ConBio Exam 2

What does a trophic pyramid show?

energy flow and feeding levels in an ecosystem

what are primary producers?

organisms that make their own food

- phytoplankton and seaweed

what are herbivorous consumers?

organisms that eat producers

- zooplankton and cockles

what are first-level carnivorous consumers?

carnivores that eat lower level consumers

- small fish and sea stars

what are second and third level carnivorous consumers?

higher level predators

- squid and large fish

what are top carnivores?

predators at the top of the food chain

- sharks and dolphins

what happens to energy as it moves up the pyramid?

less energy is available at each higher level, much is lost to heat

what are the 2 main pathways shown in the pyramid?

energy flows from the sun through consumers and is lost as heat; nutrients are recycled by decomposers

What is the most subtle and universal form of habitat loss, degradation, destruction

Pollution

What are primary microplastics vs second microplastics?

pri: microbeads

sec: larger fragments

Why is plastic used?

lightweight, inexpensive, durable

what are traditional forms of pollution?

- garbage

- pesticides

- herbicides

- fertilizers and other nutrient discharge

- oil products

- toxic heavy metals

- chemical pollutants

what are non traditional forms of pollution?

light and noise

what are the effects of pollution?

- decreased water/air quality

- increased global climate change

- decreased aesthetics

- habitat loss

- behavioral changes in wildlife

- ingestion/entrapment of wildlife

- physiological changes in wildlife

effects of garbage on wildlife?

ingested garbage

- blocks digestive system

- animal dies of starvation

- exposure to chemicals from garbage

how do balloons have major effects on wildlife?

look similar to prey (jellyfish)

- whales and sea turtles ingest them

mass balloon releases now restricted or illegal in some states/cities: virginia

bioaccumulation

accumulation of substances, such as pesticides or other organic chemicals, in an organism

biomagnification

the tendency of pollutants to concentrate as they move from one trophic level to another- depends on half life of pollutant

examples of entanglement and strangulation of garbage

- balloon ties and plastic

- fishing gear

- masks

floating garbage islands

held together by slowly rotating system of currents (gyres)

2 garbage islands

N. Pacific garbage patch

- 3x size of france

N. Atlantic garbage patch

- from virginia to cuba

what is the issue with floating garbage islands?

- largely composed of plastics and microplastics

- now linked to seafood safety

why do floating garbage islands not work?

- production of plastic is increasing

- getting bigger

- plastic is either breaking down or incorporated into animal tissue

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs)

- persistent, extremely toxic

- bioaccumulate in vertebrate adipose tissue

- biomagnify to cause serious health issues

what health issues can POPs cause?

- impaired reproduction

- decreased resistance to disease

- anemia

- cancer

- neurological damage

- birth defects

what type of pollutants are commonly used in agriculture?

POPs: many early gen POPs banned, but still persistent in body and environment

- effects are highly variable but always bad

examples of POPs

DDT, PCB

How do chemicals disrupt reproductive processes?

- reproductive physiology

- gamete function

- organismal behavior

how does the disruption of reproductive processes lead to reduced mating success

directly: decreasing fertilizations

indirectly: disruption of mating attraction and encounter rates

specific ways reproductive physiology can be disrupted

- feminization of males (fish and amphibians)

- masculinization of females

- hermaphroditism in polar bears

specific way gamete function can be disrupted

reduced sperm motility

specific ways organismal behavior can be disrupted

- altered reproductive timing

- inhibited pheromone production

- reduced parental care

How are bald eagles, ospreys and other birds affected by chemicals in wildlife?

DDT

- found in fish resulting from ag run-off

- causes shells of eggs to thin

- caused population to reduce by more than half

How are california condors affected by chemicals in wildlife?

