BIOLOGY INVESTIGATORY

PROJECT
Topic -Human involvement and
effect on wildlife

By Shubham . D . Ghosh
Class XII th B

certificate
This is hereby to certify that the original and
genuine investigation work has been carried out to
investigate about the subject
matter and the related data collection and
investigation has been completed solely, sincerely
and satisfactorily by SHUBHAM GHOSH of CLASS
XII B , Kendriya Vidyalaya Bhandup , regarding
his project titled
Human involvement and effect on wildlife

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It would be my utmost pleasure to express my sincere
thanks to my Biology teacher Mrs. Gulnaz kaur in providing
a helping hand in this project. His valuable guidance,
support and supervision all through this project are responsible
for attaining its present form. I would also like to thank
my parents as they encouraged me to put forward my project.

The Human Touch

Humans are now responsible for causing changes in the
environment that hurt animals and plant species. We take
up more space on Earth for our homes and cities. We
pollute habitats. We illegally hunt and kill animals. We bring
exotic species into habitats. All of these activities take
resources and habitats away from plants and animals.
Human activity often changes or destroys the habitats that
plants and animals need to survive. Because human
populations are growing so fast animals and plants are
disappearing 1000 times faster than they have in the past
65 million years. Scientists estimate that in the 21st
century 100 species will become extinct every day. The
main fundamental cause of animal extinction in most
recent times has been, without any reasonable doubt,
human demand, either for animal resources directly, or
for the natural resources constituting the animals habitats.

Habitat Loss and Fragmentation

Wildlife depends on healthy habitats. They need:
-The right temperatures
-Fresh water
-Food sources
-Places to raise their young
Climate change is altering key habitat elements that are
critical to wildlife's survival and putting natural resources in
jeopardy.
TEMPERATURE
Melting arctic iceremoves hunting ground from Polar Bears.
Warmer water temperatures will cause population declines for
trout, salmon and many other species that require cold water
to survive.
Rising ocean temperatures have already caused massive
coral bleaching, leading tothe collapse of these ecosystems
which sustain huge numbers of fish.

Fig -1

Fig -2

Fig
-3

WATER
Larger floods are expected to increase erosion levels, reducing
water quality and degrading aquatic habitat.
Severe droughts stress and can kill plants on which wildlife
depend for food and shelter, and deprives wildlife of water
sources.

FOOD
Climate change has altered food availability for migratory
species; birds arrive on schedule to find their food sources-insects, seeds, flowering plants--have hatched or bloomed too
early or not at all.
Milder winters cause seasonal food caches to spoil, so wildlife
species like the Gray Jay depending on food stores to survive the
winter are left without sustenance.

PLACES TO RAISE YOUNG

Droughts caused by global warming coulddry up 90 percent
of central U.S. wetlands, eliminating essential breeding
habitat for ducks, geese and other migratory species.
Rising sea level and changes in salinity could decimate
mangrove forests, leaving many fish, shellfish, and other
wildlife without a place to breed, feed or raise offspring.

Habitat changes reduce biotic integrity (i.e., ecosystem health),

deplete native species, and greatly simplify the system and its
habitats (e.g., crop agriculture).
The process of habitat destruction is incremental. Each piece of
habitat may not seem important individually, but there are
cumulative effects. The process is more insidious than direct
overexploitation. No one holds a smoking gun. The native
species simply vanish.
The effects of these changes can be predicted mathematically.
Roughly, when 90% of the habitat is eliminated, 50% of the
species will be lost.
Selection of the lost species, however, is not random.
The larger, wide-ranging species, such as large carnivores, suffer
first. Because those groups often contribute to healthy ecosystem
processes, a wave of secondary losses may follow their decline

Animals that conflict with humans are also the victims of

concerted eradication efforts.
Species with a narrow geographic range, or species that
were never common, are vulnerable as well.

Species that are not effective dispersers are limited when

their habitat is disrupted.
Species with narrow niche requirements may see that niche
disappear quickly.
And species that live in colonies, or social groups, are often
affected when numbers decline.
When habitat is fragmented, some species die as a direct
result of lost resources.
Other species survive in reduced numbers in the habitat
fragments, but their vulnerability to extinction increases.
Populations existing in fragments become susceptible to
genetic disorders, demographic problems,
environmental variability, and catastrophic events.
Fragmented populations are especially vulnerable to
deterministic events, such as susceptibility to poaching, as
border areas become population sinks, where population
death rates exceed birth rates.

