ENSC 320 Final Exam

de-extinction

through genetic manipulation and/or breeding programs, humans can resurrect extinct species

functional extinction

the extinction of a species or taxon such that their absence has change the ecology

relational ontology

the idea that our relations are foundational to our existence

translocation rewilding

seeks to restore missing or dysfunctional ecological processes and ecosystem functions via a process of species reintriduction

passive rewilding

passive management of ecological succession with the goal of restoring natural ecosystem pricesses and reducing human control of the landscape

pleistocene rewilding

aims to restore some of the evolutionary and ecological potential that was lost over 13,000 years ago

rewilding

the restoration of “big eilderness” by creating large and connected core protected areas and restoring ecologically important species

hard release

released directly to the wild without prior conditioning to the site

soft release

gradually accustoming the animal to its new envrionment before release

ecological replacement

release of appropriate substitution species to re-establish an ecological function lost through extinction

assisted migration

intentional movement outside current range to avoid extinction or facilite migration

conservation introduction

attempt to establish a species, for the purposes of consevation, outside of its recorded distribution (but with appropriate eco-geographical area)

re-enforcemt/supplementation

addition of individuals to an existing population

re-introduction

attempt to establiush a species in an area which was once part of its natural rangetr

translocation

the deliberate movement of living organisms from one area to another

minimum dynamic area (MDA)

the smallest area with a natural disturbance regime which maintains internal repopulation sources

minimum critical area/habitat

the smallest amount of habitat required to sustain the minimum viable population

minimum viable population (MVP)

the smallest population size that can be predicted to have a very high chance of persiting for the foreseeable future

landscape function

what is occuring across the landscape ecology or on a broad scale

representativeness

protect an area of each natural area.regime within a park and have each region be represented

importance for wildlife

recognition that a specific area is important for species and its well being

naturalness

absence of human modifications and implies a presence of unhindered prcesses

size

the larger the area, the better its ability to preserve biodiversity and maintain ecological function

diversity

species diversity is normally used, but other levels can also be used including genetic diversity, ecosystem diversity, and landscape diversity

rarity and uniqueness

protect features that are rare and/or unique by protecting areas where they are located

criteria for establishing protected areas

• rarity and uniqueness

• diversity

• size

• naturlness

• importance for wildlife

• representativeness

• landscape function

protected area design

• large is better then small

• one large is better than several small

• close together is better than far apart

• shared habitat is better

• linked is better than not linked

  • connectivity is higher and species will be able to move

• more circular the better

protected areas

an area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through leagal or other effective means

in-situ

preservation of components of biological diversity within natural habitats

ex-situ

preservation of components of biological diversity outside of natural habitats

committee on the status of species at risk in ontario (COSSARO)

assesses species status as either extripated, endangered, threatened, or special concern and reports back to the minister

management plan

proaactive step towards the protection of species of special concern as they aren’t threatened yet

action plan

implementation plan for the recovery of endangered species

Canadian species at risk act (SARA)

prevent wildlife species from becoeming extinct of extripated in Canada

Wild animal and plant protection and regulation of international and interprovincial trade act

the legislative vehicle by which Canada meets its obligations under CITIES

CITIES

convention on international trade in endangered species of wild flora and fauna

rare species

a species with a small total number

vulnerable species

a species that may become endangered becasue of decreasing population and due to biological traits are more vulnerable to human disturbances

endangered species

a species with a high likelihood of going extinct

extinct species

species no longer known to exist in the wild

species at risk

rare, threatened, and endangered species and are low enough in numbers for us to be concerned

volunerable species charateristics

• species with a narrow geographic range or limited distribution

• species with only one or a few populations

• species in which population size is small

• species with a low population density

• large bodied species

• poor dispersers

• migratory species

• summit predators

• habitat/niche specialists

• species that congregate

• species requiring a large home range or continuous/unbroken habitat

• specues that have a utilitarian value

flagship species

popular or well-known species used to popularize conservation efforts

indicator species

a species whose presence/absence are used as an index of attributed too difficult, incovenient, or expensive to measure for other species or envrionmental conditions

unbrella species

species whose protection also results in the protection of numerous other species

ecossytem modifier and processor

species which alter the physical environment to create conditions upon which several species depend on

keystone herbivores

herbovores that utilize vegetation to a point where they influence composition and structure

keystone resource

species that act as critical food resources, or play a critcal ecosytem role (such as pollution)

keystone predator

capable of excluding other species from the community

• sea otter

• predatory star fish

keystone species

crutial in maintaining organization and diversity of their ecological communities

focal species

species with an entire conservation strategy devoted to it, or which is given particular emphasis in habitat management and biodiversity protection

