Avian Conservation Quiz 3

What 3 solutions did Hardin offer to the tragedy of the commons?

1. Government regulation

2. Private property rights

3. Collective management

Would birds be better protected if they were owned?

They might be, but it would be better if nobody owned anything and then everything could live freely. However, this is very hard to implement over the entire United States of America.

Are federal laws on conservation more effective in the eastern US?

Yes. For the last 50 years, the federal government has held the power in environmental law. While some states have stronger laws than the federal endangered species act, the ESA we talk about today is the federal version.

What is the ESA?

The Endangered Species Act

What is bird law a subset of?

Bird law is a subset of wildlife law, which is a subset of natural resources law, which is a subset of environmental law. 

How do natural resources laws work?

Natural resources laws say how resources can be used. Whether things can be hunted, harvested, or left alone.

What is the difference between a rule and a standard?

A rule is clear-cut, like you cannot hunt birds in national parks. A standard is muddier, and based on reasonable actions, for example people are liable to pay damages if their action is negligent.

What is the difference between “take” and “harm” in law terms

“Take” is the general prohibition against harming protected species, including hunting, harassing, or killing. “Harm” includes the indirect but significant damage to species habitat that results in death or injury. A recent proposal wants to remove the definition of “harm” from the ESA, which would largely limit the amount of species that can be protected under “take” laws.

What are 3 examples of ecological services provided by birds?

1. Seed dispersal/pollination

2. Pest control

3. Scavenging (vultures)

What step did grape farmers take in Michigan take to protect their crops that made use of an ecological service?

They used nest boxes in their fields to draw in kestrels, which decreased the amount of mice, insects, and frugivores and saved on pesticides

What is rewilding?

Rewilding is a conservation process that involves restoring ecosystems through natural processes with minimal human interaction

Does rewilding require vast swaths of land to be successful?

No, rewilding can be effective just by planting a few native species in your backyard.

Are there downsides to rewilding when compared to a more managed approach?

Yes, there can be unpredicted consequences such as negative interactions and invasive takeovers when rewilding is not managed enough.

What distinction did Professor Shanahan make between conservation and preservation?

Conservation was rooted in conservation to keep using natural resources, while preservation was rooted in nature being inherently valuable.

What is media?

A way of communicating something, can be paintings, pictures, books, TV, etc.

What are 3 kinds of media that have been used to portray birds to the public?

1. Audobon paintings

2. Books, like Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

3. Ansel Adams photographs

Who were some of the American purveyors of messages about birds and conservation in the 19th and 20th century?

1. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thereau during transcendentalist movement

2. John Muir, a naturalist and author who created the National Park System and Sierra Club

3. Audobon with his bird paintings

4. Ansel Adams with his landscape photography

5. Rachel Carson with her books about environmental degradation

Which media do I think can be the most effective in informing people about the environment and birds?

I think social media can be very important especially because it is so popular. I think social media is a great tool for introducing others to topics, catching their attention, and then informing them about issues.

What are 3 categories of ecological services provided by birds?

1. Provisioning services: Game meat for food, garments, fertilizer

2. Regulating services: Scavenging carcasses, controlling pests, seed dispersal

3. Supporting services: Cycling nutrients, contributing to soil formation

What is the percentage of CO2 in the atmosphere, and what was it when Professor Hangarter was our age?

There is 420ppm (parts per million), and there was 320ppm when Professor Hangarter was our age

What was Buddha’s fundamental insight?

Buddha realized that the answer of life is cyclical. If you watch plants long enough, you realize that they are the basis for all of life in earth. Over-harvest, destroy the land, everything cycles.

What are 3 cycles that regulate life?

1. CO2, the carbon cycle

2. N2, the nitrogen cycle

3. The water cycle

What are some key ways we have disrupted the carbon cycle?

We have steadily been increasing the amount of carbon in our atmosphere since 1970. We learned fire, then coal, then oil, to make energy. We burn fossil fuels to make fuel and release huge amounts of carbon in the atmosphere.

How do you conserve nature?

You have to protect land

What are the 4 federal agencies that manage public lands?

1. Forest Service: 1891, dept. of agriculture

2. National Park Service: 1916, dept. of the interior

3. Fish and Wildlife Service: 1969, dept. of the interior

4. Bureau of Land Management: dept. of interior, control 250 million acres

What is the mission of the National Park Service?

To conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations

Where are most public lands located in the US?

The West

What percent of land in eastern US is federally owned?

4%

What does it mean to say that a sycamore tree has a DBH of 15 feet?

It has a diameter around of 15 feet

What is a land trust?

A nonprofit organization that works to protect land by acquiring ownership (fee title) and holding conservation easements

Why would people choose to donate their land to a land trust?

The highest motivation is connection to place (love of nature and family heritage), and the lowest motivation is tax deductions

What is a bargain sale?

When a land trust buys land from a land owner at a reduced sale, mostly for tax benefits

When it comes to property law, what is a bundle of sticks? Give a few examples

Rights are like a bundle of sticks, you can remove rights from land and still keep some. This is called a conservation easement, and includes rights such as development and expansion. 

What is a conservation easement?

A private voluntary agreement between landowner and land trust to protect a property’s conservation values and limit harmful future uses.

What is the alternative to common law?

Statutory law

Behavioral drive exposes organisms to new environments where they will be modified genetically by natural selection. Behavioral flexibility shields organisms from selection so does the opposite. As the climate warms, some birds are dispersing and expanding the geographic range of their species. Is dispersal an example of behavioral drive or behavioral flexibility?

Dispersal is a form of behavioral flexibility/buffering and drive because it shields birds from increased heat but also exposes them to new environments and new selective pressures. 

What behavior did young tree swallows express when exposed to added heat in their nest boxes?

Increased panting behavior, decreased huddling behavior, increased time spent at next box entrance, water loss, weight loss. HSP not affected by mild heat, but HSP increases after high heat.

What are some sub-lethal effects of heat exposure that have been documented?

Disrupt reproduction, impair memory, decrease weight, suppress immunity, reduce longevity, impair development

Is ambient temperature in nest boxes lower than outside temperature?

Yes, box averages 10 degrees above outside temps

Is ambient temperature in nest boxes more variable than in natural cavities?

Yes, natural cavities have much lower fluctuations in temp

Are tree swallows responding to climate change by moving north?

No, they are moving south

Do tree swallows exposed to artificial heat beg for food more frequently?

No, mild heat has no effect on begging behavior

Was gene expression for heat shock proteins (HSP) elevated by exposure to mild heat in the 1st experiment?

No, HSP gene expression was not affected by mild heat

Mild heat exposure led to increased recruitment (return the next year) by nestling swallows. What might explain that unexpected result?

Mild heat actually increased nestling mass, so could be helpful for growth, therefore nestlings could want to return to mild heat nests.