Conservation biology final exam

Black imported fire ant

arrived from South America, brought to Alabama, 1918-1937

first control attempt for fire ants

Cyanide dust and salium salts

when was the red fire ant imported

1930s

red fire ant was more

invasive and out competed black fire ant

1930s-1940s

fire ants raised to pest level and becomes a political problem

mississippi board uses what on fire ants

Chlordine, an early class of pesticides

Chlordine Issues

its very persistent, kills people, caused large cancer clusters

1949-1953 survey

by E.O Wilson, (evolutionary biologist), first official fire ant record. found that plant nurseries spread fire ants

mid 50s in first fire ant war

first quarantine attempt, problem was it was leaky and out dispersed

1970s

reached climatic edge

second fire ant war was

big picture/scale

1957 fire ant -

control program by USDA started due to political pressure by wealthy landowner organization

1958

first LARGE SCALE quarantine, 2.4 million given by congress

1958 quarantine plan

spray 8-12 million hectares with pesticides,

used hectachlore

persisted 5 years

had no monitoring plan

was more toxic than DTD

killed everything including cows, fish, pets

what did congress do once hectachlore was killing everything

decreased but did it more often

in 1958 … organization cancelled hectachlore use

US food and drug

1962

hectachlore program officially ended

pollination is valued at … per year based on the value of crops

$3 billion US

tunnelers (paracoprids)

dig tunnels below the dung piles, move dung into the tunnels and lay their eggs

Dwellers (Endocoprids)

burrow and nest within, or just below fresh dung piles

Rollers (Telecoprids)

remove a ball of dung and roll it to a tunnel away from the dung piles

problem in US with dung beetles

not enough of them, only about 1/3rd of dung produced can be processed by beetles

problems with too many cattle and not enough beetles

water quality (fecal matter entering waterways)

forage fouling (inedible grass)

Nitrogen volatilization (nitrogen loss from rangeland systems)

parasites (of cattle)

pest flies associated with cattle

Is US it is estimated that the presence of dung beetles averts nearly …. in losses to the cattle industry

$400 million

pest control by dung beetles

values $4.5 billion per year

insects as food for humans (indirectly) and food supporting human recreation

valued at nearly $50 billion per year

gopher tortoise scientific name

gopherus polyphemus

gopher tortoise range

FL, souther SC and Georgia, souther Alabama into MS

Gopher tortoise ecology

inhabits relatively arid environments (sandhill, scrub, and coastal scrub in FL)

often found in disturbed sites (retention ponds, roadsides)

not often found in association with sites with standing water/high water tables, although they can swim

limiting factors (other than standing water) includes difficult soils, unbroken canopy, and dense ground-level shrubby vegetation

gopher tortoises are … in FL grasslands

native grazers

high densities of gophers are often associated with

higher density (ground cover) of herbaceous vegetation

food items of gophers

broadleaf grasses, legumes, cacti, wiregrass, and opportunistic foraging like seeds, fruits, and flowers

gophers are potentially and important …. for native grasses and other plants

disperser

gopher biology

• long lived species

• females reach maturity after 12-15 years

• low fecundity (small clutch size)

• mating and nesting in spring

• eggs incubate for over 100 days in the burrows

• vast majority of eggs and young are killed

• racoons are primary nest predators

gopher burrows are limited in depth by

water table

gopher burrows affect

soil chemistry

gopher burrows serve as

a key soil disturbance necessary for soil swimming vertebrates (eg sand skinks)

refuge for numerous species including the indigo snake and florida mouse and hundreds of commensal species (flies, beetles, ect)

primary factors of decline in gophers

habitat loss, habitat degradation (fire suppression) and human predation

habitat loss of gophers

urban development is generally incompatible with tortoise ecology

habitat degradation of gophers

roads, dense vegetation, loss of food plant makes habitat unsuitable causing abandonment and/or death

gophers as food

have been food for over 4,000 years for humans, until recently and now illegal

first regulation to protect a resource

fishing; in Maori of New Zealand over 700 years ago

• fishing was their only source of protein

• tragedy of the commons

example of claps of fishing market

king crab in Alaska

biggest fishing countries

China, Nordic countries, Japan, South American coastal countries, US not so much

world fisheries pounds per year

313.7 BILLION lb, US catch is 10.8 billion (3.4% of world)

trawling

bug nets pulled along ocean floor, lots of bycatch, very disruptive for environment and sea floor degradation, proportionately high bycatch

Purseseine

open water, big nets circled to catch schooling fish, large amounts of bycatch

Gillnet

used in freshwater mostly, VERY BAD, run a fine/invisible net that catches the gill of the fish, catches anything that passes

UNCLOS

united nations convention on the law of the sea

FAO

food and agriculture organization of the united nations

code of conduct for ..