biomagnification

process whereby tissue concentration of a chemical increases as is passes up th efood chain and through more trophic levelss

sub-lethal

does not directly kill the animal, but affects it in other ways such as altering behavior or reproduction

lethal effects

directly kills that organism

indirect effect

ecological adjacency as the pollutant is impacting other ecological relations

direct effect

effect related to the direct consumption of a toxin or something contaminated with the toxin

invasion meltdown

when 2 or more invasive species are interacting with eaachother synergistically to intensify impacts on native species

ecological impacts of invasive species

• ecosystem modification

• resource competition

• agression

• predation

• herbivory

• pathogens and parasites

• chain reactions and invasion meltdowns

unintentional modes of species introduction

• ballast water release

• shipping and commercial products

• removal of natural barriers

intentional modes of introduction

• potential commodoty or resource

• control merasure introduced to reduce certain species

• exotic pet release

• domestic animal/cultivar release

common traits of an invasive species

• ability to grow both sexually and asexually

• fast growth and rapid reprduction

• high dispersal activity

• phenotypuc plasticity

• tolerance of a wide range of environmental conditions

• ability to live off a wide variety of food types

• association with humans

invasive species

non-native species that have survived, reproduced, and spread to the point of causing adverse ecological and/or economic effects

island biogeography theory

the number of species on an island is determined by a balance between immigration and local extinction

edge effects

conditions near the habitat edge are influenced by the matrix and have their own microclimate

habitat fregmentation

a process where a large expense of habitat is trandformed into a number of smaller patches os smaller total area and are isolated from each other by a matrix of habitats unlike the original

species-area relationship

species abundance and diversity are area dependant

habitat loss

process by which natural habitat is rendered ineffective in supporting the community of speices once found there

habitat

the resources and conditions present in an area that results in occupancy by a species

habitat use

the way the animal uses both they physical and biological resources in a habitat

habitat selection

series of behavioral decisions made by an animal about what habitat it uses relative to others

habitat availability

accessibility and procurability of physical and biological components

habitat quality

ability of the environment to provide conditions appropriate for individual and population persitence

optimum sustainable yield

strategy of achiving maximum harvest from a population over a series of years, but considers additional variables in determining the optimum

maximum sustainable yield probelms

• accurate population estimates and regular monitoring are critical

• doesn’t consider quality of the organim being harvested and can push towards smaller sized individuals which can have ecological or evolutionary consequences

• ecosystem consequences including reduced population size impacting the predators and prey of the species

maximum sustainable yield

strategy of achiving maximum harvest from a population over a speries of years

tragedy of the commons

common property resources owned by the entire populace without restriction as to who can use them and how

overexplotation

the rate of take/harvest exceeds the capacity of the species/population to replenish itself

stochastic factor

unpredictable events

dentermistic factor

affects a population in constant relation to its size

density independant limit

variables whose importance is independent of the density of the population

density dependant limits

variables that become more limiting as the density of a population increases

mortality

death of an individual and is often expressed as a precentage of a population that dies each year

recruitment

number of young births in any given year that survive to reproductive age

natality

number of young born in a specific amount of time (aka birth rate)

neoenvrionmentalism/ecomodernism

belief that convergence of technological change and social innovation is the most realistic and achivable path to envrionmental sustainability

sustainable development

meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

ecosystem management

notion of enlarging the focus of environmental management to incorporate entire ecosystems, rather than individual components, and basing decisions on the best available science

adaptive resource management

structured, iterative process of decision making in the face of uncertainty overtime through monitory feedback

ecosystem services

the often vital and economically valuable functions of healthy ecosystems

different ecosystem services

• provisioning services

• regulating services

• cultural services

• supporting services

supporting services

an ecosystem service that is necessary for the production of other ecosytem services

cultural service

an ecosystem service that has human connection to the ecosystem

regulatoring services

an ecosystem service that keep the ecosystem running

provisioning services

an ecosystem service that keeps us going and the things that we have

ecosystem health

the occurance of normal ecosystem processes and functions

ecological restoration

the process of returning, as nearly as possible, a biotic community to a condition of bio and ecological intergrity

bio/ecological integrity

native species populations in their historic variety and numbers naturally interacting in naturally structured biotic communities

what are the normative concepts

• bio/ecological integrity

• ecological restoration

• ecosystem health

• ecological services

• adaptive resource management

• ecosystem managememnt

• sustainable development

• neoenvironmentalism/ecomodernism

normative concepts

affirm how things should be, how we value them, which things are good and bad, and which actions are right and wrong

conservation biology

intergrated multidiciplinary scientific field that has develped in response to the challenge of conservation biology