ of known fish species and show the greatest biodiversity of any marine ecosystem.

Oct/Nov 2012

(a) The tiger, Panthera tigris, is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). The IUCN issues an annual Red List of endangered species. Fig. 8.1 illustrates the number of tigers living in the wild from 1900 to 2010.

Oct/Nov 2013

Maize originated from the wild plant teosinte, which is native from Mexico down to Argentina. It is believed that domesticated maize came from teosinte just one time. Maize remains have been discovered at archaeological sites that are 5500 years old.

Oct/Nov 2013

Gadus morhua, the Atlantic cod, is caught for food.

Oct/Nov 2013

State three reasons why conserving endangered plant species is important.

Oct/Nov 2014

List three reasons that make it important to conserve endangered plant species.

Oct/Nov 2014

The Californian condor, Gymnogyps californianus, which is endangered, is the biggest bird in North America capable of flight. These condors feed on the carcasses of large mammals, including cattle and deer. Their numbers dropped to only 22 in 1982, which prompted the creation of the California Condor Recovery Program (CCRP), a captive breeding programme established in several zoos across the United States and Mexico. Because the captive breeding programme has been successful, there are now more than 300 condors. Many of these birds have been released as part of the programme.

Oct/Nov 2014

Explain what the term biodiversity means.

Oct/Nov 2015

What is meant by the term biodiversity?

Oct/Nov 2015

Fig. 1.1 depicts a snow leopard, Panthera uncia. Snow leopards inhabit the high mountains of Central Asia. They generally live and hunt on their own. Their chief prey consists of grazing herbivores, including wild sheep and wild goats. They also prey on domesticated animals and livestock. The snow leopard population has fallen very sharply over the past 40 years.

Oct/Nov 2017

The Bali starling, Leucopsar rothschildi, occurs on Bali island in Indonesia. Fig. 1.1 shows a Bali starling. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assesses the conservation status of plant and animal species. The Bali starling is classed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning that it is close to extinction in the wild. Indonesian law protects the Bali starling, and trapping these birds for sale as pets is illegal. In 2001 there were only six Bali starlings in the wild and about 1000 in captivity.

Oct/Nov 2018

The Visayan warty pig, *Sus cebifrons*, occurs on two islands in the Philippines. Fig. 1.1 depicts a female Visayan warty pig together with her young.

Oct/Nov 2018

The Bali starling, Leucopsar rothschildi, is native to Bali island in Indonesia. Figure 1.1 depicts a Bali starling.

Oct/Nov 2018

Section B — Answer one question.

Oct/Nov 2019

Section B. Respond to one question.

Oct/Nov 2019

Viruses are excluded from the three domain classification system because their characteristics differ from those of most organisms. Describe the features of viruses.

Oct/Nov 2019

The wild Bactrian camel, Camelus ferus, inhabits only the desert areas of Mongolia and northern China. Fig. 1.1 shows a wild Bactrian camel.

Oct/Nov 2022

The wild Bactrian camel, Camelus ferus, occurs only in the desert areas of Mongolia and northern China. Fig. 1.1 illustrates a wild Bactrian camel.

Oct/Nov 2022

The passage describes one way of estimating the size of an animal population.

Oct/Nov 2023

The red ruffed lemur, Varecia rubra, is a mammal that occurs only in the rainforests of the Masoala region in north east Madagascar. Fig. 9.1 shows a red ruffed lemur.

Oct/Nov 2024

The large blue butterfly, Phengaris arion, occurs across Europe and Asia. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists it on the Red List™ as ‘Near Threatened’ worldwide and ‘Endangered’ in Europe. In Europe, P. arion became extinct in the Netherlands in 1964 and in the United Kingdom in 1979. Fig. 6.1 shows the conservation status categories in the IUCN Red List™. Fig. 6.2 shows P. arion. Conservation status categories shown are: Extinct (EX), Extinct in the Wild (EW), Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), Vulnerable (VU), Near Threatened (NT), Least Concern (LC), with the extinction risk increasing through the list.

Oct/Nov 2025

The range of the large blue butterfly, Phengaris arion, spans Europe and Asia. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) places it on the Red List™ as ‘Near Threatened’ worldwide and ‘Endangered’ within Europe. In Europe, P. arion became extinct in the Netherlands in 1964 and in the United Kingdom in 1979. Fig. 6.1 presents the conservation status categories used in the IUCN Red List™. Fig. 6.2 shows P. arion.

Oct/Nov 2025