responsible fisheries

MSFSMA

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act

NOAA

national oceanic and atmospheric administration

UNCLOS info

created by UN, not enforced well

defines rights and responsibilities in nation’s use of world’s oceans

enforcement is expensive

EEZ

exclusive economic zone

each country has an EEZ 200 nautical miles from the shoreline

poor countries can’t afford to enforce

problems with current fisheries systems

• Bycatch is as much as 39.5 million tons of fish discarded yearly 

• Tropical shrimp trawlers account for 1/3rd of all bycatch 

• Causes seafloor degradation 

• Nonnative invasions 

• Red tide 

• Cholera 

• Nonnative jellies and starfish will wipe out large fisheries (black sea and tasmania) 

illegal fishing (IUU)

illegal, unreported, unregulated

industry loses money

accounts for 30% of total catches

Fishing in a way that undermines management efforts to conserve marine species and ecosystems (overfishing, fishing in places you're not allowed, or taking what you’re not allowed, many diff. forms) 

major impacts on local fishing communities

tragedy of the commons

catches in the “high seas”

no data

don’t have to report what you catch

classified as epipelagic species

many species numbers have fallen due to overharvesting

sustainable yield

intermediate-sized populations have the greatest growth capacity and ability to produce the most harvestable fish per year

ecologically sustainable would look to preserve entire ecosystems

much stricter guidelines

MSY

maximum sustainable yield

the florida grasshopper sparrow is a…

federally endangered sub-species of grasshopper sparrow

florida grasshopper sparrow range

dry prairies of central and south florida (90% habitat reduction)

florida grasshopper sparrow biology

males hold and defend a territory

cryptic spp. and males are often the only visible members of populations when calling to defend territory/attract mates

mating and nesting is in spring

nesting is on the ground under palmetto or in grass clumps

catches are 3-5 eggs and second clutches may be laid

diet is arthropods (spiders) and sometimes seeds

limited dispersal, individuals typically born and die in the same area

florida grasshopper sparrow ecology

birds are sensitive to habitat change/degradation

hydrology, vegetation structure, burning regime all matter

predation of adults and juveniles is primary by snakes

florida grasshopper sparrow habitat requirements

very strict

• dry prairies

• prairie burned within 2 years

• no trees or dense brush

• over 400 m from a forest edge

pasture/rangeland is suboptimal and may be contributing to declines

florida grasshopper sparrow land management

burning regimes must include frequent burning and should only take place later in the spring/early summer to avoid destroying nests

little or no grazing is tolerable and presence of exotic grasses may be problematic

predation pressure is constant and emerging threat (fire ants)

florida grasshopper sparrow other threats

disease (TB)

inbreeding

florida grasshopper sparrow plan

captive breeding

improved habitat management (burning regime, tree removal, fire ant reduction)

monitoring for disease prevalence and inbreeding

Why is nutrition and especially amino acid access for bees tied to landscape Management?

Bees need essential amino acids from pollen, but no single plant provides everything they need

They rely on diverse floral resources across the landscape

Landscape management (like agriculture, urbanization, monocultures) determines What plants are available How diverse those plants are

Monocultures = nutritional limitation

Diverse landscapes = balanced amino acid intake

How does malnutrition affect immune response (generally)?

Malnourished bees have weaker immune systems

They are more susceptible to pathogens and parasites

Nutrition fuels immune defenses, so without enough amino acids/protein bees can’t properly fight infection

Malnutrition doesn’t just harm bees by itself—it makes every other stressor worse, especially disease.

What are “sublethal” impacts of insecticides (what does it mean and what is impacted for the insects, generally)?

Disrupted foraging behavior

Impaired navigation (bees can’t return to the hive)

Reduced learning and memory

Lower efficiency in collecting food

Even if bees aren’t dying outright, these effects can lead to:

• Reduced food coming into the colony

• Long-term colony decline

What is the working hypothesis for why pollinators, and bees specifically, are in decline as a result of “global change?”

caused by multiple interacting stressors

Poor nutrition (from landscape change)

Pesticide exposure

Disease/parasites

interact synergistically, meaning their combined effect is worse than each one alone

other than pollination what are some key ecosystem services provided by insects

water quality and dung

name some of the insect groups that conduct these services

dung beetles, bats, butterflies, moths, ants

why does pollen availability and diversity matter for pollinators

need pollen for energy and need different amino acids from different plants so the diversity of plants matters

why should you be concerned about declines in insect abundance if you’re a bird watcher or freshwater fisherman

because insects are the base of the food chain

how many species of tortoise are there in North America

4: gopher tortoise, desert tortoise, texas tortoise, and sonoran desert tortoise

what is the geographical range of the gopher tortoise

FL into southern GA, AL and MS

what do gopher tortoises eat

grasses, fruit, seeds, cacti

why are gopher tortoise keystone species

their burrows are essential for other species like insects, snakes, and FL mouse

how many species of other organisms have been found to be associated with gopher tortoise burrows

over 300, insects, snakes, ect

what are the primary issues arising from translocation of gopher tortoises? what are some solutions for these problems

homing, fences now used and they adjust in abt 6 months

roughly what percent of fish bought and sold on the global fish market is illegally caught

30 percent

mirax

corn mill grit soaked in oil that that ants like

benefits of mirax

dry, weighs less, easier to spread, slow acting toxin

less persistent in enviro

chlorinated carbon

mirax is a serious…

carcinogen

$8 million used in early 60s for

mirax, MS, SC, GA and FL

ariel spread of

mirax

mirax had a plan to

check ant mortality

1967 6m-1 year check of mirax

close to 100 percent but not quite, can’t completely eliminate the ants so they get $2 million more to spread more mirax

by the end of the 1970s

mirax had been sprayed multiple times

1970s … arrives and pesticides are moved to them from the USDA

EPA

EPA … myrax label

cancels

1973 EPA .. USDA

sues the USDA and files notice of intent to stop myrax use

in the EPA sues USDA trial … was an EPA witness

Shingle

1975 myrax is

completely phased out

end of ant wars

end of 1970s myrax stopped being produced, but many people and animals had been exposed to carcinogens and lots of money wasted

world switches from .. to .. after ant wars

eradication to management

management goals

contain, target, accept not perfect control, “do no harm” vs. do nothing

resistance

common problem, didn’t happen in fire ants but mosquitos, in most all crop systems due to over pesticide use