Conservation Bio Exam 1

Conservation

A conservation action; is done when informed by conservation science; advocating and practicing the sensible and careful use of natural resources

Natural resources

Minerals, energy, land, water, forests, or other community type, plants, wildlife, and biodiversity; renewable vs nonrenewable; must be conserved for their biological, economic, and intrinsic values; long term benefits to society

Natural resources

Minerals, energy, land, water, forests, or other community type, plants, wildlife, and biodiversity; renewable vs nonrenewable; must be conserved for their biological, economic, and intrinsic values; long term benefits to society

Temporal

How long is conservation going to take

Annual variation

Must study for multiple years

Preservation

Advocates from some places (degree of extent varies) and some species exist without significant human interference

Preservation

Advocates from some places (degree of extent varies) and some species exist without significant human interference

Best management practices

Guides conservation actions

Management guidelines

Guides conservation actions

Implementation

Action part of conservation action

Adaptive management

Changing management as new information emerges

Stochasticity

Random; example: natural disasters

Nine step conservation and opportunities

Identify problems and opportunities, determine objectives, inventory resources, analyze resource data, formulate alternatives, evaluate alternatives, make decisions, implement the plan, evaluate the plan

Adaptive management

A systematic approach from improving natural resource management with an emphasis on learning about management outcomes and incorporating what is learned into ongoing and future management

Conservation biology

Discipline that resulted from a widespread recognition of a massive loss of biological diversity

Primary task 1 associated with conservation biology

Document the full range of biological diversity on earth

Primary task 2 associated with conservation biology

Investigate human impacts on species, genetics, and ecosystems

Primary task 3 associated with conservation biology

Develop practical approaches to prevent the extinction of species, maintain genetic diversity within species, and protect and restore biological communities

Organizational values of conservation biology (1)

Biological diversity has intrinsic value

Organizational values of conservation biology (2)

The untimely extinction of populations and species should be prevented

Organizational values of conservation biology (3)

The diversity of species and complexity of biological communities should be preserved

Organizational values of conservation biology (4)

Science plays a critical role in our understanding of ecosystems

Organizational values of conservation biology (5)

Collaboration among scientists, managers, policy makers, and the public is important and often necessary

Prairie

99% lost, only supports grass life, due to disturbance and bison, now crops or grazing land for cattle

Yellowstone national park

Founded in 1872, worlds first national park, originally protected for its geysers

Forest reserve act of 1891

Created national policy of keeping some forested land in federal ownership; by the end of 1893, 17.5 million acres set aside in forest reserves

John Muir (1838-1914)

Naturalist and lobbyist for protecting wildlands; preservationist; writings in 1880’s led to the creation of sequoia and Yosemite national parks in 1890; founder of the sierra club; persuaded T. Roosevelt to establish US forest service

Resource conservation ethic

Early 1900’s; based on utilitarian philosophy; leaders include Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot; it was in our own interests to protect at least some portions of the natural world

Gifford Pinchot

Urged for the preservation of our natural resources through managed use; trained as a forester in Europe; believed in the complementarily of conservation and development; 1905 founded and developed the US forest system

Teddy Roosevelt

1st great force in American conservation history; doctrine of conservation; all natural resources as part of an intergrated whole; management of our natural resources was a public responsibility; science was a tool for carrying out this responsibility; avid outdoorsman and hunter; propelled conservation movement forward; established Boone and Crocket club and US forest service; established 51 NWRs, created three national parks, set aside dozens of national monuments; national forest acreage increased from 56 million acres in 1905 to 148 million when he left office; elevated the biological specter to a strong bureau with police powers

National wildlife refuge

March 14, 1903; President Roosevelt signed an executive order establishing pelican island as the first federal bird reservation; first national wildlife refuge

Arctic national wildlife refuge

Largest wildlife refuge

Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling

Chief of the biological survey and cartoonist; believed Americans still had not caught on to the fact that they were squandering the nations heritage (still draining swamps, slashing forests, killing waterfowl, polluting rivers)

Wildlife 1930

Disappearing habitat, drought, and overhunting had reduced waterfowl populations (1930)

Soil erosion

Darling was a resident of an agricultural state and very conserved with soil erosion; suggested that the topsoil might look like mud but it is fertile and good for agriculture

Water

Rivers were once thought to be a natural dumping ground; some individuals and companies today view rivers as the most efficient way to remove waste

Population growth

Darling believed the greatest threat to the preservation of our planet was human population growth

Migratory bird treaty act 1916

Protected migratory birds between Canada and US

Migratory bird treaty act 1936, 1972

Act expanded to include Mexico and Japan

Migratory bird hunting and conservation act

1934, supplement act provided funds for fruiting habitat and refuges via the duck stamp

Federal aid in wildlife restoration (Pitman-Robertson) act

1937, provides federal aid to states for game and non-game wildlife restoration via 11% sales tax on sporting arms and ammunition; earmarked the money for states to use in wildlife management and research

Bald eagle protection act of 1940

Protects bald eagles and golden eagles from harvest and harassment in the US; prohibits sale, trade, or transport of eagles and any parts, eggs, or nest

Sport fish respiration act (Dingell-Johnson) act

1950; excise tax on fishing and tackle equipment to provide funds for fish habitat protection and management

Periods of endless supply

Passenger pigeons were so abundant they were a disturbance factor in eastern forests; western prairie (bison free to roam and graze, natural fires important); early logging (need of timber and cut with hand saws)

Erosion

Farming and cutting up to major streams; not much through about the consequences of actions

Market hunting

Market wildlife and sell it; harvest bison and waterfowl; started in a period of time where we did not care what we did to the environment

Rise of nature appreciation

Magazines and books in 1850s rise in popularity of travel literature; wilderness redefined as urban areas grow congested; becomes a sanctuary from the ills of society

Thomas Moran

1870s; nature appreciation fostered by images from the west; works resulted in the desire to move westward; transcontinental railroad completed in 1869

Romantic-transcendental conservation ethic

Mid 1800s through early 1900s; born via Emerson, Thoreau, and Marsh; nature has a spiritual and aesthetic value; advocated for nature preservation in a pristine state for public contemplation, rest, and religious experience; denounced material gain from nature

Ralph Waldo Emerson

1803-1882; social advocate; provided philosophical underpinnings of science of ecology; failed to recognize were finite and vulnerable to human exploration

Hebert David Thoreau

1817-1862; a scientist, observer, and philosopher, he believed that man derived his strength from contact with nature; advocated for setting aside land for nature and conservation; protecting wilderness = protecting civilization

Manifest destiny

Americans go west and improve the land (settle)

George Perkins Marsh

Congressman from Vermont; considered a founder of environmental science and science based conservation movement; man and nature = in plain language declared that humans were doing irreparable damage to nature and pointed out human dependency on these resources to persist