BIOL 1307 UNIT 4 LECTURE 5 CONSERVATION BIOLOGY

What are the ecosystem services?

Provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services

Provisioning services

Food, water, shelter, fuel, medicine, and clothing

Regulating services

Water purification, flood control, soil erosion control, and waste decomposition

Cultural services

The ways that people integrate nature into their lives in diverse cultural ways ranging from artistic celebrations to recreation, education, and spiritual contemplation

Supportive services

Provide support across categories; pollination and pest control

What are the three arguments for the ehtical obligation humans have to preserve species and ecosystems?

Organisms have intrinsic worth, industrialized nations are responsible for most of the environmental harm (rich countries should not inflict hardship on poor ones), and deprivation of ecosystem services to future generations is unethical

Conservation biology

Seeks to understand and counter the rapid loss of biodiversity

What do conservation biologists direct their efforts toward?

Protecting populations of threatened species, understanding the behavior and ecological niche of the target species, including its key habitat requirements and interactions with other members of its community, and assessing threats posed by human activities

Which areas are most important for efficient conservation efforts?

Those that are both rich in species and most threatened

Biodiversity hotspots

Contain at least 1500 endemic plant species from which at least 70% of the traditional or primary vegetation has been lost

Endangered species

Immediate threat of extinction

Vulnerable

In danger of becoming endangered in the near future

What is mass extinction?

The loss of at least 75% of species within a short geological time

Current extinctions have been closely related with…

human activities

What is the most significant factor in species decline across ecosystems?

Habitat loss

Marine species are threatened mostly by _______________

overexploitation

Threats to a specific ecosystem can be difficult to categorize because multiple threats can _________ and __________

overlap; interact

Habitation alteration is caused by…

Agriculture, urban development, forestry, mining, environmental pollution, and deforestation

Habitat fragmentation

Can reduce habitats until they are too small to support some species like top predators

Metapopulation structures

Small, isolated populations vulnerable to catastrophes; more likely to wipe out

Exotic species

A nonnative species that is introduced into a new area

What makes some exotic species invasive?

They compete with native species, compete with native species, carry disease, or cause other types of interactions

If an exotic species grows to a large population size and disrupts native species, it is cosidered an __________ _________

invasive species

Overexploitation

Unsustainable removal of organisms from the natural environment of use by humans

Industrial pollutants

Can cause acid rain and contribute to greenhouse gases

Pharmaceutical drugs

Released in human urine and pass through wastewater plants into streams and rivers, where they are still biologically active

Nutrient runoffs can cause ______________

eutrophication

Biological magnification

Concentrates industrial wastes and pesticides as they pass through the food chain

Which organisms are usually the most severely damaged by toxic compounds in the environment?

Top-level predators

Extinction is ____________

irreversible

It will be impossible to preserve high species diversity and high-functioning ecosystems if…

The human population grows 10 billion or more and if the rate of consumption of fossil fuels does not decline

“Nature Needs Half”

Calls for at least half the earth to be allocated for conservation, in order to achieve a sustainable future

Keystone species

Species that influence the viability of a community; extinction of these species can lead to additional extinctions and loss of biodiversity

Flagstone species

Charismatic species like monarch butterflies that evoke a strong emotional response in humans can help motivate the public to preserve biodiversity

What are the three principles of restoration ecology?

Begin ASAP before remaining fragments are lost, use biological techniques to mimic natural processes, the goal is sustainable development

What are some conservation strategies?

Seed banks, management plans for invasive and threatened species, designating effective protected areas, ecosystem restoration, quantifying ecosystem services