Conservation Biology Exam 1

Conservation Biology

• explores how humans impact biodiversity and looks for practical solutions to reduce human impacts

• restore biodiversity and healthy ecosystems

• includes social and political movements to solve problems

biodiversity

includes species, ecosystem, and genetic diversity

Rhino example

5 current species and none of them are doing well

Sumatran Rhino

critically endangered on the IUCN red list (30-47 rhinos left)

how to estimate rhino population size and status

using camera traps and collecting poop to ID individuals through genetics

causes of rhino declines

habitat destruction and poaching

demographic stochasticity

every individual in a small population is important because any randomness to mothers can be devastating

environment stochasticity

• random environmental event (fire, disease)

• small, isolated populations are vulnerable to this

problems of small populations

• lose genetic diversity

• cannot be meta or migrate for reproduction

action plan for Rhinos

• survey the remaining population

• increase the protection of habitat through reserves

• create a metapopulation by moving rhinos, thus increasing the gene flow

• capture individuals for breeding and research

why care for Rhinos?

• intrinsic and moral reasons

• they are important for the ecosystem

• local people enjoy them

• good for the economy through tourism

Challenges for Rhinos

• Who will pay the money?

• Political will?

• Is it too late?

• Is it possible to protect the habitat?

• Why them and not smaller organisms?

Biodiversity patterns

• it’s easy to study the biodiversity of marine organisms over a million years ago to now

• the trend of biodiversity is that it increases rapidly, then decreases drastically due to a mass extinction and then repeats

• current extinction rates are up to 1000 times higher than fossil record background rates

• unevenly distributed through space

background rate

estimate of how and when species go extinct on average by using what has happened in the past through fossils

causes of mass extinction

• huge asteroids

• volcanos

• drop in oxygen levels

• intense ice age

• all geological events

• today is potentially humans

how many species are there?

about 2 million with ½ of them being insects

most diverse areas

• Tropics (7% area with more than 50% of species)

• Coral Reefs (0.17% of ocean with 1/3 of all fish species)

• Freshwater lakes and rivers (0.01% of water with 7% of world’s diversity)

• most near equator

morphological species concept

a group of individuals that is morphologically, physiologically, or biochemically distinct from other groups

biological species concept

a group of individuals that can potentially breed in the wild and have viable offspring

evolutionary species concept

• a group of individuals that share unique similarities in DNA and share an evolutionary past

• can create subpopulations and we must ask if we should put these together to increase genetic diversity

US Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammals Act

these focus on single species so the identification is important

red wolf example

• are critically endangered (20 in the wild)

• intermediate in size and phenotype of the coyote and the gray wolf

• Is it its own species or a hybrid created by human activity through habitat destruction?

• own species then it should be protected

• gray wolves and coyotes aren’t endangered

• Is this worth spending money on?

• Populations decrease or increase depending on what humans decide due to politics

species richness

number of unique species in an area

species diversity

measures for species richness and abundance

phylogenetic diversity

• amount of evolutionary variation

• how evolutionary related the organisms are

endemic diversity

• species that are only found in one place in the world

• example: lemurs in Madagascar

alpha diversity

number of species found in a given community (lake or pond)

gama diversity

number of species at larger geographic scales (mountain range, a region, or a continent)

beta diversity

rate of change of species composition as one moves across a region (forest to forest)

Who keeps track of the state of global diversity

International Union for the Conservation of Nature

The IUCN Red list

• data comes from scientists from around the world

• Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), Vulnerable (VU), and other threatened categories

The IUCN Green list

has the species that are doing well

Red list categories

• population reduction

• restricted geographic range

• small population size and decline

• very small or restricted population

• extinction probability analysis

• each category has specific criteria and numbers, and the definition of a species will affect if criteria are met or not

State of species

• more than 49,500 species are threatened by extinction

• populations are declining globally

• most populations are stable or decreasing

State of World’s Biodiversity

• extinction rates are up to 10-100 times background rates

• extirpation or local extinctions are really high

• genetic diversity is declining

• biotic homogenization

• human population increasing correlates with extinction rates increasing

biotic homogenization

invasive species replace native species

Prehistoric extinctions caused by humans

saber tooth tiger, wooly mammoth, Moa, and Dodo bird

Conservation ideals

• emphasize sacred wilderness areas (Buddhism)

