Las tortugas silvestres de China en peligro de extinción
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Small population sizes put a species at extreme risk of extinction due to a lack of variation, and a consequent decrease in adaptability. This weakens the chances of survival under pressures such as climate change, competition from other species, or new diseases. Large populations are more likely to survive pressures such as these, as such populations are more likely to harbor individuals that have genetic variants that are adaptive under new stresses. Small populations are much less...
Conservation of declining population focuses on ways of detecting, diagnosing, and halting a population decline. The approach uses methods to prevent populations from going extinct.
Conservation efforts often utilize scientific approaches to identify the reasons, or the agents, causing the population to decline. This approach then devises steps to remove, oppose, or neutralize the agents.
Conservation efforts may also introduce a test group to determine the probable cause of the decline. The...
There have been five major extinction events throughout geological history, resulting in the elimination of biodiversity, followed by a rebound of species that adapted to the new conditions. In the current geological epoch, the Holocene, there is a sixth extinction event in progress. This mass extinction has been attributed to human activities and is thus provisionally called the Anthropocene. In 2019 the human population reached 7.7 billion people and is projected to comprise 10 billion by...
Habitat fragmentation describes the division of a more extensive, continuous habitat into smaller, discontinuous areas. Human activities such as land conversion, as well as slower geological processes leading to changes in the physical environment, are the two leading causes of habitat fragmentation. The fragmentation process typically follows the same steps: perforation, dissection, fragmentation, shrinkage, and attrition.
Perforation and dissection often occur during the initial stages of...
Organisms that are well-adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. However, natural selection does not lead to perfectly adapted organisms. Several factors constrain natural selection.
For one, natural selection can only act upon existing genetic variation. Hypothetically, red tusks may enhance elephant survival by deterring ivory-seeking poachers. However, if there are no gene variants—or alleles—for red tusks, natural selection cannot...
Conservation biology is a scientific field that focuses on the preservation of biodiversity in order to protect ecosystems while meeting the needs of the human population. Humans require properly functioning ecosystems to maintain our supply of natural resources, including food, medicines, and building materials.
Ecosystems also perform critical services, such as purifying our air and water. A large body of evidence indicates that such ecosystem services depend on biodiversity. Furthermore,...

