WMAN 300 Final

why is completely randomized design frequently not useful in field studies

too many disturbing and confounding variables

which of the following is not a way to deal with disturbing variables

ignore the factor and use best professional judgement to account for the disturbing variable

researchers want to know how topography impacts the movement of quail. which of the following is the most appropriate design type for this study

response-gradient

if we measure the stem density of plants in a pollinator plot in 1m² plots every 30m along a transect this is best described as

systematic sampling

managing pops involves which of the following

increasing pops, decreasing pops, maintaining pops

quasiexperimental design

use reference areas rather than true controls and inductive and deductive inference to draw conclusions, this is where ecological studies often finds itself

response-gradient design

considers the relationship btw the response variable and a gradient of treatment levels, often does not have specific treatment levels rather the treatment occurs across a continuum

before-after-control-impact design

use both spatial and temporal reference conditions when replication and randomization are limited

before-after design

often used with long-term studies with measurements taken within a study area before and after some treatment (for enviro change)

completely randomized design

simply assigns treatments randomly to experimental units without any stratification

randomized block or stratified design

experimental units are randomly assigned to blocks (or strata), each treatment may or may not occur in each block or strata

nested design

use replication of experimental units in at least two levels of a hierarchy

repeated measures design

experiments where several comparable measurements are taken on each experimental unit, there is a lack of independence, such as radio-telemetry studies

inductive reasoning

developing an explanation for an event that has already happened

deductive reasoning

deriving a conclusion based on a set of premises

retroductive reasoning

forming general conclusions based on multiple observations of phenomena

hypothetico-deductive reasoning

hypothesis as a premise then developing a prediction then testing against data, this is the gold standard for science

independent variable

the factor or treatment that we control, that is hypothesized to influence the response

dependent variable

the factor we care about, it is central to the hypothesis and the primary thing we measure

confounding variable

variables we measure, but aren’t of primary interest, but are intended to account for known variation

this is the ‘optimal design’ to use, to conduct an impact assessment

before-after-control-impact design

when there is no pre-data, the type of ‘after-only single-time design’ where impacts are assessed along a continuous scale inside and outside of the impact zone and regression is used to test for an association btw level of impact and the wildlife response is called

gradient design

the general term used to describe any change that perturbs the current system, whether planned or unplanned, human-induced or an act of nature, is

impact

regression and correlation are

relational tests to assess how a continuous response variable varies as a continuous predictor variable changes

first order habitat selection represents

physical range limit of a species

second order habitat selection represents

placement of home ranges within the species geographic range

type 1 design can be best described as

individual animals are unidentified, the sample unit is physical location

disturbance affecting temporal variance

impacts that do no alter the mean but changes in the magnitude of oscillations btw sampling, e.g. invasive species and food web structures

recovery

a temporal process in which impacts progressively lessen through natural processes and/or restoration efforts

pulse disturbance

immediate/short-term impact, not sustained, e.g. flooding mort

recovered

when natural factors have regained their influence over biological resources being assessed

press disturbance

longer-term sustained impacts beyond the initial impacts beyond the initial impact, e.g. disturbed habitat

spatial assumption of recovery

when impact and reference sites have similar natural factors acting on it without the impact the resources track similarly

dynamic equilibrium assumption of recovery

includes both temporal and spatial variability where natural factors may differ but the mean difference remains similar

monitoring

conducted to understand rates of change or the effect of management practices on wildlife pops

ecological conditions

refers to the state of the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the enviro and the processes and the interactions that connect them

biotic integrity

ecosystem capability of supporting and maintaining an adaptive community of organisms having species composition, diversity, and functional organization comparable to that of a natural habitat of the region

inventory

conducted to determine the distribution and composition of wildlife and habitats in areas where information is lacking

ecological integrity

summation of the chemical, physical, and biological integrity, a more holistic approach to ecosystem management

ghosts of land use past

recognition that there were environmental insults during past time periods that are no longer visible today, but have a lasting impact on the distributions of biodiversity

habitat

resources (e.g. food and cover) and environmental conditions (e.g. temp and predators) within which animals survive and reproduce

environmental filtering

hierarchical simultaneous application of n-dimensional niche theory describing species distribution across multiple scales

vegetation

assemblages of plant species that comprise part of an animals habitat

non-invasive sampling

observational measurement of an organism or population where we strive to have little to no influence on normal animal behavior