• emphasize humans as stewards over nature (Christianity)

• Hunter-gatherer and agriculture societies often show conservationist ideals (like native tribes with salmon)

Origins of Conservation

• true conservation requires restraint and incurs cost to protect, preserve, and restore natural resources for future generations

• in modern societies, we would use up everything and then move to a new place

1800s-1900s Environmental destruction in USA

• massive deforestation 1850s (Paul Bunyon)

• massive conversion of prairie to agriculture

• hunting species to extinction (passenger pigeon)

• mass use of land coverage

• overexploitation

Early Conservation efforts

• usually for the privileged

• forest and game resources for the rich

• sustainable foresting practices in British Colonies of India

• national parks

Romantic Transcendentalism

philosophers who were anti-materialistic, viewed nature as a way to spiritually enhance oneself or simply life in nature

Preservationist Ethic

• close to transcendentalism

• focused on protecting large sections of land

• nature was intrinsic value and should be protected

• focuses more on conservation and policy

• founded the Sierra Club

Resource conservation ethic

• strives to manage nature to provide the greatest good for greatest number for the longest time

• resources should be fairly distributed

• argued government needs to avoid exploitation of resources

Roosevelt (1901)

• trained biologist and a view towards the environment

• established the Grand Cayon and U.S. Forest Service

• wanted to preserve places for people to enjoy nature

Evolutionary-Ecological Land Ethic (1950s)

• use science to make decisions about Conservation

• admitted that humans are part of ecosystems

• maintain healthy natural ecosystems and processes

• active management to sustain yields of commodities

Rachel Carson

used science to inform conservation by writing a book on how pesticides weaken birds’ eggs

Environmental Racism

people who live, work, or play in America’s most polluted areas are usually people of color or who are living in poverty

Environmental Racism examples

• Roosevelt aristocratic view of nature

• national parks were beautiful and for wealthy people that pushed local people out

• John Muir wanted to remove Miwok Tribe because he wanted to escape from humanity

• Sierra club in 1972 didn’t want to help with “special groups”

• Alabama towns struggle with land fills

Environmental Justice Movement

• everyone should be protected by environmental hazards

• promotes community empowerment and involvement in decision making

• combines concern of state of planet and social justice

Environmental Colonization

colonial practices that degrade the environment and pushes the Indigenous people out

Environmental Colonization examples

• forcing deforestation on cotton plantations

• cutting rainforests for industrial labor

• extensive mining in Africa

• majority of the palm oil is being produced in Indonesia and Malaya by most of this goes to foreign countries

traditional conservation efforts

• causes of deforestation

• reductions in biodiversity

• habitat loss for organisms

Environmental Justice Movement (1980s-today) actions

• land rights for Indigenous communities

• economic impacts on local populations

• health effects on nearby residents

• community-based forest management

Modern conservation (1970s to present)

• established as a professional society and academic disipline

• huge government involvement

• international treaties and organizations

• recognition that environmental injustice needs to be involved

Federal government owns

• Bureau Of Indian Affairs

• Land Management

• Redamation

• Department of Defense

• Fish and Wildlife Service

• Forest Service

• National Park Service

• Tennessee valley authority

• Bureau of Land Management

Threats humans encountered

• agriculture/land use

• hunting

• invasive species

• disease

• pollution

Top human impacts on biodiversity

• habitat loss

• overexploitation

• invasive species

• climate change

• pollution

Demographic transition

• a model of population growth that changes overtime due to a combination of lower death rates and birth rates

• developing countries, population increases rapidly, then decreases

• death rates decrease first and birth rates lag behind which causes the population to increase massively because birth rates are higher than death rates

pre-transition

both death and birth dates are really high

Total fertility rate (TFR)

• 2.3 would stabilize world population growth

• how many offspring needed to level out the mother

• more money, contraception, and lower mortality rates decrease fertility rates

• poorer places need more children

factors that reduce mortality rate

• medical advances

• technology

• wealth

• education

Global Human Population Predictions

• depend on education of women and access to contraception

• there is a strong sign that are population growth is slowing down which is good for biodiversity

• need to consider health and prosperity

how many people can earth support

about 7-12 billion predicted by experts with a huge range

Why can’t we predict the real number of how many people that earth can support?

