conbio final

captive breeding

programs to maintain a breeding population in zoos or labrotories

reintroduction/reestablishment

releasing individuals from a species into a location where they historically occurred but do not occur anymore. source can be wild or captive population (also called translocation when wild source)

reinforcement

releasing individuals into a small population to improve its size or genetic diversity. sometimes called enhancement when done with larger populations.

assisted colonization

releasing individuals from a species into a location where they DID NOT historically occur

cq: why is it important that all the black footed ferret pairings occurred through artificial insemination

with a small starting population, minimizing inbreeding and maximizing genetic diversity requires strategic breeding

cq: by splitting a small population into two smaller spatially separated sub-populations what is the species protected against?

environmental stochasticity

cq: what best describes biotic homogenization?

different ecosystems become more similar in species composition

how do we predict the consequences of species interactions?

experiments, observational data (i.e. correlations), mathematical models, interaction webs

species interactions in conservation

direct effects - one step effects

indirect effects - effects occur through multiple steps of interactions

what is a trophic cascade?

the abundance of one species mediates the abundance of multiple other species in an ecological food chain or food web

abrupt change

substantial changes in a system that occur in a short period of time relative to typical rates of change

resilience

degree to which an ecosystem can tolerate changing environmental conditions and/or disturbance without shifting to a qualitatively different size

alternative states

two or more states at which an ecosystem can persist, within the same range of driver variables

threshholds

points where even small changes in environmental conditions (underlying controlling variable) will lead to large changes in ecosystem state

stable states

state to which the system recovers after disturbance

modes of abrupt state shifts

non-linear tracking: system will tend to return to pre-disturbed states

alternative states: large disturbances can trigger a persistent shift to an alternate state with no change in environmental conditions

lake eutrophication

the flip from clear to turbid murky water

some lakes remain clear for decades until one summer storm churns up the sediments (and nutrients there), and then remains turbid for decades, despite all attempts at restoration

coral bleaching

water is extremely warm right now

herbivorous fish are key to preventing macroalgal dominance and preserving coral reef resilience

cq: imagine a coral reef is covered by macroalgae (i.e low coral cover) What management strategies might allow the coral to recover?

decrease fishing and remove macroalgae

alien/non-native/introduced species

species that have been moved through human activities beyond their natural geographic range (also called exotic species)

invasive species

non-native species that cause negative environmental, economic, or human health effects (invasive alien species IAS)

cq: what makes the most sense referring to alien species

the non-native species was first introduced and then became invasive

( a species only gets called invasive after it has had time to get established and become a problem)

phases of species introduction

1. uptake, transport, and release

2. establishment

propagule pressure

also termed “introduction effect”

a composite measure of the number of individuals released into a region to which they are not native. it incorporates the numbers of individuals involved in any one release event and the number of discrete release events. as the number of releases and/or the number of individuals released increases, propagule pressure also increases

deliberation alien species introductions

naturalization societies (ex. european starling)

game animals (ex. sitka deer)

biological control (ex. cane toads)

accidental alien species introductions

ship ballast

unprocessed products

domestic animals

horticulture/agriculture/aquaculture

the “10s rule”

of all organisms important only 10% will escape, 10% of those escaped will become naturalized and 10% of those naturalized become invaders

cq: how many times were european starlings introduced into the US before becoming established

after 8+ introductions

hypotheses of why alien species become established

1. empty niche:alien species can do something in the local community which is not being done already

2. novel weapons: alien species gain advantage over native plants by releasing toxic chemicals

3. enemies release: alien species are released from top down control when natural enemies are not transported with them

4. novel environments: humans create novel habitats that are well suited for alien species

biological factors preventing invasion

biotic resistance hypothesis

diverse native communities may resist invasion

cq: what role does native species richness play?

locations with lots of native species have:

few invaders because existing species resist invasions

lots of invadors because conditions are good for biodiversity in general

(both can be true at different spacial scales)

relationship between invasion success and species richness at different spacial scales

negative relationship within clusters

cq: what change is this graph evidence for

lower beta diversity

beta diversity measures diversity between sites. if sites become more similar beta diversity goes down

introductions and invasions are an important reason for:

biotic homogenization

loss of beta diversity at all scales

increases in alpha diversity at large (e.g. continental) scales

cq: at what stage is it most cost effective to combat invasive species

prevention

(prevention is much cheaper than control)

species distribution models:

can be used to predict where an invasive species might spread next

biological control

introducing predators (or diseases) to control invasive species

infectious diseases are important for conservation biology because:

diseases may enter human populations from wildlife

conservation and management policies can affect the occurrence and spread of these diseases

diseases can also decimate wildlife populations

• may spread from humans or domesticated animals

• conservation biology must also account for even natural diseases

infectious disease

a condition of a plant or animal that impairs normal function and is caused by a transmissible biological agent

emerging infectious diseases (EIDs)

infectious diseases whose incidence has increased in the recent past

*these are increasing in frequency

gene drives in vector control

could spread genes that confer resistance to the disease?

