Conservation Bio Exam 2

What does residential and commercial development include?

Housing and urban areas

Commercial and industrial areas

Tourism and recreation areas

What is urbanization/what characterizes it?

Relatively permanent transition

Increase in human pop density

No separate categories

Impervious surfaces

Why do cities grow?

Immigration

Agricultural products and shipping

Shift from agricultural —> manufacturing (close to customer base/power source, lots of disease/crime)

Regional production in cities, shipping goods to customers

What are synanthropic species?

Lives in close association with humans and thrives in human-modified areas 

In 1800, what % of the population lives in cities?

3%

By 1900, what % of the population lived in cities?

14%

Currently, what % of the population lives in urban areas?

~50%

What fraction of the population is projected to live in urban areas by 2030?

2/3

In 1975, how many megacities were there and how many people lived there?

3 megacities with 10+ million people

What is a megacity?

An urban area with a population exceeding 10 million people, encompassing the city and its surrounding suburbs

What are the top 10 megacities and where does NYC fall?

Guangzhou, tokyo, shanghi, deli, jakarta, manila, mumbai, mexico city, seoul, cairo

NYC is #13

What is the #1 driver of biodiversity loss? What are the aspects of this?

Habitat loss - behavior, movement, resource availability 

What is the urban heat island effect?

When urban areas become significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas, creating a "heat island" effect

How do impervious surfaces cause biodiversity loss?

Destroying or fragmenting natural habitats, which hinders species movement, reproduction, and access to food and water sources

How does the urban heat island create biodiversity loss?

Making urban areas too hot for many species, leading to habitat loss, altered ecological processes, and shifts in species composition

How does limited vegetation/no canopy cause biodiversity loss?

Low primary productivity

How do window strikes cause biodiversity loss?

Dramatically reducing bird populations, disrupting crucial ecosystem services, and disproportionately harming certain species

How does biotic homogenization cause biodiversity loss?

Increasing species overlap and similarity between regions

What is biotic homogenization?

The process where distinct regional ecosystems become more similar to each other over time, losing their unique characteristics due to the widespread spread of non-native species and the decline of local, unique species

What are the indirect impacts of development on biodiversity?

Exploitation of nearby resources

Expansion of nearby agricultural areas

Pollution

Roads/transportation infrastructure

Water system modification

Invasive species 

What is land sharing?

Incorporating a mix of biodiversity and urban development rather than separating them into distinct zones

What is land sparing?

Separates biodiversity land from urbanization, urbanization surrounds sectioned off areas

What does transportation and service corridors include?

Roads and railroads

Utility and service lines

Shipping lanes

Flight patterns

How do shipping lanes affect marine biodiversity?

Disturbance, ship strike, ship noise, ballast and biofouling, gas emissions

Powerlines cause ___ mortality for many large birds, why?

Direct - mortality caused by electrocution

What is permeability?

Ability of organisms to move around a landscape

How do roads reduce landscape permeability?

Roads are barriers to movement

Can also be a filter 

How do roads have demographic consequences?

Biased sex ratio in turtles

Parental mortality in breeding songbirds

Inability to shift ranges under climate change

Vehicle strikes

What aspects of traffic affect mortality?

Speed limits, traffic volume, road width/number of lanes

How do roads increase risk of exposure?

Slow movement by individuals crossing

Texture/road perception

What are the structural barriers associated with roads?

Curbs, storm drains, medians, fencing, verge

How do roads create habitat loss?

Construction process - especially depends on where road is built, clearcutting, wetland filing in, etc

How are roads a pollution source?

Vehicle emissions, light pollution, noise pollution and acoustic communication

How do vehicle emissions disrupt pollination?

Nitrous oxide emitted from vehicles causes pollinators to not be able to detect flowers - reduces flower visitation 

How does dust from roads affect plant communities?

Dust limits photosynthesis ability, often leading to ruderal/weedy communities

Roads are often corridors for invasive species

Many animals will not graze on dusty plants 

How does runoff from roads affect water quality?

Road salts and runoff lead to water pollution, algal blooms, and increased salinity

How do roads cause habitat fragmentation?

Isolation and patch size increase extinction, limiting movement within the metacommunity (less colonization)

Reduces genetic diversity 

What is habitat loss?

When one habitat is entirely converted to another land use

What is habitat fragmentation per se?

When habitat is divided into smaller pieces with no loss of habitat

What is percentage of woodland?

Measures the amount of habitat in the landscape

What are the 3 components of habitat fragmention?

Percentage of edge, patch density, cohesion index

What is the percentage of edge?

Measures the proportion of edge habitat in the landscape

What is patch density?

Measures the number of patches in the landscape

What is cohesion index?

Measures the structural connectedness of patches in the landscape

What are area sensitive species?

Populations that are less dense in smaller habitat patches

Mechanisms vary by taxa 

What is true about forest edges?

More permeable to matrix/non-forest species

More niches and more species 

Predators are more abundant

Abiotic conditions change

Resource availability changes 

What does energy production and mining include?