- ingestion of lead ammo eaten by prey species

- population reduced to 22

- captive breeding brought pop back

how do chemicals in wildlife cause behavioral changes

impacts the ability of animals to locate potential mates

- disrupts production, transmission and detection of mating communication

examples of behavioral changes caused by chemicals in wildlife

- male starlings showed decreases in mating behavior and flying and foraging

- male western gulls exposed to DDT while in the egg would try to mate with other males

- hyperactive goldfish

- rougher play behavior in macaques

- increased scent marking behavior in mice

"newer" (non-traditional) forms of pollution

noise pollution

- cars, industry, urban sprawl and development, sonar

light pollution

- artificial light and urban centers

noise pollution

excessive noise created by humans

effect of noise pollution on wildlife

- disrupt biological rhythms and natural processes

- communication

- hunting behavior

specific ways noise pollution affects communication

- female grey tree frogs exposed to traffic noise take longer to locate and find mate

- european tree frogs call less overall

neither species seems to be able to adapt their calls

specific ways noise pollution affects hunting behavior

noise can disrupt bat hunting behavior-avoid noisy areas

- bats, owls, mtn lion

light pollution

excess or obstructive light created by humans

effects of light pollution

- obscures celestial light

- can cause adverse health effects in humans and wildlife

- disrupt biological rhythms and natural processes

how light pollution affects sea turtles

sea turtle hatchling attracted by light

- may move direction of beach lights, not moonlight

how light pollution affects birds

become disoriented by brightly lit areas causing them to collide with man-made structures

how light pollution effects salamanders

bright lights cause them to stay hidden instead of foraging

how light pollution affects moths

lose defensive behaviors near artificial light

how light pollution effects frogs

some tree frogs stop calling with lights nearby

- no calling=no repro

may affect hormone production

- frogs in constantly illuminated areas may not get proper hormone signals

how light pollution affects mtn lions

they avoid brightly lit areas

- may be missing critical corridors

how light pollution effects plants

sycamore trees with branches near streetlights keep leaves later into fall than other branches

solutions to light pollution

- reduce artificial light usage

- use lower wattage light bulbs

- replace outdoor lights with motion sensor lights

- proper aiming and shielding is fundamental to decreasing light pollution

examples of noise pollution sollutions

- rake leaves/trim bushes by hand

- sound-proof music rooms

- don't blast music or slam car doors

islands rule (fosters rule)

big mammals evolve to be smaller on islands and small mammals evolve to be larger

demographic catastrophe

a high mortality rate in a particular portion of the population

relictual species

one that has survived in a given place while disappearing elsewhere

advantages of gigantism

- better water storage/conservation

- better food storage/conservation

- more fat storage

- better thermal regulation

- defense against predators

over-exploitation

detrimental misuse or abuse of that thing

- often contributes to the decline of plant or animal species

exploitation

misuse or abuse of something

In what ways do humans overexploit species?

1. excessive hunting/fishing/harvesting- legal and illegal

2. trade of wildlife and parts- legal and black market

3. tourism

examples of how societal restrictions prevented overexploitation of natural resources

- hunting laws related to Res communis

- the public trust doctrine (Res publica)

- fishing in international waters (Res nullius)

Res communis

wildlife held in trust by an individual for "the people"

how does res communis work?

not particularly egalitarian

- local chief owned all wildlife

- chief managed wildlife and controlled hunting

- person could only hunt with the permission of the chief

- punishments were given by the chief

what is the modern societal restriction on overexploitation?

res publica

res publica

wildlife held in trust for "the people" by the state and "the people" help decide the laws that apply to wildlife

resources can be exploited opportunistically in which exploitation practices?

res publica and res nullius

what is important about res publica?

- applies to terrestrial wildlife in the US

- problems occur because not all land is publicly owned

- wildlife is owned by "the people" but land is owned privately: access can be restricted

res nullis

wildlife belong to no one person but become property of anyone or used by anyone through occupatio

what does res nullius apply to and what is tricky about it?

- applies to our oceans

- governed internationally but enforcement is tricky

hunting vs poaching

- both may qualify as overexploitation

poaching

any illegal hunting activity with conscious intent

examples of poaching

- trespassing onto another's property to hunt

- stealing/hunting game without permission

- hunting out of season

- hunting a protected species

why do people poach?