National and International Wildlife

Trade

Poaching and (legal and illegal) wildlife trade are another

common threat to animals.

But the introduction of ban and / or restrictions on

international trade in many endangered species (CITES)
several decades ago became an effective measure in halting
this problem.

International wildlife trade has also been closely linked to

drugs trade.

In one of the most outrageous cases of simultaneous drug and

wildlife smuggling which occurred at Miami Airport in 1993,
312 boa constrictors that arrived from Colombia were found
carrying inside them 39 kilos of cocaine. All of the snakes
eventually died.

The types of trades are as follows -

Pet Trade :
One of the most shocking examples of pet trade in endangered species took
place in Taiwan at the end of the 1980s.
As a result of a TV show featuring an orangutan, the demand for this
endangered animal in Taiwan surged, and the country saw as many as a 1,000
young orangutans entering it illegally and being sold via newspaper adverts.
The real toll was, of course, much bigger as the capture of young animals
involves killing its mother, and then many of them would have died in transit.
Many people who see exotic animals being kept as pets don't think about the
origins of that animal. Some people assume a pet store bred them, a breeder
bred them, or a supplier who breeds them sent them to a pet store or the
person who ordered the animal online. People assume animals come from clean
and well fed households, from people who care about the animals they are
breeding. But they don't often think about the other side of the pet world - the
illegal exotic pet trade world.

People buy and catch animals to keep as pets. Many of the people
who have animals as pets do not know how to care for them. Pets,
particularly ones like reptiles, amphibians, and fish, need special
equipment, heat, lights, and food in order for them to be healthy and
live. Between 50-90 percent of these types of animals sold each year
dies because they were not cared for properly.

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Fig -5

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Fig- 7
Fig -8

Indirect effects
Case 1- Some animals are endangered because of a combination
of natural and man-made causes.
TheWEST INDIAN MANATEE (fig 9 )is an endangered aquatic
mammal that lives in rivers, estuaries, canals and saltwater bays.
Manatees need warm water to survive. In the winter they live in
southern Florida and parts of Georgia. In the summer they can
migrate as far north as Virginia and west to Louisiana. Sometimes
manatees die because they don't migrate back to warm water soon
enough.
There are currently a little under 2,000 manatees in Florida. Every
year about 150 die. Manatees are often killed when they are hit by
boats. Manatees can also die when they get caught in fishing nets.
Manatees only give birth every two to five years and they only
have one calf at a time. Because their reproduction rate is so low
and mortality rates are high, manatee populations are endangered.

Fig - 9

Fig -10

Case 2 -Some animals like the Karner Blue butterfly ( fig -10) are
endangered because they need very special environments to survive.
The Karner Blue is dependent on the wild lupine. The wild lupine is a
plant that grows in pine and oak barrens in the Northeast and Midwest. It
is the only known food source of the larvae of the Karner blue. Without
this plant the butterfly can't survive.
Wild lupine grows best in sandy soils where forest fires occasionally clear
out old vegetation. Fire helps keep shrubs low and clears the areas of
plants like aspen and maple that can take over the area and create too
much shade for lupine to grow.
Karner blues rely on lupine for their whole life cycle. They attach their
eggs to the stems of the plants and newly hatched caterpillars eat the
leaves of the plant. If wild lupine doesn't grow, the Karner blue doesn't
survive. Because humans control wildfires, lupine isn't as abundant as it
used to be. Lupine is also killed by pesticides. Because lupine is harder
to find, the population of Karner blues has drooped by 99 percent in the
last two decades.

What can be done ..

1. Wildlife is also adversely affected by the threat of non-native

invasive species, which compete with native plants and wildlife
for habitats and resources, with some preying directly upon
native species.These non-native invasive generally do not have
natural predators so there populations grow rapidly and
sometimes uncontrollably. You can reduce invasive species by
not releasing captive animals into the wild, pulling invasive
plants in your yard, and by not buying or planting non-native
plants.

2. By minimizing and more wisely using herbicides and

pesticides we can better control the amount of harmful
chemicals and toxins released into environmentally sensitive
areas, such as streams and rivers.Most of these chemicals take
many years to degrade in nature.

