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Geography Quiz - Wildlife Corridors (Questions)

In GCSE Geography students will look at wildlife corridors. This quiz examines some of the ways we can give animals safe passage through the landscape and around our developments. It also looks at how some of our activities are an obstruction to them.

Nature reserves and wildlife areas may be allowing individuals to live and survive, but without being able to move safely from one area to another the genetic diversity of a group is extremely restricted. Wildlife corridors allow the safe passage of animals between reserves and protected areas. As well as increasing the genetic diversity, these corridors protect the species as a whole against localised disasters such as forest fires or disease. These routes also allow animals to forage over a wider area and to migrate. They also make it possible for juveniles to disperse.

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Some examples of massive wildlife corridors include the China-Russia Tiger Corridor and the Siju-Rewak Corridor in the Garo Hills of India. This corridor protects an important population of elephants, linking the Siju Wildlife Sanctuary and the Rewak Reserve Forest together. As well as elephants, the area contains another 139 species of animals, including tigers, bears and leopards. The Paseo del Jaguar is a proposed corridor running from the United States, through Mexico and Central America to South America to allow the movement of jaguars. As well as the corridor there will be a series of refuges, large enough for the jaguars to stop for a day or two and hunt.

Underpasses and bridges can provide safer passage for both animals and humans, reducing the interaction between road users and wildlife and therefore the number of deaths and accidents. Migratory species seem to be quick to learn where the safe passes are, and local species equally begin to use them if the surrounding human activity and the design of the refuge is correct.

