Conservation Biology Exam 5

Who establishes protected areas?

• Usually governments

• Some by conservation organizations, individuals, & universities

IUCN

International Union for the Conservation of Nature

Who manages the international protected area designations?

IUCN

IUCN classification for protected areas & their levels of use

• I - IV are Protected Areas = primarily managed for biodiversity

• VI is Managed Areas for sustainable resource extraction

Multiple-Use Lands

1. National Forests = managed for sustained yield & multiple uses

2. National Resource Lands = emphasis on secure domestic supply of energy & minerals & for livestock grazing

Moderately-Restricted Use

• National Wildlife Refuges = protect habitat for wildlife & endangered species & breeding areas for waterfowl & big-game animals for hunting

Restricted Use

1. National Parks = primarily to preserve landscape, habitats, & historic sites & for recreation

2. National Wilderness Protection System = designated roadless areas within National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, & National Forests

Effectiveness of Protected Areas

Can vary:

1. W/ good planning, design, management, etc., even small areas can sometimes preserve a great deal of biodiversity

2. Sometimes protected areas are the more marginal areas that people don’t use

3. Sometimes areas are protected only on paper

3 Criteria for Establishing Priorities for Protection

1. Distinctiveness

2. Endangerment

3. Utility

Species Approach

Establishment of protected areas focused on conserving a certain species (focal species)

Ecosystem Approach

Establishment of protected areas based on ecosystems; more balanced holistic type approach

Hotspot Approach

Target areas for protection that have high biodiversity, high endemism, & significant threat of extinctions

Why move individuals?

1. To make new population

2. To augment an existing population

Purpose: decrease probability of extinction & endangerment

Approaches to New Populations

1. Reintroduction

2. Augmentation

3. Introduction

Reintroduction

Release animals into an area of their species’ former range which is currently unoccupied by them

Augmentation (restocking)

Release animals into an area currently occupied by the species

Introduction

Release animals into an area that is not part of their historic range

Example of Introduction

Kakapo on New Zealand has a predator problem; new populations established on predator-free islands

Captive raised animals may not know…

• Which natural foods are acceptable, how to process them, where they are, or how to catch prey

• Which animals are dangerous to them & how to detect & avoid them

• How to form social bonds, attract mates, raise young, etc

How could the challenges of animal establishment be addressed?

1. Training → learn to recognize, find food, & avoid predators

2. Raised in social groups = more likely to be socially-adept

3. Do not imprint on humans

4. In-field support until they adjust to new surroundings

Some considerations correlated w/ greater success

1. Excellent quality habitat (84%) vs. poor quality habitat (38%)

2. Core of former range (78%) vs. periphery or outside of range (48%)

3. Wild-caught (75%) vs. captive-reared (38%)

4. Herbivores (77%) vs. carnivores (48%)

5. More likely to have successful population establishment if release more animals

6. More success if released animals come from similar habitat

7. Head-starting = collect young stages of a species & raise to an older stage

8. Soft release vs hard release

Gap Analysis

Compare existing system of protected areas w/ one’s protection goals & fill in the gaps of what still needs protecting

Design of Protected Areas (BETTER)

• Ecosystem completely protected

• Larger reserve

• Unfragmented reserve

• More reserves

• Corridors maintained

• “Stepping-stones” facilitate movement

• Diverse habitats protected

• Reserve shape closer to round

• Mix of large & small reserves

• Reserves managed regionally

• Human integration; buffer zones

Design of Protected Areas (WORSE)

• Ecosystem partially reserved

• Smaller reserve

• Fragmented reserve

• Fewer reserves

• Isolated reserves

• Uniform habitat protected

• Irregular shape

• Only large reserves

• Reserves managed individually

• Human excluded

Factors to consider when managing within protected areas

• Size of reserve, resources, etc

• Past history & impacts

• Surroundings including habitat, people, etc

Assess current situation when managing within protected areas

• Habitat types

• Species densities

• Assess & deal w/ threats

Manage the habitat (protected area)

• Successional stage

• Water resources

• Landscape ecology

• Keystone resources

Successional stage

May have to manage to maintain or obtain a particular habitat type

Water resources

• Many PA will not have water issues

  • Some will due to high human population & water use

Landscape

Repeating pattern of landforms or ecosystems

Landscape ecology

Study of patterns of habitat types & species distributions & ecosystem processes

Why is landscape ecology important?