use

a resource unit that has received some investment, an animal observed within a physical location

selection

a resource unit or habitat is used (or components exploited) disproportional to availability

planning

deliberate social/org activity of developing optimal strategy for solving problems + achieving a desired set of objs

goals

overarching statements that establish overall direction for conservation plan + define scope

objectives

specific measurable actions w/defined completion date, important steps to achieve goals

strategic objectives

org mission + vision

fundamental objectives

ultimate reason for taking action, encompasses overarching goals

means objective

define the methods/approached to be used to achieve fundamental objs

phase one

gather info, provide background + content, set the stage, define focus

phase two

decision-making process

phase three

implement decision + monitor the outcomes

wicked problems

problems that lack clear solutions because solution is linked to other problems

gap analysis

ID which species, ecosystems, features are already adequately conserved w/i existing conservation areas, then ID features that lack sufficient protections

ecological network

core conservation areas + connection corridors

climate adaptation

being integrated into other planning forms, largely focused on creating temporal corridors to facilitate natural species/habitats

species conservation

IUCN species action plans, to ESA recovery plans, to state/NGO/captive

Bioclimatic envelope models

include ecological niche models, habitat
suitability models, and species distribution models

Sensitivity

physiological tolerance, behavioral traits, genetic diversity all determine the sensitivity of a species to climate change

Resilience / Adaptive Capacity

ability of a species to survive and recover after
an ecological perturbation

Exposure

influenced by two factors (1) degree of climate change across geographic range and (2) availability of suitable microenvironments / refugia

resist

effort to maintain current condition

accept

recognize the system is changing and
allow it to self-re-organize

direct

recognize the system is changing but
add mgt actions to facilitate or direct change
toward a new desired end point

intentionality

purposeful, deliberate, and transparent strategic approaches to help us achieve our conservation objectives considering specific predicted climate impacts

good fundy objs

things that matter and desired direction

types of fundy objs

enviro, econ, social

indicators

what we plan to measure to tell us what’s happening

indicator scale

natural, proxy, constructed + subjective, objective

targets

quantitative statements for outcomes we want to achieve for each obj

precautionary principle approach

make conservation progress w/o allowing scientific uncertainty to slow down

stakeholder established targets

desire to sustain habitats + species through region

threshold based targets

ecologically based thresholds, substantive change in the dynamics/disturb of pops, comms, processes

impact of threat

impact expressed as changes in attributes of resources

source/driver of threat

thing causing the change

proximate

direct source, road development

ultimate

indirect source, global mineral drainage

cumulative threats

individual resources, specific locations

EVPI

expected value of perfect info

motivational bias

judgement is colored by involvement

cognitive bias

many forms, bias on basic thought processes, common form is overconfidence

training

give estimate + provide feedback to improve reliability

testing

eval how much of a true expert they are

structured elicitation

most useful + most common, method anticipates + mitigates

delphi

background + instructions → estimate → group discussion → revised answer → summarize

Disturbances affecting temporal variance -

do not alter the mean (e.g. abundance), but changes the magnitude of oscillations between sampling events• E.g. Hare - lynx dynamics associated with changing winter conditions

Natural factors

physical/chemical features of the environment that affect the level of a resources at a given time and location, e.g. temperature, moisture, predators, prey availability

Regime Shift

a large, rapid, and persistent change in the structure and function of an ecosystem, shifting it from one stable state to another

Optimal designs:

BACI

Suboptimal Designs:

Single-time design
Impact-reference design
Matched Pair design
Gradient design
Time-Series design
Impact Level-by-Time Interaction design
Impact Trend-By-Time Interaction design

Single-time design:

try to sample all sites (reference and impacted) within a short time window, assume there are no changes in site conditions during the sampling period

Impact-reference design:

similar to a true experimental design in that replicate samples are taken within reference and impacted sites

Matched-Pair Design

similar to a true experimental design in that replicate samples are taken within reference and impacted sites

Time-series design

animals are sampled at the same sites over time to assess their response(recovery) with the expectation that response to the disturbance will decrease over time

Impact Level-by-Time Interaction Design

following sites for an extended period (years) to assess how the pattern of recovery compares to reference sites

Impact Trend-By-Time Interaction Design

continuous variables are used (not categories) to compare trends between measures of the resource and levels of change(from the impact) over time

Implementation monitoring

assess whether a directed mgt activity has been carried out as designed