is conservation against evolution

Debadityo Sinha

IS CONSERVATION AGAINST EVOLUTION?

M.Sc.(Tech.) Environmental Science & Technology II YearBanaras Hindu University

‘National Workshop on Evolutionary Perspectives in Modern Biology Teaching and Research’ (09/05/2011) at Academic Research Centre, University of Delhi.

CONSERVATIONISTS VS. ECONOMISTS

Trees are important for nature.

Urban development destroys wild habitat.

Forest necessary for better wildlife.

Poaching.

Invasion affects native species.

Trees are also important for commercial goods.

It facilitates our survival.

Agricultural land is the current requirement for survival of large human population.

Control competition at higher trophic levels.

Survival of the fittest!

CONCERNS: ARGUMENTS:


GLOBAL WARMING: WHY THE FURORE?

Without Global Warming Earth’s Average Temperature: -19 o Celsius

Earth’s Average Temperature: 15o Celsius

It’s a natural phenomenon but the concern raised due to increased rate of the global warming.

But this increase is related to increase in CO2 emission due to increased human population! (IPCC)

We have the right to multiply.. So do the nature to react…

INFERENCE: The increased rate of Global Warming should be seen as an event which is not against nature!

Ref. J.F. Girard ‘Environmental Chemistry’ (Jones & Bartlett Publishers ,2005)

fortunatimes.com


adopted from: http://commoditypress.com‘National Workshop on Evolutionary Perspectives in Modern Biology Teaching and Research’ (09/05/2011) at Academic Research Centre, University of Delhi.

Could


HUMAN: THE RULER SPECIES

Increased cranial development.

Ability to exploit resources more efficiently.

Sexuality.

Cultural Evolution has been significant.

Human

Animals

Plants


ARE WE FACING EXTINCTION?

We are nearing the top of the sigmoid curve.

Means population crash may be on the note.

Extinction or Bottleneck Filtration in future?

adopted from: http://energyandourfuture.orgImage from http://nut-bar.com‘National Workshop on Evolutionary Perspectives in Modern Biology Teaching and Research’ (09/05/2011) at Academic Research Centre, University of Delhi.

HOW TO PRESERVE OUR FUTURE EXISTENCE?

1. Controlling human population being a human?

Nature controls population, not the species!

Image from first-news.blogspot.com



2. Adaptation to the changing environment?

Adaptation takes time, but changes are now faster than ever!

Image from http://stellashopper.com



3. Reduced utilization of resources?

Affects survival of present generation!

Image from http://fineartamerica.com



4. Sustainability: Ensure enough resources for future generation?

Ah! There is some hope!

CONSERVATION : The beginning….‘National Workshop on Evolutionary Perspectives in Modern Biology Teaching and Research’ (09/05/2011) at Academic Research Centre, University of Delhi.

CONSERVATION: THE GREATEST APPLICATION

OF HUMAN BRAIN..

Why to conserve?

Every organisms on the earth are linked to each other andsurvival of each species is necessary for the ecosystem viafood web.

We don’t even completely know which species holds what importance in the ecosystemand how its beneficial to us.

To maintain balanced resources, survival of differentialpopulations are very much needed as that wouldprevent over exploitation of a particular resource type.

Image from http://library.thinkquest.com

Image from http://telegraph.co.uk‘National Workshop on Evolutionary Perspectives in Modern Biology Teaching and Research’ (09/05/2011) at Academic Research Centre, University of Delhi.

CONSERVATION: THE GREATEST APPLICATION

OF HUMAN BRAIN..

Is conservation act against evolution or supporting it…….?


CONSERVATION AND THE LOGICAL VIEW

OF EVOLUTION

Few Individuals

Minimum Viable

Population

Increase the Population

Size

Conservation:



OF EVOLUTION

1. Conservation is Goal Specific!

Natural selection is never goal bound… It is a process not a guiding hand...



OF EVOLUTION

2. Selection of individuals is not natural!

The alleles under conservation may not be the ones selected or supported by nature.

Image from http://ideafest.blogspot.com‘National Workshop on Evolutionary Perspectives in Modern Biology Teaching and Research’ (09/05/2011) at Academic Research Centre, University of Delhi.


OF EVOLUTION

3. Environment is not always natural!

Artificial support for surviving the species rather survival of the species.

