Wildlife Conservation

Ecosystem

Community of organisms and their physical environment

Community

Collection of organisms in an area that interact

Habitat

Precise physical location/type of place where organisms occur (resources used by the organisms are relevant)

Biome

Localized area defined by climate (temperature and precipitation)

Extinction

Complete disappearance of a species from earth

Extirpation

When a species is locally extinct in one place but found elsewhere

Endangered species

Species that is at serious risk of extinction throughout all or most of its range

Endemic/Endemism

A species that is native to or only found in a specific geographic area

Mass extinction

Rapid loss of many species (~70-75%) across the planet within a short period of time

Background/Baseline Extinction

The typical, gradual rate of extinction of species over long-term evolutionary time (measured in extinction per million species years, from the fossil record)

Ecosystem services

Benefits that humans receive from natural ecosystems

Capitalism

Economic system based on private ownership and profit

Colonialism

Control and exploitation of a region and its people by another

Parachute Science

When researchers from wealthy countries conduct research in other countries without involving or crediting local scientists or communities, often without permission

Green Colonialism

Imposition of conservation or climate policies by wealthy nations that harm or displace indigenous or local communities

Carbon Credits

Tradable permits that allow organizations to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide, used to offset greenhouse gas emissions

Biodiversity offset funds

When big corporations put money into trusts that are specifically for conservation or environmental funding, often a requirement for securing global financing

Traditional ecological knowledge

The long-held understanding of the environment developed by indigenous people through generations of close interaction with nature

Biodiversity

the variety of life in all of its many manifestations

Ecosystem Biodiversity

variation of ecosystems within a region

Species Biodiversity

Variation and abundance of different species within a specific area

Genetic Biodiversity

Variation of genetic info within a population

Threats to Biodiversity

Habitat loss, overexploitation (top 2), climate change (predicted to be #1 by 2030), pollution, invasive species (or genes), disease

Food web

Who eats who

Trophic pyramid

The flow of nutrients and energy in an ecosystem

Primary producers

Create energy from sunlight or chemicals, base of the trophic pyramidP

Primary consumers

Eat primary producers (herbivores)

Secondary Consumers

Eat primary consumers (small carnivores)

Tertiary consumers

Eat secondary consumers (top predators)

Scavengers and Decomposers

Consume dead and decaying matter

Conservation

Aims to sustainably manage and use natural resources

Preservation

Aims to protect nature from human interference entirely

Utilitarian Values

Nature is a resource for the people

Intrinsic Values

Nature for its own sake

History of conservation

Shift from utilitarian values to intrinsic

Shaped by moments such as NPs, creation of policies, and current patterns of biodiversity loss and climate change

Shift in Conservation goals

Historically preservation based approach, modern takes a more hands-on approach by looking at ecosystem function, biodiversity, and social equity

Assessing Genetic Diversity

Use allele counts, allele frequency analyses and heterozygosity

Through tools like DNA sequencing, microsatellite markers or SNP analysis

Measuring species diversity

Species richness, abundance, diversity indices

Species richness

Number of different species present

Abundance

Number of individuals in a species or across a group of species

Relative Abundance

Abundance of a species relative to total abundance

Diversity Indices

Combine richness and evenness to show how evenly individuals are distributed among species

Similarity Index

Comparing richness of multiple communities

Evenness Index

Variance in the abundance relative to total abundance. Comparing richness of multiple communities

r-Selected Species

high reproductive rate with low parental care, small body and short lifespan. Lower extinction rate because they are more adaptable anc can bounce back in a short period of time

K-Selected Species

Slow growth rate, long lifespan, parental care, low levels of offspring. More extinction risk

Alpha Diversity

Number of species in local community

Gamma Diversity

Number of species in all communitiesBe

Beta Diversity

Measurement of species turnover aka differentiation between sites/communities

Alpha, Beta, Gamma Equation

Beta = gamma / alpha

Calculating Species Richness

Count the number of species

Calculating Relative Abundance (P_i)

Number of individuals in species divided by all individuals in community

Global Biodiversity Patterns

Species diversity is higher and the tropics and mid latitudes, and decreases towards poles.

5 Hypotheses for Higher Biodiversity at Tropics

1. More time for species diversification because of stable climate

2. Diversification Rate is higher because of larger area and more constant temp

3. Spatial heterogeneity is higher in the tropics (more plants leads to more species)

4. Predation rates are higher in tropics

5. Productivity (rate that biomass is produced) is higher

Biodiversity Hotspots

Areas containing exceptional concentration of endemism and experiencing high habitat loss. Must contain at least 1,500 endemic vascular plant species and have lost >70% of their habitat

IUCN Red List

Identifies conservation status and extinction risk species then documents changes in biodiversity over time

Ecosystem services framework

Categorizes the benefits people recieve from nature in the form of:

Provisioning (of resoruces)

Regulating (of natural phenomena like floods)

Cultural (recreation

Supporting (soil, pollination, air/water quality)

Drawbacks of Ecosystem Services Framework

It can reduce nature’s value to economic terms, overlooking cultural/spiritual connection and prioritize human benefits over ecological integrity

Classic Colonialism

Historical domination and resource extraction by outside nations over indigenous land/peoples for economic gain

Negative Impacts of Western Conservation on Indigenous communties

Forced displacement for national parks, loss of traditional land rights, exclusion from decision making about local ecosystems