- commercial gain

- household consumption

- recreational satisfaction

- trophy poaching

- thrill killing

- protection of property

- as rebellion

- as tradition

- disagreement of specific regulation

- gamesmanship

adaptive radiation

the diversification of species originating from a common ancestor to fill a wide variety of ecological niches

archipelago speciation

discrete island populations diverge genetically over time until each island has its own endemic species that is still closely related to all the others

founders principle

rare characteristics found in a small founding group may not be represented in a new population that comes from that founder group

impoverishment

islands harbor fewer species than does an equal area of mainland habitat-also explained by the species area curve

disharmony

a discreprepancy of species representation between one area and another, particularly between an island and a mainland

bushmeat crisis

- sometimes subsistence, sometimes black market

- rainforest regions

- typically excessive

CIFOR (center for international forestry research) study indicated that

between 30-80% of protein in local diets comes from bushmeat

Bushmeat provides protein for

1 person/km^2

why does subsistence bushmeat poaching often become commercialized?

- local people have few economic alternatives

- cultural changes: communities hide poachers rather than turning in

- theres a demand: creates a market

why is there a demand of bushmeat?

shortage of other legal sources of protein

- bushmeat cheaper than domestic meat in rural area: in urban areas more expensive due to transportation costs

Example of subsistence gone commercial and militarized

In the 90s, subsistence poaching was replaced by well-fund, highly organized, well armed foreign paramilitary poaching teams

Why has the exploitation of bushmeat increased?

- human population is growing

- more/better access to previously remote and undisturbed areas

- increases in hunting technology

What industry is bushmeat trade closely linked to?

logging industry

what was suggested logging companies do in order to separate themselves from the poachers?

use of green labelling of their wood products, helps ensure that poaching is a prohibited activity with regards to the company's timber production/harvesting

what bushmeat trends are changing and why?

- large mammals to rodents and reptiles

- diurnal species to nocturnal species

large animals were hunted too scarecly

what is the root problem of bushmeat trading?

corruption

solutions for stopping the bushmeat trade

- addressing corruption

- recruit poachers into conservation: from nichols and safina

- promote sustainable and cheap alternatives

- promote bottom-up ecotourism

Bottom up ecotourism

owners/operators get proportionally less. per person, the locals get the majority of the benefits from ecotourism

top down ecotourism

owners/operators get that vast majority of benefits of ecotourism. per person, the local people get almost nothing

where is one of the largest markets for both legal and illegal wildlife and wildlife parts

US

national strategy for combating wildlife trafficking

- obama admin 2014

- aim: to reduce illegal trade in wildlife not only in US but around the world

what is the national strategy for combating wildlife trafficking trying to enforce/change

- strengthening enforcement

- reducing demand for illegally traded wildlife

- expanding international cooperation and commitment

some species have been historically considered pest/livestock predators and are now

threatened or extinct

- sometimes due to gov sponsored exterminations

- humans hold on to "pest" attitudes and continue treating them as pests after listed

what are some specific successful efforts to remove livestock "threats"

- thylacine (tasmanian tiger)

- barbary lion (sub-spp)

- eastern mtn lion (sub-spp)

- caspian tiger (sub-spp of siberian)

- bali tiger (sub-app of bengal)

- javan tiger (sub-spp of bengal)

recent efforts to exterminate "threats" to livestock

- gray wolf (LC)

- red wolf (CR)

indirect (collateral) impacts

- swift fox: extinct in canada in 1930s due to efforts to trap and poison coyotes and wolves

- carbofuran (furidan) poisoning of thousands of unintended animals in africa

solutions to pests and preds must consider

- Costs and benefits

- ecological, economic

- Social perceptions & public value of wildlife

- Population levels

- Potential hazards of chemical use

- Human safety

- Disturbance of biotic communities

- Potential for reducing economic loss of pest/pred species

non lethal alternatives to pred control

- improvements to livestock management

- livestock guarding animals

- repellant/frightening devices

- aversive conditioning

- fencing/walls