Sher & Primack (2020) - Chapter 1: Defining Conservation Biology

biodiversity

the complete range of species, biological communities, and their ecosystem interactions and genetic variation within species. Also known as biological diversity

The UN predicted that by 2050 the global population of humans will be...

...9.7 billion.

The average citizen of the United States uses an amount of energy more than...

...three times that of the average global citizen.

The ever-increasing number of human beings and their intensifying use of natural resources have...

...direct and harmful consequences for the diversity of the living world.

Conservation biology

integrated, multidisciplinary scientific field that has developed in response to the challenge of preserving species and ecosystems

What are the three primary goals of conservation biology?

1. To document the full range of biological diversity on Earth

2. To investigate human impact on species, genetic variation, and ecosystems

3. To develop practical approaches to prevent the extinction of species, maintain genetic diversity within species, and protect and restore biological communities and their associated ecosystem functions

normative discipline

a field that embraces certain values and attempts to apply scientific methods to achieving those values

Conservation biology differs from related applied disciplines (e.g, agriculture, forestry, wildlife management, etc.) in its primary goal of...

...long-term preservation of biodiversity.

environmentalism

a widespread movement characterized by political and educational activism with the goal of protecting the natural environment

Religious and philosophical beliefs about the relationship between humans and natural world are seen by many as...

...the foundation of conservation biology.

"De aëre, aquis et locis" (Air, Waters, and Places) by Hippocrates

ancient Greek book considered the earliest surviving European work on the topic of protecting nature

Two examples of early modern actions to protect forests include...

...the Bishnoi Hindus of Khejarli in India who gave their lives protecting trees from being felled for the palace of Maharaja of Jodhpur in 1720 and the successful advocacy of Frenchman Pierre Poivre in the 1760s after he observed the relationship between deforestation and regional climate change.

preservationist ethic

a belief in the need to preserve wilderness areas for their intrinsic value

Define "Romanticism" as it relates to conservation biology.

A European movement in the early 1800s that emphasized appreciation of nature, partially in response to the Industrial Revolution.

What did nineteenth-century US transcendentalist philosophers Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau write about that contributed to conservation biology?

Wild nature as an important element in human moral and spiritual development.

Emerson (1836) saw nature as...

...a temple in which people could commune with the spiritual world and achieved spiritual enlightenment.

Thoreau's "Walden"...

...advocated for nature and opposed materialistic society.

resource conservation ethic

a view of nature first developed by head of US Forest Service Gifford Pinchot suggesting that natural resources should be used for the greatest good of the largest number of people for the longest time

sustainable development

development that best meets present and future human needs while respecting ecosystem function

land ethic

Aldo Leopold's philosophy advocating human use of natural resources that is compatible with or even enhances ecosystem health

Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring (1962) brought public attention to...

...the dangers of pesticides and spurred an international environmental movement.

ecosystem management

large-scale management that often involves multiple stakeholders, the primary goal of which is the preservation of ecosystem components and processes

In contrast to its origins in the US, biological conservation in Europe...

...has had a more integrated view of human society and ecosystems as a whole, rather than envisioning a dichotomy of man versus nature.

"Conservation biology" as a new interdisciplinary approach that could help prevent human-caused extinctions was first proposed by...

...scientist Michael Soule at the first International Conference on Conservation Biology of 1978.

Convention on Biological Diversity

a 1992 international treaty obligating countries to protect their biodiversity and allowing them to obtain a share in the profits of new products developed from that diversity, formulated at the international Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

What are the five underlying principles agreed upon by practitioners of conservation biology?

1. Biological diversity has intrinsic value.

2. The untimely extinction of populations and species should be prevented.

3. The diversity of species and the complexity of biological communities should be preserved.

4. Science plays a critical role in our understanding of ecosystems.

5. Collaboration among scientists, managers, policymakers, and the public is important and often necessary.

biophilia

the suggested genetic predisposition found in humans to love biodiversity

What are the critical yet imposing tasks the field of conservation biology has set for itself?

To describe Earth's biological diversity, to protect what remains, and to restore what is degraded.

Due to the time constraints of many decisions that are made by government, businesses, and the general public, conservation biologists must be willing to express opinions and take action based on...

...the best available evidence and informed judgement.