Mining and quarrying

Oil and gas drilling

Renewable energy

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining is a livelihood for ___ people globally

100 million

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining is primarily found where?

Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining is often ___ for miners

Dangerous

There is ___% of deforestation in French Guiana

90%

71% of mining-related deforestation is due to ___ and ___

Gold and coal

Deforestation is estimated to affect ___% of terrestrial surface

11.5%

What are the reasons for mining causing habitat loss/degradation?

Limited geologic data to know where to situate a mine

Prospecting is often done in riparian areas

Top layer of soil is removed

No remediation is done, even if no minerals located

How does gold extraction pollute the environment?

It is extracted with mercury, vaporized, and gaseous mercury enters the atmosphere and deposits in waters and soils

What happens to gaseous mercury in aquatic environments?

Converted to methylmercury, which is highly toxic

The chemical pollution from gold extraction is especially dangerous for who?

Pregnant people

What are tailings?

Materials left over from mining

What do tailings often contain?

Residue from extraction process

What are tailings used for?

Build retaining walls for tailings ponds

What is the issue with tailings?

Spreads chemical pollution across a broader area

Mercury-treated tailings often contain ___

Cyanide

What are the impacts of mining on rivers?

Often located in riparian areas

Waste is dumped into rivers, spreading further

Increases sediment load, reducing light/O2 availability 

Where is Sangha located?

Between Cameroon, DRC, and the Central Africa Republic

What are the demographic trends of Sangha?

Population density is low - expected to increase

More out-immigration to cities than in-immigration

4x poorer than the global average

Poorer than other regions in Cameroon

2 dominant ethnic groups: Bantu and Baka

Bantu income = $1966/household/year

Baka income - $864/household/year

Where have the Baka people lived for thousands of years?

Congo Basin

Who often enslaved the Baka people?

Bantu people

What religion do the Baka people follow?

Animistic religion centered on forest spirit Jengi

What does the cultural identity and livelihood of the Baka people depend on?

Forest

What does the Forestry Law in Cameroon require?

Communities get benefits from forests

What are Baka settlements considered?

Camps, instead of communities

Who are Baka people often targeted by?

WWF eco-guards

What minerals are the main source of income?

Gold and diamonds

What aspect are the uses of mining revenue used for most in Cameroon/Central African Republic?

Food

What is the mining poverty trap?

Lots of miners with low income/lack of investments —> inadequate and inappropriate technology —> environmental degradation, health, and safety hazards —> low productivity (and back to low income)

What material is used in most construction?

Sand

The dredging industry extracts ___ tons of marine sand each year

~6 billion

What does marine sand mining cause? Examples?

Habitat loss/degradation - alters water chemistry, destabilizing coastline

What are the indirect impacts of energy development on biodiversity?

Habitat loss

Fragmentation

Pollution

Invasive species

Impervious surfaces

Water contamination

What does mortality look like due to energy development?

Reserve pits and evaporation ponds

Storage of drilling byproducts

8.4 bird fatalities per year per pit (not high)

Gas flares at refineries have resulted in bird deaths

Unknown impacts of flare stacks in gas fields (but high heat, flames, fumes)

Wind strikes at turbines negligible

Who did the Rockefeller Foundation program help?

Rural Mexican farmers - stem rust 

What did Norman Borlaug get the Nobel Peace Prize for?

Alleviating hunger

What is the Borlaug hypothesis?

More yield on current land would reduce deforestation/need for more cropland 

What crops did Borlaug focus on most?

Starchy crops

What did Borlaug change?

What/how people eat and added social value to crops

What did Borlaug believe in terms of inputs and yield?

Increase inputs to increase yield

What did Borlaug assume people had easy access to?

Water and fertilizer

What did Borlaug’s approach require?

Capital investments, consolidated agricultural production

Who did Borlaug’s approach disenfranchise?

Rural peasants

What did Borlaug’s approach ignore?

Traditional and indigenous knowledge

What term was coined by USAID director in 1968?

Green Revolution

What are the other colored revolutions?

Red Revolution

White Revolution

What is the green revolution?

Characterized by the development of high-yield crop varieties, increased use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and the expansion of irrigation and mechanization to dramatically increase agricultural productivity

What is the red revolution?

Socialist or communist revolution

What is the white revolution?

Program to redistribute land and develop the country’s economy

What is the #1 driver of habitat loss/degradation in terms of agriculture?

Agriculture - food system is the highest aspect

How has pesticide exposure impacted biodiversity?

90-95% of seed coat insecticides end up in the soil/water/non-target 

What are the pollution-related impacts of agriculture on biodiversity?

Pesticide exposure, nitrogen/phosphorus runoff

What are the impacts of tillage?

Better water-holding capacity of the soil

Less CO2 released from the soil

Less soil erosion

Less need for fossil fuel-powered machinery

Improved soil health

Better water quality due to decreased sediment runoff

What are the 2 laws associated with Chilean afforestation?

Forest law (1931) and Decree Law 701 (1974)