3. Recycling and reducing energy can lessen the impact that is

felt on the environment.Reducing resources helps the
environment, native local wildlife, and saves money in the
process.Getting involved and helping local governments and
agencies with funding, donations, land adoptions (for
protected habitat), and even volunteer work helps in
unimaginable ways.Also exercising some common sense
knowledge such as remembering to throw away trash, careful
use of chemicals, placing decals or shutters on windows (to
avoid bird collisions), and slowing down ones vehicle in
wildlife and newly developed areas (to avoid striking animals
crossing the road) all make a difference.Finally, remember to
share your own passion about the environment and protecting
wildlife with friends, family, and neighbours.

Approach to Endangered Species

Protection

Defending and strengthening the Endangered Species Act,

which provides an essential legal safety net to prevent the loss of
plant and animal species to extinction.

Holding federal agencies and others accountablefor complying

with laws protecting rare and endangered species using cooperation,
persuasion, and--where necessary--litigation.

Advocating for increased fundingfor private landowner

incentives and other conservation programs that benefit endangered
species.

Protecting and restoring the habitatson which endangered

species and other wildlife depend for their survival, and encouraging
wildlife-friendly land management practices.

Reducing threats to wildlifethat can lead to their endangerment

and extinction, such as loss of habitat, contamination of water and
spread of invasive species.

Projects undertaken by Govt. of India for

Wildlife Protection

To govern wildlife conservation and protection of endangered

species, the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 was adopted by all
states excluding Jammu and Kashmir (which has its own Act).
The Act prohibits trade in rare and endangered species.

Government at central level provides financial assistance to

states for (i) strengthening management and protection of
infrastructure of national parks and sanctuaries; (ii) protection of
wildlife and control of poaching and illegal trade in wildlife
products; (iii) captive breeding programmes for endangered
species of wildlife; (iv) wildlife education and interpretation; (v)
development of zoos; (vi) conservation of rhinos in Assam; (vii)
protection of tiger, elephant, etc.

The 1972 Act has been amended to make the provisions more
effective. Endangered species of plants and animals have been
brought under the purview of the Act. Under a new amendment
to the Act in 2002, penalties are sought to be enhanced for
violations of the provisions of the Act.

Also proposed is the creation of two new categories of protected

areas, viz., conservation reserve and community reserve. A
Central Zoo Authority (CZA) was established in 1992 under the Act
to oversee the management of zoological parks in the country.
The CZA was reconstituted for the sixth time in September 2007
with Minister of State, Environment and Forests as its chairman.
There is a total 15 member contingents in CZA for discharge of its
mandated functions.

The main functions of the CZA are:

(i) Specification of minimum standards for housing, upkeep
and veterinary care of the animals in the zoos.
(ii) Recognition of zoos on the basis of evaluation of their
functioning.

(iii) Identification of endangered species of wild animals for the purpose of captive
breeding and assignment of responsibility in this regard to zoos.
(iv) Coordination of the acquisition, exchange and loaning of animals for breeding.
(v) Provision of technical and other assistance to zoos for management and
development on scientific lines.

The Animal Welfare Division became a part of

Ministry of Environment and Forests in July 2002.
Earlier, the division was under Ministry of
Statistics and Programme Implementation. The
mandate of Animal Welfare Division is to prevent
the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on
animals. The main task of the division is to
implement effectively the various provisions of
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act,
1960.

The Tiger project

The Government of India launched Project Tiger on April 1, 1973 in the

Corbett National Park as a consequence of the concrete international effort
to create an awareness and raise funds for saving the tiger. This
international effort was led by Guy Mountfort of the World Wide Fund for
Nature (WWF).

It ensured maintenance of a viable population of tigers in India for

scientific, economic, aesthetic, cultural and ecological values, and to
preserve for all times, areas of biological importance as a national heritage
for the benefit, education and enjoyment of the people. Initially, nine tiger
wildlife reserves (with 268 tigers) constituted the Project Tiger network.

As of 2008, there were 28 tiger reserves in 17 states, covering an area of

37,761 sq. km. The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 was amended in 2006 to
incorporate the creation of the National Tiger Conservation Authority. The
first meeting of the National Tiger Conservation Authority was held in
November 2006. With the amendment of this Act, a Wildlife Crime Control
Bureau was also subsequently established.