Cheetah Conservation

Sample Biology Paper

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The Fate of the Cheetah: Predestined for Extinction or Just Unlucky?

By Nicolette Barton Beloit College Department of Biology Beloit, WI 53511

Biology 337: Population Biology Professor Yasukawa 27 April 2003

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Cheetah Conservation 2 ABSTRACT Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) have been analyzed for their level of genetic variability over the past few decades. Tests such as skin grafts, protein electrophoresis, DNA sequence analysis, and spermatozoa analysis have demonstrated that the cheetah genus has low genetic variability. Conservationists have concluded that the lack of genetic variability is the reason for the decline in the cheetah population, but other problems could also account for the decline. The loss of habitat increases contact with humans and other predators, such as lions (Panthera leo) or hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), which may contribute to the endangered status of the cheetah. Here I examine two hypotheses for cheetah population decline: genetic make up and ecological pressures, and I conclude that ecological pressures are the causes of the cheetah’s decline.

[The student includes an abstract, or informative summary of the paper. This abstract must “stand alone,”meaning that it must be self-contained or understood without reading the entire paper, and it does not cite references. Note that the student uses the active voice in the...