• estimates are based ideology

• consumption vary (impact on resources)

• uneven consumption across the world and some places haven’t had a demographic transition yet

• need 4 earths if every lived like an American

habitat loss

• deforestation

• urbanization

• farming and agriculture

• rangeland for cattle

• damming rivers and streams

• converting land to large degrees

reasons for deforestation

• timber

• agriculture

• wildfire

• urbanization

How America uses its land

• cropland, urban and forest

• varies what land is used for

• most land (41%) is used for cows (rangeland and corn)

• more agriculture is used for feeding cows than us

overexploitation

• hunting

• poaching

• harvesting

• overfishing

• bycatch

• wildlife trade

• invasive species

invasive species

non-native species moved by humans through colonization and transport that harm native species

climate change

• indirect factors

• CO2, temperature, and sea levels increase

• decrease of pH in ocean and sea ice

climate change indirect factors

• migration and reproduction patterns vary

• phenology changes (periodic events in biological cycles)

pollution

air and water through pesticides, herbicides, and plastics

reasons for optimism on biodiversity effects

• the majority of biodiversity still exists on the planet

• human population growth is slowing

• more awareness

• conservation science is maturing

• humans are innotative

Intrinsic value

• we value life “for its own sake”

• moral, ethical

• think hunting and increasing climate change is wrong

Relational value

• desired relationships between humans and nature

• culture, aesthetic, and historical education

• pleasure and wanting to protect

Instrumental value

• we value nature as the source of goods and services we want

• indirect, direct

ecosystem services

benefits humans receive from resources and processes

provisioning

food, water, medicine, wood

cultural

• aesthetic, spiritual, educational, recreational

• nature helps mental and physical well-being

regulating

climate, food, disease/pest, water filtration

Does biodiversity matter for ecosystem services?

yes because as you lose species, you lose ecosystem function

Environmental economics

• a field of economics that places a monetary value on components in the environment

• can inform Conservation decisions

• $722-967 billion is needed to protect global diversity

• only $124 billion is spent

• efficient resource allocation is critical

• science tells us if money is effective

cost-benefit analysis

compares the benefit to the cost of a project

Tragedy of the commons

• commonly owned property (shared resources) is free, therefore degradation cost is for all of society or government and not the people that actually do it

• promotes bad use of resources

• politics are important

examples of tragedy of the commons

• factory releases industrial sewage in river

• coal-burning plants pollute air that affects people

• overfishing in the ocean’s regulations need international agreements

North Atlantic Right Whale threats

strikes from ships and caught in fishing gear

NAR whale solutions

• reducing ship strikes by having boats move slow when whales are near

• alter lobster fishing gear so they don’t get stuck (cost money)

NAR whale resistance

House passed a law to protect lobsterman over the whales but not passed in the senate

NAR whale cost-benefit analysis

• cost is lobster industry collapses, change in fishing gear, and slowing boats

• for benefit need to ask if the ecosystem will survive without whales and what is their worth?

market price

values of service bought and sold

hedonic pricing

how much services add to market price (house w/ or w/out view)

travel cost method

how much one is willing to pay to travel somewhere for tourism

contingent valuation

how much one is willing to pay for a good or species

replacement costs

how much it would cost to replace the ecosystem good or service (flooding)

damage cost avoided

cost of avoiding changes that would occur because of a loss of an ecosystem service

The Endangered Species Act (1973)

• goal is to protect the species and the ecosystems upon which they depend

• protect habitat

• focuses on singular species

• also recognizes conflict between economic growth

USFWS and NOAA role in ESA

• compile lists of threatened and endangered species

• write recovery plan which is unusual due to low staff

• designate critical habitat to protect species

species (ESA)

• any subspecies of wildlife or fish or plants, and any distinct population segment of any species of vertebrate

• considers subpopulation/species

Endangered (ESA)

in danger of being extinct throughout all or a significant portion