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1. What is a disadvantage of wildlife corridors?
[ ] Wildlife corridors allow animals to move from habitat to habitat
[ ] Wildlife corridors allow animals to pass through or close to areas of human settlements
[ ] Wildlife corridors give a fixed, safer route for animals to travel
[ ] Wildlife corridors allow diverse groups to mix
2. In terms of genetic diversity, how do wildlife corridors help prevent species extinction?
[ ] Wildlife corridors reduce inbreeding and genetic drift
[ ] Wildlife corridors allow animals to escape hunting
[ ] Wildlife corridors allow animals to use one area for hunting and one for breeding
[ ] Wildlife corridors increase genetic drift and inbreeding
3. How can housing developers and planners help wildlife?
[ ] By blocking off developments to prevent animals entering the area and forcing them to pass around
[ ] By making sure that routes funnel animals through the developments without pausing
[ ] By making sure that there is clear signage on roads warning drivers about animal crossings
[ ] By providing gardens and green spaces for wildlife and humans, and leaving wildlife corridors for animals to pass through
4. What is a riparian ribbon?
[ ] A type of marking that shows road users where crossings intersect with roads
[ ] A ribbon of wild land encircling a new development
[ ] A water based corridor such as a river or stream
[ ] A wildlife corridor that snakes between settlements to allow passage without intersecting with developments
5. How do dams prevent rivers being used as wildlife corridors?
[ ] Dams normally have industrial developments either side. These will discourage animals
[ ] The deeper water can drown some of the sensitive species
[ ] Species that move up or down river can't jump over the dam, and often the land originally either side is flooded
[ ] The increased flow is too much for many species to swim against
6. What is habitat fragmentation?
[ ] Habitat is broken up by logging, roads, and other developments
[ ] Fragments of habitat are brought back together
[ ] Species that migrate are assigned different habitats for different times of the year
[ ] Certain fragments of the habitat, such as particular plant species, are removed
7. How can forestry companies prevent fragmenting habitats?
[ ] By leaving corridors for animals to pass between areas of forest that are contnuing to grow
[ ] By cutting in linear strips across the entire forest to allow animals to pass through
[ ] By putting bridges in place to allow animals to cross the cut sections
[ ] By only cutting every second tree to thin the forest, rather than stripping the forest to bare ground
8. How can road design work to incorporate wildlife corridors?
[ ] By including concrete pavements to allow animals to walk along the side of the road
[ ] By including roadside vegetation to allow a distinct wildlife corridor separate from the road itself
[ ] By putting bridges between every possible piece of habitat
[ ] By including signage and markings to warn drivers of crossing points
9. Which of the following is not a way farmers can help wildlife cross their land?
[ ] By planting clumps of shrubs and trees in steps across larger fields
[ ] By improving hedgerows and leaving field boundaries to grow wild
[ ] By planting native grass in pastures where possible
[ ] By erecting soild fencing and narrow boundaries between fields
10. Migratory species can travel for thousands of miles. Besides willife corridors, what do they require?
[ ] Refuges for stopping to rest and feed
[ ] Food stations
[ ] Methods of protecting them from external systems
[ ] Manual help in crossing cities and other barriers
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Geography Quiz - Wildlife Corridors (Answers)
1. What is a disadvantage of wildlife corridors?
[ ] Wildlife corridors allow animals to move from habitat to habitat
[x] Wildlife corridors allow animals to pass through or close to areas of human settlements
[ ] Wildlife corridors give a fixed, safer route for animals to travel
[ ] Wildlife corridors allow diverse groups to mix
One concern that local residents sometimes raise is the fact that animals passing through may leave the corridor to hunt, or that animals such as deer may be in close proximity to roads, leading to accidents
2. In terms of genetic diversity, how do wildlife corridors help prevent species extinction?
[x] Wildlife corridors reduce inbreeding and genetic drift
[ ] Wildlife corridors allow animals to escape hunting
[ ] Wildlife corridors allow animals to use one area for hunting and one for breeding
[ ] Wildlife corridors increase genetic drift and inbreeding
With a small population the risk of genetic conditions being widespread is increased. Allowing individuals to move between habitats allows a wider range of genetics and decreases the risks of negative recessive conditions being widespread in the population
3. How can housing developers and planners help wildlife?
[ ] By blocking off developments to prevent animals entering the area and forcing them to pass around
[ ] By making sure that routes funnel animals through the developments without pausing
[ ] By making sure that there is clear signage on roads warning drivers about animal crossings
[x] By providing gardens and green spaces for wildlife and humans, and leaving wildlife corridors for animals to pass through
Old railway lines and even streams are often converted into private and concealed wildlife corridors. Beyond that, gardens can be used as wildlife havens and refuges. Many housing developments have rules and regulations preventing homeowners paving over their gardens and encouraging wildlife corners
4. What is a riparian ribbon?
[ ] A type of marking that shows road users where crossings intersect with roads
[ ] A ribbon of wild land encircling a new development
[x] A water based corridor such as a river or stream
[ ] A wildlife corridor that snakes between settlements to allow passage without intersecting with developments
Many species, such as salmon, need to travel upstream to spawn. The banks and refuges also provide space for land animals to travel. Without management however, invasive plants can also spread via these corridors
5. How do dams prevent rivers being used as wildlife corridors?
[ ] Dams normally have industrial developments either side. These will discourage animals
[ ] The deeper water can drown some of the sensitive species
[x] Species that move up or down river can't jump over the dam, and often the land originally either side is flooded
[ ] The increased flow is too much for many species to swim against
The use of salmon ladders on many weirs and dams, as well as steps to allow them to jump up in smaller increments, has helped many species continue to use these riparian ribbons
6. What is habitat fragmentation?
[x] Habitat is broken up by logging, roads, and other developments
[ ] Fragments of habitat are brought back together
[ ] Species that migrate are assigned different habitats for different times of the year
[ ] Certain fragments of the habitat, such as particular plant species, are removed
By splitting habitats there may be enough habitat for the species. But without being able to access parts of the habitat or join other members of their species, animals suffer the same as they would if the other habitat had been lost
7. How can forestry companies prevent fragmenting habitats?
[x] By leaving corridors for animals to pass between areas of forest that are contnuing to grow
[ ] By cutting in linear strips across the entire forest to allow animals to pass through
[ ] By putting bridges in place to allow animals to cross the cut sections
[ ] By only cutting every second tree to thin the forest, rather than stripping the forest to bare ground
Whilst thinning can be done in traditional managed forests, commercial forests need to strip the forest to allow the large machines to enter. Leaving corridors of trees allows the animals to move between the fragmented sections of the forest
8. How can road design work to incorporate wildlife corridors?
[ ] By including concrete pavements to allow animals to walk along the side of the road
[x] By including roadside vegetation to allow a distinct wildlife corridor separate from the road itself
[ ] By putting bridges between every possible piece of habitat
[ ] By including signage and markings to warn drivers of crossing points
Motorways and railways often have a buffer of vegitation to reduce noise and air pollution for nearby residents. This strip of vegetation already provides a valuable habitat and corridor for a variety of species
9. Which of the following is not a way farmers can help wildlife cross their land?
[ ] By planting clumps of shrubs and trees in steps across larger fields
[ ] By improving hedgerows and leaving field boundaries to grow wild
[ ] By planting native grass in pastures where possible
[x] By erecting soild fencing and narrow boundaries between fields
Whilst agricultural zones look green and wild, they are in fact difficult for wildlife to cross and inhabit. Intensive agriculture is causing significant losses of species in the UK such as the dormouse and birds like the lapwing
10. Migratory species can travel for thousands of miles. Besides willife corridors, what do they require?
[x] Refuges for stopping to rest and feed
[ ] Food stations
[ ] Methods of protecting them from external systems
[ ] Manual help in crossing cities and other barriers
Species such as migratory birds can travel thousands of miles, but they will stop off along the way. Traditional stopping points may have been drained, built on or otherwise developed. Returning natural stopping points can form a wildlife corridor of sorts