could even be used for complete eradication (introduce a gene that causes ALL offspring to ne male)

summary of conservation issues with respect to EIDs in humans

interactions with wildlife are a common source of human EIDs

wildlife trade (for food, fur, medicines, etc.) human encroachment on wild lands, habitat fragmentation are risk factors

climate change may increase threats

disease vector dynamics are often important

cq: in respect to spillover effects, how common do you think transmission is into wildlife from humans and domesticated animals?

more common than transmission into humans

preventing “pathogen pollution”

limit contact between humans/livestock and wildlife

vaccinate/treat diseases in livestock, pets, etc.

disease in the ocean

ocean is a “microbial soup” of bacteria, viruses, and potential parasites

diseases can lead to mass mortality events of marine species

• sometimes to a point where recovery is uncertain

• and can have cascading impacts to entire ecosystem

cq: what cascading effects likely arose from the mass dieoff of an herbivorous sea urchin

decrease in coral populations (due to loss of top-down control of macroalgae, and then competition between algae and coral)

climate change (what we know)

overwhelming consensus that climate change is occurring

overwhelming consensus that humans are contributing to climate change (general consensus they are the biggest cause)

cq: which of the following human acitivities contributes the most to climate change

carbon dioxide emissions

cq: how long has it been since CO2 concentrations were last above 425 ppm for multiple years

800,000+ years

climate change key points

the atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide have increased to levels unprecedented in at least the last 800,000 years

carbon dioxide concentrations have increased by 40% since pre-industrial times, primarily from fossil fuel emissions and secondarily from net land use change emissions

cq: what are the major effects of climate change so far

sea level up, ice cover down

key impacts of climate change so far:

temperature - rising (and ice disappearing)

sea level - rising

precipitation - changes, maybe getting more variable

extreme events - changes, may be more common

ocean acidification - increasing acidification (pH down, the chemistry of water + CO2)

cq: phenology studies how climate change effects:

the timing of seasonal events in an organisms’ life cycles

biological effects of climate change

changes to phenology (seasonal timing)

changes in where species occur

effects of melting sea ice

effects of ocean acidification

evolution/adaptation

plant competition and soil feedback?

climate envelope

the range of environmental conditions within which a species can persist

cq: which species do you think it going to have the hardest time shifting its range to stay in the same environment based on where they live?

emperor penguins

cq: for a given SSP (or RCP) what resulting rates of change in the environment do we have the highest confidence about?

acidifying oceans

so if species are able to shift in response to climate change whats the problem?

1. they have nowhere to go

2. they cant move fast enough

3. fragmentation prevents movement

4. no new habitats look like the old ones

5. thresholds result in abrupt state changes

carbonate: the key player

many marine species use calcium carbonate (CaCO3) to make shells/skeletons

calcium (Ca) is abundant; carbonate (CO3) is limiting

calcifiers may be most directly affected by ocean acidification

cq: what do we call geographic areas where organisms are predicted to be able to survive the worst effects of climate change?

climate refugia

Y2Y (yellowstone to yukon conservation corridor)

taking advantage of existing protected areas (following rocky mountains)

but also motivated by north-south orientation. protecting this corridor would allow species to shift ranges easily

what can we do to help species cope with climate change

1. plan protected areas that account for expected shifts

2. protect vulnerable species from other human impacts

3. relocate species ourselves?

4. encourage evolutionary responses

managed relocation (“MR”) (“assisted migration”, or “assisted colonization”)

goals of managed relocation

• reduction of extinction risk

• enhancement of evolutionary potential

• enhancement of ecosystem services

cq: which of the following is NOT a strategy for building evolutionary resilience:

a) increase population size

b) enhance proportion of females in population

c) protect evolutionary hotspots and refugia

d) translocate genes

b

building evolutionary resilience

-increase population sizes

-maintain adaptive potential in target genes and traits

-identify and protect evolutionary hotspots and refugia

-increase adaptability to future environments by translocating genes

-identify species with low adaptive potential, which may need extra help

project drawdown

to reduce net emissions we need to:

• reduce sources

• maintain and increase sinks

cq: what are the top 2 things we can do to reduce greenhouse gasses accumulating the atmosphere?

change how we produce electricity and change how we eat

arguments for geoengineering

could avert climate disaster

could buy time for new technology

need to research now so we have the tech if we need it

research now so we know what might go wrong

research now to find least bad version

ex: solar geoengineering w/ high albedo crops and buildings, spaces mirrors, marine cloud brightening, stratospheric aerosol injection

arguments against geoengineering

reduce pressure to do the right thing and reduce CO2 emissions

might not work

sure to have side effects (messing with a complex system)

difficult to reverse (trigger catastrophe?)

what happens if we stop

does not address warming effects of CO2

unequal impacts (spatial effects)

could be used as a weapon

how can we make conservation happen?

1. paying for conservation

2. international agreements

3. investing in and sharing science

why help endangered species?

• utilitarian/economic reasons

• ecosystem services

• culture, aesthetic, moral reasons

conclusions

endangered species

• we may have the tools for deciding how to help (like matrix models)

habitat destruction/fragmentation

• hugely important for species and communities

• better understanding of connectivity, metapopulations can help

catastrophes, tipping points and interactions

• know that complex systems require precautionary management and whole-system thinking

species invasions and climate change are global issues

• prevention is much cheaper/better/safer

tradeoff analyses can help us balance multiple objectives, look for “win-win” options