Human beings have realized that the reduction of biological species will lead to ecological imbalance on the earth and ultimately endanger the survival of human beings themselves. Therefore, it is imperative to artificially and consciously protect and save biological species.
Ever since British scientists successfully cloned the little sheep "Dolly", some people have been pinning their hopes of saving precious species on the verge of extinction on cloning technology. However, the evolution of species requires genetic diversity. The cloned species is just a copy of the parent. Its gene sequence is exactly the same as the parent and has no diversity. Therefore, although cloning technology can effectively increase the number of species, it is not feasible to protect and save biological species through cloning.
Protecting the earth's biological diversity usually adopts several methods such as in vitro protection, migration protection, in situ protection and rational management and protection.
In vitro protection is to remove animal semen, plant seeds, roots, stems, pollen, tissues, etc. from living organisms and store them for a long time for future reproduction. "Seed bank" is this kind of protection model.
Plant seeds contain all the genetic genes of the plant and can pass on all the plant's own characteristics to future generations. Organisms contain many genes, and different species of organisms contain different genes. Therefore, the more seeds we collect, the greater the number of plant genetic genes we possess, and the more we can improve plant varieties and cultivate excellent new varieties that meet people's needs.
The seeds are stored at low temperatures in the "bank" for a period of time before sowing, and then the harvested seeds are stored. Continue like this, constantly updating and storing seeds. Scientists believe that the establishment of a "seed bank" may be more valuable and meaningful than any other bank in the world. People not only collect and store plant seeds, but also collect and store various cells that can be used for reproduction, such as plant pollen, animal sperm and eggs, and organs.
A "Pollen Bank" opened in Japan specializes in collecting pollen from domestic and foreign excellent fruit tree varieties, and then uses artificial insemination technology to improve varieties, improve quality, and increase the yield of a single plant. Japan also plans to establish a "biological resource bank" as a preservation center for patented microorganisms, recombinant genes, and animal and plant cells.
Migration protection is to move wild animals from their native wild places to zoos, botanical gardens, aquariums, arboretum and other places for artificial planting and breeding.
In situ conservation is to protect wild animals and plants together with the environment in which they live. For example, we can establish nature reserves, national parks, logging-free areas, game reserves, state-owned forests, natural biological areas, etc. to protect wildlife by protecting various ecosystems.
Rational management and protection means careful planning, allocation and monitoring of water resources, land resources, forest resources and other ecological resources in a certain region, a country or even the world, and rational utilization to avoid over-exploitation, so as to achieve The purpose of protecting biodiversity on a larger scale.
Obviously, the scope and quantity of in vitro protection, migration protection and in situ protection are very limited. Only reasonable management and protection can protect more biological species.
Species protection is the awakening of human survival consciousness and an action to safeguard the interests of one's own survival and development. It requires the coordinated and unremitting efforts of people, governments, groups and organizations around the world. We should start from small daily things such as caring for flowers, trees, birds, animals, insects, and fish, and contribute to species protection.