Image from http://family-getaways-melbourne.com‘National Workshop on Evolutionary Perspectives in Modern Biology Teaching and Research’ (09/05/2011) at Academic Research Centre, University of Delhi.


OF EVOLUTION

4. Genetic Variability is lost!

Image Copyrighted to Pearson Education Inc. 2009‘National Workshop on Evolutionary Perspectives in Modern Biology Teaching and Research’ (09/05/2011) at Academic Research Centre, University of Delhi.


OF EVOLUTION

As the population is derived from few individuals the genetic compositionbehaves similar to photocopy of a print organism.

a) Weak gene pool (Inbreeding depression).

b) Genetic drift (bottleneck effect) increases in smaller population size.

c) Reduced genetic variability reduces the population’s ability to adapt

to new selective pressures (climate, epidemic etc.).

d) Deformed sperm, sterility.

4. Genetic Variability is lost!


Gir: The last home of Asiatic Lion…….Conservational success??

Image from http://historicaljunagadh.blogspot.com‘National Workshop on Evolutionary Perspectives in Modern Biology Teaching and Research’ (09/05/2011) at Academic Research Centre, University of Delhi.

FROM 13*1 (1900) TO 411*2 (2010)

Genetic variability: 26%. 3

70-80% sperms deformed. 4

1/3rd of the diet comes from domestic cattles. 4

Relocation to Chandraprabha Sanctuary failed in 1957.

Faces risk of mass death in case of epidemic similar to Serengeti lions of Tanzania (where 1/3rd population was killed by deadly canine distemper disease during 1993-97)

1as believed. 2The Hindu (05/03/2010) . 3 http://cza.nic.in . 4 National Geographic MagazineImage from http://greencamp.in‘National Workshop on Evolutionary Perspectives in Modern Biology Teaching and Research’ (09/05/2011) at Academic Research Centre, University of Delhi.

Northern Elephant Seal:

•20 individuals (1890) to more than 30,000 (today)

•They have much less genetic variation than a populationof southern elephant seals that was not so intenselyhunted.

(http://evolution.berkeley.edu)

African Cheetah

• Has an extreme paucity of genetic variability, probably

as a consequence of a severe population bottleneck in itsrecent past.

• Immune system is so similar that skin grafts doesn’tevoke any immune response.

(O'Brien et al, 1985)

Indian Tiger:

•1411 in wild

•Genetic variability approx.

29%

(http://cza.nic.in)

Image from National Geographic

Image from http://fullstopindia.com

Image from Google image‘National Workshop on Evolutionary Perspectives in Modern Biology Teaching and Research’ (09/05/2011) at Academic Research Centre, University of Delhi.

CONCLUDING NOTE

1. Conservation emphasizes viable population size and inmost cases the differential population is not achievable.

2. Even if we achieve the viable population, we cant ensurethat it would be able to perform the same ecologicalfunction as it would have naturally. And even if we aresuccessful in achieving nearby targets, but still we cantpredict if the population could survive the naturalpressure in future.


CONCLUDING NOTE

3. Conservation should be seen as a ‘Survival Strategy’.

4. It is a type of positive interaction in which individuals of aparticular species protect the other species where it maynot derive any immediate benefit from the species underconservation but it may derive certain benefits in itssurvival in long term.

5. Conservation favours evolution only when its done atmaintaining a wide differential population in its naturalcondition.


W ITH VALUABLE INPUTS FROM:

Dr. Seema Makhija (Dept. of Zoology, Acharya Narendra Dev College, Delhi University)

Dr. Monisha Khanna (Dept. of Zoology, Acharya Narendra Dev College, Delhi University)

Dr. Sarita Kumar (Dept. of Zoology, Acharya Narendra Dev College, Delhi University)

Himanshu Batra (M.Sc. Genomics, Madurai Kamaraj University)

Nishant Ryu (B.Sc. Zoology , Venkateshwara College, Delhi University)


Is Conservation Against the Evolution?

No… Conservation is just an interaction!

Now.. Conservation is …………… the evolution.

against


Conservation can only delay extinction… but wont stop Evolution!!

Thanks for paying attention…

url: http://debadityo.blogspot.comEmail: [email protected]

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is conservation against evolution

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