Some species may need:

• 2+ habitats

• Large tracts of one type of habitat

Keystone resources

Resource on which species are dependent or are profoundly affected by

• More keystone resources → more density & more carrying capacity

Soft release

Keep animals at release site for shelter , food, & maybe some training

Example for soft release

California Condor

• Goal to have self-sustaining approach in California & Arizona

Seeds

Dependent on wind, water, or animals for transport

Ex-situ

When a species is located outisde of a natural situation

Why use Ex-Situ conservation? (PROS)

1. Sometimes last resort for species

2. Alternate population (w/ its gene pool) & potential reintroduction to wild

3. Available captives may preclude need for harvest from wild for education, science, or agriculture

4. Educate public on the species, biology & conservation

Why use Ex-Situ conservation? (CONS)

1. Expensive → time & $

2. Have small populations → thus all related problems (genetic diversity & inbreeding)

3. May reduce ability of species to be reintroduced

Functions of Zoos

• Education

• Conservation programs funding research & sites in situ

• Research → captive breeding of endangered species

• Active captive breeding programs

ISIS

International Species Inventory System (Species360)

• Keeps track of info of all animals in member zoos

Considerations for Captive Breeding

1. Maintenance of genetic variation

2. Problems of mating

3. Problems of raising young

4. Maximizing output of young

Studbook

Genetic data base of captive population

• Keep records of relationships btwn captive individuals

• Maintain genetic variability of population & avoid inbreeding

Problems of Mating

• Mates unavailable on site

• Incompatible mates

• Conditions not conducive to mating

Possible solutions for mating

• Get a mate

• Get a more compatible mate

• Change conditions to more natural

• Artificial insemination

Problems of raising young

Individual does not know how to raise young

Solutions to raise young

• Try to raise young in more natural, social setting

• Try to have situation where young are raised naturally & younger animals will learn from this

• Artificial incubation (humans)

• Cross-fostering = raised by another species

Maximizing output of young

• Double-clutching

• Induction of superovulation

Double-clutching

Removing one egg or a clutch may induce parents to lay more

• The parents raise the remaining egg or new clutch

• The removed eggs are cross-fostered

Induction of superovulation

• Followed by fertilization

• Then embryo transfer to closely related non-endangered species

Purpose of Aquaria

• Education

• Conservation

• Research

Eden Project (England)

A botanical garden that has a series of large greenhouses representing different areas

Why is propagation of plant species much easier?

• Easily collect seeds, rhizomes, & cuttings

• Often recreate proper germinating & growing conditions in greenhouse

Seed Banks

• Primarily store seed in dormant state so can be germinated later

• Purpose = preserving genetic variability

Problems of Seed Banks

• Danger in dependency on power storage

• Occasionally have to germinate seeds & collect new seeds

• 10% of plant species have “recalcitrant” seeds that do not store in cold conditions

• Root crops (yams, cassava) not usually in seed banks

Seeding collect #1 (Seed banks)

Prioritize by species’ endangerment, uniqueness, usefulness, & potential for this collection to positively affect the species’ survival

Seeding collect #2 (Seed banks)

Collect from entire range of species, from at least 5 populations if possible

Seeding collect #3 (Seed banks)

Collect from 10-50 individuals per population → higher # if population likely to be genetically variable

Seeding collect #4 (Seed banks)

Number of seeds/plant depends on their viability & impact on the natural population

Current Concerns of Seed Banks

1. Many species, agricultural & otherwise not in seed banks (only 10%)

2. Determining equitable return to countries from whom seeds are collected & later highly-prized strains are developed by private companies in developed countries

Restoration Ecology

Study of how to restore degraded or converted habitats to a natural to semi-natural conservation

Considerations for Restoration Ecology

• Cause of degradation must be stopped

• Past impacts & current conditions

• Possibilities for & feasibility of restoration

• Goals

Categories of Approaches

1. No action

2. Rehabilitation

3. Partial Restoration

4. Complete Restoration

No action (approach)

• Too expensive or unlikely to succeed

• Recovery needs only time not action (passive restoration)

Rehabilitation (approach)

Does not “restore” original ecosystem, but puts in a substitute w/ many of the same ecosystem functions

• Preferable to a more impacted site

Partial restoration (approach)

Restores some of original species & functioning

• Preferable to a more impacted site

Complete restoration (approach)

Active program of reintroducing original species

• Generally preferred but not always possible or feasible

Lakes (example)

Problem of cultural eutrophication → due to excess input of nutrients

Restoration of Lakes (example)

• Decrease nutrient input

• Decrease carp population (which eats sediments & recycle phosphorus)

• Add predatory fish (to eat the fish that eat herbivorous invertebrates so more algae eaten by invertebrates)

• Lake Erie

Diagram

1. Nutrient load up

2. Plants flourish

3. Algae blooms

4. Decomposition further depletes oxygen

5. Death of ecosystem

Prairies (example)

Many were converted to agriculture

Restoration of Prairies (example)

• Depressing exotic plant via burning, plowing, herbicides, etc

• Introduce native plant species via seeds, sods, or plants

• May need occasional burns and/or grazing

Grand Canyon (example)

Glen Canyon Dam

• Eliminated spring floods that would restore beaches & some fish habitats

• Banks became overgrown or worn away → now occasional “floods” are let through dam

Rocky Mountain Arsenal (example)

Manufactured chemical warfare agents & pesticides

• Contaminated soils, surface water, sediment, ground water, & structures

• Placed on National Priorities List of Superfund sites

• Cleanup complete → became part of National Wildlife Refuge System