Conservation Midterm

Ecosystem

All components of an ecological system, biotic and abiotic, that influence the flow of energy and elements.

Community

Interacting species in the same geographical area.

Habitat

Physical area and resources that support a species.

Biome

Large region characterized by its temperature and precipitation

Biodiversity (3 types)

Variety of life on Earth. Genetic, species, ecosystem

Food web

How energy flows and is exchanges among biota (living components)

Extinction

Permanent loss of a species to the world

Extirpation

Locally extinct, species no longer found in an area it once inhabited but is found elsewhere

Endangered

IUCN Red list category for a species with more than 20% probability of extinction in 20 years or five generations

Endemic/endemism

Species restricted to a particular geographic location

Mass extinction

Episode resulting in extinction of at least 75% of all known species living within a relatively short period (less than two million years)(earth has had 5)

Background extinction

number of species expected to go extinct over a period of time, based on non-anthropogenic factors. E/MSY using estimates from fossil record. Historically is 0.1E/MSY (maybe up to 2?)

Biodiversity hotspot

Large regions identified by Norman Myers that contain exceptional concentrations of endemic plants and are experiencing high rates of habitat loss. Must have at least 1,500 endemic vascular plant species

Ecosystem services

benefits people obtain from ecosystems. Provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services. Estimated with of 1.8xGNP

Capitalism

Economic system based on the production and distribution of capital as wealth by private entities. Requires colonialism because capital cannot be produced without access to land

Colonialism

Assumed access by settler and colonial projects to indigenous lands for settler and colonial goals. Concerns genocide, access, and entitlement to land.

Parachute science

Practice where research teams arrive at a foreign research site, collect data and specimens independently of local scientists and residents, sometimes without permissions, and leave.

Green Colonialism

The taking or using of land and resources for environmental (“green agendas” without adequate permission from local or indigenous landowners/resource users. Involves appropriating indigenous land for purposes such as creating protected areas, data collection, or developing green products.

Carbon Credits

Linked to climate colonialism, creating a market where corporations can buy credits to exceed their emissions limits, while money is used to finances forest protection or restoration to “offset” emissions. 

Biodiversity offset funds

Money places into a trust by companies to offset their resource extraction activities. Considers a “double-edged” sword, because it originates from companies that contribute to the problem, and the funds often attract international colonial conservation organizations who claim locals cannot manage the budget.

Traditional ecological knowledge

A cumulative body of knowledge, practice, belief, evolving adaptively and handed down through generations by cultural transmission. It is experiential, highly localized, long-term, and based on oral transmission. Is woven and inseparable from the social and spiritual context of the culture.

Values

Ethical norms and perspectives that motivate conservation decisions. Conservation is a “value-laden field”. Split between utilitarian perspective (Gifford Pinchot) and intrinsic/preservationist (John Muir), which celebrated the aesthetic and spiritual value of contact with wild nature.

Five main threats to biodiversity + example of each

1. changes in land and sea use: conversion for agriculture

2. overexploitation: Lear’s Macaw threatened by hunting and illegal pet trade

3. pollution: plastic pollution has increased tenfold since 1980

4. climate change: habitat alteration

5. invasive species and disease: Pygmy rabbit and Zika Virus

Primary Producers

herbivores

Secondary/tertiary consumers

Predators

Conservation

“hands-on” approach that involves maintaining biodiversity while allowing for the sustainable use of natural resources

Preservation

“hands-off” approach focused on protecting an area by restricting or banning human exploitation

r-selected species

high reproduction, variable population size, minimal parental care, young age-at-first breeding, high juvenile mortality, excellent dispersal

k-selected species

low reproduction, constant population size, extensive parental care, older age-at-first breeding, low juvenile mortality, limited dispersal

Species richness

count of the number of species

Species abundance

Total number of individuals in a species

relative abundance

abundance of species relative to the total abundance

Ecosystem diversity

number of ecosystems or communities in a given area

Species diversity

number of species and their relative abundance

Genetic diversity

variation within species

Modern conservation

1. document full range of biological diversity

2. investigate human impact

3. develop practical approaches to prevent extinction, maintain genetic diversity, protect ad restore

Lacey Act

prohibit transport of illegally killed game across state lines and require a permit for introduction of exotic species. Penalties included

Migratory Bird Treaty Act

federal protection to shorebirds, ducks, cranes, swans, and their eggs and nests. Closed hunting seasons

Pittman-Robertson Act

11% tax on sport guns and ammo. funds used for conservation

Dingell-Johnson Act

Tax on sport fishing equipment, funds used for conservation

National Environmental Policy Act

require federal agencies to use all practical means to enhance and protect the environment. Mandate EIS

Endangered species act

Protects listed species from “takes” like direct killing, harm, habitat destruction. Applies to federal and private property

Other important laws

EPA, NOAA, Clean water act, clean air act

Convention on international trade in endangered species

Global commitment among governments to limit human impacts on endangered species around the world

Global patterns of diversity

1. diversity is greatest in the tropics and decreases towards the poles

2. controlled by area, isolation, evolutionary history, global climate

3. land mass divided into six biogeographic regions

Why do the tropics have more biodiversity

1. diversification time

2. diversification rate (hotter in tropics, more mutations and interactions)

3. spatial heterogeneity is higher

4. predation rates are higher (no single species can dominate)

5. productivity (more individuals hypothesis): productivity is higher, more individuals, reduce probability of extinction

Goal of the IUCN red list

document the number of species under pressure, where they are located, and the threats they face

vulnerable

greater than 10% probability of extinction over a century

critically endangered

greater than 50% probability of extinction in ten years or three generation

hotspots must have…

1. at least 1,500 endemic species of vascular plants

2. a loss of >70% of its native habitat

provisioning services

Tangible resource or goods that people obtain from ecosystems which can be directly consumed, appropriated, and traded. Ex. food, timber, oil, medicine

regulating services

Benefits provided by ecosystem processes that maintain environmental conditions favorable to life. Ex. pollination, decomposition, water purification, erosion

cultural services

non-material benefits people obtain from nature that contribute to development, recreation, and cultural advancement. Ex. eco-tourism, aesthetic enjoyment, spiritual experiences, mental health benefits, and research/education

supporting services

ecosystem functions and processes that provide the foundation for the other three categories. Ex. biomass production, production of atmospheric oxygen, soil formation and retention, nutrient cycling, water cycling, and providing habitat for organisms

Negative impacts of western conservation approaches on indigenous or local resource communities (examples)

1. forcible removal and genocide during the establishment of Yellowstone and Yosemite

2. denial of traditional practices; Cofán people in Ecuador Cayambe National Park loss entitlement to their land and were not allowed to build a fish pond

3. Cameroon “eco-guards” supported by the World Wildlife Fun persecuting Baka and Bagyeli people for hunting and gathering in their customary forests

Western Science

quantitative, yields predictive models, short-term, testing hypothesis

Traditional Ecological Knowledge/TEK/Indigenous knowledge systems

qualitative, direct observation and interaction with ecosystems, cultural, spiritual, multi-generational, localized

Decolonial Conservation Approaches

1. must be collaborative

2. integrate TEK

3. goals should be holistic