Conservation Biology exam 1

Biodiversity protection

Preventing extinctions and population declines, avoiding genetic impoverishment, and maintaining ecosystem functions

Conservation Biology

Is applied, multidisciplinary, inexact, and value driven - valuing knowledge from ecology, genetics, taxonomy, evolution, etc. It is aimed directly at using science to solve specific societal problems.

Conservation science is value-driven. This means that all that matters is money to anyone involved in conservation science.

False, some lines of research are more valued, some argue it shouldnt be research emphasized

Human ethics are the foundation of conservation thus, conservation has likely been practiced in some form since prehistoric times.

True

3 primary historical figures whose ethics are recognized as central to the establishment of modern Conservation Biology as a discipline:

John Muir: Communion with nature (tree hugger, don’t touch trees)

Gifford Pinchot: Nature is a resource (trees are money, protect them)

Aldo Leopold: Conservation Biology as a discipline (every speices has intrinsic value)

The first scientific journal of conservation biology was:

Biological Conservation

Reasons why it is important to protect biodiversity: Aesthetic

people like nature

Reasons why it is important to protect biodiversity: Moral or Ethic

Many believe that organisms have intrinsic value

Reasons why it is important to protect biodiversity: Economic

Biodiversity is a critical source of economic productivity ( agriculture, Medicine, wild type species)

Reasons why it is important to protect biodiversity: Ecological service

Provide “free” services (wetlands prevent flooding and filter water, vegetation cover prevents erosion/deforestation, Pollination services of insects)

Reasons why it is important to protect biodiversity: Ecological integrity

protecting species is necessary to maintain ecological integrity - ignorance is no bliss, we don’t know how many species lost

World Wildlife Society

RIchness ( how many spp.), abundance ( # of individuals), and variability (genetic vairability) of plant and animal species and communities and the ecological process that link them with one another and with air, soil, water.

UN (Convention on biological diveristy)

The variability among living organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part - includes the diversity within/between species, and of ecosystems

Sustainability

the ability to maintain something over time without diminishing it

Ecological integrity

Completeness of wholeness of an ecosystem

• broader then biodiversity because it is inclusive of all elements of an ecosystem ( water, air, soil)

Species Diversity

• Primary “biological scale (scale of cells, community, ecosystem, biosphere, etc)” upon which we focus

• Species are tangible and easiest to study ( morphology, behavior, life-history, physiology, taxonomy)

Biological species concept

Group of populations whose individuals have the potential to interbreed and produce fertile offspring

• isolating mechanisms = reproductive barriers - restrict exchange of genes between populations ad set the stage for speciation

Diversity

almost always assessed as a measure per unit area and accounts for abundance

Species

Number of species per unit area

Abundance

Number of individuals of a given species

Relative Abundance

The proportion of the total abundance of individuals a given species occupies

Evennes

Weighted measure of importance, usually based upon abundance. Highest value of evenness is achieved when all species are approximately equal

Reality

As more individuals are sampled, species increases asymptomatically

Genetic diversity

exist within and among species and is always secondary to organismal diversity

• measured through polymorphism ( # of genes with mulitple alleles), Number of alleles per gene (in a popn), & Heterozygosity (how many heterozygotes there are in popn for cetain locus or loci)

Population diversity (structure)

Natural variation in population structure over space — protecting a species over its entire geographic range is important

• may inadvertently protect cyrptic species

Community Diversity

Assemblages of species have different emergent properties of their own and are also associated with a variety of abiotic factors

• Diversity of habitats = protecting a lot of species

Diversity of phenomena

Things like migration events or seasonal changes that often span multiple habitats, include numerous species, and cover vast spatial areas.

• Linked to species, yet require more thoughtful planning to preserve

Importance of assessing biodiversity values

Spatial scale, species turnover and keystone species are apart of this. Rarity, keystone species, and integrity are important

Intrinsic value

independent of value to humans or society - everything has inherent value

Baseline Decision

Probability of extinction over a short period of time - how likely something is to go extinct in the next few years

Extinction

No reasonable doubt that the last individual of a species has died

Instrumental Value

Assigning value to species based on human needs or wants

Falls under

• Food

• Medicine

• Clothing, shelter, tooks, trinkets

• Fuel

• Recreation

• Services

Instrumental Values

• Spirtual

• Scientific and educational

• Ecological

• Strategic

• 
  

The concept of the ______________________________ value of species permits objective assessment for assigning conservation status to species.

intrinsic

Genetic diversity declines in a population always leads to extinction, unfortunately.

False

Extinction is scary but is now totally reversible, thanks to new DNA recovery technologies.

False

Unlike the Red List, the Endangered Species Act is informational only.

False

The concept of the __________________ value of species assigns value to species based upon human needs or wants.

Instrumental

There is an ecosystem concept just like there is a species concept.

False

Most of the earth's surface has been affected by human activity.

True

Spiritual value of animals that are part of, for example, religious worship is an intrinsic valuation of species.

False

Ecosystem Classifiation

Lacks a classification system or concept - reason why we have little to no protection laws like we do for species

Why does Ecosystem classification matter

100% of Earths surface affected by human activity

Ecosystem Conservation

Ecosystems can be valued in much the same way as species (intrinsic and instrumental valuation) and includes a much broader array of services and a much larger cache of species richness